Shimpling
St George Shimpling is a charming church, unusually with a round tower and spire, but has many attractive features inside and out for an observant visitor.
St George in Shimpling, located just west of Dickleburgh in south Norfolk, is an interesting example of a Norman site that changed to meet the later styles of gothic architecture in East Anglia, but manages to dominate the fairly flat landscape. The notable tower is Norman and is made of flint and other loose stone, which could indicate the possible wealth of the area at the time; where they were able to build a more substantial tower (some believe these could have been for the defence of the parish in later Saxon period), while other areas only used wood. The tower becomes more interesting at the top made of later medieval bricks where we see an octagonal top stage, with four bell-windows and 4 ‘imitation’ windows in flint flushwork. As well as a lead spire, which is slightly unusual for an area dominated by decorated round and square towers from a range of time periods.
The chancel dates from the late 13th century and appears immediately distinctive because of the yellow coloured plaster for the nave used in various restoration projects over the years but probably originates from a Victorian innovation. We can also see simple perpendicular gothic style windows: so common in East Anglia with Y-style tracery, although the rest of the church is a less elaborate example from the gothic architecture in the region. What is also instantly eye-catching is the wooden porch with pre-19th century red-bricks, given their narrowness. This is a really lovely looking addition to the church especially with the decorative wooden carvings and makes this stand out from other flint-based porches, making it a slightly rarer find in the region.
Inside we see a range of window styles including intersecting tracery above the sanctuary. But what is also interesting is the amount of possible original stained glass. In the chancel we can see very vibrant examples of early 14th century stained glass and also incomplete 15th century examples next to the pulpit. These windows and glass really give some character to an otherwise unassuming church. In the tower archway there is a small wooden screen decorated with simple but neat carvings that could have once been a more elaborate divider between the tower and nave. The font also has distinctive carvings from the 15th century of lions and angels holdings shields depicting the instruments of the Passion.
When looking up we can also see the social changes that the whole country has gone through over time. Specifically looking at the nave’s steeped pitched roof and at the bottom of the arched wall braces there are scratched off wooden corbels’ faces. It can be guessed that these faces were hastily removed during iconoclastic phases of religious change, possibly done by puritans removing religious images in the 17th century or even earlier – but there is no specific evidence for this speculation, as is the task we must make when investigating churches.
Although in a reasonable forgettable location, this church is distinctive in its own way: with a spire on a round tower and an impressive collection of stained glass for such a small church. This is certainly a charming church and one worth visiting, just off the A140 and up a quaint leafy lane.