St Mary Thornham Pava
This church is a good example of late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman architecture blended together, with a Romanesque door unique to the area.
St Mary’s church in Thornham Pava is a unique example in East Anglia of a mixture of surviving Saxon and Norman architectural features, built from a time when there was significant crossover of these features and thus different parts can be dated from this rough period. The thatched rooves for the nave and tower makes this church obviously striking and different from mostly tiled churches in the area from a similar period. We see a range of windows installed over the centuries including a rounded Norman south window, a later decorated gothic window on the north side of the nave and a circular western window believed to date from the Saxon period.
Inside on the west side of the nave is a Saxon circular window above the gallery looking into the tower. Interestingly, there are also original wall paintings depicting the martyrdom of King Edmund of East Anglia, where on the north side a medieval cart and wheel are most visible with a coffin, wolf and 6 monks in total around a crowned head, which relates to the story of a wolf finding the body of St Edmund. While hard to see properly on this wall, this is an important artefact of local history because after the Reformation, original wall paintings became almost non-existent. This is particularly interesting as it depicts King Edmund's death, because the site of the saint's martyrdom is thought to be located somewhere near Hoxne or elsewhere in the northern part of central Suffolk.
Possibly the most interesting and notable feature, providing a clear-cut example of this style, is the south door in a round arch Romanesque style from the Norman period. We can see in good condition the scalloped capitals (head of a column) and the single roll moulding (the carved section on the semi-circular arch itself). The walls of the nave and chancel are mostly Norman but with some Saxon era flint.
Also in the decorated chancel is the intriguing feature of the Retable, behind the altar. This is a series of paintings of different saints in wooden panelling thought to be originally made for the Thetford Dominican priory, potentially moved after the priory's dissolution after 1536. Estimated at being made in 1335. St Edmund, King of East Anglia is seen 3rd from right. This particular one is impressively large for such a small church, and is worth visiting since so few remain.
Overall definitely a charming church that is unique from the larger medieval perpendicular churches common around Norfolk and Suffolk. We find this church in previously wealthy area, although this settlement is still small and located just South of Diss. You can find this gem of a rural church just west of the A140 near Eye. This little known church shows off early Norman styles of Romanesque doorways and earlier rounded windows, something that is rare in an area dominated later-gothic styles.