If you can't see a church tower, you are probably not in Norfolk. Nowhere in Europe is there such a high concentration of churches. There are, extraordinarily, too many to provide a reliable count, but there are probably about a thousand church buildings, or remains of church buildings, across the county.
St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham
I first visited Norfolk in 1984, when I was 18 months old. I haven't stopped since. The county enchants. It's not just its churches, although that would be enough. I love Norfolk for its big, wide skies. I love it for its landscape and topography, from Broads to Fens, from city to coast. I love its distinctive, 'do different' way of life; how the county compels the outsider to do things at its speed. 'Slow you down' is not so much a warning to careless motorists, but an invitation to live life at a slower pace.
Which brings me to my theme. I am a Church of England priest, and have spent the last 15 years ministering in parishes in North London. Parish ministry is as relentless as it is rewarding. From April to June I will be on study leave - or sabbatical, as it is commonly known. It's a chance for me to reset and renew, both physically and spiritually. It's a chance to slow me down.
So, for eleven weeks, starting in mid-April, I will be walking between Norfolk's churches. I have planned 32 routes, mostly circular, visiting 175 churches. Each walk will be, in a sense, a mini-pilgrimage. Using this blog, and @walkingnorfolkschurches on Instagram, I will be sharing my experiences of these walks.
St Mary the Virgin, Wiveton
I hope to reflect on the ways in which these buildings are an inheritance of faith, and emblems of Norfolk’s distinctive culture and history. And I also want to celebrate how they continue to play an important part in the lives and faith of people today.
Some disclaimers. I am not an expert in church architecture. (Indeed, there are plenty of people who are. Visit Simon Knott's monumental Churches of East Anglia website or buy a copy of Mortlock and Roberts’ The Guide to Norfolk Churches.) Nor am I an academic. (Don't expect essays in church history, or missiological commentary.) I hope, instead, to reflect as much on the experience of walking between the churches, and the people I meet along the way, as I do the churches themselves. I will try to offer, if you like, the pilgrim's perspective which comes from doing things at three miles per hour.
I began this post with the opening lines of John Betjeman's A Passion for Churches. In this BBC documentary the then poet laureate, in his enigmatic style, visited church buildings across the Diocese of Norwich, marvelling at their architecture and history, while at the same time providing a fascinating snapshot of 1970s church life. I feel an affinity for Betjeman, and I admire the way in which he connects his love of these buildings to his love of the Church of England, and his love of his creator. And I feel a bit as though I will be treading in his steps this year. I suspect, therefore, it is more providence than luck that I'll be Walking Norfolk's Churches exactly 50 years since he did.
Come back and join me then.
What every church-crawler wants to see, at St Andrew, Bacton
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