Barmer, All Saints
OS Sheet 132 Grid Ref. TF 809 336
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All Saints church at Barmer is another of the very isolated round tower churches in Norfolk. There is no village close by, and it is no longer in use as a parish church, although occasional services are
held. It is the care of the Norfolk Churches Trust, and they seem to do an excellent job here. It lies in the middle of a field, well hidden by some trees. There is a small path that leads from the B1454 to this church. Our first visit was
in January 2005, at the end of a long, grey “church crawling day”. The moon was already visible above the tower, and although it is a church, the place seemed a bit spooky. It has a massive round tower, looking like the keep of a medieval
castle. Unfortunately, it was firmly locked, and no key keeper available. As we already had a long day of church visiting behind us, we dediced just to take some photos, and return on a later occasion. This came in February 2007, when we
spent a whole week visiting round tower churches in East Anglia. Unfortunately, the weather was exactly the same, grey skies and cold wind. But this time, it was open, so I was able to get a look inside. It has a very simple interior, much
to my liking. The tower arch is open, and one can see the single bell in the round tower. No colourful windows or murals are to be seen here, and the seating is by simple chairs now. Not very spectacular, but I like it.
As I will learn
later from Simon Knott’s website and ‘Lyn Stilgoe’s book, it was in ruins for centuries, but rescued late in the 19th century by the Kerslake family. So not much original stuff to be seen here, but for someone like me who enjoys the athmosphere and the setting of a church more than the architectural details, it is definitely in the Top 20 of my list. And I still hope to be able to see it in the sun one day during one of our next visits…
