Itteringham
St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church
The life of the Church is first and foremost one of prayer which then, through the ministry of the Spirit of God, works His way into the stuff of our lives. It is a real pleasure to know from our Visitors' Book that such a number of visitors come and are grateful for what our parish church and the churchyard offers them.
There has been a village in this beautiful and sheltered valley probably since Saxon times. It may be that part of the nave of the church dates from this time. The 13th century saw an immense development of the parochial system in England and the first Rector of the village was appointed in 1227.
In the Middle Ages the Manors of Nowers, Bintree and Wolterton had the right to appoint a priest in this prosperous little place. This right - and responsibility - eventually went to the Lord Walpole of Wolterton who in 1777 united the patronage in his family. This has happily continued to the present. This was part of a large-scale consolidation of estates in the area.
There have been good and bad times along the way. Matters were obviously difficult when two of the three bells of the church were sold in 1824 to pay for a new roof. However, the church was successfully remodeled in 1859, probably in memory of Robert Walpole, BD, who had been rector from 1809 to 1856. During the Victorian era, as was often the case, the church's fabric was saved after a long period of neglect. At present, work on a long-term project for the restoration of the Tower will begin quite soon.
The parish had its own Rectors until about 30 years ago - with pictures of them going back to the early years of photography. The gathering process of combining parishes has, of course, been a feature of this benefice as in many country parishes. There are now seven parishes in this benefice and The Rectory for them all is next to St Mary's.
A series of events during the year combine both a social and fund-raising element. Some of them will be printed below or will appear in the Benefice News & Events.
The Rogation Day Procession in May is a long-established and living religious custom in the parish, with our other parishes joining us. It begins at The Walpole Arms and ends at the Parish Church, witnessing along the way the blessing of all aspects of our modern rural way of life. The worship of the Church is rooted in both the Book of Common Prayer and the Book of Common Worship. We are keen to keep the best of our religious experience and to renew our Faith through the Church's new liturgy. The church is represented in our Group Choir.
For further information about the history of St Mary's Church, please check out the Itteringham village website.
Little Barningham, Blickling, Edgefield, Itteringham, Oulton, Wickmere, Saxthorpe & Corpusty, Norfolk, England
Churches
The
Seven
