Thurton is quite a large place, and just above the busy Norwich to Beccles road. The church stands below the village top road, the houses hidden in the valley.St Ethelbert is a very curious shape. The little tower appears to grow out of the thatch, and it also appears that they ordered it in the wrong size, and didn't bother to send it back. It is in two stages - at nave level it is probably 13th century, but the top bit is more recent. I've seen it described as early 16th century. It is one of those small towers that looks as if it was specifically designed for bell-ringing, although all the bells are early.
In common with several churches around here, St Ethelbert has a stunning Norman south entrance, this one in particularly good condition. I love the way that later generations have enhanced the archway by adding to the decoration - one pattern in particular, on the east side of the doorway, must have taken hours. There is a simpler Norman doorway on the north side, but it is through the south door you enter.
The building is continuous, without a transition between nave and chancel, although you can see a large arch about two thirds of the way along which once held a tympanum to divide the two. I would guess that the western part is pretty much the original Norman church, disguised by later windows. The roodcreen cannot have been very big, and its shallow stairway embrasure suggest the stairs were wooden and part of the structure of the screen.
This building has two great delights, Firstly, the St Christopher on the north wall. It was uncovered in the late 1980s, and at first sight appears disappointingly indistinct. On closer inspection though, there are a lot of the details which have now faded from St Christophers which have been exposed for a century or more. In particular, the azure blue of the water, and the multitude of creatures in it.
Up at the top, look at the way the Christchild sits on the Saint's shoulders. It is most unusual - Christ is actually behind the Saint, holding his orb in a gesture of reigning in majesty. The style of the child puts this painting very late, perhaps as late as the early 16th century. They have begun to uncover other wall paintings in this church, and although nothing is understandable yet, the figure immediately to the east of the St Christopher is obviously much earlier, which may mean it is part of a hagiography, many of which came to be frowned upon in the 14th and 15th centuries, being replaced by more doctrinal paintings. There is probably part of it under the St Christopher.
The other thing that makes Thurton remarkable is the collection of glass. Books credit it with being from Rouen cathedral, but actually it is much more interesting than that. It came partly from the collection of a Norwich antiquarian, partly from the Beauchamp Proctor family who donated similar glass to the churches at nearby Chedgrave and Langley. It was installed here in the 1820s. It does include some Rouen glass, but there is also a 15th century English Holy Trinity, and a set of Instruments of the Passion. The little roundels depicting one line homilies may well have come from the refectory of Langley Priory. Further, Chris Harrison tells me that there is surviving work here of the remarkable Lowestoft stained glass artist Robert Allen who was one of the earliest exponents of the medium in the years that the English were first rediscovering it. His are the eight Saints in the west window, as well as the Man of Sorrows in the south of the nave, St Andrew in the east window and a number of other pieces on the south side. We all enjoyed our vist to the church and the lovely cream tea that followed at High House.
