Much of what survives in the village of New Buckenham is late medieval, and the best example of this period is St Martin. Externally, this is a grand, urban building, easily the equal of most of the churches of Norwich and Ipswich, from the pinnacles on the tower to the crisp array of clerestory windows. There are minor remnants of an earlier 13th century building, but this might as well have been a complete rebuild. The narrowness of the graveyard only accentuates the way it rises like a rocket above the roof tops.
The Victorians seem to have taken this urban triumphalism as their motif for the inside, because this is, I am afraid, one of the least atmospheric churches in this part of Norfolk. The inside is big, with a sense of height and space, but it has been pretty well scoured of any local or rustic character. It could just as well be anywhere. However, it feels well used and looked after, and even here there are fascinating survivals.
More of this detail and pictures are available here http://www.quidenhamgroup.co.uk/st-martin-new-buckenham/
The cache is outside the church boundary wall.
We would like to thank the Rector - Revd. David Hill - for allowing us to place caches in the six churches in the Quidenham Group of Parishes. Hopefully you will take advantage of your visit to explore the churches themselves.
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication
FTF - gimmealook - 11/05/11