Kings and Martyrs - Gentle Country Anglo-Catholicism - A Tour of South Creake Church in Norfolk

#medievalchurch #medievalart #anglocatholic #churchcrawling #churches
The church of St Mary the Virgin at South Creake is one of the most characterful churches in Norfolk, a beautiful late medieval building filled with delightful things. There are considerable quantities of medieval glass, original medieval woodwork, an angel roof and some evidence of iconoclasm in the 16th and 17th century. All of that history is overlaid with some very homely 20th century furnishings, including many devotional images - evidence of a gentle and devotional Anglo-Catholisicm that was once common in country areas and has now mostly vanished. Close to the medieval shrine of our Lady of Walsingham, it is a must see church in these parts church, with an atmosphere that compels one to silence and reflection.
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Pop along to the following website if you would like to get hold of a copy of my new monthly magazine 'The Antiquary' - with lots of interesting articles. You can even arrange a monthly print or digital subscription here.
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PLEASE SUPPORT MY WORK
I produce these videos on a shoestring with old equipment, I do it as I am passionate about the subject, and teaching about these things is part of my vocation and ministry. Do you enjoy my content, would you consider supporting me financially? If you would like to support my channel with a small donation you can do that via the Ko-fi platform or Paypal. It will be gratefully received and will help me make more content and support me as improve the quality of the content I offer:
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[@pamburt]

I worshipped at a High Anglican Church in Birmingham UK in my youth and even now, find the little touches in this Anglo Catholic Church rather satisfying, and they add what is to me, a missing element in some more simple (or austere) Anglican churches. I had no idea ( before watching your informative videos ) that rood screens were missing that central element of Christ on the Cross, and was oddly pleased to see that element had been restored in this church - even if it was relatively recently. Overall a delightful church with some lovely touches of colour and a warm welcoming atmosphere!

[@allanbarton]

I agree they inject life and colour - a sense of the presence of the company of heaven, which is something medieval churches did before the Protestant Reformation,

[@stevedunn3113]

I love these little strolls around country churches. I always feel that the art of guiding is for the guide to be an 'informed friend' and I feel your tours meet that and then some. Thank you, Allan, another great video..

[@allanbarton]

Thank you very much Steve, that is very much appreciated. When I was in my twenties I used to take coach trips of WEA students from York to visit churches, it was always a great joy - maybe I should start doing it again. I approach the videos in the same way as I did those tours. To be honest as you know from your own experience, you get lost in the excitement of it all.

[@ceh5526]

What very many happy memories this brought back. The great treat when on pilgrimage to Walsingham with St Augustine's, Tonge Moor in Bolton, was Benediction here. The vicar's - Fr Brian Findlay - old dad lived in South Creake, and we would have a garden party at his house, with all the cakes made by him.

[@allanbarton]

How fantastic what a wonderful place for Benediction - I can imagine the atmosphere. I always feel that South Creake is the gateway to Stiffkey's fair vale.

[@engenulf]

What an absolute jewel this beautiful church is, thank you Mr Barton. Through your camera I could clearly imagine all the murmuring of hundreds of years of prayers , smell the incense and hear the the shuffling of bare feet as the stations of the cross are walked. it's wonderful that this beautiful piece of history is so well preserved.

[@nickimontie]

It is amazing to the quality of workmanship in the stained glass and wood and stone work by artists who didn't have the power tools we have today. Simply stunning and a pleasure to see!

[@allanbarton]

It is amazing what they achieved with their corporate effort.

[@MKHobson]

It is so gratifying to see this channel doing so well! Your content is wonderful and your growing success is well-deserved. Congratulations!

[@allanbarton]

Thank you so much!

[@davidcope5736]

I'm a convert to Roman Catholicism, having being baptised as Anglican in my infancy, but discovering Christianity in my teens in the catholic church. My favourite hobby is wondering around churches and cathedrals, and the traditional architecture of this country is very special to me personally. It makes me a bit sad that there are so few medieval churches in England where Roman Catholic masses are held, its my dream to take communion in that kind of environment.

[@jilltagmorris]

You are really doing so great! Proud for you Allan!!!

[@allanbarton]

Thank you very much Jill.

[@trishbresolin8212]

That was beautiful. Thank you!

[@winterkoeniginwinternacht2882]

Thank you for this video! It's a delightful little church that has a 'lived in' feeling. I 'd wish you could say more about these colourful cushions on the chairs

[@allanbarton]

Next time I see a set of hassocks like that I will take a closer look. It has a lovely homely feel, it is a delight.

[@cathystillman-lowe972]

Absolutely delightful tour of a church too distant to visit, full of light and shade - including the less aesthetically "successful" elements in the mix, which actually added to the richness of the overall experience. Thank you again for another lovely film.

[@allanbarton]

I think it all works beautifully together Cathy - everything has faded down together and it fits in its pleasing eclecticism. I hope you can get to Norfolk sometime, we would love to see what your keen eye makes of the churches.

[@ViscountWoodspring]

Thank you for uploading this. I visited this church 2 years ago on pilgrimage to Walsingham, my priest showed me the church. I have since joined the Society of King Charles the Martyr

[@ecarrasco234]

Fascinating! Watching from Houston, Texas.

[@dolldoll2914]

👩🏻‍💻The architecture of the buildings you show us are fantastic! I am an architect's daughter and my dad shared many things about buildings, plans, and the evolutionary history of building. Your videos fancinate me and I appreciate the knowledge your share and the time you take to keep architecture alive for further generations. Much love and peace. 🙋‍♀️🪔🌠🐞🥰&♎🇺🇲🇬🇧

[@cook13doodle16]

Another beautiful history tour ❤

[@allanbarton]

These buildings are so full of beauty that they make it easy.

[@balesjo]

A lovely church. The parish seems to appreciate the history of the building and furnishings as I see they have nicely printed signs that appear to name the object and give a bit of history about it. Imagine what it must have looked like when the painted objects were fresh, the fabrics unworn and faded by time, and the garish 20th century figures did not exist. Think of the people that have been a part of this parish over the centuries.

[@allanbarton]

They do seem to and are very welcoming to visitors too, which is super. Yes, the sense of continuity is palpable here - there are furnishings from every century since the church was constructed all blending seamlessly together. They have all faded down together and that really adds to the sense of visual coherence. It is a special place.

[@suepritchard9287]

This is such a wonderful channel and I feel the content is interesting and unlike a lot of channels on here - the videos are factually sound 🎉🎉🎉. Thank you for this video in particular I loved all the quirky saints. Agree about the blobby statue too - not my thing - but worth watching to see the rest. 😊

[@The3Kosmos3]

Lots of hidden gems in the county.

[@allanbarton]

Norfolk is a delight.

[@rhiannonpoole6019]

Thank you. I loved the angels both in the stained glass, and watching over the clergy in the chancel. I do like the way you describe the various shrines in this rather jumbled building - I'm a fan of austerity myself but each to their own!

[@allanbarton]

It is a great building this, so much of interest and lots of colour. The Angels are fabulous.

[@G.V.A.K]

Absolutely enchanting and a thoroughly enjoyable tour. I have been spellbound, thank you.

[@stuartfisher8419]

Your soothing tones give great warmth to all of your videos.

[@allanbarton]

That is kind of you to say so - just as well I'm not recording a video today, with tonsillitis I think you might turn off the computer!!!

[@annettewillis2797]

Another lovely informative stroll around such a gem of a church which I was lucky enough to see years ago when visiting Walsingham. It is such an eclectic mix of elements reflecting the taste and worship styles of so many generations. Each element has its own story brought to light so brilliantly by you Allan. It's lovely to see some of the original paintwork as so many people today don't realise how the interiors of churches were often brightly painted. I look forward to more strolls!

[@allanbarton]

Certainly more to come - they are spontaneous visits really. I spend a lot of time churchcrawling and when a church really excites me I try to bring it to life - but really their beauty tells their own story.

[@annettewillis2797]

@@allanbarton I look forward to more church rambles Allan. Always interesting and sometimes intriguing elements in these small wondrous buildings.

[@michaelwhite8031]

Such a beautiful little church

[@natesquestyouknowthatsrigh8269]

Lovely

[@388Caroline]

I’m Loving your channel 🙏

[@allanbarton]

Thank you.

[@skausage]

If you're in the area, I'd be thrilled if you could do a similar walkthrough of St Peter and St Paul's church in Heydon, Norfolk. My wife and I came over from the US and got married in that church in 2018

[@allanbarton]

Heydon is a wonderful church how wonderful to be married there - do you have a connection to the village. Next time I am in Norfolk I will make a video as there is so much to see. In the meantime the link is to set of photos I took of Heydon last time I was there. www.flickr.com/photos/vitrearum/albums/72157630928702952

[@skausage]

@@allanbarton Fantastic photos! According to my mother's genealogy research, my family are descended from English Catholics who took their surname from the village. They originally settled in St. Mary's County, Maryland in the late 17th century before being pushed out of there and moving to Kentucky where my family now reside. They also made a lot of bourbon along the way (see Basil Hayden). We loved Norfolk and the Norfolk Broads. We will certainly return to the village for a future anniversary trip.

[@reginaromsey]

The mixture of centuries shows how used and loved this church has been through the centuries! Wonderful the earliest pieces have survived.

[@nickswarbrick6433]

Acting as subdeacon here one Easter was a liturgical highlight of my life.

[@davidd6171]

Wonderful work again Allan! Just a suggestion for your in-person videos is for a little bit more steadiness with the camera. Keep up the great work and experiance will make your production quality increase substantially!

[@allanbarton]

Thanks for the tip David - it has been a steep learning curve all of this, a keen photographer, I had never done any videos before this year. Lots still to learn and I hope I gradually get there. Thanks so much for the encouragement.

[@davidd6171]

@@allanbarton For sure!

[@SerenitySueGraveyards]

Hi just found your channel and subscribed 😊

[@allanbarton]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@pggemmiti9385]

Do feel free to comment on the tradition of vigil lights, such as the traditional seven red per the tabernacle, now usually one, and at times commemorating a martyr or Mary, etc.

[@thekansasjayhawk3504]

To see such vandalism to something so priceless just saddens the heart.

[@Bus_Driver_Jay]

What a beautiful little church! I hope you feel better soon. As a side note, if you find yourself in Worcester, please do let me know. Would be good to see you again! Ash asks how do you pick your church?

[@allanbarton]

I will, it would be great to see you too Jason. I just visit lots and record in the ones that I fancy recording in.

[@Bus_Driver_Jay]

@@allanbarton certainly would! I shall pass that on! Thank you.

[@UmvimvaniT]

Love these 'look-ins' at Norfolk churches. Hope you might visit Wereham and Stoke Ferry and thereabouts.

[@allanbarton]

I am intending on having a trip down towards Downham Market and into Cambridgeshire soon - so I will have a look.

[@UmvimvaniT]

Meant to mention Wretton as well.

[@jeffcampbell1555]

I just found you and subscribed today. I have questions, Sir: Were Norfolk country folk more temperate during the iconoclast's era of passionate vandalism? Do you know if the stained glass was smashed out, conserved and remounted, or are the windows the result of age and periodic maintenance? It seems miraculous someone took a hammer to the font yet the timber rood screen remains in situ...or was this common? This seems a Godly house, indeed, but also bright with the presence of faithful and loving generations. Had I grown up here, perhaps I'd be gently Anglo-Catholic instead of squishy agnostic.

[@3mate1]

What is the opening music on these videos? I love it.

[@allanbarton]

It is a piece of music called 'Old Tower Inn' by a composer called Sergio.

[@JohnnyAngel8]

St. Edmund reminds me of the conservation effort of the "The Ecco Homo" (Monkey Christ) painting in Borja, Spain.🤣

[@allanbarton]

Ha, ha - yes - he isn't the greatest work of art in the world.

[@Marian-pb7fd]

Question- Who were the Craftsman that did the work on the wooden pews and stainglass windows? Were craftsmen local or brought in from a bigger city's, towns or villages? Some of the little churches you've shown seem to be in small towns or villages where were these craftsmen from? It amazes me that some of this craftsmanship or art work is older than my country of the US. Do you have an email where people can ask questions or tell of things they would like to see more of? Thank you Allan for another amazing post.

[@allanbarton]

That very much depended in the pocket of those who were paying for it. A lot of work would have been done locally, but the finer work would have been undertaken regionally or nationally. Much of the stained glass you see would have been made in workshops in Norwich, which was the closest regional centre.

[@shaundavies5779]

Can I recommend Erpingham Parish Church ? It's another medieval Parish Church in mid-/north Norfolk which has been Anglo-Catholicised and looks as if the reformation had never happened. There was a rather glorious Vicar in the 1970s/1980s who was a real LITURGICAL TRADTIONALIST Fr Donald Nurse (R.I.P) I haven't managed to get to Calthorpe its associated parish.

[@allanbarton]

Both Erpingham and Calthorpe are very lovely churches, sadly the latter is no longer functioning - only the furnishings witnessing to a now lost tradition here.

[@dianetheisen8664]

Hi❗️. What a charming little church ⛪️. Is it still functioning as a church❓️. I ask because of all the little signs🪧 placed on various objects--like a Museum 🏛.

[@allanbarton]

Hi Diane, yes it is still very much used - they have lots of helpful signs for the many visitors they have to the church.

[@dianetheisen8664]

@@allanbarton Thanks❗️

[@ludovica8221]

at 12.04- 12.08 a trick of the light makes it look as if there is a seated figure present beside the 3rd pillar from the left

[@dianna2911]

It really does!! Wow. :)

[@timhazeltine3256]

A trick of the light....

[@allanbarton]

On the hundredth anniversary of the end of the First World War the Royal British Legion were giving to churches perspex cutouts of British soldiers to display in churches - I think it is a reflection off one of those.

[@ludovica8221]

@@allanbarton Would not such an item be visible between 1.08 and 1.26 when you look towards the east?. I cant see anything that might cause that effect. Its very odd

[@allanbarton]

@@ludovica8221 I've had a look back at all the video footage and I can't see it in any of the other shots. I think I would have seen one of those WWI silhouettes, but I don't remember one. I took a second video too, so I will look at that later. It is very uncanny. Whatever it is is very reflective as its reflecting back the diamond quarries in the windows.

[@turbo.panther]

As I understand it, all the churches were Catholic until Henry VIII and then they became Anglican. After things settled down and Catholics were ok again, did they get any of their churches back? Is this one of them or is Anglo-Catholicism something different again?

[@allanbarton]

To see churches owned by the Catholics or Anglicans is the wrong way to see it in my view (I say this as an Orthodox Christian), they are the possession of the parish community in which they stand - they were never taken away from those parish communities. The same parish community worshipped in them in 1530 and in 1540 either side of Henry VIII's break with Rome. The Reformation continued and often the same clergy who had been offering the sacrifice of the mass in the 1530s were often celebrating the Protestant communion service in 1550s - very few objected openly to the changes, the majority simply conformed. Anglo-Catholicism is a movement that arose in the 19th century to reclaim within the Church of England some of the aspects of Catholic life an spirituality that had been removed during the Reformation.

[@turbo.panther]

@@allanbarton Thank you Allan for your reply. It has raised a few more questions in my mind; I'm going to have to read up a bit more on the Reformation.

[@allanbarton]

@@turbo.panther Can I recommend a book Eamonn Duffy's 'Voices of Morebath' it covers the history of one church community in the Devon in Tudor England and how the changes affected them. The priest celebrating mass in the 1530s and purchasing new vestments was the minister in the 1570s celebrating the Protestant holy communion. A sobering read.

[@turbo.panther]

@@allanbarton Reading recommendations are always welcome, so thank you. I've looked it up and it seems to be exactly the right book for what I want to know. So I ordered it and now just have to wait before it comes from the UK to Australia. Thanks again!

[@eprohoda]

how u doing?, that's supre ~ catch you later!Allan!

[@160rpm]

St. Edmund was a local St. Sebastian?

[@tlldrkhndy]

Please tell me if I am the first one to suggest that St. Edmund bears a striking resemblance to Vladimir Putin.

[@allanbarton]

😂

[@AulicExclusiva]

I rather enjoy those "medieval" images with which Anglo Catholics naïvely sought to remedy the brutish destruction of 1535-1835. Are they "aids to devotion"? Clearly more than those blonde wood blobs visited on this pretty church by who knows what genius. Perhaps the blobs will meet their Beltane! Hope. A Theological Virtue.

[@sobraine123]

Why wait with Halloween only a few weeks away ?

[@allanbarton]

The think there is a genuine devotion here, clearly not to the blobs. How can one relate to them?

[@AulicExclusiva]

@@allanbarton Exodus III: 2 ...the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. Contrariwise, one could relate to these blobs if they were consumed, but without fire. Truly an angelic resolution.

[@shaundavies5779]

Sorry to see horrible modern forward-communion Table and some rather awful looking figures in the south aisle - all disturbing the artistic and religious integrity of the building. SAD.

[@allanbarton]

The nave altar here, dedicated to the holy cross, dates from the 1920s and was put in by Fr Ventham. It was always used for celebrations 'ad orientem'. Nave altars were not uncommon in medieval churches and were often found up against rood screens or freestanding in aisle - it is just the way they are used versus populum that is novel.

[@shaundavies5779]

@@allanbarton So easy to get the wrong idea.