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St Peter's church

St Peter's church > Link - Link is situated in the grounds of Merton Park, which forms part of the estate of the de Grey family; the south porch once used to serve as the private entrance into the church for members of the de Grey family and the southern section of the churchyard offers a fine view towards Merton Hall > Link where the present Lord of Walsingham still lives. Opinions are divided whether the round tower of the church is Saxon or early Norman but all are agreed on the original church being older. The church was extensively restored in the 19th century and most of the stained glass windows date from that time. The east window > Link depicts 12 scenes from the life of Christ. The three-sided communion rails > Link - dating from about 1690 - are a rare survival of this Puritan arrangement which gave the laity access right up to the east wall of the chancel. The two-decker pulpit > Link with a reading desk is early C17 and the opening seen behind it is the entrance to the former rood loft. The exquisitely carved rood screen is original and dates from the 14th century. Its panels have a stencilled floral motif > Link. On the wall nearby there is a brass > Link to William de Grey (d. 1495) with his two wives facing him. The de Grey family's large Jacobean box pew > Link is located at the east end of the south aisle; on the floor is a brass > Link to Thomas de Grey (d. 1562). The hexagonal font > Link - unusual because East Anglian fonts are commonly octagonal - dates from the 15th century. (This information was taken from an information leaflet compiled by Simon Cotton and Richard Butler-Stoney.) The church is kept locked and access is possible by appointment only. See also: Link