We were chatting to one of the artists - Chris Hann - who asked if we had seen the historic graffiti on the choir stalls and the back of some screens.
The subject of church graffiti has fascinated me since I went to the talk by Paul Judkins who is very big on the subject. Actually Paul is pretty big in most respects. Anyway he opened my eyes to the fact that churches include a great amount of graffiti and drawings etched into the stone and other places. Much of this is hundreds of years old and gives an insight into life centuries ago.
If you visit a church and look very closely you might even spot some. Often it was done by builders working in churches who would leave their own messages/symbols and then plaster over them. Some of these were aimed at their bosses and could result in serious consequences if found. I expect it was a medieval way of venting their spleens.
Anyway back to Salthouse. The screens had a number of ships scratched onto their backs. This wasn't surprising considering Salthouse's importance as a port many centuries ago and the fact that the sea is a short distance away.
But then we had a look at the choir stalls and numerous names and initials were scratched into the wood. As Chris Hann suggested - there must have been some considerable boredom as youngsters were subjected to what seemed to them to be never ending services and sermons.
Amongst the names was a DEW - possibly and quite likely one of my Ancestors. We tried to read the date after the name but without much luck. Next time I'm up there I will take a series of photographs in the hope of enlarging the date.
I feel a great affinity with Salthouse and it has come as no surprise to find that my family roots may have been planted there. More research will establish this and I know that I will be drawn back there time after time after time.
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My latest feature for the Eastern Daily Press appeared in yesterday's edition. It was the result of my visit a number of days ago to the new police training facility in Hethersett. I enclose a cutting with this blog along with a few shots taken looking across from Kelling Heath to Weybourne. Some were taken with a long lens and so may be a touch hazy.