YorkshireSam
St Margaret's at Herringfleet
THE CHURCH OF ST. MARGARET, HERRINGFLEET
After the building of the free standing round tower, there arose c. 1080AD what is now the Chancel - the Norman Chapel probably replacing an old Saxon-Viking wooden building. In the north wall of the chancel is the Norman slit window, in which has been placed the stained glass figure of a cleric with tonsure, though Watling thought the figure was of St. Olaf holding a book and dagger. At one time this glass with other glass from the priory was stored at Fritton.
We do not know the original dedication of the old church at Herringfleet but its dedication to St. Margaret was early and no doubt the result of the crusaders' enthusiasm for the Eastern Martyrs, among them St. George who replaced Edward the Confessor as the Patron Saint of England in the early 13th. Century. St. Margaret in the 4th. Century was the daughter of a pagan priest in the rugged and mountainous region we know now as Turkey. She went to nurse the sick in the company of a Christian nurse and Margaret became a Christian and because of this was driven from her father's house. These were dangerous times - the Era of the Martyrs. Margaret went to live with the nurse and became a shepherdess. One day the Prefect of Antioch, Olybrius, passed by and saw Margaret looking after the sheep and wanted her for his wife if free, for his mistress if a slave. She refused by saying that she had dedicated her whole life to Christ without marriage. Very soon she found herself before a tribunal - perhaps Olybrius intended only to frighten her into submission; it is a mistake many others have made. She then suffered torture and was dragged off to a dungeon where in a dream the devil appeared to her and consumed her. She made the sign of the cross and the devil's body split in half. She awoke, her courage and constancy won many to the faith in spite of the consequences, and because of this Olybrius ordered her to be beheaded. On the way to the place of execution, Margaret was heard to pray that the memory of her escape from the body of the dragon might give help to those in childbirth, and she became the patron saint of women in labour.
In the early days of the Fitz Osberts in the 13th. Century, the nave was built to connect the Norman chapel with the tower; the old west doorway of the Norman chapel being placed in its present position in the south wall and made the principal entrance, while the east side of the tower base was opened up with a larger doorway. The northern doorway into the nave has for some time been bricked up.
Along the top of Herringfleet Hills, a path led from the top end of Priory Road to the opening at Sunnybank. It ran through the garden of the present house Breckland and can still be found by the presence of flat stones which were laid on the surface though now overgrown by grass and heather. Along this path trod the canons from the Priory to serve St. Margaret's Church till 1537. In the days when the Herringfleet Road was frequently water-logged especially in winter time, this provided the drier way and was something of a short cut.
In the late 16th. Century the tower received a new brick parapet, the original height being slightly lowered, and a brick canopy was given to the window in the south chancel wall, though it is conceivable that these works were done by John Francis Leathes
as late as 1826. The nave roof has remained thatched with an inside ceiling of arched plaster, now extended into the chancel which has a tile roof.
It was however in the 1820s that important changes were made - the east window, the crowning glory of the church, a kaleidoscope of fascinating glass with even more interesting subjects, was put in by Henry Mussenden Leathes whose memorial you will find on the north chancel wall. In the Royal Horse Artillery, he fought in the Peninsular War (1807-1813) and at Waterloo, for which he received medals and clasps. In the Peninsular Campaign he was in Sir John Moore's celebrated retreat and the Battle of Corunna, and in the Waterloo Campaign he served as First Lieutenant in Capt. Mercer's Troop (G. Troop). When only 13 he was a Gentleman Cadet (1st Nov. 1803) - at 15 years 11 months he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on the 12th July 1805. In the Waterloo Roll it is recorded that he resigned his commission in 1819 after earning for himself the description "he was distinguished for his benevolence and philanthropy and was equally loved by rich and poor, young and old, soldiers and civilians". He died at Lowestoft 16th. Dec. 1864 for although his manorial residence was Herringfleet Hall, he actually occupied a house in Lowestoft for many years, where his charity for the poor of the town was outstanding. He was deeply interested in the welfare of the French Fishermen visiting the port, and in cases of sickness his house became a hospital for them. He received the French Gold Medal of Honour First Class from the Emperor Napoleon III. In June 1827 at the age of 38 he had married Charlotte, daughter of John Fowler of Gunton Hall.
St Margaret's at Herringfleet
THE CHURCH OF ST. MARGARET, HERRINGFLEET
After the building of the free standing round tower, there arose c. 1080AD what is now the Chancel - the Norman Chapel probably replacing an old Saxon-Viking wooden building. In the north wall of the chancel is the Norman slit window, in which has been placed the stained glass figure of a cleric with tonsure, though Watling thought the figure was of St. Olaf holding a book and dagger. At one time this glass with other glass from the priory was stored at Fritton.
We do not know the original dedication of the old church at Herringfleet but its dedication to St. Margaret was early and no doubt the result of the crusaders' enthusiasm for the Eastern Martyrs, among them St. George who replaced Edward the Confessor as the Patron Saint of England in the early 13th. Century. St. Margaret in the 4th. Century was the daughter of a pagan priest in the rugged and mountainous region we know now as Turkey. She went to nurse the sick in the company of a Christian nurse and Margaret became a Christian and because of this was driven from her father's house. These were dangerous times - the Era of the Martyrs. Margaret went to live with the nurse and became a shepherdess. One day the Prefect of Antioch, Olybrius, passed by and saw Margaret looking after the sheep and wanted her for his wife if free, for his mistress if a slave. She refused by saying that she had dedicated her whole life to Christ without marriage. Very soon she found herself before a tribunal - perhaps Olybrius intended only to frighten her into submission; it is a mistake many others have made. She then suffered torture and was dragged off to a dungeon where in a dream the devil appeared to her and consumed her. She made the sign of the cross and the devil's body split in half. She awoke, her courage and constancy won many to the faith in spite of the consequences, and because of this Olybrius ordered her to be beheaded. On the way to the place of execution, Margaret was heard to pray that the memory of her escape from the body of the dragon might give help to those in childbirth, and she became the patron saint of women in labour.
In the early days of the Fitz Osberts in the 13th. Century, the nave was built to connect the Norman chapel with the tower; the old west doorway of the Norman chapel being placed in its present position in the south wall and made the principal entrance, while the east side of the tower base was opened up with a larger doorway. The northern doorway into the nave has for some time been bricked up.
Along the top of Herringfleet Hills, a path led from the top end of Priory Road to the opening at Sunnybank. It ran through the garden of the present house Breckland and can still be found by the presence of flat stones which were laid on the surface though now overgrown by grass and heather. Along this path trod the canons from the Priory to serve St. Margaret's Church till 1537. In the days when the Herringfleet Road was frequently water-logged especially in winter time, this provided the drier way and was something of a short cut.
In the late 16th. Century the tower received a new brick parapet, the original height being slightly lowered, and a brick canopy was given to the window in the south chancel wall, though it is conceivable that these works were done by John Francis Leathes
as late as 1826. The nave roof has remained thatched with an inside ceiling of arched plaster, now extended into the chancel which has a tile roof.
It was however in the 1820s that important changes were made - the east window, the crowning glory of the church, a kaleidoscope of fascinating glass with even more interesting subjects, was put in by Henry Mussenden Leathes whose memorial you will find on the north chancel wall. In the Royal Horse Artillery, he fought in the Peninsular War (1807-1813) and at Waterloo, for which he received medals and clasps. In the Peninsular Campaign he was in Sir John Moore's celebrated retreat and the Battle of Corunna, and in the Waterloo Campaign he served as First Lieutenant in Capt. Mercer's Troop (G. Troop). When only 13 he was a Gentleman Cadet (1st Nov. 1803) - at 15 years 11 months he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on the 12th July 1805. In the Waterloo Roll it is recorded that he resigned his commission in 1819 after earning for himself the description "he was distinguished for his benevolence and philanthropy and was equally loved by rich and poor, young and old, soldiers and civilians". He died at Lowestoft 16th. Dec. 1864 for although his manorial residence was Herringfleet Hall, he actually occupied a house in Lowestoft for many years, where his charity for the poor of the town was outstanding. He was deeply interested in the welfare of the French Fishermen visiting the port, and in cases of sickness his house became a hospital for them. He received the French Gold Medal of Honour First Class from the Emperor Napoleon III. In June 1827 at the age of 38 he had married Charlotte, daughter of John Fowler of Gunton Hall.