Benchmark - St Mary - Denver, Norfolk - European Historic Survey Stones, Monuments and Benchmarks on Waymarking.com

A cut benchmark on the south west corner of St Mary's church tower, Denver.

"Denver is a pleasant suburb of the town of Downham Market, and St Mary sits in a long graveyard at the junction in the old village centre. The church underwent a wholesale restoration in the 1870s, and in truth it was not a great one. St Mary is the perfect place in Norfolk to see a multitude of the mass-produced ecclesiological items turned out by the factories and workshops of Birmingham and London in the second half of the 19th century; the font, the furnishings, the memorials and the glass are all typical of the genre, and the sombreness of the period is accentuated by the dim light inside. The glass is by Ian Pace; examples of Pace's work, Pevsner drily remarks, are not common, which is a good thing. The Annunciation and Visitation are the best, but even so are curiously lacking in spirit, as if the characters themselves were not interested, or at least not trying terribly hard. You can't help thinking that the churchwardens must have resented forking out the final payment.

However, the building has an authentic atmosphere; it would be no surprise if your Victorian ancestors followed you into the church and sat down for the morning service. If they could overcome the tricky problem with time travel, then access would provide no difficulty, because despite its lack of antiquarian interest this church is open daily for private prayer and meditation, for which it is to be thanked and congratulated."

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