Holy Trinity
Loddon, Norfolk
Loddon is a large village on the River Chet, and its church is a handsome building in a big churchyard just off the High Street.
In 1761, the main structure of the church was badly damaged by a lightning strike, as is graphically described in a letter to the Norwich Mercury dated 16th July.
The church appears to have been rebuilt almost immediately, the 1761 accounts detailing the purchase of 4000 bricks and 1100 tiles. Parts of the ruined structure were incorporated into the new building which, with a few exceptions, is that which survives today.
Although sometimes referred to as Syseland or Sizeland (the latter a whim of William Hobson Senior, rector of the parish between 1819 and 1864, who changed the spelling in 1827) the name Sisland is recorded in documents dating back to the Domesday Book of 1086. Mention is made of the parish having a church within neighbouring Mundham.
Although nothing is known of this church, the ruins of an early chapel dedicated to St Ethelbert are known close to the boundary of the two parishes. The list of rectors dates back to the 13th century, starting in 1276 with Alexander.
