St Germain
Wiggenhall St Germans, Norfolk
A good vantage point from which to enjoy the setting of this church is the bridge over the Great Ouse.
It is a building from the 13th century and later, was heavily restored by the Victorians, and has recently been reroofed and repaired. The tower is handsome, with its lower stages of stone, and the upper part of red brick.
There is much of interest inside the church, but it is its benches and benchends that make it not just special, but outstanding. The benches are beautifully preserved, and there are many of them, the ranks creating a gallery of medieval carpentry and carving. The bench ends are superb, with little figures on either side of the poppyheads, and larger ones in niches on the ends. The little figures are particularly endearing, shown seated in informal and perky attitudes, wearing contemporary medieval dress and with faces that could almost be likenesses of parishioners of the time.
Later woodwork includes a 17th century font cover, pulpit and alms box. There is also a painted rood screen, with figures of saints, and with the name of Humphrey Kerville, who donated it. The Kervilles are commemorated elsewhere in the church, with a brass in the form of a heart to Sir Robert, who died in 1450, and a monument to Sir Henry and his wife from the 1620s. With them are shown tiny figures of two children who died before they did.
