St Andrew’s Church is located close to Saxham Hall. Parts of the church date back to Norman times. The church was restored in the early 1800s.
The careful restoration preserved the Norman doorways and 15th century font, and the church would be indistinguishable from hundreds of other neat, clean 19th century refurbishments if it were not for the fact that it contains some most unusual glass. It was collected by Thomas Mills' son, William, and fills the east and west windows. It is mostly 17th century (you can see a date on one piece) and probably Swiss in origin - as at Nowton, it probably came from continental monasteries.
The best is probably the small scale collection in the west window. This includes figures of St Mary Magdalene, St John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin, as well as scenes of the Annunciation, the Coronation of the Queen of Heaven, the Vision of St John, and much more. The larger scale work in the east window was obviusly once part of a much larger sequence; the image of the Circumcision is stunning.
The First World War memorial remembers names of men who were estate workers here, and a Second World War addition remembers a man who died while a Prisoner of War in Japanese hands. Outside, I paused to gaze at the simple entrance to the Mills mausoleum that is tucked neatly to the west of the porch. It has recently been restored. I looked east again, beyond the sanctuary and churchyard wall, towards the Big House. It all seemed of a piece.
Here is the English Church as it was on the eve of the First World War; triumphant, apparently eternal, at the very heart of the Age of Empires. Now, it is only to be found in backwaters like this, and the very fact that they are backwaters tells us that, really, it has not survived at all. - SIMON KNOTT
If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please contact Sadexploration here.
http://churchmicro.co.uk/
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at .
http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/index.html.