Swaffham-Two-Churches

Last April I was on a walk along the Fen Rivers Way. I started from Bottisham Lock and travelled north on the east bank, in the ultimate direction of King's Lynn. I didn't get that far as it got dark, and looked as if it would rain. Turned off right to Swaffham Bulbeck. I didn't have a map with me, and relied on the signposts for the places and distances. I had never heard of Swaffham Bulbeck. I enjoyed the walk and eventually found myself in a village - not Swaffham Bulbeck but Swaffham Prior. 

Past the pub slightly on the right, on to the church. I took a couple of photos but it was still overcast. Backtracked, went sort of clockwise round the town, and found there was a path up the town, that lead to the right - marked as going to 2 churches. Well I suppose some places do have two churches, that's quite common. Went along the path that was above gardens that ran to the back of their houses. Several were attractive gardens. And then there was a church - well actually two maybe. But they weren't in different parts of the village, they were together in the same churchyard not more than about 20-30 yards apart. Weird.

I went first to the church you can see on the right in the photo. This is the Church of St. Cyriac & St. Julitta. It's a 'redundant church'. Not a term I'd come across before, and it's maintained by The Churches Conservation Trust. This is a view inside. As you can see, from this angle anyway, there is little inside. There's a crucifix, but there's little else religious, or much at all anyway. I found it really serene. You could pray if you wanted, or spend some time there. It's an airy space, with the historical building surrounding you.

I then went down a path to the other church, St. Mary, and entered. I got a very different impression here, and particularly in juxtaposition with St. Cyriac. This seemed like a museum piece - a relic, even though this is the current functioning church, it just seemed really odd. Now maybe this is the time to say where I am presently with religion. I have a judaeo-christian background, and then when I was about 55 years old (5 years ago) after spending a lifetime puzzling over it all, I became an atheist. My son Jake said it was my epiphany - which it was, but it's a funny word for me because of course it's religious! But becoming an atheist was a relief, as I didn't have worry what God was up to, as he doesn't exist. We're here purely because of evolution. 

Back to the story of St. Mary. It probably makes sense to the congregation, and I wouldn't want to interfere with their beliefs. There are some excellent stained-glass windows, one of which is here;-

The church sells a booklet 'Swaffham-Two-Churches' (which was £2 last year) about the history of the churches, which you might find useful. Evidently Swaffham Prior is not the only place where two churches were built in one churchyard. In Reepham in Norfolk there were three in one churchyard, but I understand only two exist now, and the remains of the third.

A final note about the top photo with the two churches. The two churches (particularly St. Mary on the left) appear to lean in! This is an optical illusion. Certainly last April they were perfectly horizontal. I'm glad to say that it's not just my photography, as I've seen a photo on another website, taken from a very similar position, and it happens in just the same way.