St Mary's Church today lives at some distance from the centre of the village. Its next door to the rebuilt Manor House of the Kelling Estate. But during the period in which it was first built in the 11th - 12th century it was in the centre of the village. The locus of it having slipped half a mile down the hill, over time.
The church is basic in layout. It owes much of this to utilising the original Norman framework, into which tracery of a later 15th century date has been inserted. This is most evident in the blocked up arches above the porch, in the deeply recessed windows, and a certain solidity in its rectilinear Nave and Chancel. The hefty construction of the walls either side of the chancel, when looked at from the nave, appear to be chunkier than they need be. This may indicate it once supported a small central tower. Kelling is a very pared back Church building, no pillars, no aisles, only one of its transcepts surviving intact, the other, in the south, is an ivy covered ruin.
Once again it was up to the Victorian Lord of the Manor in the 19th century to salvage what was left and reform it into a workable Church. But you would be wrong to assume that there is nothing here of much note. First, there is a type of austere beauty to this architecture, with its unfussy rustic lines. Echoed by the Victorian patterned stained glass, and a rather lovely 20th century window dedicated to Francis of Assisi.
It's also in possession of a rare beautiful, survival from the 15th century of an Easter Sepulchre. This is an ornately decorated alcove by the altar to house the blessed bread and wine in. One of only five in existence in Norfolk. Another one nearbye in Baconsthorpe, is thought so like Kelling's it can only have been executed by the same stonemason.
On the outside wall of the Chancel are a blocked up small window and doorway, with a corner stump of an old buttress. During a more recent stripping away of rendering from the walls, they revealed the holes for roof lintels. And whilst installing a French drain, they discovered foundation walls for a small building annexed to the Chancel. They opened up the small square window, to reveal it was in perfect alignment with the Easter Sepulchre.
These discoveries strongly indicate there may once have been an anchoress living walled up on the north side of the chancel, who received mass and communion through this opening. This was quite a common religious practice during the 13th century. Julian of Norwich being the most well known example. But its unique to find such clear archaeological evidence here, so off the beaten track.
The church exterior is the traditional Norfolk flintwork. With some lovely flush patterned detailing on the tower's crenelations. The tower is quite the most substantial bit of the whole church, and if anything steals the limelight from the rather more workaday construction of the rest. The South East exterior wall of the Chancel is built with a distinctive offset patterning of flint and brick, which is something I've not encountered executed in quite such a pronounced manner before.
Other details of note are a 20th century wall mural painted in the side Lady Chapel. It also contains above the altar a beautifully carved modern representation of the Virgin Mary and child, made in two tones of wood.
In the Lady Chapel, there is a substantial staircase that once led to the rood loft. If you look outside the Chapel in the Nave, you can see a rather large blocked up opening, which may indicate that the rood loft was probably quite a massive construction. Though it could perhaps have also served as the staircase to a small tower.
Three pieces of medieval stained glass have been inserted into the clear glass of the Victorian tracery. These may not be original to this church. Who they represent is contested, one is definitely St Etheldreda. The others maybe St Withburga and St Seaxburga her sisters. All are Anglo Saxon Saints from East Anglia. Some of whom spent time as an anchoress. So these may point to another influence on Kelling having once had its own resident anchoress.
Whilst it is never going to bowl you over with the flare of its architecture, Kelling has its own particular simple rustic charm, that is quietly unique for North Norfolk.
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