St Andrew, Wimpole

St Mary, Ely

St Mary-the-Less, Westley Waterless

St Mary, Dullingham

St Martin, Glandford

It's not often one comes across a church which is a complete surprise, but St Martin's is just that - a jewel box of the woodworker's art. 

The mediaeval church had fallen into ruin by the early 18th Century, and was rebuilt by Sir Alfred Jodrell (1847-1929) of Bayfield Hall. Effectively a new church, it was completed in 1906 as a memorial to Jodrell's mother, Adela Jodrell. The architectural firm of Hicks & Charlewood kept the mediaeval layout, and the surviving perpendicular arcade. So, from the outside, it looks like a typically Victorian restoration of a mediaeval church. But what makes it stand out - and drops the jaw as you enter - is the woodwork. Executed by Walter Thompson and Frank McGinnity, it is an exuberant celebration of the woodworker's craft. Every surface, every structural element, every screen, is sumptuously carved. Angels, ballflowers, friezes and elaborate panelling abound. I particularly liked the bench end portraying a dog, said to be Jodrell's, and the profile portraits of the two woodworkers themselves.

The stonework is no less elaborate, and includes a font depicting the seven sacraments, and an opulent sedile (presumably for the minister) in the chancel. All this rather overshadows the memorial to Adela Jodrell herself, a rather outsized angel by the Florentine sculptor Peitro Bazzanti, located in the North Aisle.

Today, the church is part of the Glaven Valley Benefice, and offers a variety of styles of worship across its five parishes. If you are visiting, you can combine it with a look inside the adjacent Shell Museum. This claims to be the oldest purpose-built museum in Norfolk, with the finest seashell collection in the UK.

St Martin, Mill Cottages, Glandford, Holt NR25 7JR

St Mary, Wiveton

St Margaret of Antioch, Felbrigg