Great Chart, St Mary's Church 1901

Photo ref: 47552

More about this scene

By the gate leading into the churchyard are the overhanging eaves of the old priest's house, later to become the centre of the local Girl Guides troop. The compact grey stone 14th-century church was rebuilt following a fire in the mid 15th century at the behest of its then rector James Goldwell, who later became the Bishop of Norwich. It contains a number of memorial brasses to six local men who together married a total of fifteen wives; two of them each married no less than five times. They include Captain Nicholas Toke, who set out at the age of ninety-three to walk to London in 1680 to find a sixth bride, but died before encountering her.