The church of St Mary, Houghton-on-the-Hill is one of the most remarkable early churches in East Anglia. Hidden down a bridleway in the rural Norfolk Brecks and close to Peddars Way, its flint walls guarded and guided its villagers for almost a thousand years.
Today it is visited by hundreds of people each year, coming from all parts of the globe, and regularly hosts tours, school visits and special events. However, this has not always been the case…
Little did the villagers know that underneath several layers of plaster survived ancient wall paintings, described by Pevsner in 1999 as "of extraordinary importance". The east wall features, as its centrepiece, the earliest known depiction of the Throne of Grace and the whole wall is a type of Last Judgement, but with a God centred Trinity rather than the more usual Majesty of Christ. The other nave walls were also painted – all dating back to the construction of the church around 1090 or perhaps earlier.
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