All Saints Church, Wordwell

All Saints Church stands in the small village of Wordwell, Suffolk, beside the B1106 road between Bury St Edmunds and Brandon. Built of flint rubble with freestone dressings, it has tiled roofs and a timber porch. The church follows a simple plan with a nave, south porch, chancel and a bellcote at the west end. Norman features remain from around 1100, while later windows were added in the Decorated style during the 14th and 15th centuries. The north and south doorways have round-headed arches with Saxon influences, and the south doorway’s tympanum shows a pair of lions surrounded by foliage. The church is worth visiting for its well-preserved Norman architecture and later medieval additions. S. S. Teulon carried out a major restoration between 1857 and 1866, repairing the west front, bellcote, porch, roofs, pulpit and reredos. The blocked north doorway features a tympanum with two human figures, possibly representing Saint Catherine and Saint Lawrence. The circular font and chancel arch also date from the Norman period, making the church an important example of early English church design. Inside, the chancel arch and font remain from the 12th century. Fifteenth-century benches line the nave, each with carved poppyheads and some showing animals or hybrid creatures. One bench back displays wild boars and figures with human faces but animal bodies. The rest of the fittings were replaced during the 19th-century restoration. The church’s quiet setting and historic details offer a glimpse of Suffolk’s medieval past.