Dereham in Norfolk is an attractive market town. We passed through on our way up to Reepham and we returned on a market day. The market takes place in the middle of the town and has excellent fruit and vegetable and fish stalls, and of course there are numerous cafes where you can enjoy one of the absolutely enormous scones which seem to be characteristic of Norfolk!
St Withburga
Withburga, the daughter of a Saxon king, established a convent with a community of nuns in Dereham in the 8C. She died in 743 and was buried in Dereham but her body was stolen by the monks from Ely in 794. Some say the well in the churchyard sprang up from the site of her grave. This well1 has healing properties and has apparently never run dry. The Danes destroyed the church in 870.
The Church of St Nicholas in Dereham
A new church was built on the site of Withburga’s convent in the 12C, and expanded in the 13C and 14C. The Bell Tower stands apart from the church and dates from early 1500s. During the Napoleonic Wars the tower was a prison, although Dereham in Norfolk is a long way from the site of the Wars. Today the church is a Grade I listed building.2
Inside the church
Every church we visited seemed to have an angel roof, and Dereham in Norfolk was no exception. What a wonderful building! There is an Angel Roof, painted ceilings, Rood, rood screen, and a Seven-Sacrament font.
15C screen in the Lady Chapel 
Paintings on the screen 
Painted transept ceiling 
The angel roof 
Organ and angel roof
Dereham in Norfolk is a delightful town in the centre of Norfolk. Do visit on a Tuesday on Friday if you are in the area because these are the market days.
Great Witchingham and Little Witchingham Churches - London Traveller
[…] had visited Dereham and walked in Foxley Woods and Great Witchingham and Little Witchingham Churches were on the route […]