St John and St Mary, Stiffkey facts for kids

St John the Baptist and St Mary's Church is a church in the village of Stiffkey in Norfolk, England. It is named after John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. Long ago, there were two churches in the same churchyard. One of them, St Mary's, was closed in 1563. After that, the other church was named St John the Baptist and St Mary's. The church is well-known because of Harold Davidson, who was the priest there. He had a very unusual life and later became famous for his stage performances.

Church tower

Church Building and Features

The church building is mostly in a style called Perpendicular Gothic, which means it has tall, straight lines. However, the tall tower at the west end and a special building for bones (called a charnel) are even older. The main part of the church, called the nave, has four sections and a decorative top edge. The area near the altar, called the chancel, was built in the late 1200s or early 1300s. You can still see the stairs that once led to a rood screen, which was a wooden screen separating the nave from the chancel.

There is a special wall monument inside the church for Nathaniel Bacon of Stiffkey. It was made before 1615, possibly by a famous artist named Maximilian Colt. This church is considered very important and is listed as a Grade I listed building.

The church also has a war memorial. It is a tablet on the wall that shows a scene called Calvary. This memorial was asked for by Harold Davidson.

The organ in the church was built by the Positive Organ Company. Their organs were usually small and easy to move, perfect for smaller churches. This company made organs between 1898 and 1941. The organ was later rebuilt in 1954 by Williamson & Hyatt from Trunch in Norfolk.

Church Connections

Over the years, the church of Stiffkey has joined with other nearby churches to form larger groups called "benefices."

• In 1769, Stiffkey church joined with All Saints, Morston.
• In 1972, it joined with St Andrew and St Mary, Langham Episcopi.
• In 1976, it joined with All Saints Cockthorpe and Binham Priory.
• In 2003, it joined with even more churches: St Mary, Gunthorpe, All Saints, Bale, St Andrew, Field Dalling, St Margaret, Saxlingham and All Saints, Sharrington.

Today, these churches together form the Benefice of Stiffkey (St John and St Mary) and Bale.

Famous People Connected to the Church

The church is most famous for its priest, Harold Davidson (1875-1937), who served from 1906 to 1932. He came from a family of church leaders but first tried a career as a stage comedian. He later studied at Exeter College, Oxford, and became a priest in 1903. He started working at Stiffkey in 1906.

Harold Davidson spent a lot of his time in London, trying to help young women. His actions led to a church hearing in 1932. The church court decided that his actions were not appropriate for a priest. Because of this, he was no longer allowed to be a priest.

After leaving the church, Davidson went back to being a stage entertainer. He performed in places like Blackpool and Skegness. In Skegness, he had a show where he acted out a scene like Daniel in the lions' den with an old, gentle lion. Sadly, he was attacked by the lion and died from his injuries. He is buried in the churchyard at Stiffkey. His grave simply says 'Priest'.

Other notable people who served as priests at Stiffkey include:

• Theophilus Lowe: He was the priest from 1736 to 1769. He also held another important church position at Windsor.
• Lord Frederick Townshend: He was the priest from 1792 to 1836. He was the younger son of a famous military leader. In 1796, he was accused of a serious crime involving his brother. He was later judged to have mental health challenges. From 1806, he lived in a special home for people with mental health challenges until he died in 1836. Even though he was not able to perform his duties, he remained the priest of Stiffkey until his death. Other priests took care of the services.
• George Townshend Hudson: He was the priest from 1842 to 1845. He was related to Lord Frederick Townshend. His brother, Sir James Hudson, was a diplomat who worked in Italy.
• Charles Harold Fitch: He was the priest from 1932 to 1942. He was known for speaking in the Norfolk accent on a radio series.
• Victor Thomas South Jagg: He was the priest from 1946 to 1955. He received a special award called the Military Cross in 1919 for his bravery.
• Cecil Howard Dunstan Cullingford: He was the priest from 1968 to 1971. He was the headmaster of Monmouth School for many years. He was also a well-known cave explorer and wrote several books about exploring caves, including Exploring Caves and British Caving.

Churchyard Burials

Several notable people are buried in the churchyard:

• Aubrey Buxton, Baron Buxton of Alsa (1918-2009) and his first wife, Pamela (1922-83). Aubrey Buxton was a well-known conservationist.
• Harold Davidson (1875-1937), who was the priest of Stiffkey from 1906 to 1932.
• Eugene Sweny (1837-1906), who was the priest from 1883 to 1906. His grave has a large stone Celtic cross.