All Saints Church, Wreningham

Upper Tas Valley Benefice May 2024 News sheet:

Information: For news, services and events in the Upper Tas Valley Benefice Churches:

  1. contact Revd. Dawn Davidson, or
  2. Upper Tas Valley Benefice on www.achurchnearyou.com, put in Wreningham All Saints’ postcode (NR16 1BH). Information appears under “news and notices” and “services and events”. The Church magazine is posted on this site.

Reverend Dawn Davidson is the interim Priest-in-Charge and can be contacted at The New Rectory, The Street, Saxlingham Nethergate, NR15 1AJ Tel:01508 498924, email address: dawndavidson@btinternet.com. If you are lonely or depressed please contact Revd. Dawn and as a church we will do all we can to support you.

The Wreningham Churchwardens are:

  1. Christine Minns, High Gables, Church Road, NR16 1BH. Tel: 01508 488123
  2. Christine Bilham, Cha-Am, Mill Lane, NR16 1AN. Tel: 01508 489626

Wreningham is part of a Benefice of 2 parishes with 8 churches known as the Upper Tas Valley Benefice. This Benefice is part of the Deanery of Humbleyard in the Diocese of Norwich.

The Benefice parishes are: Fundenhall St Nicholas and Upper Tas Valley All Saints, which is a parish with 7 churches: Ashwellthorpe All Saints, Forncett St Edmunds, Forncett St. Mary, Forncett St Peter, Hapton St Margarets, Tacolneston All Saints and Wreningham All Saints. Each church has an appointed churchwarden who, with the Rector, is responsible for the day to day care of their church. Most of the churches has a management sub-committee to support the churchwarden, which reports to the main Parochial Church Council (PCC).

In the Benefice there is a wide selection of styles of service catering for different peoples’ preference. These will be publicised in the Church porch, the bi-monthly magazine and on the website.

The churchyard is maintained by volunteers and is regularly trimmed and the hedges cut. We have a team of helpers for church cleaning and a flower rota which ensures that the church is always welcoming.

Wreningham All Saints church is normally unlocked between 9am and 4pm every day.

The Building

All Saints Church is a listed building and the oldest part of the church is the base of the tower which is 13th century. The chancel dates from the 14th century, the nave from the 15th century. The church was restored and the tower rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century after the tower collapsed in 1852. At this time the north transept was added using the original windows from the north wall for the east and west windows. At the same time the porch was rebuilt and enlarged.

In 1887 two south facing windows were installed to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.

There are 2 windows dedicated to the memory of the Upcher family. The East window, in memory of Rev. Arthur W Upcher who was rector of Wreningham and Ashwellthorpe for 43 years 1852–96 and the north window in the transept is dedicated to his son Somerville Hay Upcher.

In 2012 the window in the tower has to be repaired and a stained glass roundel was incorporated to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

At the same time the east window in the north transept was repaired and etched memorials were incorporated. One marking the service to the church by Mr Dennis Long who served as churchwarden and organist for over 50 years The other commemorates our links with the All Saints Mission in Zimbabwe, All Saints Church, Wreningham in Chivu Province and founded by a member of the Upcher family.

The pulpit is Victorian with Jacobean style carvings. The font is 15th century octagonal with a wooden cover. The organ is installed in the north transept.

There are 4 bells in the tower which have been the subject of a number of projects over 5 centuries. They were last restored 30 years ago and rededicated in 1981. Each bell is dedicated to the memory of a late parishioner. The bells which are in regular use can only be chimed.

updated 28 April 2024