The Dittisham Church

The most prominent landmark in Dittisham must surely be the St George's Church. It stands tall over all the other buildings in the village. In the morning of 28th September, we went into the Church and looked around. Despite its simple magnificence, the Church's history is believed to have dated back to at least the early 14th Century.

We were told that the England flag is only flown during special occasions. If so, our visit to the Church - by all 40 of us from Malaysia - must indeed be a very special occasion. I'm sure Dittisham has never had such a large contingent of Malaysians visiting them before, all at the same time!

This is the main door into the St George's Church. We were told that the Church was already opened but try as we did, we could not get past this door and had to call for help. Help did come and with a turn of the door handle, it swung open! How embarrassing....

This little status of St George stood above the doorway

 At first, it was very unnerving to see gravestones all around the Church. I think almost all of them dated back to the 19th Century.

 This frame was located at the main porch. Robert Sparke Hutchings' name could be clearly seen. He was appointed Rector of this Church in 1805 until his death in 1827.

Looking towards the front of the Church. 

 A faint outline of a young cleric can be seen in this mural in the South wall of the chancel.

One of the windows in the North wall with its dedication to Robert Sparke Hutchings. 

The wineglass pulpit is clearly seen on the left.

That's us on top of the tower. We were invited to climb up the narrow spiral staircase - both interesting and a wee bit dangerous as it was almost pitch dark. But it was worth the effort as the view from the top was breath-taking. We were asked to remove our outer-wear for the climb or otherwise the clothes could get dirty from the cobbwebs and dust. That's why we were all in our T-shirts or polo shirts. The others weren't so lucky. By the time we went down, the rest of the convoy had already arrived and everyone was getting ready for the service. Still, some got the opportunity to ring the church bells.

The Church organist with some last-minute practices.

Father Will presenting his sermon at the Thanksgiving sermon. He stood on the carved stone wineglass pulpit which dates from the 15th Century.

Visitor's book in the Church. Glad to have recorded our presence there.

The Malaysian flag was provided by Dittisham. The text on the windows read; "To God and the Church in memory of John Hutchings and Robt Sparke Hutchings formerly Rectors of this Parish"

The stained glass window behind the altar.