Booton

Driving along the narrow country lane from Reepham, you suddenly encounter the church of St. Michael the Archangel - surely one of the most bizarre and incongruous buildings in the whole of Norfolk. It has ornate slender towers and a central minaret which make it look completely out-of-place in such a rural Norfolk setting. Dubbed the 'Cathedral of the Fields', it was the brain-child of the Rev Whitwell Elwin who was rector in the village from 1850-1900.

Elwin, a self-taught architect, began to rebuild Booton church in 1876 and he devoted great energy to the task until his death 24 years later. The hammerbeam roof inside - depicting angels - is famous and was modelled on the church at Trunch which Elwin knew as a child. The architect Edwin Lutyens described the building as ' very naughty but built in the right spirit'.

Across the fields you can see the spectacular (and more conventional) church of St. Agnes at Cawston - which was one of Sir John Betjeman's favourites.

Elwin, who was descended from the native American princess Pacahontas, was the editor of the Quarterly Review from 1853-1860. His literary friends included Dickens, Thackery, Sir Walter Scott and John Murray. In fact, Thackery and Scott visited him at Booton. Elwin was also the editor of the standard edition of Alexander Pope's poetry.

Booton also has another literary link - in the form of Stephen Fry. It was here that the actor, director, comedian, script writer, TV presenter, novelist, poet and national treasure grew up.

Links:

St. Michael the Archangel

St Agnes Church, Cawston