Reepham Church

St Peter & St Paul’s Church in the Lincolnshire village of Reepham is one of those medieval churches which has been much restored, improved, meddled with and messed around. Despite this, the building is still quite satisfying and we were delighted to find it unlocked.

One thing that struck me is the rather narrow chancel, which seems to have been sidelined while the communion table has been brought forward into the nave. This might have been on the grounds of practicality rather than acute theology, but it is certainly something of which the Edwardine Reformers of the 1540s and 50s would have approved. Chancels, much beloved by medieval priests and Victorian high churchmen, are rather at odds with the 'priesthood of all believers', especially when they were fenced off by roodscreens and grills. I suspect the clergy of Reepham are not so ultra-protestant as me, but I still admire their bringing the table to the people. Christ became one of us; while in our midst, we could touch Him, hold Him and embrace Him.