NORDELPH COMMUNITY WEBSITE: Late April 2010

The screen shot above, sadly, represents two stories from Nordelph.

The easiest to dispose of is the news that Google's Street View project has reached (and passed through) Nordelph. Anyone who wishes to stroll through a virtual Nordelph is now able to do so, observing en route that car registrations and the (very few) faces of passers-by caught on camera have been obscured. We're not sure exactly when the images were captured, and it's quite fun making deductions from the state of the foliage and vegetation and any other clues -- sadly the resolution is not sufficient to read the notice of the Parish Council meeting that is clearly visible on the Village Hall notice board.

Notice that although the Google Earth imagery of Nordelph is clearly dated as May 2006, the Street View 'layer' is a much more recent addition. And despite the evidence of their own cameras, Google still maintains (in its Google Maps application) that there are two bridges across Well Creek at Nordelph!

The photographs were economically captured in a single pass by a vehicle similar to the one above -- if you saw it, this is what it was doing. To play with all of this, launch Google Earth (you need to have downloaded the free application beforehand, and to have a reasonably fast computer -- although anything newer than, say, four years should be adequate). Make sure that 'Street View' is ticked in the 'Layers' palette (my own is at the bottom left of the screen, but as you can customise the layout, yours may be elsewhere). This will cause the aerial view to become 'infected' with a rash of symbols that, on closer inspection, are icons representing a camera. Double-click on one of these and the rest is (fairly) intuitive.

---

But the second story is the one that pulls at the heart-strings of everyone in Nordelph, whatever their religion, even if they have none. It is a depressing story that covers the Church of England in something much more malodorous than glory and is a tawdry tale of greed, arrogance, laziness

and self-interest. As we write, Holy Trinity Church, an iconic building visible for miles across the Fens, is being demolished. Very soon, the Google Street View image above will be the only way we can view this part of our heritage.



The work is being carried out brick-by-brick -- no wrecking balls for this demolition project! The pair of photographs above (reminiscent of our banner heading used in August and September 2007) record the moment when the cross fell victim to men on 'cherry-picker' hoists.

Why is all of this happening? Well, the church building is dangerous -- apparently so dangerous that demolition couldn't wait. In fact, the Diocese of Ely is in the middle of an application for permission to demolish the church, and you have until the middle of next month to comment or object -- except that there won't be any church left by then. At the heart of this matter is the desire of the Church Commissioners to develop the land for profit. Two planning applications have been rejected already, in part because of the sheer naked greed of the development plans, which attempt to cram far too many houses onto a site that has serious problems over drainage, sewage and wildlife. During the whole of the saga, the church has behaved in an underhand and disorganised manner. Promises to consult and inform the villagers were never fulfilled. The concept that, even if the present church had to be demolished on safety grounds, the duty of the Church Commissioners might be to replace it with another place for their parishoners to worship is clearly too subtle for this body that thinks that its job is to concentrate on Mammon at the expense of God.

There is a little good news for the village, however. After previous attempts to develop the site attracted negative comments about the withdrawl of community amenity in a village that has very little in the way of public land, the present application to the Borough Council (the one that has just been turned down) includes provision for allotments.



You won't see Holy Trinity Church again (except on Street View), but you can still resist the development. It's been revised yet again and will go back to the Borough Development Committee. You can still object!

Meanwhile, there are other pages on the website that you may find of interest. In the Nordelph Past section, we've added some more photographs of the church from the archives. The demolition of the church is recorded on a page in this section. As the work progresses, we'll be adding photographs and news to this page (which can temporarily be accessed from the index as 'Nordelph Church' -- this normally contains details of services, and these have moved a further click away. We shan't be e-mailing you to tell you about new pictures being added, so if you're interested you'll find it worthwhile visiting the page every few days. And anyone interested in the history of the church building should visit the excellent 'Norfolk Churches' website: www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/nordelph/nordelph.htm. As always, the pages within our own site can be visited in succession by using the 'This month' button which appears at the head and the foot of this page.

---

Walking the Fens

A truly excellent booklet -- useful, attractive and well-produced -- is available free from the Tourist Information Centre in Downham Market or is downloadable from this website. This is the pithily-titled 'Norfolk health, heritage and biodiversity walks -- Walks in and around the Downham Market area". We really can't praise this booklet enough: the twelve walks it details are all in or around Downham Market, reaching as far as Outwell and Upwell in our direction. As well as clear, easy-to-follow maps, there are explanations and descriptions of what you're passing and advance warning of how long a walk is, whether it's suitable for buggies -- and not least where to park your car! These aren't by any means strenuous hikes in the country -- walk number one is around Downham Market itself, visiting the hidden jewel of the Willows Nature Reserve. Get yourself a copy (or two) -- it's free!

In fact, better than that -- get a copy here! We approached Norfolk County Council for permission to reproduce the spread above; they were delighted at the publicity and e-mailed us a copy of the booklet that they suggest we invite you to download!

---

Elsewhere in this update -- first catch your mole!

We're pleased that, as well as the church-related material listed above, we've added a lot to the 'Nordelph Past'

section of the website this time. No less than seven new pages. As well as pictures of the church from the past, we've posted a photograph we've been sent of the tricycling Venneys; your help is requested in dating this. We also have a couple of photographs of Nordelph ladies, possibly taken at the opening of the Village Hall extension; this time, we want you to identify them for us. There's material on some Fen superstitions -- or at least superstitions from all over that were once prevalent in the Fens. And in explanation of our title, you're invited to look at our section on Fen Remedies; the large number of these requiring bits of dead mole might suggest that Nordelph's resident mole catcher was not above drumming up business during slack times! And our correspondence over Nordelph's blacksmiths has placed even more comments on our page about the forges. And finally we were pointed towards the Internet transcription of a 1907 book on smallholdings that describes the successful setting up of the first Nordelph smallholdings.

---

Finally ...

Let us end on optimistic notes -- the Development Committee that (impotently) refused to allow the church redevelopment also rejected the application for a footbridge at Downham Market station -- something else we dislike! And Spring is definitely here, the sun has been seen and Nature is beginning the process of renewal -- as evidenced by the duck's eggs behind the telephone box, and the swan's nest opposite the cemetery.