Irstead, St Michael's Church

A small thatched church in a quiet rural backwater on the edge of the Norfolk Broads National Park near Barton Broad. Irstead St Michael is composed of a narrow nave and south aisle, south porch, and rectangular west tower. Above the south porch is a stone carving of St Michael wrestling with his dragon.

The font is outstanding, even in a county blessed with such a large number of outstanding medieval fonts as Norfolk. It is built with a central pedestal supporting an octagonal bowl. On the bowl are panels depicting religious themes. Unusually, some of the panels retain races of original paint colouring. One panel depicts the head of Christ, another a pagan Green Man.

The painted rood screen is worth a look. It is built of four carved wooden panels, each panel depicting three saints. In each case the head of the saint has been disfigured by scraping, a reminder of the religious turmoil of the English Reformation, when many marvels of medieval art were destroyed or damaged. The figures have been retouched in the Victorian period, which explains how the colours of the painting looks so vivid!

On the walls of the nave are large traces of medieval paintings, including a figure of St Christopher. There are some very nice carved bench ends, including a rather sad looking figure of a rabbit.