Whilst looking around the graveyard yesterday – we discovered that there was an open-day in the Church! This is the St Nicholas Church located in Sutton, Surrey – or ‘London’ – whichever you prefer, This part of East Surrey became a Borough of South-West Greater London in 1965. This reminds me of old books which describe Croydon and Wimbledon (places situated near Sutton) as NOT being in London – as they are today! I am told that a wooden Saxon Church was originally built here hundreds of years prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066 CE. This was probably an important Pagan site prior to the arrival of the Saxons – who co-opted the Celtic holy places for their own religious practices. As for the stone structured Church – the Normans built the first to accommodate their Catholic faith – whilst it has been re-built a number of times since then. Since around 1539 CE (and Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries and Reformation) this Church has been ‘Protestant’. This is a large Church built for a substantial Township and can probably hold at least 100 worshippers at any one time. Bear in mind that there used to be a greater number of Churches in the UK per small area than there are today – and that populations used to be far smaller despite virtually everyone professing a faith. Perhaps the ample and impressive size of the Church is linked to it serving a local population with a higher social status and wealth – requiring certain standards as being seen to be kept! As far as we are concerned, archaeological structures retain the data of the past, and by studying these structures we are able to glimpse into that past!
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 