Journal of Proceedings. cxliii
After passing a hearty vote of thanks to Father Kemp for his courtesy,
the party drove on to the ancient Church of East Ham, where they were
received by the Vicar, the Rev. S. H. Reynolds, M.A.
Church of St. Mary Magdalen, East Ham.
From a pen and ink drawing by H. W. King, 1870.
After inspecting this interesting Church, the following notes were
given by Mr. Crouch, to whom we are indebted for the exterior view
which illustrates this notice :—
''The architectural features of this curious little parish church,
which is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, have been sa well and exhaus-
tively described by my old friend, Mr. H. W. King, in the ' Transactions
of the Essex Archaeological Society,' 1860, that I cannot do better than
give you some extracts from his paper, feeling sure that you would not
wish me to read the full account, which contains ten pages of print. The
church is a perfect Norman structure, and of somewhat unusual plan,
consisting of nave, chancel, and sanctuary of apsidal form. At the
west end is an embattled tower about sixty feet high, and ou the west
side of this tower is a porch of recent erection, also embattled, and, like
the tower, unfortunately plastered externally with the material known as
' compo.' This porch is now the only entrance into the church, the south
porch being converted into a vestry. From the basement of the tower you
enter the nave by a fine semi-circle Norman doorway, consisting of three
members, deeply recessed, with as many nook-shafts on either side, hav-
ing plain truncated caps. The inner arch is moulded, and rests on
circular shafts placed within the jamb. The arch mouldings are per-
fectly plain, but there was an evident intention to enrich them, as upon
one of the fillets or flat surfaces a diaper pattern is commenced. As is
usual or invariable in Norman architecture, the walls are of great thick-
ness—measuiing here five feet three inches through the doorway. The