parallel in the extremely unusual plan of the church of South
Elmham, in Suffolk. The problem is, however, still unsolved.
When one walks through the nave to the chancel the
different design of the pillars is very noticeable. There is no
trace of the Norman nave which is generally assumed to
have been built at the same time as the tower. Instead, the
earliest work we get is of the 13th century: in the chancel
arch; in the two northern bays of the chancel, and in the
bays on the southern side of the nave. These are of octagonal
piers and double chamfered arches. While looking at the
South aisle the visitor should note a diagram of Nine Men
Morris which is scratched upon the sill of the first window
from the door. It is obviously of considerable antiquity.
The next great period of building was in 1340, when the
northern aisle was added. Here the pillars with four major
and four minor shafts, all with fillets, bearing up complex
and ornate arch mouldings, are more sophisticated and
handsome than the earlier octagonal piers. The most western
archway, next to the tower, is quite different, and the two
pillars are characteristically perpendicular. This was not due
to any rebuilding, but to the fact that in 1348 the Black
Death reached Finchingfield and killed off a third of the
population. All work had to be suspended for about thirty
years, and when it was resumed the architectural style had, of
course, changed. It must have been about the same time
that the arch on the South side of the chancel (where the
organ is now placed) was rebuilt, for the pillars are very alike.
The window traceries on the North side are probably from
the last third of the 14th century, and the cross figures of
eight is characteristic of work found in Essex at this time.
The great East window was described, as late as 1735, as
being rich with stained glass showing the armorial bearings
of no less than twenty-two ancient families, "coats quartered
by Thomas Howard". But no one knows, when, why, or by
whom these were removed. The only piece of old glass, dating
from before the Reformation, is to be seen inset in the tracery
of the modern window that terminates the North aisle.
The roofs, both of the chancel and the nave are low