Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above an ancient church in Reddenhall, Norfolk, England

 I post another in a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting.  Often my readers tip me off to some very unique or unusual weathervanes, too!  If you know a great weather vane near you, let me know if you'd like to have it featured on this blog.

Today's weather vane was photographed in England, with ties to New England history.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #340?  Scroll down to find the answer.

The St. Mary's church in Reddenhall, Norfolk, England has a bell tower with four small turrets, each with a gilded weathervane.  The four weathervanes are all split tail banners, known in the United States as "long john" banners because they look like a pair of long underwear in the wind.

The banner weathervanes are some of the oldest styles of weathervanes not just because they are very simple, but because they were fashioned to look like a banner or flag flying from a castle tower or steeple.  They originated in the middle ages.

The St. Mary's  or Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary  in Reddenhall was the parish church of the FULLER family of the Mayflower.  There has been a church here for about 1000 years, and the oldest part of the current church building dates from the 1300s.  The bell tower, where the four weathervanes are located, was begun in 1460 and finished after 1515.  I don't know if the weather vanes are original to the tower.

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above an ancient church in Reddenhall, Norfolk, England", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 6, 2017, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/12/weathervane-wednesday-above-ancient.html: accessed [access date]).