Whissonsett
Whissonsett is a small village that prides itself on its sense of community. It has a long history of fundraising and has also won competitions for best-kept village in 1996 and Anglia in Bloom award in 1994. Whissonsett has a village hall, a horticultural society, keep fit group and Women's Institute, amongst other things. St Mary's Church dates in part to the 14th and 15th centuries. The church features a particularly wide nave, a tower with buttresses and battlements with gargoyles. The chancel was extensively restored in the 19th century and the organ dates from the same period. The village sign, designed by a villager features an apple (referring to the orchards run by the Stangroom family), stocks (no longer in the village), a well (no longer the source of water but still in existence) and a windmill (the village used to have two windmills). The designs are set on a backdrop of an Anglo-Saxon cross. The story behind the cross is interesting in itself. In 1902 gravediggers at St Mary's uncovered an Anglo-Saxon cross, which was extremely well preserved. The cross is thought to date from the 10th century and was in such good condition that it could well have been buried within a few years of being made, perhaps during the Danish raids. St Mary's could therefore have been built on an existing Christian site.
