Stonemasons called in to lift mysterious slab at St Margaret’s Church

Stonemasons were called in to lift up a mysterious slab at a south Norfolk church and put to rest years of speculation.

For as long as anyone can remember, a giant stone – about six by four feet – has laid face down at the entrance to St Margaret’s Church, in Tivetshall St Margaret.

Given its shape and size, congregants have long suspected that the slab could be the underside of a Catholic altar that was left in the doorway during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

“At the time of the Reformation, churches were instructed to remove their altars and have a wider table for communion,” said Diane Lee, who lives in the village and sits on the parochial church council.

“If you didn’t throw it somewhere in the churchyard, it was put face down at the church door so people would walk over it as they came in.

“So that slab had always been there, and I was always very curious about it.”

And it was not without precedent: years earlier, a mysterious stone was lifted at the entrance of 13th century St Andrew’s Church, in Scole, to reveal a long-buried altar from its days as a Catholic church.

Last week, four workers from Diss-based H L Perfitt Stonemasons visited St Margaret’s, in Stony Road, to lift up the slab to reveal the mystery underneath.

“They raised it 45 degrees because it was incredibly heavy,” said 75-year-old Mrs Lee.

Circled by a crowd of curious residents, the team lifted the slab for just enough time for people to stick their torches and cameras underneath to reveal it was … a giant slab of rock.

Despite not discovering a relic of Tivethsall’s Catholic past, Mrs Lee said it was worth the effort – even if only to finally put years of speculation to bed.

“It’s still a mystery as to what it ever was,” she said. “But one thing we know for sure is that it wasn’t was an altar.

“Years ago, I accepted that I would never know, but now I do. In a way, it doesn’t matter, because it puts an end to all the speculation.”

She added: “I don’t think anyone will be lifting it again any time soon.”