All Saints' Church, Wacton, with its imposing round tower, can be seen standing proud above the village from several directions.

All Saints, Wacton, was originally known as Wacton Magna (or Great Wacton) Church. There was also a Church in Wacton Parva (Little Wacton), but that was sadly demolished in 1655, and the exact location of where Wacton Parva was is uncertain.

The name of Wacton has been debated by historians. Some think it means Waca’s settlement, whereas others think it was mentioned in the Doomsday Book as Wacketuna, which is Anglo-Saxon for Watch Town. This would certainly give more weight to the theory that All Saint’s Church tower started off life as a watch tower against the invading Danes in Saxon times.

Whatever the truth, the Church is known to have been in existence from the 12th Century, and the first recorded Rector of Wacton Magna Church was in 1310. It would appear that “renovations” were carried out in the 14th Century, and the present oak main doors and the internal oak Rood Screen, all date back to that period; also in the bell tower is a bell dated as far back as 1428! So All Saints is indeed a building with a lot of history, both visually and spiritually. When you are within its walls there is a tranquility that can only come from a place such as this, where Heaven and Earth meet...