Walpoles in the Marshes

In October 1216, things were not looking good for King John of England. The previous year he had been forced to sign Magna Carta, which saw him abrogate much of his regal power to the barons, and 11 months later Prince Louis of France invaded the country, intending to seize the English crown for himself. King Alexander of Scotland had reached Cambridge and had to be ousted, and John was losing supporters by the fistful. To top it all, he was ill, probably with dysentery - unpleasant at any time, but especially so when travelling fast along medieval roads.

On 11 October, John started to move from his Norfolk base into Lincolnshire. Because time was of the essence, with hostile forces all around and his kingdom slipping through his fingers, John was obliged to take the shortest and quickest route. This happened to be across the Wellstream Estuary in the parish of Walpole St Andrew. Impatient to be on his way, John did not wait until the tide had properly receded and the result was devastating. The heavy baggage wagons became bogged down in the mud and many of the servants driving them drowned. John also lost some of his chapel goods.

Did John lose his crown jewels in the Wash as the monk chroniclers at St Albans later claimed? Did the tide come racing in, a mass of brown surging water that sucked the King's entire baggage train, all his money and most of his army into quicksands and whirlpools? Probably not, although the legend persists and the Walpoles have seen countless treasure hunters searching for the fabled wealth lost to the sea. Within a few days John was dead. His servants stole his personal goods, the Abbot of Croxton laid claim to his intestines for burial in his abbey, and his nine-year-old son was crowned Henry III.

The Walpoles offer a good deal more than legends, however. There are four of them - St Andrew, St Peter, Cross Keys and Highway. The church at Walpole St Peter is so magnificent that it is known as the 'Cathedral of the Fens'. It was originally built in Saxon times, but was swept away by floods in 1337, so that much of what you see today dates from the mid-14th to 15th centuries. The money for raising such a magnificent building came from the great fertility of the surrounding lands, allowing its parishioners to be generous to the Church. Also fine is Walpole St Andrew's church, which had bequests in 1443 and 1463. Meanwhile, little Walpole Highway's St Edmund's Church was built in 1844 as a chapel of ease for those people who found Walpole St Andrew's too far to travel.

While you're there

Other marshland villages with mighty 'cathedrals' are West Walton, Wiggenhall St Mary, Terrington St Clement, Walsoken and Tilney All Saints. Terrington St Clement also has the African Violet Centre, with nursery displays, a tea room and a shop; this is just off the A17 on the way to King's Lynn. The Fenland Aviation Museum is at West Walton, just to the south west of Walpole St Peter.

Where to eat and drink

The Woolpack Inn in Walpole Cross Keys has a restaurant and bar for lunch and dinner. It has a good carvery on Sundays, and serves hot and cold bar snacks. The Princess Victoria in Walpole St Andrew also offers food. This building carries a date of 1651, although its modern paintwork and windows make it appear more recent.

What to look for

Since Walpole St Andrew has one of the most famous churches in East Anglia, it's worth looking around inside it. Iron overshoes called pattens, designed to protect Sunday footwear from the mud, hang outside along with a 19th-century notice warning parishioners to remove them before entering the church. Look for the portable shelter in the churchyard, designed so that the parson could stay out of the rain while conducting funerals.