The largest parish church in Essex. Earliest features date from 1250 but most of the present church was built between 1470 and 1525. The statue is a modern one by Ian Wolter, called the Children of Calais. It echoes the Burghers of Calais by Rodin and is meant to provoke debate about the inhumanity of our response to the children caught up in the ongoing refugee crisis.
It was impossible to take a photo of the front of the statue due to the very bright sun. (I'm not complaining though!)
I've seen the Rodin sculpture in Paris and I think this sculptor has done a great job. It's a beautiful church too, amazing to think how much it would have cost the community at the time - presumably there was great profit in all that saffron!
Ian