Crowfield – All Saints Church (Roy Hudd)

Whilst waiting for a checkpoint to open on the LDWA 100, Richard and I visited All Saints Church in Crowfield to have a little look around. We weren’t able to go inside the church as there was a Christening taking place, but we took the opportunity to have a look around the churchyard.

Roy Hudd OBE (1936–2020) was a British entertainer who was known for his work as a comedian, actor, author and historian of music hall traditions. Born in Croydon, he began his career as a stand-up comedian and Butlin’s Redcoat in the late 1950s, going on to become a leading authority on variety entertainment and serving as president of the British Music Hall Society. He rose to national prominence through his long-running BBC Radio 2 comedy series The News Huddlines (1975–2001), he was widely recognised on television for his role as Archie Shuttleworth in Coronation Street, as well as appearances in One Foot in the Grave and Common as Muck. On stage, he earned acclaim for performances in musicals such as Underneath the Arches, winning a Laurence Olivier Award, and he was also an accomplished author.

Roy Hudd and his wife had lived in Crowfield for some time and in February 2014 he unveiled the village’s commemorative sign which is a wooden carving which includes the church. He attended numerous local events, fetes and following his death on 15 March 2020 he was buried at the church. This rather impressive and distinctive headstone was erected at the grave just a few weeks ago and it is certainly eye-catching and its presentation is designed to look like a theatrical poster.