St Mary's, Appleton

This ruin is about a mile away from my regular Sunday walk at Sandringham and I can usually rely on a photo here if I do not have any inspiration during the walk itself.

The church is medieval possibly from around 1200AD.  The structure has undergone some repair to make it safe (prevent masonry falling on to visitors). The village of Appleton is long gone and nearby is Appleton Farm. The Queen's estate has large apple orchards nearby which makes me wonder if the name might derive from Apple Town - but perhaps I am being too fanciful and a more prosaic explanation might apply.