The Churches Conservation Trust. 1 West
Smithfield, London EC1A 9EE
Tel: 020 7213 0660 Fax: 020 7213 0678 / Email:
central@tcct.org.uk / www.visitchurches.org.uk
Brandiston Buckenham Coston East Ruston Gunton Hales Heckingham Hellington
Little Witchingham Moulton
North Barningham
Norwich1
Norwich2 Norwich3
Thurgarton
St Michael's is an extraordinary building, the product of one man's eccentric imagination. The Reverend Whitwell Elwin built the church at the end of the 19th century without the help of an architect, borrowing details from other churches throughout the country including Glastonbury Abbey. But the slender twin towers and the central pinnacle seem to have sprung solely from his imagination. Dramatic wooden angels hold up the roof, and the delicately coloured stained glass windows also show angels, a series of musicians with flowing hair and pretty female faces. Edwin Lutyens said the church was 'very naughty but built in the right spirit.
The squat tower of this 14th and 15th century church offers a contrast to the soaring towers of neighbouring Salle and Cawston and the flamboyance of Booton, a nearby Trust church. The north aisle was originally the nave and contains traces of 12th century work. Its chancel had gone by the 18th century. The large windows contain tracery of a high quality, with some mediaeval stained glass. (Top)
Peaceful in its surrounding fields and close by the River Yare, Buckenham is notable for having one of the finest of Norfolk's five wholly octagonal towers, dating from the 13th century. The special quality of the interior is the result of an unusually early 19th century restoration. There is also a fine 15th century font. After vandalism and decay in the 1960's and 70's it has now been rescued by the Trust.
Coston is an important small Early English church that has survived almost unaltered from the 13th century, apart from the pleasing brick south porch added in the 16th century. The exceptional fine detailing of the 13th century work is evident in the beautifully carved stone knots on the chancel arch. The texture of the whole - flint, stone, brick, pantiles, old render and plaster, all tempered by time - a joy in itself. (Top)
In one of the most striking settings of any Norfolk church, St Mary's stands on a rise overlooking the sweeping landscape between the Broads and the coast, with the great tower of Happisburgh in the distance. Principally 14th century its most remarkable possession is the contemporary paintings of the evangelists and others.
If one drives under the arch, through the parkland, past the front of Gunton Hall, the effect of suddenly coming upon a Palladian portico through the trees is dramatic. The little church is the only Norfolk building designed by Robert Adam, and his only complete church in this country. Inside, the keynote is calm simplicity, but with the added richness of moulded ceilings and fine furnishings. Although the grounds are private, there is access to the church which is signposted beyond the Hall. (Top)
This astonishing little church, alone in the middle of open countryside, evokes a strong sensation that time has stood still. It's round tower, semicircular apse and thatched roof are almost unchanged since it was built in the 12th century. It is an almost perfect Norman church, with bands of richly carved patterns over the arch. The columns at the side, too, have decorative motifs on their capitals. Further delights inside include a beautiful octagonal 15th century font carved with angels and Tudor roses and eight lions standing below. There are remains of wall paintings in the nave.
On its hillock above the River Chet stands this charming little Norman church, with its round tower surmounted by a later octagonal top, an apsidal east end and a thatched roof over nave and chancel. The magnificent south doorway, carved fantastically with Norman motifs, must surely have been the work of the same mason as at nearby Hales, another of the Trust churches. (Top)
The Norman round tower of St John's looks out over old farms and woods. At first sight it is a simple rural church, but the battered stonework of the 13th century porch, with its canopied niches, shows clear signs of past splendour, as do the notable Decorated windows, the fine Norman doorway, and the carved heads.
Outwardly this is a simple church, set in trees by a lane with fields and a handful of buildings nearby. 12th century in origin, with additions in the 14th and a tower completed in the 15th, it stayed unrestored until rescued from ruin forty years ago. But now its full glory can be seen with the discovery in 1967, and much subsequent conservation work, of large areas of significant 14th century wall paintings. There are symbols of the evangelists, the story of the Passion and Resurrection, St George and delightful vine leaf decoration. (Top)
In meadows by the road south of Acle, Moulton St Mary is alone but for a farm and its outbuildings. Its round tower with an attractive conical tiled roof, is Norman. Nave and chancel of later date are in flint; the Tudor porch with its mass dial and the Georgian east wall of the chancel are in brick. Inside are a 13th century font, 14th century wall paintings, depicting St Christopher and scenes from the Acts of Mercy, a 17th century pulpit, and the ten Commandments charmingly illustrated.
On a hilltop south of Sheringham sits this 15th century church, isolated but accessible. Its light subtly colourful interior provides a marvellous, warm background for the splendid series of Palgrave monuments, the enigmatic 'rose window' floor design in the nave, the charming angels above the chancel step and the carving in the sanctuary. (Top)
The distinctive 17th century brick tower is the only one of its kind in Norwich. The high, but short nave is the same length as the chancel, which gives the church an almost square appearance. The windows are Perpendicular, but along with the interior, have been heavily restored by the Victorians. Inside there are two plain, but significant, monuments - one to Matthew Brettingham, architect of Holkham Hall, and the other of a textile manufacturer, Thomas Clabburn, erected by 'six hundred weavers'.
The beautiful mid-15th century tower of St John's stands over Maddermarket Alley, affording one of the city's most attractive townscapes. Squeezed ingeniously into a cramped site, the church is almost as wide as it is long. St John's is a typical late medieval church of the Perpendicular style. However, the east window is a wonderful example of the earlier Decorated style, flowing and sumptuous. Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the church is the eclectic collection of furnishings made at the beginning of the 20th century by the vicar at the time, William Busby. A fine collection of monuments includes one to Nugent Monk who founded the nearby Maddermarket Theatre. (Top)
St Laurence's has a mighty tower, a clerestory of eleven windows on each side, a long continuous roof covering nave and chancel, and two-storied porches to north and south, all set on a steeply sloping site. It built between 1460 and 1472, but the tower and chancel may have been finished some thirty years later.
Standing solitary in open country, the height and length of this mainly 14th century church remind one of a great barn. The roof was re-thatched by the Trust in 1984 - 5. The airy and light interior is particularly notable for its fine series of mediaeval benches, with original carved ends. (Top)