NHER 11040 (Building record) - St George's Church, Shimpling

December 1959. Listed, Grade I.
Listing Description:
"C12 round tower with C13 octagonal top stage and recessed lead spire. Late C13 chancel with windows with intersecting and Y-tracery. C12 nave refashioned in C15 with Perpendicular north and south windows. Timber-frame north porch. Fine C15 nave roof with arched braces and embattled wall plate. Chancel roof with tiebeams. C15 benches with poppy-head bench ends and one with pierced tracery in back. Remains of screen under the tower arch. C15 octagonal front with 5 lions against the stem and figures of angels with shields against the bowl. Early C14 stained glass in heads of chancel windows and C15 glass in north nave windows. Built of flint rubble with stone dressings, partly rendered, and with tiled roofs."
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
H. Hamilton (HES), 19 April 2023.

December 1982. Field Observation.
Saxo-Norman window. Chancel about 1300. Nave and round tower 14th/15th century.
Some good woodwork and important brass.
See unpublished report (S2) for detailed architectural survey.
Also noted in Her Record Card (S3).
E. Rose (NAU), 10 December 1982.

July 1987. Field Observation.
The church is now redundant and is undergoing significant restoration work.
A detailed visual survey of the tower was undertaken whilst scaffolding was erected. Removal of the render revealed patches of brickwork around the base of the present belfry which suggest that the present belfry was constructed on top of of a Saxon or Saxo-Norman belfry. Other bricks indicate that stitching courses may have been inserted in the tower to strenthen it when the present belfry was constructed. Documentary evidence of a bequest to "works and building the church" in 1386 and a 1466 bequest to provide bells may indicate possible construction dates.
The pews in the nave were lifted under observation. The pews themselves are dated to the 15th century but appear to have been altered in the past, being supported by 19th century brick and tile and one supporting joise dated 1959. A large amount of 19th century building debris including peg roof tiles was present beneath the floor. This layer overlaid a rammed clay floor, which test excavations revealed to be six inches deep. At the extreme wast end of the north side, this clay layer was cut by a large feature filled with flinty rubble whilst at the west end of the north side the remains of a tiled pavement were revealed. A single row of eight tiles laid in diamond formation was recorded (see photographs (S4) and sketch (S5)). They appeared to be of late-15th or early-16th century type and included a mixture of glazed and unglazed examples. One tile (no 4) was decorated with a pattern of three running stags on a red fabric with a brown glaze and an adjacent fragemntary tile may have had similar decoration. The layout suggestes that the tiles were cut off before being laid ino rder to abut against a features, possibly the back of the westernmost pew. The tiles will be preserved in situ.
See unpublished report (S2) for further details.
See also photographs (S4) and sketch (S5) of tiles.
Summary published in journal article (S6). Also noted in HER Record Card (S3).
E. Rose (NAU), 27 July 1987. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 19 April 2023.

Before 1990. Documentary Research.
An architectural survey and documentary research was undertaken for a county-wide survey of ruined and disused churches.
See published monograph (S7) for further details. Copy of full description compiled for fiche in HER Archives.
H. Hamilton (HES), 19 April 2023.