NHER 259 (Building record) - SS Simon and Jude's Church, Elm Hill, Norwich

The Norfolk Heritage Explorer is a filtered version of the Norfolk HER intended for casual research. Please to consult the full record.

See also further .

Summary

A 14th and 15th century flint, brick and stone former parish church with a fine 14th century east window. Along with many other Norwich churches it was redundant by the 19th century, and in 1911 the west tower collapsed. By the 1930s it was an ivy-covered ruin. In 1952 the church became the headquarters of Norwich Scouts and Guides, resulting in a brutal modernisation that carved up the interior. However, some of the original interior survives, including two remarkable memorials, one to Thomas Pettus, Mayor of Norwich in 1590, the other to his son Sir John Pettus, Mayor in 1608. Today the scouts and guides have gone and the church is being restored.

Protected Status/Designation

Location

Map sheet TG20NW
Civil Parish NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Parish church 14th and 15th centuries.

1831.
From cellar, 16th century costrel.
See NHER 26445 for burial found in 1996 in pavement.
In precinct of NHER 459.
See file for further details.

1972. Listed, Grade I.
Listing Description Excerpt:
"Former Parish Church, now store. 14th century and 15th century. Flint with stone and brick dressings. Slate roof. West tower. Nave and Chancel. Unbuttressed west tower partly ruined. Four-bay nave. North doorway with attached shafts and four-centre arch. Two-leaf door with tracery panels… Two-bay nave with cusped intersecting tracery windows."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 8 November 2019.

January 1984. Building Survey.
Church examined as part of Norwich Survey.
See report (S13) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017.

January 2012. Building Survey.
Assessment of the plaster panels in the chancel ceiling.
See report (S18) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 10 November 2015.

  • --- Secondary File: Secondary File.
  • <S1> Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1051274.
  • <S10> Photograph: [Unknown]. 1951. Photographs of interior of St Simon and St Jude's Church, Norwich. print.
  • <S11> Photograph: Norwich Survey Staff. [unknown]. Photographs of exterior windows of St Simon and St Jude's Church, Norwich. print.
  • <S12> Monograph: Jennings, S. 1981. Eighteen Centuries of Pottery from Norwich. East Anglian Archaeology. No 13.
  • <S13> Unpublished Document: [Unknown]. 1984. St Simon and St Jude's Church, Norwich [draft report].
  • <S14> Monograph: Batcock, N. 1991. The Ruined and Disused Churches of Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 51. Microfiche 5:G12. No N46; p 175.
  • <S15> Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 251.
  • <S16> Publication: Norwich Historic Churches Trust. 2003. St Simon & St Jude.
  • <S17> Web Article: Knott. S.. 2005. St Simon and St Jude, Norwich [Norfolk Churches]. http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichsimonjude/norwichsimonandjude.htm. 5 April 2007.
  • <S18> Unpublished Contractor Report: Wingate, M. 2012. SS Simon and Jude, Elm Hill, Norwich. Assessment of the Plaster Panels of the Chancel Ceiling. Norwich Historic Churches Trust.
  • <S2> Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Norwich - Post Roman. (2).
  • <S3> Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 20 NW 38; TG 20 NW 73 [2].
  • <S4> Monograph: Blomefield, F. 1806. The History of The City and County of Norwich, Part II. An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk. Vol IV. pp 355-361.
  • <S5> Publication: Cox, J. C. 1911. Country Churches: Norfolk. Vol II. p 189.
  • <S6> Publication: Messent, C. J. W. 1932. The City Churches of Norwich. p 76.
  • <S7> Publication: Knowles, D. and Hadcock, R. N. 1953. Medieval Religious Houses of England and Wales. p 72.
  • <S8> Illustration: [Unknown]. [unknown]. Plan of St Simon and St Jude's Church, Norwich.
  • <S9> Illustration: Stannard, J. [unknown]. Drawing of St Simon and St Jude's Church, Norwich. Pencil and wash on paper.
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Record last edited

Nov 18 2025 11:49AM

Comments and Feedback

Your feedback is welcome; if you can provide any new information about this record, please contact the Norfolk Historic Environment Record.