NHER 4836 (Building record) - St Andrew's Church, Northwold

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Summary

This fabulous church is considered to be of particular interest in Norfolk. It dates mostly to the 13th to 15th century and has an eye-catching square tower crowned with eight pinnacles. The exterior of the fine chancel has a fascinating carved head which would look more at home on an Aztec temple. Grotesque heads were also added to some of the quoins at the whim of the mason. Inside, the roof of the nave has been beautifully painted and the chancel arch is adorned with the coat of Arms of George II. An impressive sepulchre and tomb are carved with soldiers struggling through a forest and numerous orate wall brasses attest to the piety of the parishioners. In addition to the wonderful architecture the church is home to some 600 bats who roost in a bat house constructed in 1994.

Protected Status/Designation

Location

Map sheet TL79NE
Civil Parish NORTHWOLD, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

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(S1) noted; two aisles (though by this he sometimes means nave and one aisle) chancel, south porch, square tower with pinnacles. On north side chancel an Easter sepulchre or tomb 'of cunning fretwork'.
'Orate' brasses.
Dr Cotton notes that the donor of the tower died in 1478.
E. Rose (NAU) 8 October 1984.

July 1959. Listed Grade I.
E. Rose (NAU) 23 August 1985.

In 1985 a number of 18th- and early 19th-century monuments to the south of the church were individually listed Grade II.
See NHER 68268 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 April 2024.

Press cutting (S2) in file.

1994.
Bat housing built to house the 600 or so bats that have made a home in the church building.
See press cutting (S3) in file.

This is one of the sixty five Norfolk churches selected for (S1).
D. Gurney (NLA) 17 February 2006.

(S4) notes that this is the only church in Norfolk other than West Walton which has festooned stiffleaf like that in the choir at Ely built by Bishop Northwold. So did the latter indeed come from this village and did he send Ely masons here to build the church?
E. Rose (NLA) 10 April 2006.

July and October 2014. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with installation of new drainage system, including the excavation of five deep soakaway trenches.
Several of the new downpipe gullies excavated revealed parts of the church footings, which were shown to consist of chalk blocks with roughly-coarsed flint and mortar above. A reused dressed stone block was also found to form part of the footings on the south side of the south aisle. Some form of brick structure was also exposed just west of the doorway in the north wall of the nave. A gully excavated adjacent to the central buttress on the south side of the chancel exposed the probable remains of a former buttress, which had had a core of mortared brick and chalk rubble. The footings for the extant buttress comprise several layers of mortared flints.
See NHER 68268 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 April 2024.

  • --- Aerial Photograph: TL7596 E.
  • --- Article in Serial: Wood, R. 1999. The Chantry Certificates of Norfolk: Towards a Partial Reconstruction. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt II pp 287-306.
  • --- Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1342348 Date designated: 08 Jul 1959 List Entry 1342348.
  • --- Documentary Source: Martin, T. c. 1700-1799. Collections of Church Notes. Norfolk Records Office. Walter Rye Collection. RYE 17.. c. 1740.
  • --- Leaflet: Saint Andrew's Church, Northwold, Norfolk..
  • --- Monograph: Mortlock, D. & Roberts, C.. 1981. The Popular Guide to Norfolk Churches.. No 1.
  • --- Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, B. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. pp 575-576.
  • --- Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1950. First visit in eighty years. 4 August.
  • --- Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
  • --- Secondary File: Secondary File.
  • <S1> Publication: Jenkins, S. 2000. England's Thousand Best Churches.
  • <S2> Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1990. [Photograph of St Andrew's Church, Northwold]. 18 September.
  • <S3> Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1994. Church's clever batting. 11 April.
  • <S4> *Verbal Communication: Randall, G.. 2006. Lecture at Cambridge. March.

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Record last edited

Apr 15 2024 11:47PM

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