NHER 6852 (Building record) - St Botolph's Church, Trunch

The Church of St Botolph is a large building of flints with stone details, and is one of the most interesting in the local area. Outside, the church is largely 15th century, built in the Perpendicular style, with a tower that starts off strong and diminishes in four stages to finish in a simple and understated bell stage. Unlike some parish churches, St Botolph retains its chancel, which also has a surprisingly large and elaborate priest’s porch surrounding its outside door. Inside, the church contains one of the most exciting ecclesiastical treasures in Norfolk. This of course is the stunning font canopy, constructed in the early 16th century, on the very eve of the Reformation. Only three of the canopies surviving across the country rival this one, and this one is particularly valuable as it gives us a glimpse of what English Catholic art was developing into at this time. The canopy itself is made of oak, gone silvery with the years, carved into a tumbling confection of fruit, flowers, leopards and lions in six octagonal columns. At the top canopied niches are carved, large enough to contain multiple figures, and the whole retains some of its original colour. The church is also blessed with a rich 15th century hammerbeam roof, as well as a screen that dates to 1502 and is richly ornamented and painted with the figures of the apostles and St Paul.