NHER 10048 (Building record) - St Peter's Church, Forncett

December 1959. Listed, Grade I.
Listing Description Excerpt:
"C11, C14 and C15. Saxon round west tower with circular openings half way up and near top, 2-light bell-openings with arched and triangular heads and recessed central shafts. Tall nave with clerestory and north and south aisles, with Perpendicular windows. Chancel with some herringbone flushwork and Perpendicular windows. windows. porch with flushwork panelling. Materials: flint with stone dressings and slate roofs."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
H. Hamilton (HES), 07 June 2023.

October 1979. Field Observation.
Saxo Norman round tower with double belfry windows (triangular and round headed), circular windows at top and base and possible Roman brick in heads of windows.
Taylor and Taylor (S7) date tower to 1050 to 1100, source [1] dates it to late 11th century, source [2] to before 1066. Chancel has blocked window on south, cut by a 13th century priest's door. Rest of church Perpendicular, restored 1857. Late 14th century nave arcades with clerestories.
Rood stair, modern font, Jacobean pulpit, restored chancel piscina, ?alabaster tombchest dated 1485. Two ledger stones on tower, one dated 1535, one 1484 (1584?).
For full details see report in HER Record Notes (S4) in file.
E. Rose (NAU), 3 October 1979.

November 2006. Building recording.
The tower of St Peter's church is one of the best known and admired round towered churches in Norfolk. The round western tower is a characteristic of Norfolk medieval churches and its rarity outside East Anglia makes it truly distinctive. The eastern bell opening, circa 1100, is a basic cushion shape with raised ribs. Additional decoration of incised volutes at each corner and a sunken patee formee cross on the outward face. Further leafy decoration emerges from the pronounced necking. The stone is a rough shelly limestone, probably from the Barnack quarries near Stamford. It is unusual to have decorated capitals at bell openings of parish churches at this period. It is of interest that the eastern bell opening was chosen for the decoration, as it is the least visible from the ground.
See unpublished report (S13), photographs (S14) and unpublished supplement to report (S15) for further information.
J. Allen (NLA), 19 June 2007.
Modified by H. White (NLA), 12 November 2008.