Record Details

NHER Number:3014
Type of record:Building
Name:All Saints' Church, Swanton Morley

Summary

All Saints' is a large church with nave, chancel, tall tower and north and south aisles. Building began shortly before1379. The church represents one of the earliest examples of the Perpendicular style in East Anglia, and has a massive tower with surprisingly long bell-openings. The east windows of the aisle have four stunning square windows with early Perpendicular style tracery very similar to those in the Norwich Cathedral choir dating to around 1370. Inside, the tower is supported on massive piers, and the floor is paved with warm red tiles.

Images

  • All Saints' Church, Swanton Morley  © Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service

Location

Grid Reference:TG 0195 1735
Map Sheet:TG01NW
Parish:SWANTON MORLEY, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

All present work visible is of 1378 - Perpendicular, early for Norfolk.
Charnel under chancel.
See (S1) and (S2) in file.
E. Rose (NAU), 13 July 1983.

1970s or 80s. Alan Carter Norwich Survey.
See (S3), which includes (S4).
T.E. Miller (NLA), 19 April 2006.

Before 9 November 2005. Found while grave-digging.
Middle Saxon sherd.
See description in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 14 December 2005.

May 2009. Watching brief, from context 1.
Details to come.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 29 April 2009.

March 2010.
Lead was stripped from the roof and the churchyard vandalised.
See (S5) for further details,
H. White (NLA), 9 April 2010.

May-September 2014.
This was one of four Norfolk churches included in a pilot study looking at the management of bats in historic churches. This study looked to research and develop management techniques that will allow the protection of heritage in ways that won't cause long-term detrimental impact on local bat populations. This and the other three churches were selected due to the known presence of Natterer's bats.
See report (S6) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 August 2019.

Monument Types

  • CHURCH (Medieval to 21st Century - 1066 AD? to 2100 AD)

Associated Finds

  • POT (Middle Saxon - 651 AD to 850 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Photograph: Ladbrooke: AS 16-17.
---Article in Serial: Fawcett, R. 1980. A Group of Churches by the Architect of Great Walsingham. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXVII Pt III pp 292-294. pp 292-294.
---Monograph: Bryant, T. H. 1903. Hundred of Launditch. The Churches of Norfolk. pp 201-214.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, W. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. pp 686-687.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N. 1962. North-West and South Norfolk. The Buildings of England. 1st Edition. p 334; Pl 16.
---Newspaper Article: Norwich Mercury (Supplement). 1902. Norfolk churches: No. 231. All Saints' Church, Swanton Morley. 20 September.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1995. Time ticks on for clock. 13 April.
---Unpublished Report: Stone, D. 2010. The Building of the New Chancel at All Saints' Church, Swanton Morley.
---Unpublished Document: David Stone. 2010. The Mystery of the Porch [at Swanton Morley church].
---Article in Serial: Fawcett, R. 1980. Swanton Morley Church. The Archaeological Journal. Vol 137 pp 316-317.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 1983. Building Report.
<S2>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1983. Church tower facelift only half the story. 24 June.
<S3>Unpublished Document: Carter, A.. Building Survey.
<S4>Illustration: Various. Various. Architectural plans.
<S5>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. Church hit by theft and vandalism. 17 March.
<S6>Unpublished Contractor Report: Packman, C. et al. 2015. Management of Bats in Churches - a pilot. Project Report. English Heritage Research Project: 6199. English Heritage. 106/2015.

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