Record Details

NHER Number:3209
Type of record:Building
Name:St Mary's Church, Gunthorpe

Summary

A medieval parish church, dating mainly to the 14th and 15th centuries. The font dates to the 15th century. The church was restored in the 19th century, and contains good examples of stained glass designed by Preedy and Warrington in the 1860s.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 0120 3522
Map Sheet:TG03NW
Parish:GUNTHORPE, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

13 November 1979. Visited by E. Rose (NAU).
No church mentioned here in Domesday but a rectory by 1106 according to [1].
North & south doorways about 1300.
East window reticulated Decorated, 14th century.
Tower, north transept and nave Perpendicular, 15th century. The former has flushwork battlements and has been restored several times, date 1808 on one corner refers to one.
West window is renewed.
Unusual rectangular stair turret like a large corner buttress.
Nave southeast window lower than others with embattled demi transom and it is shown so on Ladbrooke's drawing, but there was a south transept until 1786; it must be reset.
Rest of chancel all of 1863 to 1864, elaborate in Decorated style with marble pillars by chancel arch.
South porch rebuilt in same style.
Ladbrooke shows a south Perpendicular window and priest's door, and two buttresses, on chancel south wall, buttresses also on east wall.
Later brick buttresses remain on north.
Perpendicular carved octagonal font.
Brass plaque 1628.
17th to 19th century floor tombs.
Unusual stone benefaction tablet 1777.
Notable 19th century stained glass by Preedy and Warrington (1860s).
Chalice and paten, Norwich 1567 flagon, London 1709 according to (S1).
Bell 1702 according to [1].
Gravestone of 1743, Andrews, west of church has mason's tools including pointing trowel.
Earliest headstone is 1702.
Addenda; north transept north window has stone relieving arch inside.
E. Rose (NAU)

March 2009.
Church awarded £78,000 for essential maintenance work
see (S2) in file
H. White (NLA), 4 March 2009

July 2009. Building survey. The tower.
Diagonal butressing and a stair turret to the south west corner. There is a crenellated parapet with chequered white flint decoration with quatrefoils to the merlons. There is a large three-lioght ground floor window. Three two light bell openings survive, and have concentric relieving arches with alternating brick and flint voussoirs. The western opening is filled in with honeycomb brickwork, with the relieving arch remaining in situ. The bell stage is marked by a stringcourse. There is a timber bellframe oriented north south, and one bell, inscribed 'Charles Newman made me 1702.' Major repair works took place between 1968 and 1985.
See (S3) for further details
H. White, (NLA), 17 August 2009

Monument Types

  • CHURCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • TOWER (Medieval to 21st Century - 1066 AD to 2100 AD)
  • BELL FRAME (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CHURCH (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: TG0135C, D, G,.
---Designation: English Heritage. National Heritage List for England.
---Monograph: Bryant, T. H. 1902. Hundred of Holt. The Churches of Norfolk. Vol IX. pp 59-64.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. pp 532-533.
---Illustration: Ladbrooke. 1823. Gunthorpe church.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Monograph: Pevsner, N. 1962. North-East Norfolk and Norwich. The Buildings of England. 1st Edition. p 156.
<S2>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2009. Historic churches awarded millions of pounds for essential maintenance work. 4 March.
<S3>Unpublished Document: Heywood, S. 2009. S. Heywood Report, The Church of St Mary, Gunthorpe..

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