Record Details

NHER Number:8831
Type of record:Building
Name:Holy Trinity Church, Scoulton

Summary

This nave, chancel and aisles of this church date to around 1300. The church underwent repairs in the 17th century and this work included fixing dormer windows that were later removed during 19th century restorations. Inside, the church features an unusual Easter Sepulchre and a handsome trefoil piscina. A war memorial plaque is documented to have been added in 1981. Excavations in the churchyard during 1998 recovered large numbers of post medieval peg roofing tiles which suggest that the slate roof of the north aisle was formerly covered with ceramic tiles.

Images

  • Holy Trinity Church, Scoulton. Photograph from www.norfolkchurches.co.uk  © S. Knott

Location

Grid Reference:TF 9730 0095
Map Sheet:TF90SE
Parish:SCOULTON, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

July 1958. Listed Grade I.
Listing Description excerpt:
"Parish Church. Early 14th century. Rubblestone and flint with ashlar quoins. Thatched nave, slate aisles, pantiled chancel. West tower four stages. Clasping buttresses east, diagonal west with flushwork…Octagonal belfry on broaches with windows blocked by timber louvres…15th-century south porch with diagonal buttresses decorated with flushwork and shields…Brick and rendered clay lump vestry. Interior with 3 bay double hollow chamfered arcades on octagonal piers…Good 15th-centutry doors to south porch and tower stairs."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 9 January 2022.

One lump of conglomerate. Nave, chancel and aisles date to around 1300. Unusual Easter sepulchre. Tower dates to around 1340. 15th century additions. Repairs in late 17th century included dormer windows now removed in 19th century restoration.
See full report in file.
E. Rose 29 January 1998.

1981. War Memorial addition.
In 1981 a plaque was added to the war memorial in the churchyard (NHER 63910) with an inscription that denotes a plaque being placed in the church, "...presumably in commemoration of the same men, when the inscriptions became difficult to read".
Information from war memorial Listing Description. See NHER 63910 for further details.
P. Beers (HES), 27 April 2020

22 September 1998. Field Observation.
Excavation of pipe trenches and soakaway pit to north of north aisle.
Two trenches in top soil only. Many post medieval peg roofing tiles in spoil suggesting north aisle now with slate roof was formerly covered with ceramic tiles (nave has thatch and chancel pantiles). Soakaway pit (7m north of north wall, midway along north aisle) showed natural clay at 1.1m deep cut by graves.
A. Rogerson (NLA) 22 September 1998.

August 2011. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of excavation of small trial hole to south-west of church, ahead of more extensive drainage works.
The trial hole coincided with the location of an existing soakaway and did not extend beneath the rubble contained within this feature.
Several fragments of disarticulated human bone were recovered from the spoil, all of which were reburied within the trial hole.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 9 January 2022.

December 2011. Building and bell-frame survey.
This survey outlines the history of the church. Additionally the bell-frame was surveyed and is tentatively thought to date from the 17th century, but no documentary evidence was found to support this date. The frame is in poor condition with some timbers completely rotten, and the wheels have mostly rotten away. All four bells are on large wooden headstocks.
See (S3) for further information.
A. Cattermole (HES), 20 November 2014.

July 2013. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of excavation of soakaway to the south-west of the south porch.
This investigation revealed two phases of interment. The first phase dated from the 18th century, and all were aligned west-east, with the exception of one individual whose head was at the east end of the grave. This was interpreted by the excavator as the burial of an ecclesiastic. The later phase of interments appeared to respect the church path. Finds included 18th century coffin furniture and 10th-12th century pottery sherds.
See report (S4) for further information.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2013.180).
A. Cattermole (HES), 20 November 2014. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 16 May 2019.

Monument Types

  • CHURCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • CHURCH (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • BELL FRAME (16th Century to 17th Century - 1600 AD to 1700 AD)
  • INHUMATION (17th Century to 19th Century - 1700 AD to 1899 AD)
  • WAR MEMORIAL (TRIBUTE) (World War One to Late 20th Century - 1914 AD to 1981 AD)

Associated Finds

  • HUMAN REMAINS (Unknown date)
  • DOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • FONT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • PISCINA (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • PISCINA (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • ROOF TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • WINDOW (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: TF9700D, E.
---Monograph: Bryant, T. H. 1898. Hundred of Wayland. The Churches of Norfolk. Vol I. pp 36-41.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, B. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 633.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2011. Grants given to 18 county churches. 17 February.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1342847.
<S2>Unpublished Contractor Report: Birks, C. 2011. Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief at Holy Trinity Church, Scoulton, Norfolk. Chris Birks Archaeological Services. CB260R.
<S3>Unpublished Document: Heywood, S. 2012. S. Heywood Building Report. The Church of the Holy Trinity, Scoulton, Norfolk. Statement of Significance.. Building Report. April.
<S4>Unpublished Contractor Report: Cope-Faulkner, P. 2013. Archaeological Monitoring and Recording at Holy Trinity Church, Scoulton, Norfolk. Archaeological Project Services. 96/13.

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