Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

1960 Grade I listed.
Parish church of the 14th and 15th century with 19th century remodelling of east end, constructed of flint with limestone dressings and slate roofs. West tower, nave, chancel, north porch, south vestry. 14th century west tower with diagonal western buttresses up to bell- stage level. 2-light bell openings with cusped Y-tracery. 3-light 15th century west window. Embattled parapet with plain corner pinnacles. Line of earlier, steeper nave roof pitch on east face of tower. 19th century vestry on south side: coped gable parapet on moulded kneelers, circular gable window with leaded glazing. Lean-to on east side. Nave windows early 19th century of 3 lights set in red brick surrounds windows with eliptical arched heads. Staged buttresses divide the bays. In the south wall there is a blocked opening between the two nave windows. South chancel wall has a blocked south-west window with a blocked square-headed low-side window. 14th century priests door with scratch dial above, bearing an indistinct date mark, possibly 1595. 2-light south east window with cusped Y-tracery. Angle buttresses to east gable wall; the gable much rebuilt with an apex of red brick. 2-light 19th century east window with Y-tracery and semicircular head. Window set in raised red brick surround with rubbed arch and raised key and imposts. Two north chancel windows 2-light with cusped Y-tracery, priests doorway between blocked in red brick. Upper part of nave north wall rebuilt in red brick. North porch with rendered gable and small east and west windows, the west window square-headed. North doorway 14th century with dogtooth hoodmould. 15th century nave roof with arch-braced principals on wallposts with shields; roll-moulded ridges and purlins-bosses at intersections of ridge and principals. Fragments of traceried wall painting between wallposts on south wall. Rectangular recess in south nave wall with 14th century hood mould on head stops and inset iron grills. 14th century tower arch with polygonal capitals and half-shafts. Chancel remodelled in 19th century: cored and plastered ceiling. 19th century stone dado with pilaster-buttresses. Triple ogee-headed niches flanking altar. Good 18th century and 19th century wall monuments to Beauchamp Proctor family. 15th century font, octagonal, with quatrefoil panels in bowl, arcaded stem on octagonal base. Much collected foreign glass included four 16th century panels in the east window, said to have been brought from Rouen Cathedral in 1787 by Lady Beauchamp Proctor.

Contains Norman stoop and conglomerate. Basically around 1310, new nave roof and tower altered early 16th century.
Some windows replaced in 1787 and 1803 to take collection of foreign glass. Late 19th century restoration. Important 18th/19th century monuments.
See (S1) in file.
E. Rose (NLA), 18 July 2001.

March 2009.
Church awarded £138,000 for essential maintenance work.
See (S2) in file
H. White (NLA), 4 March 2009

October 2009. Building Survey.
The chancel has been altered extensively. A sundial dated 1595 has been incised above the doorway. The tower is of three storeys and has staged diagonal butresses. The tall parapet has obelisk pinnacles at the corners and is a post medieval addition. The arms of the Berney family are visible on the south side of the parapet. The nave roof is not original, but dates from the 15th century. The remains of a painted figure of St Christopher is visible on the wall opposite the nave entrance. Some painted blind arcading is visible above the St. Christopher, and directly below is a curious iron grill set in a Victorian Gothic revival hood mould.
See (S3) for further details,
H. White, (NLA), 5 November 2009

November 1999. Building Survey.
The church of St Michael's is undergoing major building work, primarily to the roofs and to improve drainage. The roof timbers are being recorded by Robert Smith. A conditional report of the wall paintings , including a survey of the internal walls, has also been commissioned, which with the report on the roof timbers, provides an opportunity to associate painted decoration, with building alterations.
See report (S4) for further details. See also specification for roof repairs (S5).
J. Yates, (HES), 27 July 2012

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

• Listed Building

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Langley with Hardley (Parish Summary)