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Record Details

NHER Number:257
Type of record:Building
Name:St Peter Mancroft Church, St Peter's Street, Norwich

Summary

The church that originally stood here was a Norman foundation. However, the present building dates to the 15th century and has an associated undercroft. In 1850 a resonance chamber was found beneath the chancel. This is one of the sixty five Norfolk churches selected amongst the one thousand finest churches in England, and it has few rivals among the parish churches of England for its beauty, its unity and its unique position in city life. It is the chief church of the civic community, with many fine memorials to mayors and merchants.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 2293 0842
Map Sheet:TG20NW
Parish:NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK

Full description

Norman foundation. Present building 15th century with undercroft.

1850.
Resonance chamber? Found beneath chancel, also post medieval sherds.
See published article (S11) and notes in file.
Amended by A. Beckham (HES), 28 July 2020.

1954. Listed, Grade I.
Listing Description Excerpt:
"Parish Church. 15th century. Ashlar faced and flushwork. Lead roofs. West tower. Nave and chancel in one. North and south aisles and porches. North and south transepts. Three-storey east vestry. Three-stage tower with five-stages of set-back buttresses."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 8 November 2019.

1970s or 1980s. Building Survey.
Church examined as part of Norwich Survey.
See incomplete draft reports (S2) and (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017.

June 2007. Field Observation.
Observation of builder's test pit in floor of west tower.
Excavated to a depth of 1.18 below the floor surface revealed the concrete base of the floor slabs c. 150mm in thickness with a mixture of loam and rubble with mortar lenses. Below this deposit and extending to the base of the pit was an uniform and un-compacted pale brown sand and loose mortar deposit with fine rubble and occasional post-medieval peg roof tile fragment. At a depth of 1.08mm on the east side a north-south line of decayed wood (one nail observed) was probably a coffin. To the east of this feature the soil was more loamy and included some silt, which might have been grave fill. If this is the case then at least one burial was inserted into the tower in the post-medieval period.
See notes (S4) for further details.
S. Howard (HES), 26 January 2011.

For further details see building history (S5) and list of documentary evidence (S6) compiled by D. King in 1986. The undercroft is amongst those briefly described in thesis (S7). The church's fine surviving collection of 15th-century stained glass is considered in (S8) and fully catalogued and illustrated in (S9).
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017.

This is one of the 65 Norfolk churches selected for (S10).
D. Gurney (NLA) 17 February 2006.

Monument Types

  • CHURCH (Medieval to 21st Century - 1066 AD? to 2100 AD)
  • FLOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • UNDERCROFT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

  • POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Publication: [Unknown]. [unknown]. Palimpsests Behind 'Norfolk' Brasses (N).
---Article in Serial: Boileau, J. P. 1864. Returns of Church Goods in the Churches of the City of Norwich, 6 Edward VI. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol VI pp 360-378. p 365.
---Monograph: Jennings, S. 1981. Eighteen Centuries of Pottery from Norwich. East Anglian Archaeology. No 13.
---Article in Serial: Wood, R. 1999. The Chantry Certificates of Norfolk: Towards a Partial Reconstruction. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt II pp 287-306.
---Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1994. TG2208/ACJ - ACU.
---Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1994. TG 2308BFL - BFP, BFS.
---Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1999. TG 2208ADF - AEE; TG 2308BFU - BFV.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. pp 247-250; Pl 45.
---Unpublished Document: James, E.. MA dissertation.
---Monograph: Spraggon, J.. 2003. Puritan Iconoclasm During the English Civil War.. pp 20, 28, 101, 109-111.
---Monograph: Cooper, T. (ed.). 2001. The journal of William Dowsing.. p 97.
---Photograph: [Unknown]. [Unknown]. Photograph of the interior of St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich. print on card.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1996. Photograph of St Peter Mancroft church illuminated. 28 February.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1994. Should church glass return?. 17 December.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2009. On a mission to safeguard our churches. 26 December.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2009. Winning view of old churches. 10 December.
---Leaflet: A Guide to the Church of St.Peter Mancroft. Mansfields (Norwich) Ltd.
---Article in Serial: Harrod, H. 1859. Goods and Ornaments of Norwich Churches in the Fourteenth Century. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol V pp 89-121. pp 95-104.
---Article in Serial: Cotton, S. 1981. Tradition and Authority in Churchbuilding. NARG News. No 26 pp 8-13. p 11.
---Record Card: NCM Staff. 1973-1989. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card - Norwich.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Norwich - Post Roman.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Illustration: Stannard, J.. [uknown]. Drawing of St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich. Pencil and wash on paper.
---Illustration: Hodgson, D. [uknown]. Drawing of Interior of St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich. Watercolour on paper.
---Illustration: [Unknown]. [Unknown]. Drawing of St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich.
---Photograph: [Unknown]. [Unknown]. Photograph of tower of St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich.
---Photograph: [Unknown]. [uknown]. Photograph of wood carving at St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich.
---Photograph: Norwich Survey Staff. 1984. Photographs of exterior of St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich.
---Map: Kirkpatrick, J. 1720. Annotated map of the area surrounding St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich.
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2015. [Articles on the restoration of the medieval doors at St Peter Mancroft Church].
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2016. Outrage at the theft of crucifix from memorial. 13 August.
<S1>Designation: English Heritage. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1210490.
<S2>Unpublished Document: [Unknown]. [unknown]. St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich [incomplete draft report].
<S3>Unpublished Report: [Unknown]. [unknown]. St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich [draft report]. Building Report.
<S4>Unpublished Document: Rogerson, A. 2007. Notes on observation of test pit at St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich.
<S5>Unpublished Document: King, D. 1986. Notes on St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich - Building History.
<S6>Unpublished Document: King, D. 1986. Notes on St Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich - Documentary Evidence.
<S7>Thesis: Smith, R. 1990. An Architectural History of Norwich Buildings, c. 1200 - 1700. Unpublished Thesis. p 330.
<S8>Article in Monograph: King, D. 1982. New Light on the Medieval Glazing of the Church of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich. Crown in Glory: A Celebration of Craftsmanship - Studies in Stained Glass, Norwich. Moore, P. pp 18-22.
<S9>Monograph: King, D. 2006. The Medieval Stained Glass of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich. Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi Monograph. Vol 5.
<S10>Publication: Jenkins, S. 2000. England's Thousand Best Churches.
<S11>Article in Serial: Mimms, G. W. W. 1872. Acoustic Pottery. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol VII pp 93-101. pp 93-101; Fig 1.

Related records

Site 1688Parent of: Opposite 17-27 Fishergate (Monument)
709Parent of: Post medieval clay pipe stem from St Peter Mancroft's Church extension, Weavers Lane (Find Spot)
457Parent of: Precinct of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich (Building)
Site 2136Parent of: St Peter Mancroft (Monument)
Mon 714Parent of: St Peter Mancroft (Monument)
Site 2102Parent of: St Peter Mancroft church (Monument)
Site 2003Parent of: St Peter Mancroft Church, St. Peters Street (Monument)
Mon 1181Parent of: St Peter Mancroft Churchyard (Monument)
Site 1374Parent of: St. Peter Mancroft extension, Weavers Lane (Monument)
Mon 1060Part of: Market Place (Monument)

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