Record Details
| NHER Number: | 5908 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Site of St Margaret's Church and Leper Hospital, Thetford |
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Summary
St Margaret's church has pre-Conquest origins and appears in the Domesday Book as a daughter church to Great St Mary's. In the 14th century the parish of St Margaret had presumably become depopulated and was anexed to the neighbouring parish of Little St Mary's. By this time the church itself had become a chapel to a Leper hospital, and it is referred to as the Leper Hospital of St Margaret as early as 1304. The hospital and chapel were dissolved in 1552. Standing walls and scattered architectural fragments remained visible as late as the early 19th century, but the site now appears only as a mound in London Road cemetery.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TL 8635 8251 |
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| Map Sheet: | TL88SE |
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| Parish: | THETFORD, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Church of St Margaret.
St Margaret's church has pre-Conquest origins and appears in the Domesday Book as a daughter church to Great St Mary's (S1). By the 14th century the parish of St Margaret had presumably become depopulated and was anexed to the neighbouring parish of Little St Mary's (NHER 5909). By this time the church itself had become a chapel to the Leper hospital (S2) and it is referred to as the Leper Hospital of St Margaret as early as 1304. The hospital and chapel were dissolved in 1552, when the site passed to Sir Richard Fulmerston (S2).
In the early 19th century, Blomefield describes standing walls set on a piece of raised ground surrounded by many large stones (S2), but currently no remains of the church are visible. Blomefield notes that St Margaret's church was located on the left hand side of Elden Road, close by the city ditch (S3). Thomas Martin (S4) makes reference to a 1333 will describing a piece of land between the road from Briggegat to Elvedon (London Road) and a path from St Mary's to St Margaret's. Both of these descriptions appear to agree with the location which appears on Orndance Survey maps which is visible as a mound in London Road cemetery.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 06 August 2008.
Monument Types
- CHURCH (Late Saxon to 14th Century - 851 AD to 1303 AD?)
- CHAPEL (14th Century to 16th Century - 1304 AD to 1552 AD)
- LEPER HOSPITAL (14th Century to 16th Century - 1304 AD to 1552 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TL 88 SE 49. |
| --- | Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. |
| --- | Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Late Saxon. Thetford. |
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S1> | Monograph: Batcock, N. 1991. The Ruined and Disused Churches of Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 51. Microfiche 5:G12. No 233; p 54. |
| <S2> | Monograph: Dallas, C. 1993. Excavations in Thetford by B. K. Davison between 1964 and 1970. East Anglian Archaeology. No 62. p 213. |
| <S3> | Serial: Blomefield, F.. 1805. An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk.. Vol II. p 72. |
| <S4> | Documentary Source: Martin, T. c. 1700-1799. Collections of Church Notes. Norfolk Records Office. 1772. |
Related records - none
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