Record Details

NHER Number:7473
Type of record:Building
Name:St Nicholas' Church, Brandiston

Summary

An early church, probably dating to the Late Saxon period, with reused Roman bricks in the nave. The church was partially rebuilt in the early 15th century, and restored in the 19th century. It has a squat tower, the chancel has been demolished and what is now the north aisle was originally the nave. The windows include some high quality tracery and medieval stained glass. The church is now isolated from the village, which gradually migrated towards the edge of the common.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 1413 2142
Map Sheet:TG12SW
Parish:BRANDISTON, BROADLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Saxo-Norman church with round tower, rebuilt 1906.
North aisle is original nave, including Roman bricks.
South arcade 13th century.
South aisle rebuilt as nave about 1500; old range reduced.
Chancel demolished, probably at reformation.
Later buttresses and alterations.
Medieval tomb slab.
Medieval sherds from churchyard.
See (S1) in file.
E. Rose (NLA), 27 April 2002.

The church is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust (2006).

This church is built mostly of flint, with a pantiled roof. It has an unusual plan, as the tower stands at the west end of the north aisle. The aisle was originally the nave, its chancel having been demolished by the 18th century. The rebuilding of the nave was carried out around 1400. The tower was almost completely rebuilt in 1890 after being damaged in a gale. The lower part of the tower is round, the octagonal top being a later modification. There was nothing in the tower to indicate an original date earlier than the 12th century until repairs in 1996 revealed that a crack was in fact the south-west corner of the original Norman nave. The tower windows are part of the Victorian rebuilding. Below the north-west nave buttress are signs of what may be reused Roman brick and conglomerate quoining, perhaps dating to the 11th or 12th century. There is a single bell, recast in 1904.
Information from (S2).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 20 October 2009.

Monument Types

  • CHURCH (Medieval to 21st Century - 1066 AD to 2100 AD)

Associated Finds

  • BRICK (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • COFFIN (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)
  • WINDOW (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Monograph: Batcock, N. 1991. The Ruined and Disused Churches of Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 51. Microfiche 5:G12. No 5; pp 50, 60-65.
---Designation: English Heritage. National Heritage List for England.
---Documentary Source: Martin, T. c. 1700-1799. Collections of Church Notes. Norfolk Records Office. 1730s.
---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 411-412.
---Leaflet: Notes on St Nicholas' Church, Brandiston. Redundant Churches Fund.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N. 1962. North-East Norfolk and Norwich. The Buildings of England. 1st Edition. pp 101-102; Pl 13b.
<S1>Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 2002. Building Report.. Building Report.
<S2>Leaflet: Cotton, S.. 1998. St Nicholas' Church, Brandiston, Norfolk..

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