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Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Record Details

NHER Number:	8457
Type of record:	Building
Name:	St Catherine's church, Ludham

Summary

The west tower and chancel of this church are 14th century and later, the rest of the church being mainly 15th century with 19th and early 20th century restorations. Among many items of interest inside are the hammerbeam roof to the nave, dating to about 1466, the chancel arch with its carved capitals of grotesques and seaweed foliage and a rare Royal arms of Elizabeth I. More spectacular are the 15th century decorated octagonal font and one of the finest rood screens in Norfolk, dating to 1493.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:	TG 3881 1826
Map Sheet:	TG31NE
Parish:	LUDHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Decorated church, given new aisle windows, nave clerestory and roof in the 1460s; restored late 19th/early 20th century.
Exceptional 15th century font and rood screen dated 1493. A number of interesting monuments.
Tombstone by Voysey in churchyard. Voysey was an important early 20th century architect; a tombstone marks a grave. Memorial listed Grade II 2004. Church itself listed Grade I (S1). Report (S2), architect's plans (S3), press cutting (S4) and old photograph (S5) in file.
E. Rose (NLA), 17 January 2004.

This is one of the sixty five Norfolk churches selected for (S6).
D. Gurney (NLA), 17 February 2006.

Before March 2007. Dendrochronological Survey.
Dendrochronological analysis was undertaken on samples taken from oak timbers of the west tower roof, but the analysis was not successful with none of the seven samples dated.
See report (S7) for further details.
J. Allen (NLA), 26 March 2007.

June 2008.
£250,000 restoration project was completed. The 150 year old steelworks were cleaned and renovated, and the clock hands were replaced.
See (S8) for further details
H. White, (NLA), 23 September 2009.

Graffiti has been found inside St Catherine’s church, these carvings include an upside-down signature on a pillar, daisy wheel designs which are thought to be the marks of stonemasons and crosses.
See (S9) for further details, and graffiti trail (S10).
M. Langham-Lopez (HES), 9 May 2013.

November 2020 and January 2021. Watching Brief.
Maintained during work to install a new bell-ringing gallery and kitchenette with toilets in the base of the tower.
Removal of the 18th- to 19th-century brick floor within the tower uncovered a make-up layer of mortar, soil and late post-medieval brick rubble. Finds from this deposit included post-medieval clay tobacco pipe stems, post-medieval copper alloy curtain rings and lead waste from hot work. Small fragments of redeposited human bone were also present. Also exposed beneath the brick floor was a small rectangular pad formed from reused later medieval bricks. These had a sooted and oxidised surface, suggesting they were possibly associated with the hot work that had generated the lead waste. A distinct grave cut represented a late burial that had been inserted from the level of the brick floor. No trace of the medieval floor surface appeared to survive. A trample layer of pale yellow mortar debris containing pebbles, chalk pieces and chips of limestone was though encountered below the post-medieval make-up deposit. It is suggested that a sharp western limit to this material potentially represented the former position of a sill-beam, which was associated with a possible post setting. Although no finds were recovered from these earlier deposits and features, the stratigraphic evidence indicates they predated the construction of the present tower – the footings for both of the 14th-century pier bases being cut through thin layers of material that overlay the trample surface.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2021.108).
P. Watkins (HES), 18 April 2024. Amended 27 April 2024.

Monument Types

CHURCH (Medieval to 21st Century - 1066 AD to 2100 AD)
FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

HUMAN REMAINS (Unknown date)
SAMPLE (Unknown date)
ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
DOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
FONT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
PISCINA (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
ROOD SCREEN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
CLAY PIPE (SMOKING) (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
RING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
WASTE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)
WINDOW (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---	Website: 2010-. Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey. http://www.medieval-graffiti.co.uk/. 5 May 2022. Catalogue (favourite sites) - Ludham [accessed 5 May 2022].
---	Article in Serial: Badham, S.. 2000. Monumental Brasses and the Black Death.. Antiquaries Journal. p 241.
---	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. p 602.
---	Monograph: Mortlock, D., and Roberts, C.. 1981. The Popular Guide To Norfolk Churches, No.1 North- East Norfolk.. p 65.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2008. Churches must play a community role. 26 September.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. Discover the forgotten glory of our sacred spaces. 8 May.
---	Leaflet: Snelling, J.M.. 1972. St Catherine's Church, Ludham..
---	Leaflet: P.A. Thrower. 1964. St. Catherine's Church Ludham.. The Church House.
---	Photograph: Photograph of St Catherines Church window, Ludham. Colour.
---	Article in Serial: Redfern, W. B. 1908. Some Ancient Norfolk Alms-Boxes. The Antiquary. Vol XLIV pp 414-416.
---	Secondary File: Secondary File.
---	Leaflet: Snelling, J.. n.d.. The Church of St Catherine, Ludham, Norfolk.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1984. Bells will ring out at Ludham. 18 April.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2008. Time no longer stands still in Norfolk village. 24 June.
---	Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2017. Repair work at an historic Norfolk church in a Broads village is ramping up a gear. 20 June.
<S1>	Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1049913.
<S2>	Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 2004. Building Report.. Building Report.
<S3>	Drawing: Various. Various. Architectural plans.
<S5>	Photograph: Colchester Museum collection.. c. 1900. Ludham screen.
<S6>	Publication: Jenkins, S. 2000. England's Thousand Best Churches.
<S7>	Monograph: Arnold, A. and Howard, R. 2007. The West Tower Roof, St Catherine's Church, Ludham, Norfolk. Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers. Scientific Dating Report. English Heritage Research Department Report Series. 10/2007.
<S9>	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2013. Graffiti sheds light on church history. 1 May.
<S10>	Leaflet: Anon. n.d.. St Catherine's Church Historic Graffiti Trail.

Related records

68275

Parent of: Medieval and undated burials and Late Saxon to post-medieval finds within churchyard of St Catherine's church (Monument)