Norfolk Heritage Explorer

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Full description

April 1951. Listed, Grade II*.
Listing Description:
St Mary's Church (aka Church of St Mary the Less or Little St Mary's)
Parish church. 11th century foundation, fabric mainly late 14th century. West tower rebuilt 15th century (donations 1427-1451). Chancel rebuilt 19th century. Flint, re-used ashlar and clunch with ashlar dressings. Chancel in gault brick. Slate roofs. Nave, north aisle and chancel. 3-stage west tower with flushwork plinth and stepped diagonal buttresses. 4-centred west doorway, the arches moulded. Above is a 19th century three-light Perpendicular window. String courses between floors. 2-light cusped belfry windows north and south below crenellated parapet. Gabled south porch with multiple roll-moulded arch. South nave with stepped side buttresses and three 2-light 19th century windows. North nave aisle lit through two 2-light and one 3-light Y-tracery windows, also 19th century. Gabled nave and chancel roofs. Chancel south with two 2-light 19th century windows.
INTERIOR: inner south doorway with 19th century mouldings. 16th century porch roof with rafters and purlins. Canopied statuary niche over door. Wave-moulded tower arch. 19th century tower screen. 12th century north doorway within later aisle: one order of shafts rising to cushion capitals with a roll-moulded arch. 2-bay north arcade of polygonal piers with circular east-west responds and stilted arches. 19th century nave roof with hammerbeams on arched braces. Wave-moulded chancel arch. North chancel chapel with stilted double-chamfered arch to chancel. No capitals. Single-chamfered arch to north nave aisle. Boarded chancel roof of 1891. C19 font. South nave aisle with an exploded tomb-chest embedded in wall to Sir Richard Fulmerston, 1567. Over north doorway a second inscription to Sir Richard, 1566.
Information from (S1).

Norman font removed to St Cuthbert's. Replaced by font in 14th century style but part or all 19th century.
E. Rose (NLA) 9 August 1993.

Church Bells.
St Mary the Less had six bells, which were rung up to the end of the 19th century. Three of the bells were sold in 1959 when the tower was shortened, but the others were placed in storage. The two smallest bells were eventually sent to Blofield (NHER 10265), where they were re-cast. Another was recast for Carlton Colville in 1977. The remainder were destroyed.
See (S2) for further details.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 07 August 2008.

11th Century.
Although not named as St Mary the Less in Domesday, Blomefield (S3) believed that St Mary's is the church noted as belonging to Richard Bigod, founder of the Cluniac priory (NHER 5748). A. Davison (S4) believes that this would explain the link between St Mary's and the Priory which remained until the Reformation, and a pre-Conquest foundation date is supported by evidence of Norman stonework within the fabric of the church.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 08 August 2008.

13th Century.
It is almost certain the St Mary the Less was the church that was valued in 1291, assigned the highest valuation in Thetford at £3 (S4).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 08 August 2008.

14th Century.
In 1368 St Mary the Less was assigned the second highest valuation in Thetford (S4). The majority of church fabric dates to the 14th century (S1), indicating extensive rebuilding.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 08 August 2008.

15th Century.
The west tower rebuilt (S1).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 08 August 2008.

16th Century.
Accounts of works to holdings of the Thetford Cluniac Priory (NHER 5748) include two entries for Thetford St. Mary: repairs to the chancel in 1518 and to the chancel door and gable in 1529 (S5). According to Bloomfield (S3) the church was in some disrepair after the Dissolution (about 1539), but was saved by Sir Richard Fulmerston who wished to be buried there.
H. Hamilton (NLA), 07 August 2008.

Post Medieval Period.
The church became a stable during the Commonwealth period (Civil War) and was defaced and unroofed (S4). The Corporation made repairs after the Restoration (S4), and in the 19th century the chancel was rebuilt (S1).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 08 August 2008.

1959 or 1968.
Top of 15th century tower removed.
E. Rose (NAU).

1970-2008.
The last Anglican service at St Mary's took place around 1970 (S6). The building was used again for services for Thetford Roman Catholic Church between 1981 and 1986 (S6). However, in 1987 St Mary's Church was made redundant and since then it has become derelict. In 1991 conversion to offices was considered (S7), but this was not carried out. In 1994 funds were raised to carry out an architectural survey and the building was to be repaired for sale (S8-10). In 1996 a fundraising scheme to restore the church for use as a concert hall and exhibition centre was launched (S11-12). However this effort failed and in 2003 conversion of the church into a private home was being considered (S13). This had not yet taken place in 2008, when it was advertised for sale with planning permission for conversion (S14).
See (S6-14) for further details.
See also photographs taken in 1993 (S15).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 07 August 2008.

1993.
Several monuments in the churchyard listed Grade II (now recorded separately as NHERs 67176-67178):
1. Coffin cover immediately northeast of chancel of St Mary the Less (NHER 67176).
2. Group of five table tombs immediately south-east of chancel of St Mary the Less (NHER 67177).
3. Table tomb 15m north of nave of St Mary the Less (NHER 67178).
H. Hamilton (NLA), 08 August 2008. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 30 July 2023.

March 2003. Field Observation.
The church may be a Saxon foundation. It certainly retains a Norman doorway and part of the north nave wall. The east side and perhaps the base of the tower predate the 15th century work, but the exact date is not apparent. The present appearance of the tower seems to result from work in the second half of the 15th century, and it would appear the nave south wall was rebuilt at the same period. Work was still taking place on the chancel in the 16th century though nothing of this survives. The porch is a Perpendicular remodelling of an older structure. Following decay in the mid 16th century and reinstatement as a burial place in the late 16th, the church was disused in the mid 17th century and restored later in that century. The mid 19th century saw the rebuilding of the chancel and addition of the aisle, as well as the general restoration of the nave. In the late 19th century the chancel was re-roofed - perhaps this is the date of the nave roof also - and the organ chamber added. The tower was shortened in the mid 20th century.
The church is now derelict and few furnishings survive except 16th - 19th century memorials and 19th century stained glass.
See (S16) and (S17) for further details.
E. Rose (NLA) 11 March 2003.

19 April 2004. Field Observation.
A pipe trench was dug from the northwest corner of the nave to a point on the churchyard perimeter directly to the north. The trench was not seen until after it had been backfilled, but the foreman reports that it was 0.7m deep, all in redeposited topsoil. Several small bones, three pieces of tooled clunch, and a large sandstone slab were recovered.
E. Rose (NLA), 20 April 2004.

20 May 2004.
A skull found at Canon's Walk (NHER 40365) was reburied by E. Rose (NLA) at a point directly south of the southwest angle of the tower and 15m north of the boundary wall. Over 1m of topsoil was encountered, mixed with many fragments of 19th century red and white bricks, clunch lumps, glass bottles, iron clamps, and a few small sherds of glazed red earthenware. This confirms the report of the builders who laid the electricity cable and indicates a thorough 19th century levelling of the graveyard.
E. Rose (NLA), 21 May 2004.

January 2010.
The church has fallen into a state of disrepair and emergency funding is being sought.
See (S18) for further details
H. White, (NLA), 13 April 2010.

February 2018. Desk-based Assessment.
Review of available cartographic, archaeological and documentary evidence ahead of proposed consolidation, repair and redevelopment of St Mary the Less Church.
At the time of this study the church was derelict, with part of the roof missing and a significant amount of debris inside the tower (including collapsed floors). An open and vandalised crypt associated with the Mingay family was noted.
See report (S19) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 July 2023.

October 2018. Building Survey.
Historic building assessment of tower, ahead of consolidation works.
At the time of this survey the tower was in a poor state of repair, with flintwork having fallen from the structure and substantial cracking apparent.
The upper stage of the tower was in particularly poor condition, with lost flintwork apparent below the later crenelated parapet on all four elevations, with the clunch and flint core of the walls exposed in places. This damage was particularly severe on the north elevation, with some of the clunch and flint core also lost. In the east elevation a portion of wall fabric had been lost entirely, exposing the spiral staircase within. On all sides the buttresses showed evidence of cracking and lost fabric. The timber roof of the tower had previously collapsed as had an internal floor – the remains of which had been cleared to allow access to the tower. The three doorways associated with the spiral staircase were though intact. The walls of the tower could be seen to be constructed largely from clunch, which formed the core of the walls and their internal faces (which were fully rendered). Various late medieval Perpendicular features survive, including the west door and the three-light window above, belfry windows on the south and north elevations and flushwork flint panelling at the base of the tower and on the buttresses. The crenelated top of the tower is a later, mid-20th-century addition of brick faced with flint.
It is concluded that the proposed works would have a minimal impact on the historic fabric of the tower, consisting primarily of the repair and replacement of lost or heavily damaged material. It is though planned that the structurally unsound 20th-century parapet will be removed to string coarse level and rebuilt in a similar style.
See report (S20) for further details. See also architectural plans and elevations (S21) for additional information on the condition of the church and the nature of the proposed works.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 July 2023.

September 2019. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with installation of new electricity supply to church, which was undertaken in preparation for its proposed conversion to a residential dwelling.
The narrow trench excavated to the west of the tower was relatively shallow, with only topsoil encountered. No graves were disturbed, although a number of fragments of disarticulated human bone were recovered from the spoil. Other finds were limited to a small assemblage of post-medieval and post-medieval/modern pottery and fragments of animal bone. The earliest pottery is probably 17th century, although the bulk of the assemblage is of much more recent, 19th- or 20th-century date (including a probable Mediterranean import).
The cable trench was extended a short distance into the church itself, which it entered via the threshold of the west door. Beneath the bedding layer for the floor tiles a compact deposit of sandy silt soil and mortar fragments was exposed, which probably represented a rammed foundation deposit for the church floor. No additional finds were recovered.
See report (S22) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2019.315).
P. Watkins (HES), 30 July 2023.

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Founded, Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
• CHURCH (In Use As, Late Saxon to 17th Century - 1000 AD to 1649 AD?)
• FINDSPOT (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• FINDSPOT (Post Medieval to Late 20th Century - 1540 AD to 2000 AD)
• STABLE (In Use As, 17th Century - 1633 AD to 1666 AD)
• CHURCH (In Use As, 17th Century to Late 20th Century - 1660 AD? to 1987 AD)

Associated Finds

• ANIMAL REMAINS (Undated)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Unknown date)
• ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Unknown date)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Unknown date)
• COFFIN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD? to 1900 AD?)
• BOTTLE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• BRICK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• CLAMP (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• POT (19th Century to Late 20th Century - 1801 AD to 2000 AD)

Protected Status

• Listed Building

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Thetford (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Thetford (post medieval to modern period) (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Thetford (prehistoric to Roman period) (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Thetford (prehistoric to Roman period) (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Thetford (Saxon to medieval period) (Parish Summary)
• The Viking Thetford Trail (Heritage Trail)