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Record Details

NHER Number:7725
Type of record:Building
Name:St Margaret's Church, Morton on the Hill

Summary

A Late Saxon, medieval and later parish church. Much of the nave is Late Saxon, as are the ruins of the round tower. The chancel was added in the late 13th century, with a porch and chapel constructed in the 15th century. The tower survived to its full height until 1959 when it collapsed, damaging the nave and the porch. The church remained unused and unrepaired until the 1980s when the nave, chancel, porch and chapel were restored. Although the church is adjacent to Morton Hall (NHER 7726), Blomefield suggested that it was the parish church of Helmingham (see NHER 7737), a vill mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Images

  • St Margeret's Church, Morton on the Hill. © Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service
  • A brass inside St Margaret's Church, Morton on the Hill. © Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service

Location

Grid Reference:TG 1262 1587
Map Sheet:TG11NW
Parish:MORTON ON THE HILL, BROADLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Anciently the parish church of Helmingham according to Blomefield (S1).
Round tower (collapsed 1959) apparently was Late Saxon in date; other work of this period remains.
Early English and Perpendicular alterations.
Now redundant. Listed grade I.
See (S2)-(S5)
See brief notes (S6) and press cuttings (S7)-(S8) in file.
E. Rose (NLA), 29 January 1990.

Appropriate section from (S9) in file.

13 July 1993. NLA air photography.
Church visible.
S. Massey (NLA), 8 February 2001.

July 2006.
Photographs (see S7 and S9) taken before 1959 show that the lower sections of the tower were round, but that the upper section was octagonal.
The church was declared redundant in 1979. See (S8).
In 1980 it leased to Norfolk Churches Trust and subsequently restored. It is now used for occassional services.
The nave is probably Late Saxon, with the tower an early addition to it. The chancel was added in the late 13th century. The porch and chapel date to the 15th century.
Information from (S9).
Located to the west of Morton Hall (NHER 7726), close to the site of the suggested site of Helmingham or Morton deserted medieval village (NHER 7737).
D. Robertson (NLA), 4 July 2006.

2006
Missing brass restored (S10).
D. Gurney (NLA), 4 December 2006

Monument Types

  • ROUND TOWERED CHURCH (Late Saxon to 19th Century - 851 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
  • COFFIN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • DOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • ROOD SCREEN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: TG 2226 A-E, TG 2326 F,G,H.
---Aerial Photograph: TG1215 A-E.
---Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1993. TG 1215H - L.
---Publication: Wortley, J.D.. 1926. The parishes and churches of Attlebridge and Morton-on-the-Hill.
---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 11 NW 6 [2].
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Photograph: Royal Commission for Historic Monuments England. 1952. Morton-on-the-Hill Church of St Margaret. Print.
---Unpublished Document: Rose, E. (NLA). 2000. Addendum to building report. Building Report.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, B. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 547.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Late Saxon. Morton on the Hill.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Slide: Various. Slide.
---Photograph: Pond, H.. 1957. View of St Margaret's Church, Morton on the Hill, prior to collapse of the tower. Digital (JPEG). jpeg.
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
<S1>Serial: Blomefield, F.. 1808. An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk.. Vol VIII. 548.
<S2>Publication: Cautley, H. M. 1949. Norfolk Churches.
<S3>Publication: Taylor, H. M. and Taylor, J. 1965. Anglo-Saxon Architecture.
<S4>Illustration: Ladbrooke. [unknown].
<S5>Documentary Source: Martin, T. c. 1700-1799. Collections of Church Notes. Norfolk Records Office. Walter Rye Collection. RYE 17.. c. 1730.
<S6>Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 1978. Building Report.. Building Report.
<S7>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1976. Church's future in the balance. 7 October.
<S8>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1980. Chapel restored. 7 June.
<S9>Monograph: Batcock, N. 1991. The Ruined and Disused Churches of Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 51. Microfiche 5:G12. No 50; p 51.
<S10>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2006. The strange case of the vanishing altar brass. 2 December.

Related records - none

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