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Record Details

NHER Number:1615
Type of record:Building
Name:St Mary the Virgin's Church, Sedgeford

Summary

St Mary's has an early 14th-century round tower. Most of the rest of the structure is contemporary. The clerestory is a 15th-century additon. The transept had a twin on the north side. The chancel was partly demolished around 1770. The church was once a Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral having been appropriated to the Cellarer of the Cathedral priory before the Dissolution. The church and graveyard has been extensively investigated and recorded by SHARP. These investigations include a gravestone survey, building recording and resistivity surveys. The resistivity surveys have identified the layout of the demolished east end of the chancel and the former north transept. While a soakaway was being dug in the churchyard in 2010, a post-medieval coin was recovered as a stray find.

Images

  • St Mary the Virgin's Church in Sedgeford has a Late Saxon or Norman tower © Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service

Location

Grid Reference:TF 7071 3648
Map Sheet:TF73NW
Parish:SEDGEFORD, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Saxo-Norman round tower; otherwise Early English, Decorated & Perpendicular. Chancel part demolished in 18th century.
See (S1).
E. Rose (NLA).

1991.
Cutting of drain trench across site of chancel noted and recorded.
See (S2) and (S3).
E. Rose (NLA), 16 August 1991.

1996. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. Church Survey.
Gravestone survey, stone-by-stone record, ground plan and general recording.
Gravestone survey written and visual record of each stone within the cemetery. Those dated range from 1700 to 1890 (after which a new cemetery came into use).
The church consists of many architectural phases mainly high medieval. The earliest feature is the round tower, containing two triangular headed windows, one of which is now blocked off. These may suggest a foundation date in the Late Saxon period, but there are reasons to suspect the tower is actually early Norman (late 11th to early 12th century). Much of the rest dates in style to the 13th to 15th centuries with possible rebuilding in the Tudor period.
See (S4) and (S5).
M. Dennis (NLA), 7 August 2006.

1997. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. Church Survey.
Program of photogrammetric recording to provide an accurate record of the building.
See (S6) and (S7).
M. Dennis (NLA), 10 August 2006.

1998. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. Church Survey and Resistivity Survey.
Progress was made towards defining a sequence of the stages of the building and repair. A resistivity survey within the churchyard revealed the extent of the east end of the chancel demolished around 1770. It was shown to extend some 6m becoming narrower. The north transcept seems to have fallen into disrepair somewhat earlier.
See (S8) and (S9).
M. Dennis (NLA), 10 August 2006.

1999. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. Church Survey and Contour Survey.
This area became the focal centre of Sedgeford in the later medieval period. Conclusion of the first phase of recording the building's fabric. Floor plan and exterior of building have been recorded at 1:50 and the interior studied in great detail using measured sketches, scale drawings, photographs and written descriptions. 450 building elements have been identified and inter-related to create a detailed picture of the building's structural history. A contour survey of the surrounding graveyard and the inscriptions of the gravestones systematically recorded. The church was once a Peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral.
See (S10).
M. Dennis (NLA), 10 August 2006.

2001. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. Church Survey and Resisitivity Survey.
Outlines of the demolished chancel and north transcept recorded. The lack of solid chalk underlying the eastern end of the church was reponsible for the collapse of the eastern end of the chancel.
See (S11), (S12) and (S15).
M. Dennis (NLA), 11 August 2006.

September 2010. Conservation of Building Research and Analysis Report (COBRAR). Early 14th-century round tower, main arcades and chancel. Transepts added later in 14th centruy. Aisles rebuilt wider and envelopping tower. 15th-century added clerestory. South transept heightened. North transept demolished. 1770 chancel shortened. Confirms in the main Stephen Hart's analysis (S13).
See (S14).
S. Heywood (HES), 8 November 2010.

Just before 14 July 2010.
A post-medieval farthing of Charles I was discovered when a soak-away was dug in the churchyard.
See list and finder's photograph in file.
A. Marsden (HES), 20 October 2011.

May 2011. Excavation.
Details awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 February 2017.

February to May 2016. HLF-funded renovation project.
Repairs to the church will help remove it from the Heritage at Risk register.
Details awaited [1].
H. Hamilton (HES), 05 September 2017.

Monument Types

  • FINDSPOT (Unknown date)
  • CHURCH (Late Saxon to 19th Century - 851 AD to 1900 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • NAIL (Undated)
  • COFFIN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • DOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • FONT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WALL PAINTING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • COFFIN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • COIN (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • WINDOW (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • COIN (17th Century - 1625 AD to 1634 AD)

Protected Status

  • Listed Building
  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Photograph: FWE.
---Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1989. Queen helps to restore church. 19 September.
---Article in Serial: Plunkett, G. A. F. 1979. Norfolk Church Screens - 1865 Survey. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXXVII Pt II pp 178-189. p 186.
---Designation: English Heritage. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1172064.
---Correspondence: Cox, A.. 2000. Letter. SHARP work in progress.. 14 September.
---Article in Serial: van Twest, M. 2000. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, 1999: Fourth Interim Report. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt III pp 512-516.
---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 73 NW 20.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Archive: Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project Archive.
---Archive: Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project Folder.
---Unpublished Document: Hammond, J.. 1990. Additional Historical Notes on the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Sedgeford..
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1984. Carved history. 29 October.
---Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1996. £46,000 church appeal to village. 16 April.
---Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1996. From Tombs to Tomes. 5 November.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. £1.4m church repairs boost. 19 February.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, W. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. pp 635-636.
---Leaflet: Snelling, J.H.. 1967. The church of St Mary the Virgin, Sedgeford, Norfolk..
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Late Saxon. Sedgeford.
---Article in Serial: Hayden, A. 2007. Church and Other Organs. Glaven Historian. No 10 pp 3-9.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Slide: Various. Slide.
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
<S1>Unpublished Document: E. Rose. 1979. Building Report.. Building Report.
<S2>Illustration: Wingate, M.. 1990. St Mary's Church: Sedgeford, Norfolk. Alterations to Drains.. 17 December.
<S3>Unpublished Document: Wallis, H.. 1991. St Mary's Church, Sedgeford. Watching Brief.. 9 January.
<S4>Article in Serial: Faulkner, N. (ed.). 1997. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project 1996: First Interim Report. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLII Pt IV pp 532-535.
<S5>Unpublished Document: Various. 1997. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. The Report. No 1. 1996.. February.
<S6>Article in Serial: Cox, A., Fox, J. and Thomas, G. 1998. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project: 1997 Interim Report. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt I pp 172-177.
<S7>Unpublished Document: Various. 1998. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. The Report. No. 2. 1997..
<S8>Article in Serial: Biddulph, E. 1999. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project 1998: Third Interim Report (1998). Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt II pp 351-352.
<S9>Unpublished Document: Various. 1999. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. The Report. No. 3. 1998..
<S10>Unpublished Document: Various. 2000. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. The Report. No. 4. 1999..
<S11>Article in Serial: Cabot, S., Davies, G. and Hoggett, R. 2002. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project 2001: Sixth Interim Report. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIV Pt I pp 131-133.
<S12>Unpublished Document: Davies, G. and Hoggett, R. (ed.). 2002. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project Interim Report 2001.
<S13>Article in Serial: Hart, S. 2001. Sedgeford, St Mary the Virgin. The Round Tower. XXVIII, No.4, pp. 76-82.
<S14>Unpublished Document: Heywood, S. 2010. The Church of St Mary, Sedgeford. Conservation-based Research and Analysis Report. October.
<S15>Unpublished Report: Heath, J. 2001. Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. Report from the Geophysics Course 29 July-3 August 2001.

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