Record Details

NHER Number:7221
Type of record:Building
Name:St Thomas' Church, Foxley

Summary

St Thomas' church mostly dates from the early 12th century to the 15th. The early Norman nave has east nave quoins of massive blocks of conglomerate and flint rubble and the north west rubble quoins are revealed in a straight joint . Chancel 13th century with lancet windows and a Y-traceried east window. Norman nave extended westward along with the tower in the 15th century. The porch erected by the Grey family. Screen with painted dado figures. Remarkable pews.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 0395 2171
Map Sheet:TG02SW
Parish:FOXLEY, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Late 13th to 15th centuries. Good fittings, box pews, etc. Southeast nave quoin bases are massive blocks of conglomerate. Late Saxon origin? Fragment of elaborate Norman arch reused in east wall.
See (S1) and (S2) in file.
E. Rose (NAU), 6 August 1987.

September 2013. Inspection
The nave is Norman extended to the west in the later Middle Ages. Rubble and ferruginous conglomerate quoins are evident on the eastern quoins of the nave. The west quoins are visible as a straight joint on the north side. Anglo Norman coursed large flint masonry is in evidence. The voussoir incorporated in the masonry of the east wall, mentioned above, is a clasped roll (related to beak head ornament). The porch has the carving of a tree branch or 'ragged staff' in the spandrel of the entrance arch, identified by Ron Fiske as the black ragged staff which is a badge of the Grey family which held the manor of Foxley from 1390 to c.1500 (see S3 & S4) . The screen has very good dado paintings of saints of which some are defaced. The upper part of the screen has been cut off and re-fixed with crude iron plates. This must be a reflection of the situation during the iconoclastic excesses of the Commonwealth. With the return to more catholic worship at the Restoration a resourceful churchwarden was able to put the screen back in position having carefully stored it elsewhere. The bells have recently been re -hung. The pews are remarkable owing to the simplicity of the poppy head bench ends and the incorporation of the odd box pew. Behind the chancel screen are four new pinnacles waiting to be erected on the tower where the bases of the tall pinnacles remain. See photos in image library.
S. Heywood (HES), 25 September 2013

Monument Types

  • CHURCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

  • DOOR (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)
  • WALL PAINTING (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: TG0321A.
---Illustration: Various. Various. Architectural plans.
---Documentary Source: Martin, T. c. 1700-1799. Collections of Church Notes. Norfolk Records Office.
---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 472.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. Church in need of funds to make bells ring again. 9 October.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
<S1>Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 1983. Building Report.. Building Report.
<S2>Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 1987. Building Report.. Building Report.
<S3>Publication: K. Mourin. 2004. Heraldry in Norfolk Churches, vol. 4: Sparham Deanery. pp 21-2.
<S4>Serial: Blomefield, F.. 1808. An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk.. Vol VIII. 548.

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