St Andrew's Church, Northwold | |
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52°32′33″N0°35′16″E / 52.5426°N 0.5878°E | |
Location | Northwold, Norfolk |
Country | England |
Denomination | Anglican |
Website | |
History | |
Dedication | St Andrew |
Associated people | Rev'd Joan Horan |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Church of England parish church |
Heritage designation | Grade I |
Designated | 8 July 1959 |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Perpendicular Gothic |
Groundbreaking | 13th century |
St Andrew's Church is an active Church of England parish church in the village of Northwold, Norfolk, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
The village of Northwold was the birthplace of Hugh of Northwold at the end of the 12th century. Hugh became Bishop of Ely in 1229. Known as a considerable church benefactor, he was the likely driver of the early church at Northwold. [1] St Andrew's dates from the 13th century. The chancel was added in the 14th. The tower dates from the later 15th century. [2] The church was partially reconstructed and enlarged in the Victorian era. [3] In the 19th century, the rector was Charles Manners Richard Norman, of the family of the Dukes of Rutland. He married Caroline Angerstein, daughter of John Julius Angerstein, a marine insurer and reputedly one of the richest commoners in England. [4] [a]
In 2018, an attempt to steal the lead from the church roof was thwarted by the church’s security measures. [6] [7] Repairs to the roof and to the church fabric were carried out the same year. [8] The church remains an active parish church in the Benefice of Grimshoe within the Diocese of Ely. [9] It is home to a colony of bats, housed in a specially-constructed bat house. [10]
The church is built of flint, which is partially rendered. The nave and aisles are of the 13th century, the chancel of the 14th and the tower of the 15th. [3] There is a hammerbeam roof. [11] The most notable feature of the interior is the Easter Sepulchre. Bill Wilson, in his 2002 revised edition of Norfolk 2: North-West and South, in the Pevsner Buildings of England series, notes its "lavish composition", although he also records its poor state of preservation. [12]
St Andrew's is a Grade I listed building. [3] The churchyard contains a number of notable 18th century headstones, 13 of which are Grade II listed structures. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]