Henry Bell was an architect from the 17th century, a contemporary of Christopher Wren

Christopher Wren

Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...

. The son of a wealthy merchant family, he designed many buildings in West Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

 including the Custom House in King's Lynn

King's Lynn

King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....

 and All Saints Church in North Runcton

North Runcton

North Runcton is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is west of Norwich, south-south-west of King's Lynn and north of London. The village is located a small distance south-west of the A47 between King's Lynn and Swaffham. The nearest railway station is at...

.

He served twice as Mayor of King's Lynn, he was well educated and travelled through Europe. In 1676 he met Robert Hooke, who shared with him his experiences of rebuilding London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 following the Great Fire

Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...

. This knowledge had a bearing on his future work, as the design of North Runcton Church shows similarities with those employed by Wren, for example St Mary-at-Hill

St Mary-at-Hill

St. Mary-at-Hill is a Church of England church on Lovat Lane, a cobbled street off Eastcheap in the ward of Billingsgate, London, England. Rebuilt many times, St Mary-at-Hill was originally founded in the 12th Century, where it was first known as "St. Mary de Hull" or " St...

.

He died in 1711, two years before All Saints Church was completed.

Further reading

• • "Henry Bell of King's Lynn", Architectural History, Vol. 4, (1961), pp. 41–62.
  • Geoffrey Webb, "Henry Bell of King's Lynn", The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 47, No. 268 (Jul., 1925), pp. 24–33
  • James Stevens Curl, A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape, 2000 (entry for "Bell, Henry").