St Andrews Church, Hempstead
Encyclopedia
St Andrew is a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 church in Hempstead, near Stalham, Norfolk, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The church was constructed sometime prior to the end of the 14th century, dedicated to St Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...

. The building still retains almost all of its original architecture, including its completely unrestored, uneven top beam. The real significance of the church comes from the rare quality of the painting on the rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...

. The screen consists of two ranges of eight panels each, the panels arranged in pairs. In February 1982, a thief armed with a screwdriver removed one the priceless painted boards of the rood screen. On it was an image of St Eligius. The panel has never been recovered.

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