St Augustine's Church, Norwich
Encyclopedia
St Augustine's Church, Norwich, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the city of Norwich
, Norfolk
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands to the west of St Augustine's Street, the A1024 road, to the north of the Norwich inner ring road.
restored part of the fabric of the church and reordered the interior. During the 20th century the condition of the building deteriorated. By the 1990s the tower had become dangerous and the church's three 17th-century bells (which pre-date the new tower) were removed and donated to All Saints church, Carleton Rode. The church was declared redundant in 1997, and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust in 2000.
with stone and brick dressings. The tower is in brick on a flint plinth
, and is the only one of its kind in the city. The church is square in plan, with the nave and chancel being similar in length, and the aisles running along their full length. There is also a clerestory
extending along the length of the nave, a south porch, and a rood
turret
against the wall of the north aisle. The tower is at the west end, and is in three stages. In the lowest stage is a west window with a pointed arch. The middle stage contains small square windows on each side, and in the top stage the bell openings have two lights. The parapet
is rendered
and battlement
ed. The nave is in four bays
and contains two-light windows with Decorated tracery
. The clerestory has four two-light windows on each side containing Y-tracery. The chancel is in two bays, with three-light Perpendicular windows in the aisles, and a five-light east window.
are carried on octagonal piers
. The font
dates from the 15th century. The pews and the reredos
are from the 1880s, and the screen, which incorporates the pulpit
and a reading desk, was added in 1920 as a memorial to those who died in the First World War. The memorials include a marble wall monument to the Palladian architect Matthew Brettingham
, who designed Holkham Hall
, and other family members, and one to a textile manufacturer, Thomas Clabburn, erected by "upwards of six hundred of the weavers of Norwich and assistants". There is little stained glass; that in the east window dates from 1870, and the glass in the north chancel aisle, depicting SS Felix of Dunwich and Augustine of Canterbury, dates from 1901. A window by Morris & Co. in the south nave aisle, depicting the Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and the angel at the empty tomb, dates from 1920 and is a memorial to a soldier of the parish who was killed in action in 1917. The two-manual
organ was transferred from St Peter's Church, Hungate, (which is now a museum). It was built in 1875–78 by John Rayson, and restored in 1959–60 by Hill, Norman & Beard.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the city of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, 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...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The church stands to the west of St Augustine's Street, the A1024 road, to the north of the Norwich inner ring road.
History
St Augustine's is the only pre-Reformation church in Norfolk with this dedication. The earliest documentary evidence of a church dedicated to St Augustine in Norwich dates from 1163 in a letter from the bishop of Norwich, William de Turbe, to the prior of Llanthony Secunda Priory in Gloucester. Nothing of this Norman church survives. The church was substantially rebuilt in the early 15th century. The tower was added in 1682–87 after the flint tower collapsed. The date 1687 was added, presumably on completion, to the east-facing parapet. In the 1880s R. M. PhipsonRichard Phipson
Richard Makilwaine Phipson was an English architect. A diocesan architect for the Anglican Diocese of Norwich, he is responsible for the renovation of almost 100 churches in East Anglia.-Biography:...
restored part of the fabric of the church and reordered the interior. During the 20th century the condition of the building deteriorated. By the 1990s the tower had become dangerous and the church's three 17th-century bells (which pre-date the new tower) were removed and donated to All Saints church, Carleton Rode. The church was declared redundant in 1997, and was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust in 2000.
Exterior
The body of the church is constructed in flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
with stone and brick dressings. The tower is in brick on a flint plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, and is the only one of its kind in the city. The church is square in plan, with the nave and chancel being similar in length, and the aisles running along their full length. There is also a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
extending along the length of the nave, a south porch, and a rood
Rood
A rood is a cross or crucifix, especially a large one in a church; a large sculpture or sometimes painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.Rood is an archaic word for pole, from Old English rōd "pole", specifically "cross", from Proto-Germanic *rodo, cognate to Old Saxon rōda, Old High German ruoda...
turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
against the wall of the north aisle. The tower is at the west end, and is in three stages. In the lowest stage is a west window with a pointed arch. The middle stage contains small square windows on each side, and in the top stage the bell openings have two lights. The parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
is rendered
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
and battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed. The nave is in four bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
and contains two-light windows with Decorated tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
. The clerestory has four two-light windows on each side containing Y-tracery. The chancel is in two bays, with three-light Perpendicular windows in the aisles, and a five-light east window.
Interior
The arcadesArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
are carried on octagonal piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the 15th century. The pews and the reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
are from the 1880s, and the screen, which incorporates the pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
and a reading desk, was added in 1920 as a memorial to those who died in the First World War. The memorials include a marble wall monument to the Palladian architect Matthew Brettingham
Matthew Brettingham
Matthew Brettingham , sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an 18th-century Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of Holkham Hall, and eventually became one of the country's better-known architects of his generation...
, who designed Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall is an eighteenth-century country house located adjacent to the village of Holkham, on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk...
, and other family members, and one to a textile manufacturer, Thomas Clabburn, erected by "upwards of six hundred of the weavers of Norwich and assistants". There is little stained glass; that in the east window dates from 1870, and the glass in the north chancel aisle, depicting SS Felix of Dunwich and Augustine of Canterbury, dates from 1901. A window by Morris & Co. in the south nave aisle, depicting the Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and the angel at the empty tomb, dates from 1920 and is a memorial to a soldier of the parish who was killed in action in 1917. The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was transferred from St Peter's Church, Hungate, (which is now a museum). It was built in 1875–78 by John Rayson, and restored in 1959–60 by Hill, Norman & Beard.