St Peter's Church, Hockwold
Encyclopedia
St Peter's Church is a redundant
Anglican
church in the village of Hockwold cum Wilton
in 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
.
of Hockwold, before that village joined with neighbouring Wilton to form Hockwold cum Wilton
. The nave
and the tower date from the mid-14th century. A chancel
was added in the 15th century. The church underwent restoration
in 1857. Up until the 17th century, the parishes of St Peter, Hockwold, and St James, Wilton were separate but from 1666 they shared a rector and services alternated between the two churches. Eventually, St Peter's became redundant. In 1959 the church was designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage
. The Grade I listing is for buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important". It is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust
.
with ashlar
dressings; the roofs are slate
. Its plan consists of a nave with a south aisle, chancel, south porch and south-west tower. The tower is of two stages with stepped angled buttress
es. It is decorated with freestone quoin
s. There are two-light belfry
windows and the window in the west wall of the tower also has two lights and is reticulated. The bell-ringing chamber has rounded lancets. In 1805, the tower contained three bells. The church windows include three-light clerestory
windows with supermullions and a three-light east window in the Perpendicular
style below a quatrefoil oculus
.
beams and false hammer beams. The south aisle is separated from the nave by a four-bay
arcade
which has octagonal pier
s and double chamfer
ed arches. The aisle contains a bench sedile
and a piscina
. The chancel measures approximately 11 metres (36.1 ft) by 7 metres (23 ft). The south wall has three stone ogee
d arches indicating the position of sedilia for the bishop, priest and deacon. There is also an ogeed piscina; both these features of the chancel date from the 19th century. To the left of the east window is a wall monument to Sir Cyril Wyche
who died in 1780. Sir Cyril was one of the first members of the Royal Society
.
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 village of Hockwold cum Wilton
Hockwold cum Wilton
Hockwold cum Wilton is 10 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk, England and is in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. It is located near several USAF airbases, notably RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall...
in 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...
.
History
St Peter's was formerly the parish churchChurch of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Hockwold, before that village joined with neighbouring Wilton to form Hockwold cum Wilton
Hockwold cum Wilton
Hockwold cum Wilton is 10 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk, England and is in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. It is located near several USAF airbases, notably RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall...
. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and the tower date from the mid-14th century. A chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
was added in the 15th century. The church underwent restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1857. Up until the 17th century, the parishes of St Peter, Hockwold, and St James, Wilton were separate but from 1666 they shared a rector and services alternated between the two churches. Eventually, St Peter's became redundant. In 1959 the church was designated a Grade I listed building 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...
. The Grade I listing is for buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important". It is now cared for by 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...
.
Exterior
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 ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
dressings; the roofs are slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
. Its plan consists of a nave with a south aisle, chancel, south porch and south-west tower. The tower is of two stages with stepped angled buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. It is decorated with freestone quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s. There are two-light belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
windows and the window in the west wall of the tower also has two lights and is reticulated. The bell-ringing chamber has rounded lancets. In 1805, the tower contained three bells. The church windows include three-light 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...
windows with supermullions and a three-light east window in the Perpendicular
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
style below a quatrefoil oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
.
Interior
Internally, the nave measures approximately 14 metres (45.9 ft) by 11 metres (36.1 ft). The roof has alternating tieTie (engineering)
A tie, structural tie, connector, or structural connector is a structural component designed to resist tension. It is the opposite of a strut, which is designed to resist compression. Ties are generally made of galvanized steel...
beams and false hammer beams. The south aisle is separated from the nave by a four-bay
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:...
arcade
Arcade (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....
which has octagonal pier
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...
s and double chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed arches. The aisle contains a bench sedile
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
and a piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
. The chancel measures approximately 11 metres (36.1 ft) by 7 metres (23 ft). The south wall has three stone ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
d arches indicating the position of sedilia for the bishop, priest and deacon. There is also an ogeed piscina; both these features of the chancel date from the 19th century. To the left of the east window is a wall monument to Sir Cyril Wyche
Cyril Wyche
Sir Cyril Wyche FRS was an English lawyer and politician.He was born in Constantinople, Turkey, where his father, Sir Peter Wyche, was the English Ambassador. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford with Bachelor of Arts in 1653. He received his Master of Arts in 1655 and his Doctor of Civil...
who died in 1780. Sir Cyril was one of the first members of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
.
Churchyard
The churchyard of St Peter's contains a monument which has been given a Grade II listing by English Heritage. Lying 3 metres (9.8 ft) south of the church tower, the monument is a square headstone of ashlar.See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the East of England