The Conesford Trail
Anchoresses in Medieval Norwich
A self-guided trail of
Norwich’s medieval churches
to celebrate the city’s cultural heritage
All Saints
St John Timberhill
St John de Sepulchre
St Julian
St Etheldreda
Includes two of the lost
medieval churches of Norwich
Medieval Norwich and its Churches
Funding and Relationship. Some anchoresses were supported
by widespread local giving, some by a particular patron or
sponsoring family and some were self-supporting. A city could
provide the population and the necessary cash to invest. In
return anchoresses supported individuals and the community
with their prayers and, when asked for, counsel and spiritual
guidance. There is some evidence that they were involved in
other tasks, such as charitable administration.
For the first time in its history, and under a new initiative led
by the Norwich Historic Churches Trust working closely with
its heritage partners, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund,
Norwich is presented as a significant medieval city through its
churches.
Anchoresses in Medieval Norwich (13th -16th centuries)
What was an anchoress? She was a woman following a
religious vow of solitude, stability and permanent enclosure
in a room or possibly two rooms, in order to devote all her
attention to God in meditation and prayer, ‘anchored’ in one
place for the rest of her life. Such a vocation was highly valued
as a parish or community amenity.
Image: St Mary Coslany
Who? Many have heard of Norwich’s famous anchoress, the
author and mystic, Julian of Norwich (1342-1416?). But she
appeared as part of a long-established tradition in the city
and had neighbouring solitaries during her enclosure and
long after. Julian is known because of her amazing surviving
book, “Revelations of Divine Love”, but others we know only
by name, or from an anonymous bequest. Rarely do we have
hints of their identity or background, but where they occur
they were not without means.
With thanks to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral
Norwich is a City of Churches. It has a collection of thirty-one
medieval churches, more than any other European city north
of the Alps, memorials in flint and stone to its rich heritage
and former position as the second city in the kingdom. In
the High Middle Ages (from about 1200 to 1550) Norwich
was also described as Europe’s most religious city, with a
tradition of anchorites and hermits and a number of informal
(and fairly transient) groups of women living together in
chastity, but also which were in all likelihood influenced by
the béguinages (establishments housing members of a lay
sisterhood) of the Low Countries.
Image: Julian of Norwich by David Holgate.
Origins. The solitary life of the anchoress was rooted in the
ancient desert experience of the early Christian Church.
From the end of the thirteenth century (1290s) until the
Reformation (1540s), records show Norwich regularly
attracting women (and some men) to this vocation more than
other cities, including London. Possibly this was a result of
Norwich’s international trading success, which itself was a
conduit for cutting-edge expressions of religious faith.
Why was this vocation growing in value to Norwich citizens?
And why in such a busy industrial city? Like everyone else in
an urban economy women and men following this calling had
to be funded. Women had to satisfy the bishop not only of
their true vocation and mental stability, but also that there
were funds to support them so they were not a drain on their
host church. After 1348, waves of plague and other endemic
disease hit hard in Norwich and anxieties increased about
going to judgement before God unconfessed and un-absolved
from sin. For recluses and their benefactors heaven and hell
were realities to be addressed.
Evidence. Most Norwich anchoresses seem not to have been
nuns, but ordinary women seeking to live a holy life apart,
sworn to chastity and obedience. Judging by surviving wills
a large section (over 20%) of Norwich citizens gave money
to either specific anchoresses or to every city anchoress in
town in expectation of her continued prayers for their soul.
Anchoresses’ intercession and dedicated presence continued
to be prized and invested in throughout the politically
turbulent, violent and plague-infested fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries.
Image: St Julian
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• 1537/8,
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anchoresses.
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chapels.
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oftenglass
than windows
not, anchoresses
not named in wills,
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originally Burgh Street, as it led to the Gcastle
and town. Walk CK
ILD
ER
ST
S W
along
to
Horns
Lane,
opposite
Trinity
Stained
Glass.
A
REbut indicated by location.
Y
As you come
out, turn itleft
and
walk around
theStcorner
• A pre-Conquest
foundation,
was
sometimes
called
John- to
ET
The names of Julian’s immediate successors are unknown,
Timber
Hill and
enter
churchJARROLD
of:the city wall. Many
ST JAMES
at-the-Gates,
being
close
to anthe
entrance
in
BRIDGE
MILL
sometimes
linked
to Julian
nun and
who was
6
3
St
Bartholomew
(lost)
3
On
leaving the wrongly
church turn
right
into StLampet,
Julian’s aAlley
NOVI
SAD
gifts of land or property were invested by wealthy
merchants
BRIDGE
KE
TTS HILL
RI
enclosed
at
Carrow
Priory
for
over
fifty-three
years
until her
V
walk
down
into
King
Street
and
turn
right
opposite
Dragon
COW
2 2 Stfor
John
Baptist
(St parish
John Timberhill)
Epoor.
of this parish
thethe
benefit
of the
Gifts of coal
R W
ENSUM
TOWER
death
in
1481.
Names
of
those
recorded
include:
•
The
church
is
gone
but
its
tower
remains
are
marked
by
a
Hall.
Continue
along
King
Street
until
you
arrive
at
another
are frequently mentioned, for cooking over as well as heating,
4 of three city churches with 7this dedication, Francis
church.
• One
andplaque.
gifts
of warm
clothing.
MUSPOLE
• 1472, Agnes
•
In
1306,
an
anchoress,
Katherine,
lived
here.
After
1549
this
Blomefield
recorded that
• This church
had awriting
shrine in
in the
the 1740s
nave dedicated
to St Anne
MARYS PLAIN
ST
1481,
1505, 1506, Elizabeth Scott
parish
was
united
with
another
church
to
be
found
further
N
I
B
This
trail through Conesford begins opposite John Lewis by
N
6
Etheldreda
6 • St
‘anciently
. . .a recluse dwelt in a little cell adjoining the
with Eher
image. Here
RT PL it could be accessible to women with
DD
MA E
IN
•
1510,
Elizabeth (possibly the same woman).
T LAC
along
Ber
Street:
G
S
All Saints Green.
north
side
This had fallen
intowere
disuse
concerns
and childbirth.
Women
notby the
A of the steeple.’
LN aboutT-Pconception
A
•
1524,
• DedicatedAgnes
to theEldrigge
Anglo-Saxon princess and abbess of her
andorinsanctuary.
1641 was rebuilt and lived in by Thomas
allowedReformation
in the chancel
Image:
St
John
de
Sepulchre
•
1537/8,
1547,
unnamed
anchoresses.
E
D
I
GREAT
HOSPITAL
1 1 All Saints
monastic
foundation
at Ely, this
was another pre-Conquest
and
Anne
Hinderby
until
they
died.
Then
‘the
parish
pulled
it
•
‘In
the
time
of
Henry
III
(1216-72),
a
recluse
lived
in
the
YS
E
T
A
A
U
G
Q
COLE Anchoresses in Medieval Norwich
The Conesford Trail:
BISHOPGATE
4
St
John
at
Holy
Sepulchre
(St
John
de
Sepulchre)
4
foundation.
down,
finding
it
made
the
churchyard
public’
and
doing
away
churchyard’.
B
AS
BISHOPS
More Goften
than not,
were
named inhere,
wills,
HILrecords
• Sometimes known as All Saints-by-Timber-Hill (site of the ARRAC • 1455,with
•BRIDGE
Blomefield
thatanchoresses
an anchorhold
wasnot
‘anciently’
a footpath
which
hadatbeen
‘a common
L
Thomas
the Hermit
lived
Ber Street
Gates.passage’.
HermitsClearly,
GIL
K
Medieval
churches
throughout
Norwich
DE accommodated
but
indicated
by
location.
•
A
pre-Conquest
foundation,
it
was
sometimes
called
St
JohnRS
S
timber
market),
sometimes
All Saints-in-the-old-Swynewhich was rebuilt in 1305 and continued in occupation until
it wasa attracting
undesirable
behaviour!
also
holy solitary
life but unlike
anchors and
TR sought
WA
Y
EE
Eat-the-Gates,
anchoresses,
these
there appear
to be
two clear
ET • This is a being
T
close
an
entrance
instability
the cityof
wall.
Market,
because but
the among
green on
the south
side of the
church
the Reformation, ‘when it was demolished and the tithe barn
living
churchto
attracting
worshippers
the Many
Angloanchoresses
were
not
vowed
to
enclosure
or
in
one
ST JAMESone in Conesford in the JARROLD
Street area and its close
On leavingwas
the built
church
turn
into St Julian’s Alley and
giftsHermits
of landwere
or
property
were invested
byroads,
wealthy
merchants
BRIDGE livestock.
wasclusters:
usedMILL
to slaughter pigs and later King
other
at Bracondale
with
itsright
old timbers’.
Catholic
tradition.
N
place.
commissioned
to
mend
collect
tolls
L
S
NORWICH
SE
neighbourhood,
another,and
‘Over-the-Water’,
in the
oldest
walk
down
into
King
Street
and
turn
opposite
R
of
this
parish
for
the
benefit
of
the
parish
poor.
Gifts
of
coal
K
THE
CLOSE
L
O
• Currently
a centre and
forSECURE
antiques
collectables
with
café,
CATHEDRAL
• Its patrons were women as well as men,right
including
LadyDragon
H
A
TTS HILLsmelly work. WThomas
and
clear ditches
- KE
filthy,
was a friend
RI
VE
N&
COW
R WCoslany (Oak
KS
and traces
poorest
ofCYCLE
the PARKING
city
between
WAGGOStreet
Hall.
Continue
along
King
Street
until
you
arrive
another
are
frequently
mentioned,
for
cooking
over
as
well
as
heating,
O
E N S Umany
TOWER
finding
ofpart
its medieval
origins
and
its
memorials
had
a
M
Turning
back,
cross the
road
Johnwho
Lewis
into
of Richard
Fernys
(d.1464),
priest
and
hermit,
lived
in Ber Street, Katherine Felbrigge (1459), widow of Sir Simon, who at
HO from
area)
and
Magdalen
Street.
church.
T
and
gifts
of
warm
clothing.
E
E
to its rich merchants and civic elite is difficult, but the body
of
originally
Burgh Street,
as itover
led to
the period.
castle and
town. Walk house in the parish and Hawise Balygate (1479).
R
several
church
locations
in
the
city
a
long
Hermits,
ST
ES
THE
• This
church
had a Lane,
shrineattracted
in the nave
dedicated
toGlass.
St Anne
INC
the church structure and its churchyard remain.
• 1472-1518 anonymous references to the anchoresses
along
toanchoresses
Horns
opposite
Trinity
Stained
anchorites
and
bequests
to and
from
HALLS
PR
OSE
FERRY LANE
THE CL
This
trail
through
Conesford
begins
opposite
John
Lewis
by
6 6 St Etheldreda
with
her
image.
Here
it
could
be
accessible
to
women
with
•B There wasCHan
anchorhold here. City records show that in
continue.
each
other
as
well
as
from
the
mercantile
community.
ARIINN- G NCROSS
PULLS
T L
ST ANDREWS ST
ED All Saints RGreen.
P
A
concerns
about
conception
and
childbirth.
Women
were
not
FERRY
E
D
1287/8
theSTservants
of the anchoress were charged that N ST
• In 1611, Anne Johnson, second wife and widow of Alderman
M C
3 3 St Bartholomew (lost)
IN
A
G
E
AL
QUE
• Dedicated
the Anglo-Saxon
princess
andnorth-west
abbess of her
-P
allowed
in the chancel
or sanctuary.
theyLNhad ‘stopped
up the Cockey (blocked up the common
William
Johnson,tofounded
an alms-house
in the
AT
Walk
back towards
John Lewis,
then down Thorn Lane, into
All
Saints
POTTERG 1 1
monastic
foundation
at
Ely,
this
was
another
pre-Conquest
ST
•
‘In
the
time
of
Henry
III
(1216-72),
a
recluse
lived
in
the
drain)
ATE ‘so that no one can pass by there’. This suggests she
corner of the churchyard for five widows.
• The church
is gone
but itsby
tower
remains to:
are marked by a
Rouen Road,
turn right
and cross
the car-park
GREAT HOSPITAL
foundation.
RECOR
churchyard’.
or her servants may have been engaged
in
trade
of
some
• This
church is now the base for a thriving group of artists.
plaque.
DE R R
ST
T
S
NK
BISH
D
A
OPG
B
OR
ATE
DF
D
BE
•
Sometimes
known
as
All
Saints-by-Timber-Hill
(site
of
the
K
• St
Blomefield
•
1455,
Thomas
the
Hermit
lived
at
Ber
Street
Gates.
Hermits
5
Julian records that an anchorhold was ‘anciently’ here,
G
5
kind, possibly for the means to subsist. Trade of any kind wasPLN
AS
•
In
1306,
an
anchoress,
Katherine,
lived
here.
After
1549
this
BISHOPS
H
ILL
RA
BRIDGE
ST
timber
market),
sometimes
All
Saints-in-the-old-Swynewhich
was rebuilt in 1305(lost)
and continued in occupation until
LTU AIN also sought a holy solitary life but unlike anchors and
U
N
C
I
GUILDHALL
forbidden to anchoresses.
7 7 St Edward-the-Martyr
parish was united with another church to be found further
O
AGR
PL
ND
HALL
Market,
because
the
green
on
the
the
Reformation,
‘when
it
was
demolished
the tithe barn
LO south side of the church
anchoresses
were
not
vowed
to
enclosure
or
stability
in
one
Another
pre-Conquest
church,
destroyed
in theand
Baedeker
REET
along Ber Street:
was
used
to
slaughter
pigs
and
later
other
livestock.
at
Bracondale
was
built
with
its
old
timbers’.
place.
Hermits
were
commissioned
to
mend
roads,
collect
tolls
air-raids
of
April,
1942,
it
was
rebuilt
in
the
early
1950s
on
As you come out,
turn left and walk around the corner to
• With a long history of anchoresses, this church is lost but
GAOL HILL
E LANE
CITY HALL
ROS
•
Currently
a
centre
for
antiques
and
collectables
with
café,
•
Its
patrons
were
women
as
well
as
men,
including
Lady
Image:
St
John
de
Sepulchre
and
clear
ditches
filthy,
smelly
work.
Thomas
was
a
friend
roughly
the
same
footprint.
NORWICH
Timber Hill and enterTHE
theCLOSE
church of:LK
was near St Etheldreda’s church, linked in the 13th century
CATHEDRAL
finding
traces of its medieval
origins
and
its
many
memorials
WA
Katherine
Felbrigge
(1459),
widow
of
Sir
Simon,
who
had a
DAVEY PLACE
of
Richard
Fernys
(d.1464),
priest
and
hermit,
who
lived
in
S
by a churchyard path which led to the hospital at St Edward’s.
OK
CASTLE but the body
HO
to
its
rich
merchants
and
elite
is
difficult,
of
ROYALcivic
ARCADE
house
in
the
parish
and
Hawise
Balygate
(1479).
EN
several
church
locations
in
the
city
over
a
long
period.
Hermits,
•
Note
the
beautiful
Romanesque
doorway
into
the
cell
2 2 St John the Baptist (St John Timberhill)
Records are patchy, but mention a priest-anchor, Robert in
UE
BETHEL
the STREET
church structure and its churchyard remain.
• 1472-1518
anonymous
references
to the
anchorites and anchoresses attracted bequests to and from
on the
south
salvaged from
St Michael
at anchoresses
Thorn, also
1470
but
also:side,
•
There
was
an
continue.
OSE anchorhold here. City records show that in
L
C
each
other
as
well
as
from
the
mercantile
community.
E
bombed
in
1942,
demolished
about
ten
years
later
and used
H
FERRY LANE Francis
T
• One of three
city churches with this dedication,
• 13th century, Margaret
1287/8
the
servants
of
the
anchoress
were
charged
that
T1611,
•
In
Anne
Johnson,
second
wife
and
widow
of Alderman
HOR
PULLS
in
the
rebuilding
of
St
Julian’s.
PE R Joan. Alderman Walter Setman left her 20s
Blomefield writing in the 1740s recorded that
• 1428, Lady
OAD
FERRY
THE FORUM
THE
they
had
‘stopped
up
the
Cockey
(blocked
up
the
common
William
Johnson,
founded
an
alms-house
in
the
north-west
F
A
Walk
back
towards
John
Lewis,
then
down
Thorn
Lane,
into
A
•
Famous
for
its
re-imagined
cell
of
Julian
of
Norwich
T
RE
‘anciently
. . .a recluse dwelt in a little cell adjoining
the
and 40d to her servants (a princely sum worth thousands in
RM
STR
ER
EET
S A
drain)
no one can
by
there’.
suggests
she
corner
of the
churchyard
for five
widows.
VE by the
Rouen Road, turn right and cross by the car-park to:
(1342-?1416),
mystic
and author,
who
lived here probably
north
side‘so
of that
the steeple.’
Thispass
had
fallen
intoThis
disuse
today’s
money).
ST
or
her
servants
may
have
been
engaged
in
trade
of
some
•
church
is
now
the
base
for
a
thriving
group
of artists.
LThis
O
from
1394
until
she
died,
though
the
dates
of her
enclosure
R
Reformation and inAM1641
was rebuilt and Rlived
in by Thomas
WE Agnes Kyte
• 1458,
R
ECORD
DRAGON HALL
PA
CL
ASSEMBLY
ER RDof any kind
NT
T
kind,
possibly
for
the
means
to
subsist.
Trade
was
AR
S
are
uncertain.
Anchoresses
were
often
buried
in
their
HO they died. Then ‘the parish pulled it
EN
andHOUSE
Anne Hinderby until
• 1516, an unnamed
anchoress here was left a bequestcell.
by
KO
CE
RS
2
5 5 St Julian
CH
BL
RO
ES
AN
forbidden
to
anchoresses.
A
7
St
Edward-the-Martyr
(lost)
EN
7
A
R
•
Her
book,
written
and
re-drafted
most
likely
while
enclosed,
T
D
TR
finding
it
made
the
churchyard
public’
and
doing
away
U N down,
Margaret
Norman.
RE
Z
Y
I
AV
ET
LA
R
EN
UE
based
onanchorhold
visions she experienced
somewas
twenty
years
withOAaD footpath which had been ‘a common passage’. Clearly,
•was
Next
to the
in the churchyard
a two-storey
Another
pre-Conquest
church,
destroyed
in
the
Baedeker
WE around the corner to
As
you
come
out,
turn
left
and
walk
•
With
a
long
history
of
anchoresses,
this
church
is lostbybut
S
LADY
JULIAN
earlier
in
1373
when
she
was
thirty.
The
first
surviving
N
it was attracting undesirable behaviour! T
hospital with out-buildings called Hildebrond’s - founded
a
NL
air-raids of April, 1942,
BRIDGE in the early 1950s on
AN it was rebuilt
1
Timber
Hill
and
enter
the
church
of:
was
near
St
Etheldreda’s
church,
linked
in
the
13th
century
ST
A
L
N
E
E
reference
to
her
as
an
anchoress
was
a
bequest
of
Roger
S
• This is a living church
attracting worshippers of the Angloprosperous
merchant
of
that
name
in
the
1260s.
Hildebrond
RO
E
G
roughly the same footprint.
BAR
by
a churchyard
path
which
ledend,
to1394,
the
hospital
St Edward’s.
OLD YARD
Reed,
priest
ata St
Michael
Coslany,
in
but he
gives
no
Catholic tradition.
also
founded
chapel
at the
west
possibly
forat
the
2 2 St John theT Baptist (St John Timberhill)
Records
are
patchy,
but
mention
a
priest-anchor,
Robert
in
location.
The
fourth
and
last
reference
was
a
bequest
in
1416
patients.
E
• Note the beautiful Romanesque doorway into the cell
RE
ST
1470
but
also:
left
by
the
dowager
countess
of
Suffolk,
Isabel
Ufford,
herself
Turning back, cross
the road from John Lewis into Ber Street,
• By the end of the century this parish was united with that of
NS
on the south side, salvaged from St Michael at Thorn, also
Medieval churches throughout
Norwich
D accommodated
QU ST CRISPINS R
LN
EE these there appear to be Atwo
anchoresses, but among
VIORS clear
NS
ST S
S LN
OA King Street area and its close
one in Conesford inRthe
RTINclusters:
MA
D
neighbourhood, and another, ‘Over-the-Water’, in the oldest
G
GOLDEN DOCoslany
and poorest part of the city between
(Oak Street
area) and Magdalen Street.
ON
W
AY
Rouen Road, turn right and cross by the car-park to:
reference to her as an anchoress was a bequest of Roger
Reed, priest at St Michael Coslany, in 1394, but he gives no
location. The fourth and last reference was a bequest in 1416
left by the dowager countess of Suffolk, Isabel Ufford, herself
a vowess of thirty-two years commitment.
• Julian is commemorated at Norwich Cathedral. Her image,
commissioned from local sculptor, David Holgate, appears
in a niche on the cathedral’s west front. There are also two
stained glass windows in private chapels.
CA
KO
RR
OW BLE
N
RO Z A
VE
AD
NU
E
The names of Julian’s immediate successors are unknown,
sometimes wrongly linked to Julian Lampet, a nun who was
enclosed at Carrow Priory for over fifty-three years until her
death in 1481. Names of those recorded include:
• 1472, Agnes
• 1481, 1505, 1506, Elizabeth Scott
• 1510, Elizabeth (possibly the same woman).
• 1524, Agnes Eldrigge
• 1537/8, 1547, unnamed anchoresses.
More often than not, anchoresses were not named in wills,
but indicated by location.
On leaving the church turn right into St Julian’s Alley and
walk down into King Street and turn right opposite Dragon
Hall. Continue along King Street until you arrive at another
church.
• This church is now the base for a thriving group of artists.
7 7 St Edward-the-Martyr (lost)
• With a long history of anchoresses, this church is lost but
was near St Etheldreda’s church, linked in the 13th century
by a churchyard path which led to the hospital at St Edward’s.
Records are patchy, but mention a priest-anchor, Robert in
1470 but also:
• 13th century, Margaret
• 1428, Lady Joan. Alderman Walter Setman left her 20s
and 40d to her servants (a princely sum worth thousands in
today’s money).
• 1458, Agnes Kyte
• 1516, an unnamed anchoress here was left a bequest by
Margaret Norman.
• Next to the anchorhold in the churchyard was a two-storey
hospital with out-buildings called Hildebrond’s - founded by a
prosperous merchant of that name in the 1260s. Hildebrond
also founded a chapel at the west end, possibly for the
patients.
• By the end of the century this parish was united with that of
St Julian, both in the gift of Carrow Priory.
This is the end of this trail but do look out for our other selfguided trails of the city’s medieval churches.
The Conesford Trail: Anchoresses in Medieval Norwich
This tour takes about 45 minutes to an hour, and will lead you
through Conesford and its environs. In the Middle Ages this
area was comprised of staithes and quays, industrial plant
(lime works/quarry), an area for the slaughter of livestock in
nearby Ber Street, aspirational merchants’ houses, as well as
an Augustinian friary, Carrow Priory (Norwich’s only convent
outside the city wall) and a hospital (Hildebrond’s or Ivy Hall),
in St Edward’s churchyard, King Street.
With this brief introduction to these churches it is hoped that
you will want to return and spend more time enjoying them
and the other medieval churches which grace our city. There
is a wealth of information about the city’s medieval churches
and the treasures they contain in ‘The Medieval Churches
of Norwich’ by Nicholas Groves, ‘Medieval Norwich’, edited
by Carole Rawcliffe and Richard Wilson, and ‘Women and
Religion in Late Medieval Norwich’ by Carole Hill.
These self-guided trails are published by the Norwich Historic
Churches Trust. They are part of a special citywide cultural
celebration and are designed to enable you to enjoy the city’s
medieval churches at your leisure.
6 6 St Etheldreda
• Dedicated to the Anglo-Saxon princess and abbess of her
monastic foundation at Ely, this was another pre-Conquest
Image:
St John de Sepulchre
foundation.
• Blomefield records that an anchorhold was ‘anciently’ here,
which was rebuilt in 1305 and continued in occupation until
the Reformation, ‘when it was demolished and the tithe barn
at Bracondale was built with its old timbers’.
• Its patrons were women as well as men, including Lady
Katherine Felbrigge (1459), widow of Sir Simon, who had a
house in the parish and Hawise Balygate (1479).
• 1472-1518 anonymous references to the anchoresses
continue.
• In 1611, Anne Johnson, second wife and widow of Alderman
William Johnson, founded an alms-house in the north-west
corner of the churchyard for five widows.
• This church is now the base for a thriving group of artists.
7 7 St Edward-the-Martyr (lost)
Norwich Historic Churches Trust gratefully acknowledges the support
of the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, and the kind
contributions of the following:
The Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral; the Diocese of Norwich; The
Medieval Parish Churches of Norwich Research Project (University of East
Anglia) including The Leverhulme Trust and Norwich Research Park; Norwich
City Council; Norfolk County Council; The Churches Conservation Trust;
Norfolk Museums Service; The Norwich Society; Gildencraft Stone Masonry,
the Friends of Norwich Historic Churches Trust and the tenants of all the
churches in their care.
Norwich Historic Churches Trust
The Norwich Historic Churches Trust (NHCT) cares for
eighteen Grade I listed medieval churches in the city
that are no longer used for worship and have been
deconsecrated. Established in 1973 it has found new uses
for them and ensured their protection and maintenance.
The churches managed by the NHCT are home to a
number of major cultural activities including the Norwich
Arts Centre, the Norwich Puppet Theatre, the Thalia
Theatre Company and The Wharf Academy. If not open
regularly for business, these churches are largely accessible
during Heritage Open Days in September each year.
If you would like to know more about the churches
managed by the Norwich Historic Churches Trust, whether
it be taking on a tenancy of a church, gaining access to
one or just finding out more about our buildings please
contact the Administrator Stella Eglinton:
[email protected]
Tel: (01603) 611530
Designed by
Conservation &
Design serviCes
Norwich Historic Churches Trust is a company limited by guarantee
Company Registration Number: 1134684
Registered Charity Number: 266686
All images © Norwich Historic Churches Trust unless stated otherwise
For further information about the history of our churches,
the people associated with them and the monuments
they contain visit: www.norwich-churches.org. To learn
more about the activities of the Friends of Norwich
Historic Churches go to: www.fnhct.org.uk