NHER 11006 (Building record) - St Andrew's church, Frenze, Scole

Frenze village is almost deserted; the remains are this church, Frenze Hall (NHER 45743), a small scattering of farmbuildings and the occasional house. It comes as no surprise then that St Andrews may be the smallest church in the whole of Norfolk! The present building dates to the 13th and 14th centuries, but this may be just the nave of a previously larger village church, as it has undoubtedly suffered truncations on at least one or two occasions. It may have continued futher to both the east and west, and even have had a west tower, although if so this was removed as early as the late 15th century. St Andrews was closed in 1976 due to a lack of attendees, and has since passed into the hands of the Churches Conservation Trust. Inside, much of the floor area is filled with tomb slabs and brasses, and the church contains no less than six effigy brasses, most of which depict the Blenerhaysett family who owned the manor here. The octagonal font, despite appearing plain, is actually fascinating as each of the eight faces of the bowl is carved with a different type of tracery, all of them current to the first half of the 14th century. There is also a very fine early 17th century pulpit and family pew, and a lovely medieval bench-end carved with a monkey. A touchingly unfussy church, of particular interest for the surprising quantity of its brasses.