NHER 257 (Building record) - St Peter Mancroft Church, St Peter's Street, Norwich

Norman foundation. Present building 15th century with undercroft.

1850. Excavation.
Discoveries made during restoration work, following removal of the wooden floor and joists of the old pews and exposure of the area formerly occupied by choir stalls.
Two L-shaped trenches 3 feet deep by 30inches wide. Paved at bottom with yellow glazed tiles and lined with a low rubble wall. Numberous red earthen jars were built into the wall, with their mouths directed towards each other.
Interpreted as a possible resonance chamber. Post medieval sherds also recovered.
See published article (S11) and notes in file.
Amended by A. Beckham (HES), 28 July 2020. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 7 January 2025.

1954. Listed, Grade I.
Listing Description Excerpt:
"Parish Church. 15th century. Ashlar faced and flushwork. Lead roofs. West tower. Nave and chancel in one. North and south aisles and porches. North and south transepts. Three-storey east vestry. Three-stage tower with five-stages of set-back buttresses."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 8 November 2019.

1970s or 1980s. Building Survey.
Church examined as part of Norwich Survey.
See incomplete draft reports (S2) and (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017.

June 2007. Field Observation.
Observation of builder's test pit in floor of west tower.
Excavated to a depth of 1.18 below the floor surface revealed the concrete base of the floor slabs c. 150mm in thickness with a mixture of loam and rubble with mortar lenses. Below this deposit and extending to the base of the pit was an uniform and un-compacted pale brown sand and loose mortar deposit with fine rubble and occasional post-medieval peg roof tile fragment. At a depth of 1.08mm on the east side a north-south line of decayed wood (one nail observed) was probably a coffin. To the east of this feature the soil was more loamy and included some silt, which might have been grave fill. If this is the case then at least one burial was inserted into the tower in the post-medieval period.
See notes (S4) for further details.
S. Howard (HES), 26 January 2011.

For further details see building history (S5) and list of documentary evidence (S6) compiled by D. King in 1986. The undercroft is amongst those briefly described in thesis (S7). The church's fine surviving collection of 15th-century stained glass is considered in (S8) and fully catalogued and illustrated in (S9).
P. Watkins (HES), 6 September 2017.

This is one of the 65 Norfolk churches selected for (S10).
D. Gurney (NLA) 17 February 2006.