NHER 378 (Monument record) - Site of St Paul's Church, Norwich

Site of St Pauls Church.

St Paul's Church was situated on the current site of St Paul's Square - indeed the trees that line St Paul's Square once lined the graveyard. Photographic evidence shows that the church had a long, squat Perpendicular style nave and a round tower. This round tower was the largest of the five in Norwich, and was probably built in the early medieval period. The church itself was less than 70m from St James Church (NHER 415), now the Puppet Theatre, and less than 140m from St Saviours (NHER 669), though it had a larger parish.

In World War Two St Paul's was hit by incendiary bomb, and lost the roof and internal fittings, although photographic evidence shows that the walls and round tower remained. It is clear from costings produced in 1948 (S4) that the intention had originally been to rebuild St Paul's. An axiometric sketch that accompanies this document shows the ruinous state of the church at this date, although it is clear that all walls and the tower were still standing. Ultimately, however, the massive works undertaken by Herbert Rowley for Norwich City Council saw the demolition of all of the whole church and churchyard. The site looks completely different, now lying partially beneath the footings of the St Crispins Urban Clearway route, which takes the inner ring road up above the level of the surrounding terrace houses and cuts off the top quarter of the medieval city. No remains of the church survive above ground, and the part of the site not buried beneath tarmac and concrete is now a children's play area.

Information from (S1).