NHER 395 (Monument record) - Site of church of St Vedast, Rose Lane, Norwich

Site of St Vedast's Church.

The first direct documentary reference is for 1154 to 1160, although it has long been suggested as a pre-conquest church. The church was demolished in 1540 to 1541. In 1562 the parish was united with St Peter Parmentergate and the churchyard was leased out by the Dean and Chapter. The churchyard was in use at least to 1744.

A house was built on the site in the 19th century, demolished in 1896. As noted in (S1), a Late Saxon cross shaft was built into the angle of this house. This cross was given to the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 1896.75).

It is noted in (S2) that St Vedast's Church was traditionally regarded as a pre-conquest church due to its dedication and the belief that it is one of the Norwich churches mentioned in Domesday, albeit not by name. It is recorded that Edstan held two churches and the sixth part of a third; the latter being identified with the church of St Vedast as "at a later time the sixth part of that church was given to the almoner of Norwich Priory". It is argued in (S2) and (S3) that that the dedication is Flemish. A 13th century list shows the church to have been dedicated also to St Armond (a Flemish saint). It does however appear that it is not entirely certain that this was a pre-conquest church - see (S4) for a brief discussion of the available evidence.

See file for further details.

Note that this record partly duplicates the churchyard site (NHER 131).

Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 4 October 2017.