NHER 577 (Building record) - St Edmund's Church, Fishergate, Norwich

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Summary

The current building of St Edmunds Church dates to the 15th and 16th centuries and is of flint with stone and brick dressings. The south chapel dates to 1441, and the dedication suggests a pre-Saxon origin. The church became redundant during the 19th century, surrounded on three sides by a massive factory building and the sprawl of this area which used to be largely in industrial use. During this time the church was in use as a warehouse, however it has since been briefly reconverted to Christian worship, and is now in use by the Norwich Pregnancy Crisis group as a counselling and advice centre.

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Location

Map sheet TG20NW
Civil Parish NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK

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St Edmund's Church, Fishergate.

Dedication suggests pre 1066.
R. R. Clarke (NCM).

List in file of documentary evidence including 1359 building of vestry and paving of chancel, 1467 south aisle chapel made, 1672 tower repaired.

1954. Listed Grade I.
Listing Description Excerpt:
"Former parish church now redundant. 15th and 16th century. Flint with stone and brick dressings. Slate roof. West tower. Nave and chancel in one. South aisle and south chapel. North porch and 19th-century vestry. Three-stage tower with two-stage diagonal buttresses."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current details.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 January 2018. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 8 November 2019.

1970s or 1980s. Building Survey.
Examined as part of Norwich Survey.
See draft report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 January 2018.

21 December 1992. Field Observation.
Site visited by B. Ayers (NAU) in order to view refurbishment works in progress and discuss proposals for future work.
See short report (S3) for details of work underway at this time and newpaper article (S4) for information on the plans to refurbish and reopen the church.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 January 2018.

30 December 1992 and 4 January 1993. Watching Brief.
Work underway to convert redundant church back into religious use. Blocked doorway discovered in south aisle and foundations of porch.
See report (S5) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S6).
Compiled by E. Rose (NLA), 5 February 1993.

Reference (S6) notes that quite remarkably the living was still in secular hands in the 14th century suggesting this may have originated as a Saxon eigenkirche or proprietary church.
Compiled by E. Rose (NLA), 3 June 1994.

Press cutting (S5) in file.
E. Rose (NLA).

  • --- Leaflet: Norwich Historic Churches Trust & HEART. St Edmund, Fishergate.
  • --- Monograph: Batcock, N. 1991. The Ruined and Disused Churches of Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 51. Microfiche 5:G12. No N12; p 175.
  • --- Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 233.
  • --- Publication: Cox, J. C. 1911. Country Churches: Norfolk. Vol II. p 174.
  • --- Publication: Messent, C. J. W. 1932. The City Churches of Norwich.
  • --- Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Norwich - Post Roman.
  • --- Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 20 NW 129 [2].
  • --- Secondary File: Secondary File.
  • --- Unpublished Document: [Unknown]. 1974. Redundant Churches Contents - Plans for Disposal: St Edmund, Norwich.
  • <S1> Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1051279.
  • <S2> Unpublished Report: [Unknown]. 1983. St Edmund, Fishergate [draft report]. Building Report.
  • <S3> Unpublished Report: Ayer, B. 1992. St Edmund's Church, Fishergate, Norwich. Report of Visit, 21st December 1992.
  • <S4> Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1992. Ancient church to reopen. 3 July.
  • <S5> Unpublished Contractor Report: Ayer, B. 1993. Report of Watching Brief. St Edmund's Church, Fishergate, Norwich. Observations of excavations to south and west of the church. Norfolk Archaeological Unit.
  • <S6> Article in Serial: Gurney, D. (ed.). 1993. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1992. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLI Pt IV pp 522-532. p 529.
  • <S7> Monograph: Ayers, B. 1994. Excavations at Fishergate, Norwich, 1985. East Anglian Archaeology. No 68. p 77.
  • WINDOW (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

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Record last edited

Nov 8 2019 2:54PM

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