NHER 9326 (Building record) - St Mary's Church, Earlham

Norman church with west tower later heightened.
Stone quoins in northwest corner, rest flint and brick. Two small lancets in tower basement, one blocked. West window Perpendicular. Tower battlements recently renewed, but suggest that rest of church was restored in 17th century when stepped gable was added to south porch. Straight flight of rood stairs rising from southeast nave window base (uncovered in 1956 restoration); piscina with shelf under. Another piscina inside south door; north door blocked. In southeast corner chancel is a crocketed piscina with shelf; opposite is another, blocked, or perhaps a low side window. Old head corbels in chancel remain ?from former roof - present roofs could easily be 17th century. Side walls of chancel consist of two large blank pointed arches, one enclosing a window, the other a window and door to the former chapel of St John the Baptist. In the 1956 restoration foundations were discovered under the chancel (S2). Chancel arch chamfered. South porch has niche over door, slit windows inserted into larger blocked ones (one pointed) inside blank arches, and head corbels on nave door. Tower has newel turret. North chapel appears 19th century inside, but walls are of old flint and brick. Octagonal Decorated font. Decorated screen with some restoration. Lectern formed from a hammerbeam figure and misericord seat. Continental Baroque wooden relief. Hatchment in north chapel. 17th century monument from old St Giles-in-the-Fields, London. Other 18th-19th century memorials. 17-18th century floor tombs and brass matrices. Chalice, London, 1674: chalice, paten, and almsdish 1680 Norwich, formerly in Bowthorpe church: paten cover, Norwich.
Photographs taken by (S1) show that the tower has had a single splayed Norman south window and is said to have a similar blocked window to the north. The nave has long and short quoins up to two-thirds height, and both it and the tower contain ironbound conglomerate. The tower changes build below the belfry - the stair turret rising to the top of the older build. The indication is therefore of a Norman church with west tower later heightened. This church needs re-examining.
E. Rose (NLA) 15 March 2000.