NHER 12244 (Building record) - All Saints' Church, North Barsham

All Saints' Church.

March 1959. Listed, Grade II.

October 1979. Field Observation.
Visited by E. Rose (NAU).
Church mainly of late 15th century; east window of three stepped lancets under one head, as is also the nave south-east window; the nave north-east and south-west windows are Y-tracery. Chancel south window is of three ogee lights under one straight head, genuine early 14th cent, apparently with sedilia below - but on exterior it is obvious that the sedilia back is a brick blocking and the window quoins continue all the way down. Very odd; it would be remarkable if the window really had been that large. Perhaps there was a low-side-window here? Decorated chancel arch, with traces of red foliate wall painting. Part of its outer frame is missing on north. Nave north-east window Perpendicular (15th century); nave windows all have brick arches. Nave formerly extended further west - a blocked south window is cut in half by the present west wall which is composed of reused stone blocks cut to triangular shape! Reset in it is a doorway c.1300 and the pedestal and top of a vaulted Decorated niche. Pevsner (S1) suggests the church originally extended further east as well but though the chancel is short there is no real evidence for this - if it were true, the east window is reset. Two horizontal offsets in north chancel wall, one in south. The renewed roof has a dentilled cornice on north, ornamented on south. Brick buttress on north and two smaller ones on east, displacing the quoins.
13th-century Purbeck marble font. Jacobean sections in pulpit. Ornamented alabaster tablet to Philip Russell 1617. Floor tombs and ledge stones, one under altar. Chalice 1619, paten 1830 according to Pevsner (S1).
Churchyard is very bumpy and the church sits on a mound.
Compiled by E. Rose (NAU), 18 October 1979. Information from record card (S1).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 28 December 2022.

Addenda - church has a very fine and unusually complete rood stair turret with a quatrefoil light.
Blomefield (S3) refers to a chapel of St Catherine mentioned in 1531, but nothing to indicate whether this was inside the church or not.
Compiled by E. Rose (NAU), 18 October 1979. Information from record card (S1).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 28 December 2022.

As noted by record card (S4) the presence of a chapel dedicated to St Catherine at North Barsham is also mentioned in (S5). It is recorded that no trace of this chapel survives.
P. Watkins (HES) 28 December 2022.

Grade subsequently amended to II*. Excerpt of current Listing Description:
"Parish church of 13th century. Flint walling, slated roofs. Truncated two-bay nave and one bay chancel. West wall with re-set cut-stone and flint, re-set c.1300 door, with niche above and bell-cote. South nave wall one two-light 'Y' tracery window; one three-light of paired lancets both c.1300; chancels window three-light straight headed Perpendicular with cusped lights; chancel east window three-light paired lancets c.1300; north nave one 'Y' tracery and one three-light Perpendicular window.
Interior : chancel arch Perpendicular, with rood stairs door and loft door. Nave rood. Later 19th-century open trussed rafters closely set; chancel roof 19th-century waggon vault, boarded with arched braces. 13th-century font with purbeck marble shafts. Pulpit, 1635. North nave well tablet to Philip Russell, 1617, alabaster classical details."
Information from National Heritage List for England (S6), which should be consulted for up-to-date listing details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 December 2022.

In 2021 disarticulated human remains were discovered along the margin of a nearby field, at approximately TF 9175 3532 (NHER 66641). It has been plausibly suggested that the dumped material containing these bones came from a site approximately 50m to the north-east of this church, where a sunken tennis court was constructed between 2015 and 2017 (NHER 66642). If this was the case it indicates the churchyard of All Saints (or a predecessor) had once extended into this area.
See NHERs 66641 and 66642 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 December 2022.