St Peter Mancroft is a parish church in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

in the centre of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. After the two cathedrals, it is the largest church in Norwich. It was originally established by

Ralph de Gael Ralph de Gaël (otherwise Ralph de Guader, Ralph Wader or Radulf Waders or Ralf Waiet or Rodulfo de Waiet; before 1042 – 1100) was the Earl of East Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk) and Lord of Gaël and Montfort-sur-Meu, Montfort (''Seigneur de Ga ...

Earl of East Anglia The Earls of East Anglia were governors of East Anglia during the 11th century. The post was established by Cnut in 1017 and disappeared following Ralph Guader's participation in the failed Revolt of the Earls in 1075. Ealdormen of East Anglia U ...

, between 1066 and 1075. It was later rebuilt, between 1430 and 1455. It stands on a slightly elevated position, next to the market place. St Peter Mancroft is a member of the Greater Churches Group.

Description

The present building was begun in 1430 on the site of an existing church, and consecrated in 1455. It is 180 feet long and ashlar faced with a tower at the west end. It is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

building. It has a Norman foundation dating from 1075. There is a 1463 font, a 1573 Flemish tapestry and medieval glass. This ancient glass includes the 1450 Toppes Window, donated by Robert Toppes, a Mercer and mayor of the city, 11 panels of that window survive are in the reconfigured east window, these are the ones showing: * Jesus at the Tomb * The Circumcision of Christ * The Apostles * The Jew arrests the funeral of Virgin Mary. The Jew is shown wearing full armour, bearing the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the disgraced royal

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, who had feuded with, and was despised in, the city. * The Annunciation * The Visitation * The Nativity and shepherds * 2x Adoration of the Magi * Massacre of the Innocents * Robert Toppes and two wives It is noteworthy that none of the glass is in situ, having been relocated on a number of occasions. These movements include John Dixon’s “improvements” dating from 1847 to 1841; the work undertaken by Clayton and Bell in 1881; and the 1947 reinstallation by Messrs G King and Son, which involved releading and rearranging the tracery lights after the window was removed for the duration of the War. This east window also shows St William (possibly the Norman London bishop, Bishop William) and St Erkenwald. The North transept displays a collection of church silver, including the Gleane and Thistle cups, as well as memorabilia associated with the physician-philosopher

Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne ( "brown"; 19 October 160519 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a d ...

, author of '' Religio Medici'' (1642).

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

published an exhaustive study of the church in 1879, and in 1896 a small lead-covered spire with flying buttresses was added, designed by his son A. E. Street. In 1850 two L-shaped trenches accommodating a number of acoustic jars were discovered beneath the wooden floor on which the choir stalls had previously stood. The earthenware jars were built into its walls at intervals of about three feet, with the mouths facing into the trenches.

Incumbents

*Hugh Casselton 1572 - 1588 *William Wells 1598 - 1620 * John Brereton 1620 - 1632 *

Thomas Tenison Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs. Life He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...

1670 - 1680 *John Connould 1683 - 1708 *John Jeffrery 1714 - 1723 *Charles John Chapman 1805 - 1826 *John Watson Bowman 1826 - 1848 *Charles Turner 1848 - 1878 * Sidney Pelham 1879 - 1881 *Henry Neville 1881 - 1884 *Frederick Baggalley 1884 - 1890 * William Pelham-Burn 1890 - 1901 *Frederick James Meyrick 1901 - 1929 *Hugh McMullan 1929 - 1940 *Vacant 1940 - 1945 * John Waddington 1945 - 1958 *Kenneth Wilkinson Riddle 1959 - 1960 *Frank Sydney Jarvis 1960 - 1965 * William John Westwood 1965 - 1975 *David Sharp 1975 - 1998 *Peter W Nokes 1999 - 2015 *Robert Avery 2015 - 2017 * Ian Bentley 2017 - 2018 *Edward Carter 2018 – present

Organ

A new organ by Peter Collins was installed in 1984. The specification can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

Organists

* William Pleasants 1708 - 1717 (son of Thomas Pleasants, organist of

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the dioc ...

) * Humphrey Cotton 1717 - 1720 (afterwards organist of

) * George Baker 1720 - ???? * Samuel Cook ???? - 1780 * Edward Beckwith 1780 - 1793 (acting organist from 1769) * John Christmas Beckwith 1794 - 1808 (afterwards organist of

) * John Charles Beckwith 1809 - 1819 (son of the above) * Alfred Pettet 1819 - 1837 * Samuel Critchfield, Junior 1837 - 1851 * James Harcourt 1851 - 1877 (afterwards organist of

Wymondham Abbey Wymondham Abbey (pronounced ''Windum'') is the Anglican parish church for the town of Wymondham in Norfolk, England. History The monastery was founded in 1107 by William d'Aubigny, Butler (Pincerna) to King Henry I. William was a prominent ...

1880 - 1881) * Edward Bunnett 1877 - 1908 * Richard John Maddern-Williams, F.R.C.O 1908 - 1922 (formerly assistant at

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...

) * Frank Edward Newman 1922 - 1926 * Richard John Maddern-Williams, F.R.C.O 1926 - 1941 * Charles Joseph Romaine Coleman 1942Who's Who in Music. Shaw Publishing Co. Ltd. London. First Post-war Edition. 1949/50 - 1959 (and jointly assistant organist at

) * Kenneth Ryder 1963 - 2005 * Matthew Pitts 2006 - 2009 * Julian Haggett 2009–present

Assistant organists

* Charles Robert Palmer 1899 - 1901 * W. Percy Jones 1910 - ca. 1921 - ???? * Andrew Benians * Roger Rayner * Tim Patient 1990 - 2005

References

External links

* * Book review article about the medieval stained glass in the church https://web.archive.org/web/20080704061719/http://www.vidimus.org/archive/issue_1_2006/issue_1_2006-04.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Norwich, Saint Peter Mancroft Saint Peter Mancroft 15th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Norfolk