St Andrew's Church, Gunton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Andrew's Church, Gunton |
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Portico of St Andrew's Church, Gunton
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| OS grid reference | TG 229 342 |
| Location | Gunton Hall, Norfolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 24 April 1987 |
| Architect(s) | Robert Adam |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Neo-Palladian |
| Completed | 1769 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Gault brick, partly rendered, with stone dressings |
St Andrew's Church is an old Anglican church located next to Gunton Hall in Norfolk, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. This church is a very important historical building, listed as a Grade I building. The Churches Conservation Trust now takes care of it. You can find the church hidden in the woods, just east of the main hall.
Contents
History of St Andrew's Church
This church was built in 1769. A famous architect named Robert Adam designed it. He built it for Sir William Harbord, who owned Gunton Hall. The new church replaced an older, medieval church that stood there before. St Andrew's Church is special because it's the only building Robert Adam designed in Norfolk. It's also the only complete church he ever built in England.
What Does St Andrew's Church Look Like?
Outside the Church
St Andrew's Church is made from a type of brick called gault brick. Some parts are covered with a smooth plaster called stucco. It also has special stone decorations. The church looks like an ancient temple. It has a large porch at the front with four tall columns. This type of porch is called a tetrastyle prostyle portico. The church is built in a style called Neo-Palladian, which was popular a long time ago.
The porch stands on three steps. It has four Doric columns at the front. There is also one similar column on each side. This makes the porch two sections deep. Above the columns, there is a flat band called an architrave. Above that, a decorative strip called a frieze has four round decorations, like rosettes. The top part, the cornice, has small block-like shapes called dentils. The triangular roof part, the pediment, also has these dentils.
In the middle of the church's west end, there is a main doorway. On each side of the doorway, there is a square window. Above each window and the doorway, there is a blank square with a sunken panel. The main part of the church is four sections deep. On both the north and south sides, you can see four niches, which are like small hollow spaces in the wall. There are also three square windows. These sides have the same flat band, rosettes, and dentils as the front. On the east side, there are three blank rectangular panels. The middle one has a stone tablet with the date 1665 carved into it.
Inside the Church
When you enter the church, you step into a round entrance area. From here, two doors lead off. The door on the right goes to a staircase. The other door leads into the main part of the church. The floor inside is made of stone with black diamond shapes.
At the east end of the church, there is a step. Then, two curved steps lead up to the altar. Behind the altar, there is a beautiful oak screen called a reredos. It has Corinthian columns with vertical grooves, called fluting. The tops of these columns, called capitals, are covered in shiny gold, which is called gilding. In the middle of the reredos, there is a painting of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus with other people.
The church pews, where people sit, have special wrought iron holders for candles. At the west end of the church, there are two enclosed seating areas called box pews. These have old brass gas lamps. The west gallery, which is like a balcony, is held up by decorated flat columns called pilasters. These also have gilded (gold-covered) tops. The west wall is covered in wooden panels. The other walls have fancy plaster designs. The ceiling has an oval panel with a pattern of twisted ribbons, called guilloché, and a rose in the center. On the north, south, and west walls, you can see hatchments. These are diamond-shaped boards with coats of arms, put up to remember people who have died. In the west gallery, there is a large organ with two keyboards, called a two-manual organ.
See also
