St Augustine's Church, Norwich facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Augustine's Church, Norwich
St Augustine's Church, Norwich, from the southwest
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OS grid reference	TG 228 095
Location	St Augustine's Street, Norwich, Norfolk
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	26 February 1954
Architect(s)	R. M. Phipson (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic
Closed	1997
Specifications
Materials	Flint with stone and brick dressings Brick tower

St Augustine's Church is an Anglican church building located in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is a very old and important building, listed as Grade I, which means it's protected for its special history. The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it. You can find the church on St Augustine's Street, just north of Norwich's inner ring road.

History of St Augustine's Church

St Augustine's is the only church in Norfolk named after Saint Augustine that was built before the big changes of the Reformation. The first mention of a church here dates back to 1163. This was in a letter from the Bishop of Norwich, William de Turbe.

Building the Church

None of the original Norman church from 1163 still exists today. The church was mostly rebuilt in the early 1400s. The tower you see now was added much later, between 1682 and 1687. This happened after the old tower, which was made of flint, fell down. The year 1687 is even carved into the top of the east side of the tower.

In the 1880s, an architect named R. M. Phipson worked on the church. He repaired parts of the building and changed the inside layout.

Later Years and Preservation

During the 1900s, the church building started to get old and worn out. By the 1990s, the tower was not safe. The church's three bells, which were made in Norwich in the 1600s, were taken out. They were given to All Saints church in Carleton Rode.

St Augustine's Church was officially declared "redundant" on March 18, 1975. This means it was no longer needed for regular church services. On April 19, 2000, the Churches Conservation Trust took over its care. While regular services are held in the church hall, the church building is still used for special events and holidays.

Church Architecture and Design

Outside the Church

The main part of the church is built from flint, with stone and brick details. The tower is made of brick and sits on a flint base. It's the only brick tower of its kind in Norwich.

The church has a square shape. The main part (nave) and the area near the altar (chancel) are about the same length. Aisles run along their full length. There's also a row of windows high up (a clerestory) along the nave. You'll find a porch on the south side and a small tower (a rood turret) on the north aisle wall.

The tower is at the west end and has three levels. The bottom level has a pointed arch window. The middle level has small square windows. The top level has openings for the bells. The top edge of the tower is flat and has a decorative, castle-like shape.

The nave has four sections, each with two-light windows. These windows have a decorative style called Decorated tracery. The clerestory has four two-light windows on each side, with a Y-shaped design. The chancel has two sections. The aisle windows have three lights in a Perpendicular style, and the east window has five lights.

Inside the Church

Inside, the arches are supported by eight-sided pillars. The font, where baptisms take place, is from the 1400s. The wooden benches (pews) and the decorative screen behind the altar (reredos) were added in the 1880s.

The chancel screen, which includes the pulpit and a reading desk, was put in in 1920. It was a memorial to those who died in the First World War.

There are also memorials to important people. One is a marble monument for Matthew Brettingham, an architect who designed Holkham Hall. Another is for Thomas Clabburn, a textile maker, put up by over 600 weavers from Norwich. A memorial in the north aisle remembers Thomas Churchman Newman, a merchant from Boston, USA, who died in Norwich in 1787. He was the older brother of Robert Newman (sexton), whose signal helped start the American Revolution.

There isn't much stained glass in the church. The glass in the east window is from 1870. The glass in the north chancel aisle, showing Saints Felix and Augustine, is from 1901. A window in the south nave aisle, showing the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and an angel at Jesus' empty tomb, is a memorial from 1918 to a soldier who died in 1917.

The organ, which has two keyboards, was moved here from St Peter's Church, Hungate. It was built between 1875 and 1878 by John Rayson. It was later repaired in 1959–60.

War Memorials

There are four different memorials in the church related to the First World War.

Roll of Honour

The largest memorial is the Roll of Honour, which is carved onto the chancel screen. This oak screen looks like a medieval rood screen, with Gothic designs above and panels below. It was designed by Mr. F. Varney and made by Howard & Sons for £90. The money was raised by the church's working-class members.

Two panels on the east side remember individual soldiers connected to the church: Rifleman Edward Halfacre (a Sunday school teacher) and Private Edward Sizer (a teacher and choir member). A panel on the far left records that the Roll of Honour was presented by the Bishop of Norwich on January 25, 1920.

The west side of the screen lists 79 servicemen who died during the war or soon after. It includes the name of Private John Henry Abigail, who was pardoned by the government in 2006. The memorial also lists soldiers who served in forces from Australia, Canada, and the United States, and one from the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force.

Other Memorials

There are also other memorials for individuals. Lance Corporal Arthur Cannell died in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Brothers Second Lieutenant Bertie W. Benn and Second Lieutenant Walter H. Benn are remembered on a marble plaque. Bertie died in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and Walter died in France in 1917.

A stained glass window, designed by George Skipper, is dedicated to Lance Corporal Leonard Harry Pert. He died at the Battle of Arras in 1917. The window shows the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene at Jesus' empty tomb.

There is also a memorial for those from the parish who died in the Second World War. It lists eight servicemen and five civilians. Four of the civilians were from the same family and died during the Baedeker Blitz on Norwich in 1942.