St George's Church, Shimpling facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St George's Church, Shimpling |
|
|---|---|
St George's Church, Shimpling, from the southwest
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| OS grid reference | TM 156 826 |
| Location | Shimpling, Norfolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint George |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 7 December 1959 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Flint with stone dressings Tiled roofs |
St George's Church is a historic Anglican church in the village of Shimpling, Norfolk, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. This amazing building is listed as a Grade I listed building, which means it's a really important historical site! The Churches Conservation Trust now takes care of it. You can find the church at the end of a short lane, just south of the village.
Contents
History of St George's Church
St George's Church has a long and interesting past.
Building the Church: Early Days
The oldest parts of the church, like the bottom of its tower and the main area called the nave, were built way back in the 1100s. Imagine, that's over 900 years ago!
Later, in the 1200s, an eight-sided top was added to the tower. This is also when the chancel, the part of the church where the altar is, was built.
Changes Over the Centuries
In the 1400s, the original windows in the nave were replaced with new ones. The roof over the chancel was also replaced in 1633.
Between 1867 and 1874, the church got a big makeover by an architect named E. C. Lee. During this time, a small spire (a pointy top) was added to the tower. The north porch, which is like a covered entrance, was also replaced.
The church stopped holding regular services in 1987.
Exploring the Church's Design
St George's Church is built using flint stones with special stone details. Its roofs are made of tiles.
Outside the Church: What You See
Some parts of the church's outside walls have been covered with a special plaster called stucco. The porch is made of timber-framed wood with brick filling and cool carved decorations.
The church has a simple layout: a nave (the main part), a north porch, a chancel (where the altar is), and a tower at the west end. The bottom part of the tower is round, which is quite unique, and the top part is eight-sided.
On the top part of the tower, you'll see openings for bells on four sides. Between these, there are similar-looking but blank windows. On top of the tower is a small, lead-covered spire. The windows in the chancel have a style called Early English Gothic, while the windows in the nave are in a style called Perpendicular Gothic.
Inside the Church: Details and Art
Inside the church, you can see the date 1633 carved into a main beam of the chancel roof, along with some initials.
The wooden benches in the nave are a mix of old and new. Some of them, carved with special designs called poppyheads, are from the 1400s. The rest were added in the 1800s.
Under the arch of the tower, you can still see parts of an old screen. The font, which is used for baptisms, is from the 1400s. Its eight-sided bowl is carved with symbols of the Four Evangelists (like a lion for Mark or an eagle for John). Between these symbols are angels holding items related to the story of Jesus. Below the bowl, there are more angels, and the base of the font is surrounded by carved lions.
All the furniture in the chancel is from the Victorian period (the 1800s). There's also a low sill under the south window in the chancel that acts as a sedilia, which is a seat for priests.
Even though much of the church's stained glass has been lost, some beautiful pieces still remain. You can find glass from the late 1200s or early 1300s in the chancel, and from the 1400s in the north nave windows.
Until 1920, the church had a set of four bells. Now, only three remain. Two of these bells are very old, dating back to 1552! The third bell was remade in 1658. The fourth bell was sold in 1920 because it was "cracked beyond the memory of man," meaning it had been broken for a very long time.
See also
