St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, Eastern England
St. Peter Mancroft Church sits on the edge of Norwich’s market place. The present church was begun in 1430, was consecrated in 1455, and was built in a single phase of construction over 25 years, in the Perpendicular style. It is the largest of the medieval parish churches in Norwich, a city which once had 31 medieval churches. The church is faced almost entirely in limestone, which had to be brought to the site as it is not local to the area.
St. Peter Mancroft was funded by the citizens and merchants of Norwich, who wanted to display their prosperity. In the 15th Century, Norwich was the second wealthiest city in England surpassed only by London.
The Nave's 15th Century roof is completed by angels, below this is a continuous clerestory of seventeen windows on each side. The roof appears to be an arch-braced roof, but its hammerbeams are concealed. No structural division was made between the Nave and the Chancel, which adds to the feeling of space and light inside the church.
The east window contains examples of 15th Century stained glass. Originally all the windows would have been similar, but in 1648, the rioting between Parliamentarians and Royalists during the English Civil War, led to the gunpowder store which was nearby in Bethel Street exploding, which resulted in all the windows of the church being blown in. Four years later, all the remains of the glass which had been gathered and rescued, were reassembled to form the present east window. The window contains the most extensive collection of work from the school of Norwich glass painters.
The medieval font stands under its original 15th Century wooden canopy, which would once have been brightly painted. Although most of it is original, the top was rebuilt in the Victorian period. If you look closely you can see the difference in the wood.
The trumpet playing angels are part of the Victorian restoration work on the fonts canopy, but they certainly don’t look out of place on the 15th Century font cover.