The Parish Churches of Medieval Norwich: City, Community and Architecture

A beautifully illustrated, detailed account of all 56 parish churches recorded in Norwich by AD 1200, of which 31 remain standing. Examines each church from a variety of viewpoints – archaeological, architectural, art historical and antiquarian, in the historical context of the development of Norwich from the 10th to the mid-16th centuries. Eight hundred years ago, there were 56 parish churches in Norwich. Thirty-one remain standing – the greatest concentration of medieval churches in any town or city north of the Alps. Most retain medieval furnishings and monuments, painting and glazing, and about a quarter of them are of the very highest quality in terms of materials and design. The locations of most of the lost churches are known, and archaeological examination has been undertaken at several of their sites. Together they form an internationally important corpus of historic monuments. Remarkably, no detailed account of these churches as a group has ever been published. This book not only explores each of the churches – standing and lost – but also examines their contribution to the development of Norwich and its community in the Middle Ages.