Repairs for Norfolk church linked to National Front founder

Parishioners have been pledged £11,000 towards the cost of internal improvements and re-decoration at Narford Church.

The Church Council of Narborough with Narford said it had been given a £6,000 grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation and a pledge of £5,000 from the Norfolk Churches Trust.

It said: "With such a small community at Narford we are greatly encouraged by the support from these two charities and hope that others may join us in bringing to completion this internal restoration."

The interior of Narford Church, which needs plaster repairing Picture: Stuart Nairn (Image: Stuart Nairn)

The building, part of which dates back to the 12th century, is Grade I listed because of its "unusually large amount of medieval fabric" and its "strong group value with the Grade I listed Narford Hall and the Grade II registered landscaped park".

The hall is the ancestral seat of the Fountaine family, whose members included Andrew Fountaine, who became a far-right activist after serving in the navy during the Second World war.

Mr Fountaine was a founding member of the National Front in 1967 and stood for the party in the Norwich South seat in 1979, where he polled 264 votes.

The seat was won by Labour's John Garrett, who polled 16,240.

Mr Fountaine left the National Front in 1979 because of internal strife. He briefly led his own splinter group, the Nationalist Party, before retiring from politics in 1981.

Mr Fountaine was an uncle by marriage of Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, who rose to notoriety when he fired at two burglars in his farmhouse at Emneth, near Wisbech, killing one and wounding the other in 1999.

Mr Fountaine passed away and was interred at the church two years before his nephew became the centre of a national debate over how much force householders could use to defend their property.

Anyone wishing to help the appeal can donate via BACS to Narborough with Narford PCC, sort code 20-28-20, account number 90660051.