Lottery boost for remarkable Norfolk round tower church

St Peter’s church in Forncett, near Long Stratton, will undergo major repairs over the next 18 months, after it was awarded vital money by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

It will mean the Grade I-listed church - used as the logo of the Round Tower Churches Society – can be removed from Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register.

The church has a strikingly-tall round tower - an architectural feature it shares with around 130 other churches in Norfolk.

Much of the main church building dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, but the tower is older - 11th or 12th century.

St Peter's church at Forncett pictured in 1961 (Image: Newsquest Archive)

But centuries of wear and tear meant there were concerns over the future of the place of worship.

Blighted by ongoing issues, the church was forced to temporarily close for four months in 2022.

However, the community refused to watch the church - which also features the 1485 alabaster tomb of Elizabeth and Thomas Drake, carved pew ends and a 16th century wooden staircase in the tower - continue to crumble.

The Drake Tomb (Image: Wikipedia / 21ARR https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10193)

When serious defects became apparent in 2019, the Friends of St Peter’s started to raise funds to save the church.

Grants were received from the Headley Trust, Historic England, Geoffrey Watling Charity, Garfield Weston Foundation, the Bishop of Norwich Fabric Fund and St John’s College, Cambridge.

An initial grant in February 2023 paid for an investigation into the church’s fabric and structure.

It identified urgent repairs to nave and chancel roofs, replacement of rotting roof timbers, rebuilding damaged flint and stonework and improving drainage systems.

In December 2023, the Round Tower Churches Society gave a £3,000 grant towards the project as the church had to raise at least £25,000 in partnership funding for the lottery fund's delivery phase bid.

Norfolk Churches Trust gave £6,000 and following the initial £33,274 lottery fund development grant, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has now awarded £631,462.

Village events also raised more than £33,000.

Terry Hickman-Smith (Image: Phil Whiscombe)

Terry Hickman-Smith, who managed the St Peter’s project steering group, said: "Thanks to the National Lottery players, St Peter’s church will soon be fully functional and a thriving hub for local groups, schools and the wider community.”

The churchyard will host a series of Four Seasons in a Country Churchyard conservation activities.

A new heritage and nature trail and the Rook over Forncett film, showing the rich history of the Forncetts and the church, will be made.

The community helped raise thousands for the church (Image: Phil Whiscombe)

Robyn Llewellyn, director for the Midlands and East at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "Places of worship are some of our oldest and most cherished historic buildings.

"Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to support this project which will secure a brighter and more sustainable future for St Peter’s church, protecting its heritage and creating fantastic opportunities for the local community and beyond."

What are round tower churches and why does Norfolk have so many of them?

Round tower churches are one of the most distinctive features in the Norfolk countryside - with many thought to date from Anglo-Saxon times.

With 133, Norfolk boasts the bulk of the national total of about 186 round tower churches.

There are about 40 in Suffolk, seven in Essex and two in Cambridgeshire.

Outside of East Anglia, there are three in Sussex and two in Berkshire.

Quite why there are so many in East Anglia remains a source of debate.

Some experts have suggested it is is because they were easy to build using the most readily available material - flint.

It has also been suggested that the abbey at Bury St Edmunds, which had a cylindrical shaped chapel to the martyred king Edmund, or the radiating chapels at Norwich Cathedral, inspired church builders.

St Mary's at Haddiscoe (Image: Rob Colman)

Other round towered churches in Norfolk include St Mary's at Haddiscoe, St Andrew's at Little Snoring, St Mary's at Bessingham and St Mary and St Walstan’s in Bawburgh.