Stanhoe churches
Stanhoe has two churches: All Saints’ Anglican church (see below) and the Methodist church.
The nearest Roman Catholic church to Stanhoe is St Henry Walpole in Burnham Market, 4 miles north-east of Stanhoe.
All Saints’ church
photo: Pamela Austin
All Saints, Stanhoe, is one of the six churches in the United Benefice of Docking, which also includes the parishes of Bircham and Sedgeford.
The Reverend Peter Cook (right) has been Rector since September 2009.
For enquiries about church matters please contact
(tel 01485 517 157) or
, PCC Vice-Chair (tel 01485 518 269).
To find the church by satnav use postcode PE31 8QL.
The church building
Much of the present church building dates from around 1300. These parts include the tower, the south doorway (possibly somewhat earlier, according to Pevsner), the west window, the north aisle wall with its doorway and windows, the arcades with their octagonal piers, the chancel arch, and the chancel doorway and windows.
The windows in the south aisle, and the piscina and sedilia in the chancel, are in the Decorated style (1290–1350).
Just inside the south door are a pair of grave slabs (photo, below) which tradition says belonged to Sir Hervey de Stanhoe and his wife Isabel. Sir Hervey was Sheriff of Norfolk from 1259 to 1261, and Keeper of the Laity in Norwich in 1272; he died around 1297. It is possible that he started to build the church in about 1280 and died before it was completed.
photo: Pamela Austin
The church was repaired in 1470 and heavily restored in 1853, when the present nave roof was installed. The font, pulpit and other fittings are also of that date. There is some fine Victorian stained glass.
photos: Charles Butcher
Memorial to Mary Esther Hollway,
who died in 1856 aged 24
Spring bluebells at the grave of Gunner Robin Callaby
Stone coffin lid thought to have belonged to Sir Hervey de Stanhoe
drawing: Charles Butcher
“Barry of twelve or and azure a bend ermine”: the arms of Herevi de Stanhowe (Hervey de Stanhoe) as described in St George’s Roll (c.1285)
Sundial scratched near the south door
photo: Pen Roche
Killed by lightning in India, 1885: memorial windows to squire’s son George Hoste Seymour
The list of Rectors goes back to 1221,
before the building of the present church.
Stained glass
All Saints’ has some good Victorian stained glass. Here are a couple of links to photos:
- Comprehensive Flickr album by church architecture specialist Glass Angel.
- A smaller collection at Corpus Vitrearum.
See also the link below to Simon Knott’s entry on All Saints’.
In 2012 four windows were removed for cleaning and re-leading. Read about the project in our news story.
Church guide 1964
Click here to download a copy of a guide to All Saints’ church published in 1964 (PDF, 4 MB). It was written by Alice Tuck, mother of the late Gillian Beckett, with help from other local experts.
Churchyard survey 1980
Click here to download a survey of the grave memorials and inscriptions in All Saints’ church and the surrounding churchyard (PDF, 9 MB), recorded in 1980. The survey by local historian Gillian Beckett and her mother Alice Tuck records 84 memorials inside the church and 173 outside, plus notes on the war memorial and church history. Our family history pages have more information on selected names.
Links:
Stanhoe’s entry in Simon Knott’s Norfolk Churches website
Stanhoe’s entry in A Church Near You.com
Information on the War Memorial