St Stephens. An anomaly?

As part of our Secret Norwich: Heritage After Dark Series last night we were treated to the expertise of church heritage professional Nick Groves. In the newly refurbished St Stephens, still awaiting the final glitz and glam of it's restoration project, we oohed and aahed at the amazing masonry work lit by the new up-lighters and considered some intriguing historical facts against the physical evidence. Why was St Stephens being expanded amid the turmoil of the Reformation and how did this effect it's design?

Was the stark contrast in corbel design between the chancel and the nave a clear expression of changing opinions on church decoration pre and post Reformation? For this is the common theory supported by the dates of the builds. The chancel was built on the cusp of the reforms around 1530 so perhaps got away with the beautiful angel corbels, where as the nave was built 20 years later when firm views were now upheld about idolatry and the corbels, while beautifully rendered, are somewhat more plain and geometric in design. Or is it less clear cut than traditional views about the schism of the church in the C16th would have us believe?

Nick rather thought that this was too obvious an explanation and that perhaps the masons capable of crafting angels from stone were simply caught up on prolific house-building else where, leaving the parishioners to deal with second best masons only capable of simpler, more geometric designs. If you haven't seen the evidence it's certainly worth a visit to ponder this for yourself.

Nick went on to map the building pattern of the church against the actions of Henry VIII which was very interesting. The nave programme was started shortly after the king's death. We looked at patterns of re-builds and demolitions across the city and wondered why the Cathedral, the owners of the chancel, chose to rebuild St Stephens as they demolished other chancels in the city. We considered the influence of wealthy patrons such as the Brownes and Mingays but even Nick couldn't uncover the patrons of the nave with any certainty. If we could, perhaps we could get to the bottom of the rebuild and the impetus and theology behind it. For now it was great to open up so many more questions about the building and to have such an expert on hand to help us navigate the re-use of windows, stone re-used from neighbouring churches and the backdrop of English history which must have influenced the lives of the dean and parish.

Join us next time as Dr Richard Cocke explore St Andrews church and, among others, the Suckling monument it houses. 18th October, 7-9pm.