John Betjeman
Grade I Listed St. Bartholomew's is a perpendicular decorated church whose tower stands proud in the landscape and guides us back to Brisley is at grave risk of collapse
Constructed between 1370 and 1460, this grand old church needs hundreds of thousands of pounds for essential works to secure its future for generations to come
St. Bartholomew's is on a through road between Stanfield and North Elmham in the Breckland area of north Norfolk The first Rector was appointed in 1304 to the earlier Saxon church which stood on the site of the present church
The building is of flint construction with ashlar dressings and tiled roof. On entering the Church your first impression will be of the light inside the building which comes from the fine perpendicular windows on either side of the nave
There's much to see here. So, take your time, look around, and learn all there is to know about us.
For contact details and church services please click the link below
Entry to the tower is through a carved 15th century door from the vestry. There is a steep climb of well- trodden stairs to the top and some ancient graffiti on the walls. Only one bell remains in the bell tower
The huge plain west window is one of the finest features in the church with beautiful carvings around the upper panels of glass. Below the patterned upper glass are wide glass panels in a repeat pattern of the other plain glass windows in the Nave. The glass in the top section of the window is inlaid with small fragments of medieval coloured glass that form various decorative shapes
The gallery has an inscription dated 1848, making it one of the last to be erected in Norfolk. It has a stained and panelled front to a raked platform, balanced on just two thin cast iron columns
The plain windows either side of the nave and in the chancel are enormous with decorations around them that depict the transition of the building style from decorated, with its style of wide windows and naturalistic carvings, to the perpendicular style with elaborate tracery
The large east window in the chancel depicts a Victorian scene of the crucifixion with Jerusalem in the background. The window was erected in 1855 in memory of the wife of then vicar
A mixture of human sculptures, grotesques, and animals in the form of corbels as well as carvings and wall decorations. The figures include Charles I , Henry II, Elizabeth I, a pair of unhappy looking medieval boys an angel, a falling figure, a frightening beast, and a variation on the Green Man
The church contains good examples of 13th and 14th century wall paintings, including the haunting face of St Bartholomew, the stooped body of St. Christopher , dated c. 1360, and the unusual survival of St Andrew carrying his cross also dated c. 1360 which is on the south wall. A slightly later painting of St. Christopher is at the side of the north door. Much coloured decoration remains to be uncovered some, like the red paint on the pillars, probably post-medieval. The two wall paintings of St Christopher are of differing quality. On the south aisle using finer paint and more skillfully executed in the late c. 14th. In the centre St Christopher is flanked on the left by St Bartholomew who is thought to be holding a stick
The church contains a number of carved 15th century bench ends, including an engaging dog with a goose in its mouth, there are several very fine 15th century box pews. On one of the pews the original date 1590 has been beautifully carved
The font is typical of the 14th century, quite plain eight sided. The font has a ‘witches’ hat’ cover, probably from the 19th century
The rood screen, a partition between the chancel and the nave, is 14th century. The lower panels are painted in red and green with some gold tracery. Immediately over the screen there are fine wooden carvings which reach across the entry to the chancel
The three-deck pulpit with associated desk is late 15th century and has panelled desks and shelves, possibly associated with the box pew of c. 1590 in the south aisle, and a big square eighteenth-century tester canopy above it
It is believed the squint would ohave been in an external wall that was subsequently bricked up pe. This was an opening, usually oblique, cut through a wall or a pier in the chancel of a church to enable the congregation in transepts or chapels, from which the altar would not otherwise be visible, to witness the elevation of the host during mass.
It is believed the squint would originally have been in an external wall that was subsequently bricked up
The crypt is under the chancel and has a magnificent medieval door leading down stone steps to the room below. The crypt is thought originally to have been used as a charnel house to store bones.
In the 19th century prisoners were lodged in the crypt on their way to the Assizes in Norwich. It has been suggested that the crypt may date from the Saxon church which is believed to have stood where the chancel stands to-day
The chancel was built over a ten-year period from c. 1370. The altar at the back of the chancel is a plain wooden table and stands in front of a reredos - a large altarpiece - which depicts the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments written on large wooden boards. The painted canvas Decalogue text on the reredos is probably c.1850
At the entrance to the church , under a cloth, is believed to have been one of the original 'Lord's Tables'. It is made of plain wood and dates to around the early Stuart period.
There are two piscinas, a shallow basin used for washing the communion vessels, in the church
The Piscina in the chancel is very finely decorated. It is set as a perpendicular triple sedi-lia-cum-piscina with cusped and crocketted ogee arches and fleurons on quatrefoil sup-ports with panel traceried spandrels with an embattled top course
On the south side of the Nave there is a small corner area which was possibly a separate chapel. It contains a 13th century piscina
The Tavener brass was in the floor of the nave but only the cross and inscription remains, It marks the grave of John Taverner who died in 1548. His son Richard Taverner (1505-1570) was born in Brisley and translated the Bible into English
The famous Attowe Brass in the chancel dates from 1531, the eve of the Reformation, and depicts Priest John Athorne. It is one of the last of its kind in England. Athorne is depicted wearing mass vestments and holding an ornate chalice with the host rising from it
The George II Coat of Arms dated 1753 over the south door is signed at the bottom by G Betler and F. Frohawk. It was cleaned and repaired in 1854
St Bartholomew's © Hugh Fawcett
With Reverend Robin Stapleford