Name: North Elmham Chapel
Rating: 5.0

North Elmham Chapel

Church Lane, North Elmham, Dereham, Norfolk NR20 5JU, UK

1-99 Years

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Description

North Elmham Chapel A place with an unusual story, told by graphic panels. The small Norman chapel here stood on the site of an earlier timber church, probably the Saxon cathedral of East Anglia. In the 14th century it was converted into a fortified manor house by Henry Despenser, the unpopular Bishop of Norwich who brutally suppressed the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

North Elmham is an enigmatic site with an interesting history. The ruins are those of a small Norman chapel of unique design, which was converted into a small castle whose defensive banks and moats still surround the site.

Free Entry. If you are looking for Best place for day out with kids and families then this is the perfect destination offering fun, adventure, and unforgettable memories for everyone.

Features

Free
Host birthday parties: No

Features

History of North Elmham Chapel: North Elmham is an enigmatic site with an interesting history. The ruins are those of a small Norman chapel of unique design, which was converted into a small castle whose defensive banks and moats still surround the site.
Origins: In the late Saxon period North Elmham was the principal seat of the Bishops of East Anglia and the centre of a great episcopal estate.
Excavations have revealed evidence for an earlier timber structure, probably the Anglo-Saxon cathedral, which went out of use when the seat of the Bishop was transferred to Thetford in 1071. Some time between 1091 and 1119 Bishop Herbert de Losinga founded a new parish church for the village and built a small private chapel for his own use on the site of the old timber church.
Description: The conversion of the chapel into a fortified house makes the ruins rather difficult to interpret at first sight. The rather eccentric design of the chapel reflects that of much grander European churches of the period. Unusually, the west tower was the same width externally as the nave and had an external stair turret to its upper storeys. The transept had flanking towers, reminiscent of contemporary German churches, and there was a semicircular apse at the east end.
The church was built mainly of blocks of local, dark brown conglomerate with courses of large flints and limestone dressings; most of these have been robbed but remaining ashlar fragments have distinctively Norman diagonal tooling. The towers are distinguished by having slightly thicker walls than the nave and transepts. The north support for the tower arch and the surviving jamb of the north doorway are also clearly Norman in design.
Bishop Despencer’s 14th century alterations are mostly of small flints with brick and ashlar dressings. The ground level foundations are the remains of his cellars and the circular bases of the piers that supported a new upper floor.
The existing flight of stairs led up to the living rooms and hall. Despencer created a fortified first-floor entrance by building a second semicircular turret alongside the Norman stair turret. He surrounded his house with a moat; the bailey to the north and east, and outer ditch around the western, northern and eastern sides, are probably also his work.

Facilities

Parking: There is no designated car park but there is some limited parking at the start of Church Lane near the chapel gate.
Food & Drinks: There are no facilties at the chapel but it is in the village of North Elmham where there are a couple of pubs and shops, and a café.
Dogs: Dogs on leads are welcome.

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Price

Price: Free

Birthday Parties

Offer Birthday Parties: No

Open any reasonable time during daylight hours with a closing time of 8pm or dusk if earlier.

Address: Church Lane, North Elmham, Dereham, Norfolk NR20 5JU, UK

Post Code: NR20 5JU

Council: Breckland

County: Norfolk

Road Access: Located 6 miles north of East Dereham on B1110.
Bus Access: Konectbus service 18 & 21.
Bicycle Access: Find this site on The National Cycle Network.
Parking: There is no designated car park but there is some limited parking at the start of Church Lane near the chapel gate.