St Andrew's Church, Hempstead is the
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of
Hempstead, near Stalham, Norfolk
Lessingham is a village and a civil parish in the England, English county of Norfolk. The village is 16.3 south-east of Cromer, 17.6 miles north-east of Norwich and 136 miles north-east of London. The village lies 9 miles south-east of the town o ...
, England. Hempstead is in
Lessingham
Lessingham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 16.3 south-east of Cromer, 17.6 miles north-east of Norwich and 136 miles north-east of London. The village lies 9 miles south-east of the town of North W ...
civil parish about east of
North Walsham and from the
North Sea coast.
The church is a
Grade II* listed building.
History
The oldest part of the church is the
chancel, which was built in the 13th century. The
nave was built in the 14th century. The nave used to have
aisles
Aisles is a six-piece progressive rock band originally from Santiago, Chile. The group was formed in 2001 by brothers Germán (guitar) and Luis Vergara (keyboards), and childhood friend Rodrigo Sepúlveda (guitar). Later on, it expanded to incl ...
, but these were demolished in the 15th century. In the 15th century the west tower was built and a wooden tracery screen was inserted in the chancel arch.
[
The upper part of the chancel screen has ]Perpendicular Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...
tracery of an unusual type. The lower part has two rows of eight panels which had 15th-century paintings of saints, most of which survive. In February 1982 a thief using a screwdriver removed from the screen a panel bearing a painting of Saint Eligius. The panel has never been recovered.
The pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
and reading desk are 17th-century.[
The west tower has three bells. The second bell was cast by an unknown founder at the end of the 14th century. Brasyers of Norwich cast the tenor bell at the end of the 15th century. Thomas Newman of Norwich cast the treble bell in 1707.]
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
13th-century church buildings in England
Church of England church buildings in Norfolk
Grade II* listed churches in Norfolk
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