St Mary the Less, Norwich is a
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
redundant church
A redundant church, now referred to as a "closed church", is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused churc ...
located on Queen Street,
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
.
The church consists of a west tower, three-bay nave, chancel and south porch with
parvise
A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or a ...
. It is built of flint with stone and brick dressings and dates from the 13th century. The church has been built up against on three sides so is not prominent in the street.
History
The church is medieval but became redundant in 1544 when its parish was absorbed by
St George's, Tombland. The building was used as a hall where Dutch merchants sold cloth. In 1637 it was converted into a church for
Walloon and
French Protestant
Protestantism in France has existed in its various forms, starting with Calvinism and Lutheranism since the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin was a Frenchman, as were numerous other Protestant Reformers including William Farel, Pierre Viret and ...
s - l’Église Protestante Française de Norwich. Pastors at this time included
John Bruckner and
Joseph Nicol Scott. This use continued until 1832 when it was sold to the
Swedenborgian
The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772).
Swedenborgian or ...
s. In 1869 it became a
Catholic Apostolic Church
The Catholic Apostolic Church (CAC), also known as the Irvingian Church, is a Christian denomination and Protestant sect which originated in Scotland around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States.[Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...]
, which says it is "currently used as an historical studies centre but not easily accessible. The building is thought to be in need of repair, especially the roof".
References
External links
Norwich French Church Charity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwich
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
Grade I listed churches in Norfolk