St Michael (St Miles) Coslany, 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
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
in
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 building is located on Coslany Street, between Oak Street and Colegate.
History
The church is noted for its remarkable display of
flushwork
In architecture, flushwork is decorative masonry work which combines on the same flat plane flint and ashlar stone. If the stone projects from a flat flint wall then the term is proudwork, as the stone stands "proud" rather than being "flush" wi ...
of white stone against black flint. The south aisle retains it from the fifteenth century and was added in 1500, by Alderman Gregory Clark.
The chapel at the east end was added by Robert Thorpe as his
chantry chapel
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or
# a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
. The north aisle was built by Alderman William Ramsey in 1502–04. The nave was rebuilt by the Stalon brothers in the early sixteenth century.
The south porch was demolished in 1747. A restoration was carried out in 1883 to 1884 when the flushwork on the chancel was rebuilt, and a new east window added.
The bell tower dates back to the 13th century.
Inspire Discovery Centre
During the mid 1990s to mid 2011 the church building was home to a charity called INSPIRE, a children's activity attraction dedicated to the exploration of science through hands-on techniques. The charity has since closed.
Organ
A Norman and Beard organ was installed in 1885 but has been transferred elsewhere. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norwich, Saint Michael
Saint Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
15th-century church buildings in England
Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk