Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building in the Breckland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 23 June 1960. A Medieval and later Church.
Church of St Mary
- WRENN ID
- hidden-lancet-larch
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- Breckland
- Constituency
- South West Norfolk MP: Terry Jermy (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 23 June 1960
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval and later
- Address
- Church of St Mary, Cranwich
- OS grid reference
- TL 782 948
- Coordinates
- 52.52257, 0.62633
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Mary is a parish church that dates from the medieval period and later. It is constructed of flint with ashlar and some brick dressings, featuring a rendered porch and north wall, and has thatched roofs. The church includes a circular west tower, an aisleless nave with a south porch, and a chancel. The west tower, which dates from the 11th century, has a circular monolithic window on the ground floor, a similar arched window on the first floor, and four monolithic openings above with interlace patterns on the north, south, and west sides, likely representing the original bell stage. The current bell stage has four roughly arched openings that are undressed, along with a late-medieval crenellated parapet adorned with three gargoyles.
The south wall of the nave features one 14th-century cusped lancet window and two late-medieval windows with flat heads, consisting of two and three cusped lights. The late-medieval porch has an arched entrance and two-light side windows with cusping. There is a late 12th-century doorway with a chamfered semicircular arch on simple imposts, which supports a hood mould decorated with dogtooth patterns. The north wall of the nave contains a hollow chamfered doorway of two orders and two 15th-century two-light panel traceried windows. The chancel, dating from the 14th century, has four two-light Y-traceried windows on the north and south sides, as well as a three-light Y-traceried window on the east side.
Inside, there is a reduced tower arch with a modern doorway inserted, and no chancel arch is present. The chancel includes a 14th-century piscina with a deeply moulded arch supported by a pair of engaged colonnetts with bell capitals. The nave features moulded wall plates and arched braces, likely of medieval origin, though largely obscured by the ceiling. A plain 14th-century octagonal font is also present, along with a medieval altar slab that has been repurposed as flooring on the northeast side of the chancel.
Local climate
Church of St Mary sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 89% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 29 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 68% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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