Church of St Cuthbert is a Grade II* listed building in the Breckland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 3 April 1951. A Medieval Church.

Church of St Cuthbert

WRENN ID
gaunt-quoin-bracken
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Breckland
Constituency
South West Norfolk MP: Terry Jermy (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
3 April 1951
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St Cuthbert, King Street, Thetford
OS grid reference
TL 871 830
Coordinates
52.41361, 0.7499
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church located in Thetford, with origins dating back to the early 13th century, with further developments in the 15th century and later. The west tower was rebuilt after its collapse in 1851, and the north aisle was added in 1902. The church is constructed from whole pebbles, flint, and ashlar dressings, topped with slate roofs. It features a west tower, nave, aisles, and chancel.

The tower is three stages high, with set-back stepped buttresses. The ground stage includes a cusped lancet window, while the ringing chamber has a four-petal window with square spandrels, and the belfry features two-light windows. A plain parapet and string courses separate the storeys. The south aisle has three two-light windows and a gabled south porch, while there are four clerestory windows on both the north and south sides. An arched doorway is located at the west end of the north aisle. The aisles contain two three-light panel-tracery windows and two two-light windows. The chancel is illuminated by one 19th-century lancet and one two-light renewed plate-tracery window, along with a three-light east window from the 19th century.

Inside, there are four bays in the north arcade and five in the south arcade, all supported by octagonal piers and featuring double-chamfered arches. The west bay of the nave and the entire north side were completed in 1902. The chancel arch is double wave-moulded, and the roofs are of a plain purlin and rafter type with arched braces to the wall posts. The chancel roof, similar in style, dates from 1882. Notable interior features include a double late 13th-century piscina with trefoil cusping and a hood mould, as well as a square 11th-century font bowl with incised arcading around the rim, which stands on a later octagonal shaft.

Local climate

Church of St Cuthbert sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 91% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 65% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 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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