Church of St. Edmund

TG 40 SE 7/32

FRITTON & ST. OLAVES CHURCH LANE (south side) Church of St. Edmund

27.11.54

II*

Parish church. C12, with nave enlarged to south C14. West tower, nave, chancel and sanctuary. Whole building restored 1855, chancel restored 1927. Quaternary and Quarry flint and chert with Lincolnshire Limestone ashlar dressings and some brick. Thatched roofs. Three stage circular tower with a slit lancet to the west. Wide brick lined pointed lancets to ringing chamber and louvred belfry windows, that to west of two-lights and carrying a vesica; the remainder are lancets. Rebuilt plain brick parapet. To south nave is a gabled porch of 1855, matched by a gabled north vestry also of 1855. Three two-light C14 nave windows, each light trefoiled and with a pointed quatrefoil vesica. A large sloping brick buttress is attached to east end of north nave wall. Small chancel with round apse. At east end are two flat buttresses. Between them and to either side are three slit lights (three in all). The chancel is lit through two C15 two-light windows under square heads.

Interior. Double wave moulded inner south door. Arched tower doorway. Square font of 1855 in Norman style (copied from that of Hartland, Devon). Boarded scissor braced nave roof. On north nave wall a large C14 painting of St. Christopher. On south-east window jamb of nave a painting of St. John the Baptist, also C14. Plain but intact early C17 triple decker pulpit. Mid C14 chancel screen of three ogeed bays each side of central opening. C19 circular shafts, plain plank dado and frieze of geometric roundels below top rail. Quadruple chamfered chancel arch, rather stilted, leads into a barrel vaulted chancel, divided from apsidal sanctuary by a flat arch on pilasters. In the chancel are plain early C14 stalls with vestigial button poppyheads. Chancel arch retains scroll paintings and other non-figurative decoration, repainted 1927 but of C12 type. Groin vaulted sanctuary with substantial remains of animal and figurative wall paintings, all C12. Central splayed lancet flanked by one order shafts on bases and with scalloped capitals. Zig-zag arch. Remaining two lancets have similar surrounds added 1855. Rare pillar piscina in sanctuary: moulded base but C19 bowl.

Listing NGR: TG4732700143