Church of St Mary

A Grade I listed parish church at Old Hunstanton with 14th-century fabric originally built by two members of the Le Strange family of Hunstanton Hall. The church underwent ambitious restoration and reroofing around 1860 under Henry Le Strange (1815-1862), the developer of New Hunstanton. Contemporary accounts record that "the late Mr. L'Estrange undertook the repair and restoration of the entire ... was completed from the designs of that accomplished gentleman, the work being carried out by masons and carpenters under his immediate supervision". The architectural similarities with St Edmund's in New Hunstanton (1865-1869) suggest involvement by the architect Frederick Preedy, Le Strange's cousin.

Structure and Exterior

The church is built of flint with stone dressings and lead roofs. It comprises a north-west tower, nave with clerestory, north and south aisles, a south porch, chancel, and north vestries added around 1900.

The tower is square, set off with buttresses to the west. A south doorway dates to around 1300. The bell stage features two-light Decorated windows with a battlemented parapet, and square sound hole openings.

The nave has a five-light west window with geometric tracery dating from the 1860 restoration and a sound hole in the gable with three trefoils set in a segmental triangle. The north aisle contains two two-light windows, while the south aisle has a three-light west window and four two-light south windows plus one three-light east window, all with circa 1860 Geometric-Decorated tracery. Five circular clerestory windows feature alternate trefoil and cinquefoil tracery.

The south porch, dated 1864, has an arch with cinquefoil bar tracery and north and south roundels with flowing tracery. The chancel contains three two-light south windows, one two-light north window, and a five-light east window—all Decorated work of around 1860 with geometric tracery.

Interior

The south porch roof is massive with over wind-bracing. Doors and the internal porch date to 1864.

The nave has five bays with north and south arcades featuring alternating rounded and octagonal piers with stone seats at their base, connected by single hollow chamfered pointed arches. The nave roof is massively over-structured with decorative wind-bracing. Arched double scissor braces rest alternately on carved corbels depicting Apostle heads, executed by Earp. A Norman font stands at the west end with a central pier, four detached angle columns, a scalloped underside to the bowl, attached colonnettes at the angles, and steps. A mosaic floor by Earp is laid here. The west window contains a single stained light dating from circa 1861. Benches date from around 1860. The south aisle has a black and yellow tiled floor, and the east window is a stained High Victorian work depicting the Tree of Jesse, painted by Henry Le Strange, who also painted the roof of Ely Cathedral nave. The north aisle displays painted royal arms of William IV (1830-1837).

A table tomb at the east end bears a brass to Sir Roger Le Strange (died 1506), an esquire of the body to Henry VII. The tomb features Perpendicular blank tracery panels with brass coats of arms and a brass figure in armour with tabard tunic beneath a heraldic helm and three ogee canopies. Small figures in tabards flank the figure. The inscription contains no religious iconography. Originally positioned in the chancel, the tomb was relocated here during the 20th century following its replacement in the chancel around 1860.

The chancel contains a pulpit in marble, stone and alabaster, possibly by Earp or Boulton of Cheltenham. A Perpendicular chancel arch supports a seven-light screen dating from around 1500, with a polychrome dado depicting twelve Apostles, seven light divisions, and a loft—restored around 1900 by Bodley.

On the north side stands a Perpendicular stone recessed altar tomb of 1485 belonging to Henry Le Strange, possibly originally used as an Easter Sepulchre. The tomb chest has a four-centred arch and a parapet decorated with coats of arms. An arched, boarded and coved roof with angle corbels dates from 1861. Neo-Perpendicular stalls date from around 1920 and were created by Sir Walter Tapper. A stone reredos with mastic, glazed tiles, alabaster, and marble features painted angels in roundels by Frederick Preedy. The east window, dating from 1867 and created in memory of Henry Le Strange, displays vivid High Victorian colouring executed by Preedy.