Church of St Margaret is a Grade I listed building in the South Norfolk local planning authority area, England. A C12 Church. 1 related planning application.

Church of St Margaret

WRENN ID
ragged-railing-briar
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
South Norfolk
Constituency
South Norfolk MP: Ben Goldsborough (Lab)
Country
England
Type
Church
Address
Church of St Margaret, Church Lane, Hales
OS grid reference
TM 383 961
Coordinates
52.5107, 1.51111
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Church of St. Margaret is a former parish church, now under the care of the Redundant Churches Fund. The building largely retains its fabric from the 12th century, with additions from the 13th and 14th centuries. It is constructed of flint with brick and conglomerate, partly rendered, and has limestone dressings. The nave and chancel are thatched, with a hipped roof over the east end. The church consists of a round west tower, nave, and apsidal chancel.

The west tower, possibly dating back to the 11th century, has 14th-century bell openings, a single-light west window with a raised cill, and a later parapet with a chequerwork pattern of brick, flint, and limestone. A fine 12th-century south door features two orders of shafts with cushion capitals, and an arch with zigzag, billet, and roll mouldings. On the south wall of the nave are two 2-light windows with Y tracery; the western window has cusping. A blocked original window opening is located between these windows, featuring engaged shafts and capitals, a roll moulded semicircular arch, with a cill cut by a later blocked lancet. The chancel has arcading of pairs of semicircular-headed recesses divided by pilaster buttresses with nook shafts at their bases, and is pierced by 13th-century lancets. A decorative cill-band runs below the arcading. The 2-light east window has Y tracery under a shallow arch. A north nave window has been blocked with brick, with a later rood stair slit window inserted, which is now also blocked. A very fine and ornate 12th-century north doorway possesses two orders of shafts with capitals decorated with stars and volutes, a hood mould with a wheel motif, and arches with zigzag, bobbin, and dentil decoration.

The interior features a 19th-century boarded waggon roof in the nave and a plain plaster vault over the chancel. The chancel arch has a double chamfer. A base of a 15th-century screen remains, with traces of colour. Figure niches with pedestals flank the east window. In the north wall of the chancel is a square aumbry recess with a shelf. A rood stair is located in the north-east corner of the nave, with a four-centred arched head to the opening. Two memorial slabs are set into the chancel floor, one to Peter Lawes (died 1722), and another 17th-century slab to Mary Lawes. An 18th-century gallery is at the west end of the nave. The semicircular tower arch has castellated imposts. Blocked circular north and south windows in the lower stage of the tower have splayed reveals showing traces of basketframing. A 15th-century octagonal font is supported on angel-corbels, with lions around the stem, and panels of roses and angels bearing shields on the bowl. A 17th-century font cover is of open ogee crown type with a turned centre post and acorn finials. Wall paintings include a 14th-century figure of St. James the Great with trail design above, within the jamb of the south-east nave window, a fragment of St. Christopher on the south wall of the nave (probably 15th century), and a foliage frieze above the east window (14th century).

Local climate

Church of St Margaret receives an average of 740 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 75% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 55% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 14 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 86% of listed buildings. Of these, 8 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.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • 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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  4. The Green Farmhouse Grade II 1.0 km
  5. The Iron Column at TM 3923 9660 Grade II 1.0 km
  6. Hales Hospital Grade II 1.2 km
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  9. Hales and Heckingham War Memorial Grade II 1.3 km
  10. Small Barn Immediately South East of Hales Hall Grade II* 1.4 km