St Mary the Virgin, Yelverton, is a Grade I listed medieval parish church at the heart of a small South Norfolk village just east of Poringland, about seven miles south‑east of Norwich. A church has stood on this spot for more than nine hundred years – the Domesday Book records a church at ‘Ailvertuna’ in the time of Edward the Confessor – and the building today is a delightful patchwork of Saxon, Norman, medieval and Tudor work topped by a stubby late 17th‑century brick tower. It is still in regular use as part of the Diocese of Norwich, welcomes visitors free of charge most days, and holds two extraordinary treasures: a rare 15th‑century rood screen painted with angels and a pair of vivid modern stained‑glass windows by Pippa Blackall.
Visiting St Mary’s Church, Yelverton
At a glance, here is the practical information most visitors want before setting off.
- Address: St Mary’s Church, Church Road, Yelverton with Alpington, Norwich NR14 7NY
- Opening hours: Normally unlocked during daylight hours; the church is happy to welcome visitors outside service times
- Admission: Free; donations towards the upkeep of the building are gratefully received
- Sunday services: Most Sundays at 9.30 am or 4 pm, plus a midweek service on the first Thursday of each month at 10.30 am – see A Church Near You for the current rota
- Parking: A handful of spaces alongside Church Road; please park considerately for village neighbours
- Accessibility: Step into the porch; level access through the south door; gravel paths in the churchyard
- Dogs: Well‑behaved dogs welcome in the churchyard on a lead
- Contact: Liz Bloomfield, Churchwarden, 01508 493958
Yelverton is part of the united benefice of Yelverton with Alpington, in the Diocese of Norwich. The village sits on the wide street that links Poringland and Brooke, with St Mary’s in its walled graveyard at the centre. It makes an easy free half‑hour stop on a weekend drive through the lanes south‑east of Norwich, and pairs naturally with a longer day around the Yare Valley or the city itself.
A short history of the church
The earliest recorded reference is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a church at ‘Ailvertuna’. Parts of the standing building plausibly survive from that period: the north wall of the chancel tapers slightly and includes a small round‑headed window splayed both internally and externally – a feature usually associated with late Saxon or very early Norman work – and the north‑east quoin of the nave is built of huge chunks of carr‑stone in a manner typical of 11th‑century Norfolk masonry.
The early church was greatly enlarged during the 14th century in the Decorated style. A ‘Y’‑traceried window in the north chancel wall was inserted early in this period (c. 1300), and the south aisle was added or rebuilt with windows of the later Decorated period (mid‑14th century). The Perpendicular east window suggests that the chancel was lengthened during the 15th century, and the brick‑framed Tudor doorway in the south aisle was added in the early 16th century to give access to a chantry chapel.
That chantry, the Chapel of St John the Baptist, was founded by Thomas Hotte in 1505 and was the meeting place of the Guild of St John the Baptist until the mid‑16th century. Since the 1883 restoration it has been used as the vestry.
The brick tower was rebuilt in the late 17th century – one of relatively few towers in Norfolk to date from this period – and the church was heavily restored in 1883 at a cost of £600, when the floor was raised, the font moved, the old three‑decker pulpit replaced, and the nave and aisle filled with new seating.
Things to see inside St Mary’s, Yelverton
The 15th‑century rood screen of angels
The church’s great treasure is the dado – the painted base – of its 15th‑century rood screen, surviving in situ in front of the chancel arch. The upper parts of the screen were added during the 19th century, probably as part of the 1883 restoration, but the lower painted panels are original. They are unusual in that they depict angels rather than saints, a relative rarity among the late‑medieval rood screens of East Anglia.
The six panels on the south side are beautifully preserved, showing angels in crowns set against a continuous landscape of trees and hills – a 15th‑century vision of paradise. Across the screen stretches a banner inscription naming the donors, Thomas Hotte and Beatrice his wife, with a Latin doxology: “Gloria in excelsis Deo; et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis” – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.” The panels on the north side were repainted in the early 20th century and are partly obscured by later steps to the pulpit.
The Pippa Blackall stained glass (2001)
The south porch is lit by a pair of stained‑glass windows installed in 2001 by the East Anglian artist Pippa Blackall, one of the most vibrant contemporary practitioners of the craft in the region. Titled ‘Water’ and ‘Fire’, they use the imagery of pentecostal flame and baptismal water to play with the morning and evening light that crosses the church from east to west. They replaced earlier 19th‑century glass by the Great Yarmouth painter Samuel Yarrington, which was found to be too vulnerable and was moved to safety.
The William Aikman windows
Most of the other glass in the church is by William Aikman, including a fine Ascension, a depiction of the Woman at the Well, and the Disciples at the Ascension. A separate panel of the Blessed Virgin and Child has been tentatively attributed to Christopher Powell.
The Norman font
The font has a square 14th‑century stone bowl decorated with blank Decorated‑style arches on each of its four sides – either remarkably well preserved or, more probably, carefully recut during the 1883 restoration. It rests on five circular pillars after the Norman fashion. The traceried bowl panels are echoed in the small wooden screen at the base of the tower.
The bells
Three bells hang in the tower. The two larger were cast by William Brend of Norwich in 1613 and 1624, recast from earlier medieval bells made by the Brasyer foundry. The treble was cast by Edward Tooke in 1678. In the arch above the south chapel, where it would once have summoned the congregation to the elevation of the host, hangs a small sanctus or sacring bell, also by William Brend – one of relatively few of its kind to have survived in situ in an English parish church.
Brasses and memorials
There are several brass inscriptions set into the nave floor near the screen. The most affecting is the tiny brass effigy of Margaret Aldriche, who died in 1525 “in her flourishing youth” – a small (about six‑and‑a‑half‑inch) figure of a girl with long flowing hair, with an inscription asking the reader to pray for her soul. Another brass nearby asks prayers for “the souls of master Thomas Holte and Beatrice his wife”, the rood‑screen donors; Thomas Hotte is buried in front of the screen he probably paid for.
From the Elizabethan period, Thomas Blenerhasset has a more secular brass inscription of 1590. In the south aisle, a grand wall plaque commemorates Humphrey Rant, who died in 1661, sharing his exuberant memorial with his wife Anne – a very fine example of its mid‑17th‑century type. Several ledger slabs in the south aisle floor commemorate other members of the Rant family. Also worth pausing for are the matter‑of‑fact memorial tablets to Leonard and William Hood (died 1705 and 1711), framed in brick on the south aisle wall: Leonard’s tablet bears a skull and William’s epitaph is well worth reading. Further east in the same aisle, a tiny but beautifully preserved coffin lid probably marks the burial place of a 13th‑century child.
Roofs, woodwork and the Stuart altar table
The roofs of the nave and aisles are framed by medieval timbers, with three tiebeams in the nave, carved wall‑plates and carved spandrels in the aisle roof. The choir stalls were erected in 1883, but careful observation reveals that medieval poppyhead carvings from earlier benches have been cleverly inserted into the tops of some of the 19th‑century stalls – you can see the difference in colour and texture of the wood.
Several pieces of 17th‑century woodwork survive, including a Jacobean chair in the sanctuary and the ‘screen’ forming the entrance to the vestry. The Stuart altar table was brought to Yelverton from Bletchington in Oxfordshire. The church’s previous ‘Positive’ organ was replaced in 1955 by a new instrument built by Storr of Costessey, which has since been rebuilt.
How to find St Mary’s Church, Yelverton
The church stands on Church Road in the centre of Yelverton village, just off the A146 Norwich to Lowestoft road and a short drive east of Poringland. By road it is roughly 15 minutes from the centre of Norwich, and easily reached from the Yare Valley villages around Bramerton, Surlingham and Rockland St Mary. The nearest mainline railway station is Norwich, on the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street.
Combine a visit with a walk around the village – the Yelverton village sign is a few steps from the churchyard gate – lunch at a pub in Poringland or Brooke, or a longer day out exploring our wider places to visit in Yelverton directory. If you enjoy old Norfolk churches, our visitor guide to All Saints Church, Wreningham is a natural pairing, as are the city churches in our Norwich guide and our wider Norfolk days‑out directory.
Frequently asked questions
How old is St Mary’s Church, Yelverton?
A church is recorded at Yelverton in the Domesday Book of 1086, and parts of the north chancel wall and the carr‑stone quoin of the nave are thought to be of late Saxon or early Norman date – making this site of Christian worship more than 900 years old. The standing building is mostly 14th and 15th century, with a late 17th‑century brick tower and a Victorian restoration of 1883.
Is St Mary’s Church a listed building?
Yes. The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Yelverton, is a Grade I listed building on the National Heritage List for England, recognised for its medieval fabric, its rare painted rood screen and its surviving Norman and Tudor features.
Is the church open to visitors?
Yes. St Mary’s is normally unlocked during daylight hours and visitors are warmly welcomed outside service times. Entry is free; donations towards the upkeep of the building are gratefully received in the box by the door.
When are services held at St Mary’s, Yelverton?
Most Sunday services are held at 9.30 am or 4 pm, with a midweek service on the first Thursday of each month at 10.30 am. The schedule rotates with the neighbouring parish of Alpington as part of the united benefice; the most up‑to‑date timetable is on the porch notice board and on the A Church Near You entry for the parish.
Where can I park to visit the church?
There is no dedicated church car park, but a handful of spaces alongside Church Road can take a small number of cars. Please be considerate of village residents and avoid blocking driveways or the lane.
What is the church’s great treasure?
The dado of the 15th‑century rood screen, painted with twelve angels rather than the more common saints, with a dedicatory inscription naming the donors Thomas and Beatrice Hotte. The six panels on the south side retain their original medieval paintwork against a continuous landscape of trees and hills.
Who looks after the church?
Day‑to‑day care of the church is shared between the churchwardens, the Parochial Church Council and a team of local volunteers. The Diocese of Norwich is the wider church body responsible for the parish.