Church of St Margaret

CHURCH OF ST MARGARET, CHURCH LANE

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
I
List Entry Number:
1169239
Date first listed:
05-Sept-1960
List Entry Name:
Church of St Margaret
Statutory Address:
CHURCH OF ST MARGARET, CHURCH LANE
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Date:
2004-08-20
Reference:
IOE01/12924/01
Rights:
© Mr Steven Algar. Source: Historic England Archive

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
I
List Entry Number:
1169239
Date first listed:
05-Sept-1960
List Entry Name:
Church of St Margaret
Statutory Address 1:
CHURCH OF ST MARGARET, CHURCH LANE

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
CHURCH OF ST MARGARET, CHURCH LANE

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Norfolk
District:
South Norfolk (District Authority)
Parish:
Hales
National Grid Reference:
TM 38351 96104

Details

HALES CHURCH LANE, TM 39 NE South side

6/22 Church of St. Margaret 5.9.60 - I

Former parish church, now in the care of the Redundant Churches Fund. Fabric of C12 remains almost intact with some C13 and C14 fenestration. Flint with brick and conglomerate, partly rendered. Limestone dressing. Nave and chancel thatched: roof hipped over east end. West tower, nave, apsidal chancel. Round west tower, possibly C11, with C14 bell-openings. Single light west window with raised cill. Later tower parapet with chequerwork of brick, flint and limestone. Fine C12 south door with two orders of shafts with cushion capitals, arch with zigzag, billet and roll mouldings. In the south wall of the nave two 2-light windows with 'Y' tracery, the western window with cusping. Between the windows an original window opening, now blocked, with engaged shafts and capitals and roll moulded semicircular arch; the cill is cut by a later lancet, now blocked with red brick. Chancel has arcading of pairs of semicircular headed recesses divided by pilaster buttresses with nook shafts in their bases. Arcading pierced by C13 lancets. Decorative cill-band below arcading. 2-light east window with 'Y' tracery under a shallow arch. The eastern-most north nave window has been blocked in brick with a later rood stair slit window inserted, now also blocked. Very fine and ornate north doorway, C12 with two orders of shafts, their capitals decorated with stars and volutes, hood mould with wheel motif and arches with zigzag, bobbin and dentil decoration. Interior: nave roof C19 boarded waggon type; plain plaster vault over chancel. Chancel arch with double chamfer. Base of C15 screen with some colour remaining. Figure niches with pedestals flanking east window. In north wall of chancel, a square aumbry recess with shelf. Rood stair in north-east corner of nave, four centred arched head to opening. Two memorial slabs in chancel floor, to Peter Lawes (d.1722) and a C17 slab to Mary Lawes. C18 gallery at west end of nave. Semicircular tower arch with castellated imposts. Blocked circular north and south windows in tower lower stage, their splayed reveals showing traces of basketframing. C15 octagonal font with four lions around the stem, the bowl supported on angel-corbels; alternating roses and angels bearing shields in panels of bowl. C17 font cover of open ogee crown type with turned centre post and acorn finials. Wall paintings: C14 figure of St. James the Great with trail design above, in jamb of south-east nave window, fragment of St. Christopher on south wall of nave probably C15; foliage frieze above east window, C14.

Listing NGR: TM3835196104

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
227024
Legacy System:
LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Church of St Margaret

Map

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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