St Agnes, Cawston

Dominating the village of Cawston is the imposing structure of St Agnes, with its hulking, monolithic tower. Built in the late 14th century, and largely rebuilt in the 15th by the de la Pole family, it boasts one of Norfolk’s most impressive single-hammer-beam roofs (where short, horizontal hammer beams project from the wall plates, generally supported by a curved brace below and holding up a vertical post that is jointed into the sloping roof).

The hammer beams are adorned with six-foot-high angels wearing feathered suits, as was common in medieval depictions.

They stand upright with hands held up in blessing or prayer, and traces of their original brightly coloured paintwork still survive. There’s even a line of carved demiangels along the horizontal wall plates above the windows.

This active church was recently closed for major restoration work, with floor-to-roof scaffolding affording a rare opportunity to meet the angels face to face – as well as to analyse the condition of the wood and the medieval paint for future preservation. Initial reports suggest that costly blue azurite may be among the paint pigments used on the angels.

Also in the roof at St Agnes is thought to be a carving of the patron saint herself, along with the Virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel (who stands in a different pose from the other angels). Meanwhile, back at ground level, the visitor will find one of the region’s best painted rood screens, as well as an interesting stone carving of a wild man facing a dragon in the south transept.

st-agnes.org.uk