Round Tower Church in Norfolk | Hidden History of All Saints Freethorpe

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:04]Hi all, Ad here from Hansen Johns. As always, thank you so much for clicking on the video. Today I'm in deepest darkest Norolk and it's my first ever round tower in a church. Isn't it beautiful? It's called All Saints and we're in a little village called Freeth.

[00:00:25]I don't know very much about it apart from it's got a round tower. So, let's go and have a look.

[00:00:32]If you ever find yourself wandering through the quiet countryside of Norfolk, it doesn't take much time to come across places that feel as though they've slipped gently out of time. One such place is this tiny parish of Flethorp. And at its heart stands All Saints Church. A building that at first glance might seem modest, even unassuming, but it holds within its walls centuries of history, memory, and quiet beauty.

[00:01:08]All Saints Church dates back many centuries with much of what we see today reflecting medieval origins. And like many Norolk churches, it has evolved over time with additions, repairs, and restorations led across the generations.

[00:01:26]The walls are built of local stone and flint and they carry the subtle irregularities that come with age. And if you look closely, you can almost read the story of its construction in the textures and the patterns. And this font is original when the church was built in 1290.

[00:01:53]The church is an ancient building of Gothic architecture and it's probably the oldest and certainly the smallest church in this immediate area. It consists of a nave where is a chancel and a Norman round tower which is here that houses a single bell. It is a grade two listed building and it's apparent from the main elements of the building that they were constructed in three distinct stages. The lowest part is made from natural flint and is Norman and the nave is built of larger flints in more regular courses than the tower which is obviously of later construction. And the chancel was completed in about 1299 AD and is built of larger dress stones. Its cross had to be replaced after a damage was sustained during the 1987 storms.

[00:02:54]There are loads of memorials and tablets in the church dedicated to the Walpole family, but they have their own chaplain here. and I'll get back to those in a moment. Now, the rest of this interior, although at first glance it looks apparently medieval, it is in fact an excellent Victorian reproduction and was designed by the renowned architect Anthony Salvin. An engraving of the church dating back to 1824 shows a large tuda window in the south wall and attached roof. The arches in the nave are airly decorated in style and in the chancel the arch is notably slimmer and lighter together with the window on the south wall. They're considered very elegant examples of early English architecture. The narrow lancet windows here in the nave were put in during the major restoration work that was carried out in 1850.

[00:03:55]The cost of the 1849 restoration is not known, but the interior of the church was redecorated in 1978 for £378 and again in 2004 for £7,499.

[00:04:12]And the prayer boards at the end there were ordered to be displayed in all parish churches shortly after the reformation.

[00:04:21]And these are Elizabethan style uh panels up on the altar and above here these medieval heads supporting the chancel roof. It's not known whether these are original or not. And I found this beautiful hand embroidered kneeler.

[00:04:37]Well done to whoever done that.

[00:04:40]Absolutely beautiful.

[00:04:43]Mention must be made of the major benefactors of the church and they were the family called the Vade Walpoles relatives of Robert Walpole was actually the first prime minister of Great Britain and he held office between 1721 and 1742.

[00:05:02]Now tablets in the church all around the walls actually record three generations of this family including Richard Walpole's daughter Anerys Mary Rachel Walpole who was married to Ashton Vade and Ashton Vade was chaplain to George Prince of Wales. It was their son Richard Henry Vade Walpole Esquire and his wife Harriet that were responsible for the restoration work referred to earlier and the work that was done in the Victorian area also included this section over here which is called the Walpole Pew and it's on the north side of the chancel complete with a cast iron fireplace and chimney to keep them warm during the winter. And they got the monument chest here. Lovely. And I love it when they have maps of the churchyard. And there's a lovely little plaque there.

[00:06:10]There's a Victorian parlor organ here in the church and that was installed in the mid 1930s and that replaced an earlier harmonium. Now, at the time it was installed, it was still hand pumped, which I believe from what subscribers have told me on here that some of them didn't when they were youngsters. And it's really, really hard work. So, it was hand pumped despite its arrival coinciding with the installation of electricity. And I found this little stained window, this lancer window.

[00:06:45]Isn't it beautiful?

[00:06:47]And this was painted on the wall, although it's very difficult to read what it says, but I couldn't find a date on that anywhere.

[00:07:01]What makes a church like this so fascinating isn't just its architecture, but the lives it has touched. Every stone, every beam, every name carved into a memorial tells a fragment of a much larger story. And this isn't just a building. It's a record of a community that has existed here in one form or another for hundreds of years. I'm just going to head now into the churchyard.

[00:07:41]On entering the churchyard, you're immediately struck by its sense of isolation.

[00:07:49]There's a stillness here, the kind that really only exists today in rural places in England, where the sounds of traffic and the daily rush feel very far away.

[00:08:05]The churchyard was dotted with weathered headstones, soft grass, and some beautiful spring flowers.

[00:08:15]It created a natural frame for the building itself. It's the kind of place where you instinctively lower your voice, not out of obligation, but just out of respect.

[00:08:36]All Saints Church dates back many centuries with much of what we see today reflecting its medieval origins. And like many Norolk churches and rural English churches, it has evolved over time. There's been additions, repairs, and restorations led across generations.

[00:09:01]The walls built of local stone and flint carry the subtle irregularities that come with age. And if you look closely, you can almost read the story of its construction in the textures and patterns of the building.

[00:09:29]There were a few headstones that I could still read. And this was Harriet. And as I stand here, as I quite often do, I wonder about these people. I wonder if they had good lives, sad lives, and their stories. We shall never know.

[00:09:50]The churchyard had many ancient gravestones dating from the 18th and 19th century and further inspection shows that a surprising number of freethought residents lived to a ripe old age. So maybe it's something in the water. But of particular interest in the churchyard is this headstone. And this marks the grave of John Rust who while serving in the 11th Husar regiment he served in the charge of the light brigade at Balaclava in the Crimean War.

[00:10:25]Isn't that amazing? And after his military service, he took on a more sedate post as the village constable here in Freethorp.

[00:10:47]going to wrap the video up here. I do hope you enjoyed it. Absolutely fascinating. That little chapel with the fireplace and the grave where a major that was in the charge of the life brigade. Absolutely fascinating. If you did enjoy the video, if you could please like, subscribe, hit the high button down below. Absolutely free. doesn't cost you anything, but it really helps the channel out. But if you'd like to help the channel a little bit more, then you can hit the buy me a coffee link down below, and that helps me travel a little bit further a field to places like Norolk, going champing, and also it helps me make a donation to these wonderful buildings. So that's all for now, and I shall see you for the next one.