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This area of the city centre, Coslany or 'Norwich over the water', is home to about half a dozen medieval parish churches, of which St George is the only working survivor. This was one of the most intensely industrialised areas of Norwich in the 19th century, and the blackened flint of the walls still bears testimony to this. Now, the inner ring road is not far off, and the area is redeveloped with wine bars, law firms and loft conversions. Norwich has consciously tried to develop residential areas in the heart of the city, with considerable success, and this has contributed to the feeling of St George being a living church in the heart of a community.
The church nave was built between 1459, but the the aisles and chapels are much later, 1513. The white walls and opulent furnishings make St George a pleasant place to wander, and if you do you will eventually find the north chancel chapel, built by William Norwich, Mayor in 1461, which is now home to a large terracotta tomb chest and a triple figure brass. The tomb is to Robert Jannys, a Mayor of Norwich who died in 1530. Tombs of this type are interesting, because they were produced right on the eve of the Reformation, and give us an inkling of what the English Renaissance might have been like. Though smaller, this recalls the Bedingfield tombs at Oxborough; Pevsner wondered if it might have been the same craftsman. The brass depicts a Mayor from half a century earlier, the aptly named William Norwiche and his wife, with the figure of their son between them.
Inside, St. George Colegate is the one which most retains its Georgian atmosphere, and again, the furnishings speak for the wealth of the leading parishioners, who were cloth merchants. There is a large west gallery, erected in 1802 for the 200+ year old organ (one of the very earliest to be installed in a parish church in Norwich). The pulpit is late eighteenth-century, with a backboard and tester and an elegant staircase.
The seating now consists of open benches, which have been cut down from the old box-pews. The reredos is of seventeenth-century style, but of eighteenth-century date, and it's panels should have the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments.
The church is flooded with light from the clear glazing in the large Perpendicular windows, with the only coloured glass is in the east window. This is believed to be a copy of Reynolds’ glass at New College, Oxford, but is very badly decayed. Because of the big windows, the heavy dark wood is not hard to bear, the west gallery is not oppressive. The tiling of the floor is harmonious, the sheer white of the 14th century font a striking central feature. The font appears as if it has been cobbled together; the bowl and shaft may be from different fonts, and the connection between is probably Victorian. The church adopted the font from St Saviour, just to the north, when it closed. The original Purbeck marble font went eventually to St Peter Hungate when it was a museum of church furnishings, and is probably in storage under Norwich castle now.
St George Colegate has one of the largest collections of monuments and family memorials in Norwich, including many examples of work by the craftsmen from the "Norwich School". As previously mentioned, the north chapel houses the terracotta tomb-chest of Robert Jannys, mayor 1517 and 1524. At the east end of the south aisle is a memorial to John Crome, the landscape artist.
The church is open to the public most days for Morning Prayer, so feel free to visit this unusual and fascinating Norwich church. |
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