Tom's Tour - The Church of St. Agnes, Cawston

Join Tom on his latest tour to the Church of St.Agnes at Cawston

St Agnes Church, Cawston, is one of the most beautiful and exciting historic churches in Norfolk. Thousands of visitors are drawn to Cawston each year to see the superb 15th-century hammer beam angel roof, and the glorious late medieval painted screen.

The church was built by Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, in the early years of the 14th century. The tower is stunning, standing almost 120 feet high.

Cawston's angel roof is one of the finest in East Anglia, a stunning example of medieval craftsmanship. It is steeply pitched, to a single hammer-beam design, The beams are adorned with huge wooden figures of angels, standing over 6 feet high. Unusually, the angels do not project at a diagonal from the beam ends but stand completely upright on the beams.

One of the most intriguing roof angels stands eight feet high and wears a costume made of feathers from head to toe. Actors in medieval mystery plays often wore feather costumes to portray angels, so the symbolism would have been obvious to a medieval audience. Some of the angels bear traces of their original paint.

To capture these astonishing works of art you will need a solid tripod and a good zoom lens. Be prepared to be surprised at the remnants of colour left on these angels when viewed on screen!

We have agreed with the parish priest that everyone will donate at least £5 to the church and that if pictures are posted on social media they are tagged @cawstonparish church.

We hope to gain access to the gallery at the back of the church to obtain a different view - more information later.

The Parish Priest used to be a manger of a branch of Jessops and he also suggests macro photography for the lower areas of the church. There's something for everyone here!