St Peter Hungate

St Peter Hungate. . The name St Peter Hungate preserves an otherwise lost Norwich street name, which may commemorate hounds being kept in kennels in this area., What , The church as it is now seen is mainly 15th century. The nave and transepts were totally rebuilt, as 'a neat building of black flint', by John and Margaret Paston in 1458. The windows are uniformly Perpendicular, and allow much light in to the building., The chancel and tower were rebuilt in 1431 by Thomas Ingham. The Chancel was rebuilt again in 1604 after it collapsed. using plastered rubble and a pin-tile roof. The tower has been shortened, with an unusual pyramid cap put on in 1906 when the belfry was demolished., Both the doors are original - of about 1460. The south porch was added in 1497, by Nicholas Ingham, who is buried in it. Inside, the nave has wall-arcading and a low pitched roof decorated with angels with scrolls. There is a central boss of Christ in Judgment., The font is fifteenth-century, and its cover, with an open-work steeple, is dated 1605. There are two squints which give a view from the nave into the transepts. In the north transept the doors to the rood-stair can be seen. The collapse of the chancel in 1604 demolished the rood-screen, and it was never replaced. The east window is filled with surviving fragments of medieval glass., When , The church was one of the earliest to be affected by the Oxford Movement of the nineteenth century, and was 'one of the most fashionable places of worship in Norwich'. However by the end of the century it was in a bad way; in 1888, the tower was so dangerous an order was served on the churchwardens. In 1897. a large hole in the chancel roof was covered only by a tarpaulin., Although the church was restored in 1906, it was in bad state again by 1931, and was threatened with demolition. The Norfolk Archaeological Trust raised money to repair, and it was used as a museum of church art from 1936 until 1995. This was the first museum of its kind, in the country., Who , John Paston (1421-1466) is buried in the south transept. The headstops on the window in the south transept are thought to represent him and his wife. Residents of Elm Hill, they were members of the family famous for writing the Paston Letters, which survive from the 15th century., Matthew Goss, (died in 1779) is commemorated on the only surviving monument in the church. He was voted the freedom of the City in 1756 as thanks for the gift of a gold chain for the Mayor.