St Mary's Church, East Ruston

St Mary’s Church stands in a quiet field beside the B1159 road two kilometres north of Stalham, its flint walls and lead roofs rising from an isolated spot in the flat Norfolk landscape. Built in the 14th century, the church was reshaped in the 15th and again in the 18th when the north aisle was removed. The tower was repaired in 1985–86, though the building is no longer used for regular worship. A carol service is held every December, keeping the tradition alive. The church is listed Grade II* for its historic importance. The church is best known for its painted and carved chancel screen from the 15th century. The screen’s panels show the Four Evangelists on one side and early church doctors on the other, while carved lions appear on the east face. Above these figures runs delicate tracery, and the screen’s arches open into the chancel. A 15th-century font stands on three octagonal steps, its bowl supported by angels and carved with symbols of the Evangelists. Two piscinas, one in the chapel and one in the chancel, mark places where vessels were washed. Inside, the five-bay south arcade rests on octagonal piers that divide the nave from the aisle and chapel. The south wall holds three three-light Perpendicular windows from the 15th century and one two-light window with Y-tracery from the 18th. The aisle’s east window also dates from the 15th century, while the chancel’s east window has five lights. Outside, the tower rises in three stages with buttresses and a battlemented parapet, its lowest stage showing blocked windows and a clock face above. The gabled south porch shelters a niche once meant for a statue.