St Mary the Less, Norwich

St Mary the Less stands in Norwich’s Queen Street, a Grade I listed church now surrounded by modern buildings. First recorded in 1155, it likely existed before the Norman Conquest and was once one of four churches in Norwich dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The suffix ‘the less’ came in the 13th century to mark its smaller size compared to nearby St Mary in the Marsh. After becoming redundant in 1542, it served as a cloth exchange for Dutch weavers and later housed worsted yarn sales. The building passed through many hands, becoming a French Protestant church in 1637 and a Swedenborgian chapel in 1832. The church’s long history includes a 1429 heresy trial involving Margery Baxter, whose testimony was given by Johanna Clifland. In the 17th century, it welcomed French refugees after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, swelling its congregation with families like the Martineaus. Pastors such as John Bruckner and Joseph Nicol Scott led services in French until 1832. Later, it became a Catholic Apostolic church before serving as a furniture warehouse and a parish hall. Today, it remains privately owned and appears on the Heritage at Risk Register due to decay. Inside, the church has a west tower, nave and chancel, with walls built largely of flint and stone. The tower’s flat parapet and blocked brick windows give it a striking look. The nave measures about 14.5 metres by 7 metres, its tall walls leaning slightly outward. A south porch leads into the modest interior, where a narrow arch connects the tower to the nave. The roof has three bays with arch-braced principals, and a small square window and fanlight sit on the west side.