St Mary's Church, Moulton

St Mary’s Church stands four kilometres south of Acle in an isolated spot beside a farm near Moulton St Mary in Norfolk. It is a round-tower church built mainly of flint and red brick with limestone dressings. The tower dates from the 12th century, the nave and chancel from the 14th, and the south porch was added in the 16th. The east wall of the chancel was rebuilt in the 1870s, giving the building a mix of Norman, Gothic, Tudor, Georgian and later styles. The church is listed Grade I and cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust. The church contains notable survivals from each period. Inside, 14th-century wall paintings show Saint Christopher on the north wall and the Seven Acts of Mercy on the south. The 17th-century communion rail and carved poppyhead benches remain in the chancel. The octagonal pulpit and font both date from the early 17th and 13th centuries respectively. A blocked stairway in the nave once led to a rood loft, and a monument commemorates Edmund Anguish who died in 1616. The round west tower has a conical roof and a louvred bell opening on the north side. The south porch holds a sundial and a niche above its doorway. The nave’s south wall is divided by stepped buttresses, with Perpendicular and Y-tracery windows. The lower chancel roof is topped by slates, and its east gable carries a three-light window. The north wall of the nave contains lancet and multi-light windows, while the chancel’s priest’s door and buttress mark its eastern end.