Wighton : the church, the village and its people, 1400-1500

• Main Author: Trend, Nicholas
• Published: University of East Anglia 2017
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.753836

When, how, by whom and in what circumstances were Norfolk’s medieval churches rebuilt in the long fifteenth century? Despite the importance of this extraordinary and historic burst of architectural creativity, the answers to these key questions have long proved elusive. A perceived lack of archaeological and documentary evidence has left historians largely in the dark. This thesis addresses the gap in our knowledge by focusing on a single church and village - All Saints in Wighton, near the north coast of the county. The choice of such an apparently narrow subject has allowed a sustained and intense focus on both the fabric of the building and the scattered, partial evidence which survives in the archives. And while the focus has been narrow, the approach taken has been broad and creative. It has included an analysis of masons’ marks, the counting of arch voussoirs, an unusually wide, eclectic and exhaustive collation and investigation of surviving documents, together with detailed comparisons with other churches in the vicinity. As such it aims to offer a new model for architectural and social historical research and - hopefully - it will be regarded as a success. The research has identified a reliable chronology for the nave and chancel of All Saints, estimated the cost of its construction and established the most likely model of fundraising needed to raise that money. It has reconstructed the village economy and its community in some detail and identified and profiled the individuals who were most likely to have paid for the project. Lastly, as a consequence of its investigations, it has proposed significant revisions in the date of important stained glass at All Saints and several other Norfolk churches.