A thatched, Norman, round tower church in Norfolk - A visit and tour of St Margaret's, Hales

St Margaret's church in Hales is a fine example of a small Norman church, little altered since the twelfth century. With a characteristic East Anglican round tower and a thatched roof, both inside and out it is a building of great atmosphere. There are wallpaintings from the 13th, 14th and 15th century, the remains of the medieval rood screen, and a font carved with angels and lions. Come with me as I give you a guided tour of the building, both outside and in. Redundant since the early 1970s, the church is beautifully cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.
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[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Imagine having ancient buildings like this just lying around the countryside! In my part of the world, our "heritage" buildings are no older than about 150 years. Your enthusiasm is infectious and your breadth of knowledge admirable.

[@allanbarton]

We are incredibly lucky. I live in Lincoln, we have a huge medieval cathedral and castle and within twenty minutes walking distance there are five churches that date back to Saxon times.

[@pameladavis3879]

This is beautiful. Think you so much. I'm legally blind and can't afford to travel. I'm so happy that I can see things like this all around the world from folks like you. I really appreciate it. I love history, especially churches. You are amazing to be able to show things like this to people who can't travel. Wow. Awesome.

[@allanbarton]

You are very welcome! The beauty of these places brings me great joy and I am delighted to be able to share that joy and beauty.

[@toniblackmore3016]

Magnificent! That thatch is a surprise, had no idea it was used in church architecture. View from the gallery was a treat, and still smiling at the playfulness of weaving angels and lions into the start of sacramental life. Great video, thanks.

[@allanbarton]

There are very few thatched churches left now - the roofing has mostly been replaced with slate or tile. The lions are so cute and always make me smile.

[@bethena1855]

Super church, the wonderful atmosphere came across well. Thanks for the tour.

[@allanbarton]

My pleasure.

[@thelazychefuk4410]

Oh that is so unusual! Thank you so much for showing this and explaining the architecture. I don't think I have ever seen a round tower on a church before. Your knowledge is outstanding. I love your delight when you opened the door :)

[@allanbarton]

Round churches are an East Anglian thing, there are quite a few in Norfolk and Suffolk and even a society dedicated to them. It is always a delight to visit this place, it has such a wonderful atmosphere.

[@thelazychefuk4410]

@@allanbarton That is the thing about churches, some of them are very good for the soul even if you aren't religious I find! Here in Cornwall, the towers are usually square and you very rarely see a spire, so to see 'roundness' is a treat for me. Thank you again for your wonderful videos, they bring me much joy.

[@jonescrusher1]

It's an incredible effort that heritage buildings like this are kept accessible to the public given how vulnerable they are to thieves and vandals, we're literally able to touch medieval artwork.

[@wlj344]

It's stunning, peaceful, breathtaking in its simplicity: I wish I lived near to this church.

[@tfSmudge]

Amazing, thank you! 👏🏻👏🏼👏🏽 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@allanbarton]

Apologies for the noise of the wind in the outside segments of the video, I hope it doesn't spoil the enjoyment too much.

[@lindacarlton3154]

The video isn't spoiled at all. It's lovely! Thank you for sharing this. Blessings from Texas. Xx

[@allanbarton]

@@lindacarlton3154 thank you.

[@EllenCFarmGirl]

I’m rewatching all the Norfolk videos, I’m enjoying it so much. Also, taking notes and creating a notebook for my visit next year! ❤❤❤❤

[@Patristix]

STUNNING church! Thank you for sharing it!

[@allanbarton]

My pleasure - it is a fascinating and beautiful building.

[@kendn01]

I wish I could snap my fingers and be at St Margaret's, way out in the country on a breezy, bright summer day...

[@elizabethsands4470]

Hello Allain ! You find the most intriguing and interesting places with their unique architecture. This is spectacular and very special. Absolutely amazing … it’s almost as though time has stood still. As always, a truly fascinating and informative video. Thank you for sharing this.

[@ragwortrattle8798]

It's so good to see these videos. Our churches need all the attention you can bring to them. Your work is a great guide to our history.

[@OkieJammer2736]

Oh, just marvelous. Fascinating and in-depth and gosh, you sure know a lot! Thank you for teaching us, and for the sacrifices of itchy grasses and insects in summer.

[@myvintagelifestyle]

Absolutely love these church tours! Adding this one to my list

[@allanbarton]

Glad you're enjoying them, thanks for watching! This is an amazing church, worth going out of your way to see.

[@rhiannonpoole6019]

Thank you for another wonderfully atmospheric video, I am learning so much from your work.

[@allanbarton]

My pleasure, that's great to hear!

[@OrchidHunter]

Lovely church - great to see so much surviving from the Norman architecture. Thanks for making the effort to video it !

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@EllenCFarmGirl]

The stalls are fantastic, it’s so lovely to be able to touch history ❤

[@danajeannenorris3036]

That roof is amazing, I love thatch! Its a shame the wall paintings can't be repaired before they disappear completely.

[@davidmclaughlin2796]

What a beautiful building b Barton. And such great camera work, thank you. David

[@allanbarton]

Thank you very much ! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@NorfolkNomad-UK]

Great video, now on my list of places to visit.

[@vogun52]

It is in need of some TLC and it may be small, but what a place to visit, dripping in atmosphere, even as you approach the entrance. Loved the elevation squint, which I missed, so thank you for that. Must be my favourite church in Norfolk and I live here (Wymondham). Thank you and keep them coming.

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

What a beautiful church, and it looks like the graveyard is still in use!

[@n990]

That was fantastic, thank you!

[@laurag7295]

What a very lovely church!

[@allanbarton]

It is a delightful building.

[@PuckerFactor10]

Loved this!!!

[@mirellaczajkowska-turek5819]

I know this church from the photos of my Friends. Now it is delightful to see the movie. Superb church

[@allanbarton]

It is a very splendid down, a church where you get a real sense of continuity.

[@gregoryjug4586]

Thank you so much - I love this series of videos.

[@allanbarton]

Thank you for watching.

[@morgs456]

Very nice

[@rodolfoayalajr.8589]

Beautiful 😻 Church. Another great video friend.

[@alexisl4158]

So interesting. Thank you for sharing this. I love to visit Norfolk when I travel to UK, so I hope to see this in person on my next trip!

[@annlindsaywright3169]

Wow how beautiful even from the outside. Well worth a visit. Many churches are now locked in this day and age.

[@allanbarton]

It is getting better and better, many more opened now than in the 1980s. The insurers very sensibly encourage churches to be open. This one is a little gem and open every day, despite issues with vandalism recently.

[@chrisfinlay3274]

@@allanbarton you are quite correct. When, as an 18 year old, in late 1980 i started seriously church crawling around England and Wales at least 40% would be closed on any one day, searching for a key holder was just as bad. But taking the 12-16 November just past i visited about 14 churches around Oxfordshire and Bucks and all but one was open even at this late stage of the year. It's much better church crawling now!

[@TT-zd6nr]

Thank you for this video. I was told to visit this church as (apart from the apsidal) the exterior would likely have been similar to how Mutford would have looked prior to its rebuilding in the 1320s. We even had a decayed and ghastly C15 St. Christopher wall painting. I asked the Diocese if I could lime-wash it and so "restore" the church to its Puritan glory but to no avail :)

[@rodolfoayalajr.8589]

I would like to know if these beautiful old Churches ⛪️ are still active. Amen 🙏.

[@allanbarton]

This one isn't home to a congregation but remains open for visitors and private prayer.

[@rhiannonrede]

Magnificent! So glad to have found your channel. Thank you very much.

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoy it! Thanks for subscribing.

[@aadildesai]

Thanks so very much for sharing this lovely video. I'm making a 1:100 scale model of this beautiful church out of paper card. So it's a real treat to see all the details of the exterior and interiors. Really helpful in the making of my model as I have not yet visited this church as I'm not in the UK but far away in Mumbai, India!!!

[@allanbarton]

What a fantastic project, will you let us see some pictures of it once it is finished. I am glad the video is helpful for your modeling.

[@aadildesai]

@@allanbarton Sure would love to show some of the pictures here but don't think it's possible to post them here. Have posted some on the Facebook group post that you've shared your video on. They are still "work in slow progress" pictures!!!

[@billsmoot9421]

Such a treasure to view and very smartly described. You mentioned the building materials for the walls were not of the highest quality but now and then there were some red, flat, tile-looking pieces poking out. Possibly discarded and recycled Roman tiles? Also what was the purpose of the attached tower? That would have been fun to see too. Thanks so much for all your videos.

[@allanbarton]

Very likely to be reused Roman tile, there is a lot of it around. With very little good stone in Norfolk, finding building material is a bit of a scavenger hunt. The tower contains bells, but sadly it is out of bounds - one day soon I will go up into a bell tower and show you what's inside one.

[@finch45lear]

Hi Allan your channel is priceless. I would never see such beautiful churches if not for you. Thank you. Was the font decorated with Tudor roses?

[@will2Collett]

The round tower has two outlooking windows. Were they stained??? So, there was no access to the tower??? I supose they have to preserve these ol;der building in some way. I was thinking that the sanctuary would have looked beautiful with the Rood screen. The rood screen seems to have been very popular even on up to the 21st century. Interesting how it carried on over into the Anglican church and Henry the 8ths time and beyond - since it is a Roman Catholic custom..

[@paulbriere4872]

For the era in which the church was built: what purpose did the round tower serve? A belfry, a castle-like keep of some kind, or? Were round towers characteristic of that area, and is there any link to the round towers of Ireland? Continued thanks for your wonderful videos!

[@martinsinfield]

I think there is 127 round tower churches in Norfolk

[@andrewscurr1725]

Really lovely - thank you. What happens with the Rood stairs now - is the top blocked off?

[@allanbarton]

Yes, the top doorway is completely stopped up.

[@aadildesai]

A pity that there was some nasty vandalism lately especially after the newly thatched roof by the Churches Conservation Trust and they kept the church closed for some time for repairs. Hopefully I'll be able to visit it on my next trip to East Anglia and see it for myself as well.

[@allanbarton]

There was, but very sensibly the Churches Conservation Trust has kept the church open. I do hope you are able to get to visit, it is a special place.

[@aadildesai]

@@allanbarton sure will visit when I'm in the UK next time. It is surely a wonderful place to see in person from what I've seen in the pictures and videos.

[@aadildesai]

Forgot to mention that I am making a 1:100 scale model of this church out of paper card and am stuck at finding some details that I am looking for from the inside of the tower block on the upper floors leading to the bells chamber and the hatch to the roof of the tower from inside. Would love to get some details or photos if anyone has been up there sometime in the recent past. Thanks in advance for any information if possible.

[@NormanFlores-d8l]

Matthew 28:19;20

[@mgcocasal]

Encountering nettles, hold your breath, they don't sting.

[@lindageorge8209]

Wad there a lid on the font? I would have liked to see into it.

[@allanbarton]

There would have been little to see except for a lead lining - next time one is easily accessible I will show you the inside Linda.

[@paulpowell4871]

I just wish you would stop and check out a few of the graves. I also with you could notify us if any very notable people are buried at the site.

[@EllenCFarmGirl]

Extraordinary Church, bar-ton…hummm, any relation, hehe.

[@jilltagmorris]

Do you get special permission or are these open to public? I'm in USA so would never get to see all these if not for you!

[@allanbarton]

Most of our medieval churches in England are open daily for visitors. I am really glad I am able to share them with you.

[@sobraine123]

The "perky" lions of the font seems based on pleasing domestic animals ! But what happened to the angles faces... Were they defaced on purpose ?

[@allanbarton]

Very probably, so much in Norfolk was terribly badly attacked.

[@NormanFlores-d8l]

God tuguegarao cagayan section 1.grade 2

[@petersack5074]

No ' out house '. Just imagine, how many people, urinated against these walls, nearly 900 years. And, the languages used, which these walls were witness to. IF only , they could ' playback ' those words........same people as us, except NO TECHNOLOGY .....just Survival.

[@smythharris2635]

One commenter asked about the defacement of figures and faces; Norfolk was part of the Eastern Association responsible for the administration and victualling of the Cromwell's parliamentarian New Model Army. Within the ranks were many puritans and some later went on to be proto agrarian socialists known as The Diggers. Let's just say they had no admiration for traditional decor in churches. This is a possible explanation given where the church is situated.

[@zeekwolfe6251]

Why were these little Catholic churches not trashed at the time of Henry VIII?

[@allanbarton]

A lot of them were, what is left is just a fragment of what was once there.

[@NormanFlores-d8l]

Synonyms spelling of Norman john 3:16

[@petersack5074]

St Christopher. I can't find him, ANYWHERE in the Bible. ! Someones' got this all wrong. Not today, but back ' when '. At what point, in history of Christianity, did these non-biblical characters, arrive ? Anyone.....?. .. among other things, NOT in the Bible.

[@allanbarton]

Most saints are not in the Bible - they are holy men and women who have run the race. St Christopher is an odd one though - I should do a video on him at some stage.

[@danielpridgen6018]

Throughout the Churches purposed with painted images and accent architectural painted accents, I wish these could be professionally conserved and restored, especially the wall paintings ,for example, the altar niches and Saints on rood screens . T'would be a laborious, require restoration accuracy for the time period, if it's at all possible. Now easy task technically with art integrity, reputable, and financially. Unless they are preferred in their historical state. Question: Why was the altar constructed of bricks with what appears to be a marble slab in-between? Quite odd looking. 'Tis an absolute shame the horrible and hell-bent fury to savagely dismantle , desecrate, obliterate and barbarically damage these originally Catholic churches during the anti-iconoclast, convert their interiors in alignment with Protestant reform and demands. Freedom of religious beliefs here in America and other countries has come with a price and sacrifice; bluntly and personally, I am not inclined to forgive Henry VIII for the dissolution of some of England's timeless Monastic Oders and Churches, regardless of reasons or the marches of religion or history. Your presentations behold so much educationally, culturally, faith significantly, historically and brilliantly. Many appreciations and blessings to you and your passion for that which you do so very, very well.