St. Edmund’s, in Fishgate Street, a small structure, founded about the time of William the Conqueror, has a tower and one bell. Among the relics formerly preserved here, was a piece of the shirt of St. Edward the King and Martyr, kept in a box of crystal, and visited with great reverence. The living is a rectory in the gift of the Rev. C. Brereton. The Rev. J. Pearson is the rector.
St. Ethelred’s, in King Street, is a small fabric, with a short tower and one bell. In the burial ground was formerly an anchorage, which continued till after the Reformation. Rev. J. Deacon is the incumbent.
St. George’s Colegate, a large handsome gothic structure, rebuilt at different periods, has a lofty tower, in which is a clock and three bells. The interior is neatly fitted up, and there is a good organ. In the chancel is a fine altar tomb to Robert Iannis, a great benefactor to this church and the city; and near it a beautiful mural monument to John Herring, Esq. The window over the communion table is beautifully adorned with stained glass. The churches of St. Margaret at Colegate and St. Olave, in Cherry Lane, were taken down, and their cures consolidated with St. George’s; the former in 1349, and the latter in 1546. The dean and chapter are patrons. Rev. A. W. Durdin, incumbent.
St. George’s Tombland consists of a nave, chancel, and side aisles, has a handsome square tower, which contains five bells, and was erected by the parishioners in 1445. In the interior are several spacious galleries, and many monumental inscriptions. Rev. K. Trimmer is the incumbent.
St. Giles’ was founded in the reign of William the Conqueror, by Elwyn the priest, who gave it to the monks of Norwich, and the patronage is consequently vested in the dean and chapter. It was wholly rebuilt in the reign of Richard II., and is now one of the handsomest churches in the city. The tower (120 feet high) contains a clock and eight bells, and is surrounded by a cupola and battlement. The chancel has been demolished since the year 1581, when the dean and chapter, to quit themselves of the expense of repairing it, gave all the materials to the parish, for “a stock to be put out for the encouragement of poor trades.” There are many curious old brasses, and several neat mural monuments. Rev. R. Sedgwick is the incumbent.
St. Gregory’s, Pottergate Street, is a lofty gothic structure, consisting of nave, side aisles, and chancel, the latter built in 1395; since which, the whole pile has received many reparations. In the tower are a clock and six bells; the font is very large, having an octagonal top, and on its eight sides the four evangelists, and figures emblematic of the four quarters of the globe. In the nave is a fine brass reading-desk, in the shape of an eagle with expanded wings. Among the monuments is one to Sir Francis Bacon, a Judge of the Court of King’s Bench, in the time of Charles II. Here are also some ancient brass inscriptions. Rev. W. R. Sharpe is the incumbent.
St. Helen’s, Bishopgate Street, belonged to the monks who demolished it, and consolidated the cure with the church of St. Giles’ Hospital, now called the Great Hospital. The whole of this hospital church, which serves also as the parish church of St. Helen, and is partly converted into lodgings for the almspeople, is still standing. It has a square tower at the south-west corner, with one bell; the choir is turned into lodgings for the almswomen, and part of the nave and aisles is divided into apartments for the men. The church is neatly fitted up with open seats, and opposite the altar stands a modern seat of gothic carved work. Rev. W. F. Patteson is the incumbent.
St. James’, Cowgate, includes within its parish the hamlet of Pockthorpe, and part of Mousehold Heath. It is a small structure, with a tower, rebuilt in 1743, and contains three bells. It was re-pewed in 1842. This was a well-endowed rectory till 1201, when it was appropriated to the cathedral priory, and is now a peculiar of the dean and chapter.
St. John’s Maddermarket is an ancient but handsome church, consisting of nave, side aisles, and a fine tower, in which are six bells. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and St. John the Baptist, and was founded before the survey made in Edward the Confessor’s time. The lead was removed, and the roof covered with slate in 1835. It contains many ancient sepulchral inscriptions, with a few brasses and several neat mural tablets. Lady Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (second wife of the duke, who was beheaded in Elizabeth’s reign), died at the Duke’s Palace, in this parish, in 1563, and was interred with great pomp on the north side of the choir, where a mural monument was raised to her memory in 1791. The living is a rectory in the gift of New College, Oxford. The Rev. J. Perowne is the rector.
St. John’s Sepulchre, a commodious structure, at the south end of Ber Street, dedicated to St. John the Baptist and the Holy Sepulchre, consists of nave, chancel, and transepts, with a lofty tower, in which are five bells and a clock. Rev. Thomas Calvert is the incumbent.