Runham Church - St Peter & St
Paul
A brief description of the church from a recent
quinquennial inspection report.
The site and dedication together with the extremely
large size of the mediaeval parish all suggest a very
early foundation but this is conjecture.
The church stands on the edge of the village and
consists of a west tower, nave with a north porch and a
chancel. The nave has in it windows dating probably from
the first quarter of the fourteenth century though the
actual fabric is probably much earlier.
The chancel is slightly newer and the north porch
perhaps more recent still. Money was left for the
building of the tower in 1501. A shield in the eastern
parapet of the tower records a date of 1864: this
obviously relates to a fairly drastic restoration. The
roofs probably date from this time as do the parapets
and pinnacles on the tower. Whereas a great deal of
Victorian restoration has spoilt good mediaeval work in
other places here it has, in many ways, enhanced it
especially with regard to the top of the tower, where
the double stepped parapets and pinnacles were put on in
1864 and are of the best sort of their period. The
present sound holes in the tower, whilst undoubtedly
Victorian in execution, are almost certainly mediaeval
in design and simply nineteenth century copies of the
originals; the one to the south consists of a wheel of
mouchettes. There is a good flushwork panelled plinth
course. On the chancel buttress there are notable
designs of shields in quatrefoils. There is a small two
light low side window below one of the two lights of the
westernmost window on the south side of the chancel
There is an unusual font in that it has a book rest
carved out of the same stone as the octagonal bowl on
the western side. This font probably dates from the
restoraiton of 1864 though it might just be a copy of a
mediaeval one. Also Victorian, and possibly also of 1864
is the glass containing the sword and cross keys devices
representing the patron saints of the church, Paul and
Peter.
