Don't forget also to check the schedule of Village Hall events and the Sidelines excursion program.

Reviews of restaurants in easy reach of Forncett.

A wonderful Grade 1 listed jewel nestled in the heart of Forncett, St Peter's is one of 7 churches in the Upper Tas Valley All Saints parish. Its Saxon round tower, built circa 1000 AD, is considered to be one of the best in the country and there are other Saxon/Norman features.Much of the main building is of later, mainly 14th and 15th century date. Look out for: the 1485 Drake tomb,  carved pew ends, a unique ancient staircase in the tower (access by appointment), fine ledger slabs in the chancel and nave, the memorial to Dorothy Wordsworth’s cousin, good examples of Victorian coloured glass windows and the ring of six bells.

Sadly, St Peter’s is now on the ‘At Risk’ register due to ingress of water through the roof and other structural problems. Having existed for over 1000 years, project work is now underway to secure it for the next 1000 years. To help this happen Friends of St Peter’s link has been set up to raise funds to firstly get the church off the ‘At Risk’ register and secondly upgrade facilities to make it a vibrant community hub. The Friends of St Peter’s Project Committee is a group of village volunteers who coordinate the fund raising and restoration project. The main Committee is supported by three sub committees: Steering Group, Publicity, Activities. 

Much money has already been raised thanks to many supporters:

• National Heritage Lottery Fund and the Lottery players 
• Round Tower Churches Trust  
• Historic England 
• Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme  
• The Norfolk Churches Trust 
• The Headley Trust 

The love of the local community for St Peter’s is demonstrated by the fact that Forncett residents have also raised over £30,000 from donations and activities such as Saturday Markets, fund-raising dinners and quizzes.

Introduction - St Mary's Church

St. Mary's church is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and was built on the original site of Forncett. The Nave is probably 13th or 14th Century, the Tower 15th Century, and the Nave originally had a thatched roof. The church was restored by Revd J.Cooper 1869 -1870. In 1980 a decision was taken to close St. Mary's, due to falling numbers in the congregation, and the furnishings were stripped out. There were many schemes for the church over the next few years, but it was eventually allowed to become overgrown and derelict.

In 2007, new neighbours moved into Church Cottage, and began clearing the graveyard, and cleaning the church. A successful Friends group was formed, and fund-raising began to restore electricity, replace rotten floors and side panelling, and some of the stained glass windows, and a local retired carpenter made an altar table and rails.

In June 2012 the church was taken out of redundancy, with the full support of the PCC, the Diocese and the Bishops of Norwich and Thetford, and became a Chapel of Ease to St. Peter's Church. A successful bid for English Heritage Grant funding was made, and in Spring 2014 the remaining restoration work will be carried out.The church is ideal for holding community events as well as Services, and is open every day 10a.m. - 4p.m. for visitors.

Below are links to the detaills of church services in or near Forncett.

The Forncett Flyer, village newspaper for the Forncetts, is published monthly, except for September and January (although this is likely to chnage in 2024), and is an independent publication, paid for by Forncett Parish Council and by the local advertisers contained in it. It is produced by an editorial team consisting of Lindi Staunton (Editor), Richard Ball (Production), Martin Lander (Advertising) and Anne Lander (Treasurer).

Copy dates for the current year can be seen to the right or below.

There is an index to all Flyer issues up to end of June 2014 - Forncett Flyer Index

This is the name of a group which formed in October 2021 and welcomes everyone who cares about the natural world.   Join us and become involved in ensuring that our village enriches and supports nature. Experiencing nature, and working outdoors, helps boost our own physical and mental well-being..

Our vision is to:

• Provide spaces in which wildlife can flourish.
• Form wildlife corridors linking habitats to benefit pollinators and other creatures.
• To do this by restoring or creating habitats in gardens, hedges, ditches, field and roadside verges.
• Encourage local people to join us in order to collectively improve conditions for the wide and diverse range of wildflowers, insects and other mini-beasts, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals that exist alongside us in the Forncetts

The impetus for the new group came from the Earth Matters team, a group of writers and ‘amateur’ naturalists/environmentalists/gardeners, whose articles appear in the Forncett Flyer: Billy Hosea, Christina Wakeford, Ally Rae, Rosemary Horner and Claire Jordan. This group of five formed the original steering group for FNM, and we were soon joined by Carol Sharp and Terry Hickman-Smith (who recently stood down). We consulted Norfolk Wildlife Trust and have had excellent support and training from them. They are our go-to people for expert advice. We also have some very knowledgeable people in the village and hope they will allow us to draw on their expertise.

Now we want to spread our wings throughout Forncett, possibly into neighbouring parishes, and certainly up and down the river. We aim to put nature lovers, wildlife-friendly gardeners/farmers in touch with one another, to form a collaborative network which we hope will be reflected in improved connectivity creating ‘green corridors’ of wildlife habitats wherever possible. There are already many villagers who garden with wildlife in mind; whatever the size of garden anyone can do their bit to protect our natural heritage; if you’re not sure how to make a start you’ll get plenty of support. By adding together our individual contributions we can make big changes!