The darkness of an autumnal evening had already descended by the time we arrived to ring the bells at Forncett St Peter, following in the footsteps of hundreds of years of history.
Known records of bells in the church date back to the 1550’s, yet if the flint walls of the beautiful Anglo-Saxon round tower and medieval wooden staircase could talk, it’s likely they would tell tales of bells even older. Parish accounts from 1737 detail a fee of £10 15 shillings paid for a new bell to be cast by Thomas Newman of Norwich. That bell (number 5) is still in the belfry today. It is joined by bells 1 & 2 cast in the 20th century (1982 & 1937 respectively), along with number 3 & 4 which are the oldest in the tower dating from 1602. Completing the current set is the tenor bell* (number 6) which was cast in 1875. That wonderfully eclectic mix of ages tells us that whilst generations come and go, local people have always been keen to keep the tradition of bell-ringing at Forncett St Peter alive.
The number 5 bell cast in 1737 Photo: A MoskvinaThe sound of church bells is a special one, deeply rooted in English cultural, social and religious history. In the 17th century, the way bells were fitted for ringing evolved to incorporate a wooden wheel, to which the rope is attached. This allows a bell to rotate in a full circle giving much more control, enabling sequences to be rung. In an age of limited recreational activities, the popularity of bell-ringing nationwide grew rapidly, with competing bands arranging competitions with each other. These events were often sponsored by local pubs, with publicans keen to take advantage of all the intrigued locals & ringers who’d gather to listen and perform! Ringing was also used as a form of exercise, with silenced bells resulting in the term ‘dumbbell’ which evolved into the weights we know today.
Our ringing practice in October was the last opportunity before repair work began on the church. For the bell-ringers, it was a privilege to produce the same sounds as have been heard drifting over the South Norfolk countryside for centuries. For villagers, you can be rightly proud of your historic church and it’s equally historic bells.
With special thanks to the ringers. Steve, Trevor, Adrian, Judith, John, Rich, Bev and Pete.
FoSP are very grateful to Matt for his evocative description of bell-ringing at St Peter's and to Matt and all of the ringers who keep this wonderful tradition alive.
*You can hear Trevor tolling the tenor bell here
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- Written by: Matt Thornton
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- Written by: Peter Schmidt-Hansen
We are delighted to announce that the National Lottery has awarded us £631,462 to secure the future of St Peter’s Forncett for generations to come!
This funding will enable St Peter’s to be taken off Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, to deliver an exciting range of community engagement activities and to create an innovative new interpretive scheme for all ages.
The PCC, the Friends of St Peters and the local community extend enormous thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their generosity and to National Lottery players who have made the funding possible.
It is hoped that the remedial works will start this year, after which the church will be closed while the repairs are carried out. However, the churchyard which will host a series of ‘Four Seasons in a Country Churchyard’ conservation activities, will be open so that visitors can appreciate the beautiful setting of the church and its many interesting external features. Work is expected to take about 18 months and once complete, visitors will also benefit from a new Heritage & Nature Trail and ‘Rook over Forncett’ film, showing the rich history of the Forncetts and St Peter’s Church and created in partnership with the local community.
Terry Hickman Smith, Project Manager of St Peter’s Project Steering Group, said “Thanks to the National Lottery players, St Peter’s church will soon be fully functional and a thriving hub for local groups, schools and the wider community.”
Robyn Llewellyn, Director, Midlands & East, at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Places of worship are some of our oldest and most cherished historic buildings. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to support this project which will secure a brighter and more sustainable future for St Peter’s Church, protecting its heritage and creating fantastic opportunities for the local community and beyond.”
Here's a link to an interview broadcast on BBC Radio Norfolk: BBC Radio Norfolk Interview 7-8-2024
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- Written by: Peter Schimidt-Hansen
“I shall remember Forncett for a long time: the roaring trees, the exultant rooks, the flowering graveyard.” – Philip Larkin who visited Forncett in 1982.
One of the defining sounds over St Peter’s church is the ‘Caw, Caw’ of the rooks whose home is Forncett. They’ve been part of Forncett for generations, witnessing joys and sorrows, trials and triumphs, births and deaths, comings and goings.
And a rook will be the star in a film being developed by Friends of St Peter’s to tell the rich story of Forncett. The ‘Forncett: Village of Stories’ film will feature a rook that will fly through space and time to tell the many stories that over the centuries have led to the wonderful community in which we now live – a Roman hoard, a famous poet, a French baron, people lost in WW1, connection to cities by railway.
The film is just one of many activities that Friends of St Peter’s is working on to restore St Peter’s and make it an active community centre for the future. Part of this is collecting poems about the Forncetts– why not write one and be part of our project? Your poem could be about the rook, about Forncett’s history, about what Forncett means to you – or whatever you fancy! Send your poem to:
Our thanks go to the National Heritage Lottery Fund and those who play the lottery – without them we wouldn’t be able to secure St Peter’s future.
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- Written by: Peter Schmidt-Hansen
Cards and Calendars will be on sale at our Saturday Markets – the next one is Saturday 18 December, 10-12.30, Forncett Village Hall, NR16 1JG - and can be ordered from April Carlin: 01953 788775,
You can also order a wide range of Christmas goodies: , 8” cakes fully iced £15, puddings large and small, £10 and £5, plus mince pies, sausage rolls etc. from April Carlin.
Lovely sets of Christmas cards from designs by two local artists are now on sale – 6 cards for £5; 5 packs for £20.
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| Sarah Allen's painting | Rachael Fretter's photograph |
Thanks to Sarah and Rachel for their inspiring painting and photograph, and to Su Leavesley for production.
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| Our 2022 Calendar |
Our Fabulous Forncett 2022 Calendar is also on sale – a bargain at £6.
Lovely shots taken in the village by local people make great stocking fillers as well as useful and beautiful items for you.
Thanks to everyone who sent in photos and to Emma Mace, a Graphic Desginer who put it together for us for free.
Scrumptious foods for Christmas and any time you fancy them. Thanks to all our bakers.
Delicious Christmas cakes. Photo: A Carlin Cards, Calendars and Christmas foods are on sale at our Saturday Markets – the next one is Saturday 18 December, 10-12.30, Forncett Village Hall, NR16 1JG - and can be ordered from April Carlin: 01953 788775,
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- Written by: Ally Rae
Come along to see the church a blaze of colour and scent with our Bloomin' Jars event. This is a two day festival of flowers from our gardens set in jam jars or other small containers.
Please join in: Everyone is welcome to contribute flowers to the event - one jar or 10 - whatever you like. We are not looking for magnificent flower displays, just lots and lots of small pops of colour to make the church sing with delight! Don't be shy, fill your jam jars with flowers and foliage and bring them along any time between 10am - 4pm on Friday 14th when we will be setting up or before the viewing starts at 10am on Saturday. if you would prefer to fill your containers at the church, please bring water with you as this is not yet 'on tap' at the church. It would be very helpful if you could let Gilly know if you will be bringing flowers but not essential, just come anyway If you possibly can. Then please come and see the final array. There is an early communion service on Sunday morning, hence the later start that day. Let's really get together and fill the church with colour.
Poster thanks to Donna HumphreysWhether you are contributing flowers or not please come along to enjoy the show. Bring family and friends. There will be delicious home-made refreshments. Entry is free. This 1000 year old round tower church has it's own special atmosphere, distilled over the years. If you would like to make a donation to the Save St Peter's fund that would be welcome.
If you are not familiar with the church the postcode is NR16 1HY for SatNav.
Parking is available in the small church car park and carefully along the road. Please walk up to the church using the pedestrian gate on the left of the private drive, or stroll through the churchyard. Sadly our disabled access is poor at the moment with around a 200 metre walk on gravel or grass paths to reach the church, where there is a ramp providing access. You can drop someone off nearer to the church - please contact Gilly. Toilet facilities are provided by a portaloo in the churchyard.
Gilly Barnes - 01508 813055,
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- Written by: April Carlin and Ally Rae
Our Open Gardens event on 29 & 30 June is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy some of the beautiful gardens in the Forncetts and to spread the word about the campaign to Save St Peter's. Eight gardens are open from 10am-4pm, each with it’s own unique style and atmosphere. St Peter's will be open as usual.
Eight gardens are open. Photo: Gill StarkieTicket-Maps are £5 per person and children are free. You can get them up in advance from
On the day get your Ticket-Map at Chestnut Cottage, Long Stratton Road, Forncett End, NR16 1HT, where light refreshments will also be served. All profits go the the Save St Peter's campaign.
The Forncetts are spread across quite a large area and it will probably be most convenient to cycle or drive between clusters of gardens
We do hope you’ll come along and bring family and friends. Well behaved dogs are welcome on a lead.
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- Written by: Ally Rae
Friday 19th November, 6.30pm, Friends View with wine & nibbles.
Come and join us for a relaxed and atmospheric evening to enjoy the show. Tickets are £5 including a glass of wine and nibbles, from Gilly Barnes: 01508 813055,
Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st November, 10.00am - 4.00pm. Winter Art Exhibition and Sale – Free Entry, Free parking
Have a warming drink and enjoy a mince pie or two, sit a while and relax in this beautiful peaceful church, take in the music and atmosphere, wander, view and maybe buy the creations on display. If you are looking for original and beautiful handmade gifts for Christmas or wishing to spoil yourself, then this is the occasion not to miss.Hand-made gifts,decorations, and a varied range of art andcrafts, created by this talented group of local creatives.
In support of St Peter’s, with 10% of sales and donations for refreshments to the FoSP.
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- Written by: Gill Starkie & Ally Rae
Forncett – a Village of Stories
We would love you to join us on Tuesday 11th July at 7.30pm at St Peter’s Church to discover how the Village of Stories project is progressing and how you can help to shape it.
This conversation and consultation evening at St Peter’s follows on from our successful Development Phase application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), which secured a grant to further build the project. This involves carrying out architectural investigations into the condition of the church’s fabric and to develop a programme of new activities and interpretation.
The urgent repairs needed at St Peter’s provide a wonderful opportunity for us to deliver a new programme of learning and interpretation for all ages. Really important in this is how the project connects to the village and how it works in partnership with new and existing groups in the community. This is an essential part of delivering a successful project. Forncett is one community and by working together we will be able to celebrate our heritage and share skills and ambitions for a sustainable future.
On 11th July we will be joined by our Project Manager, our project Activity Consultantand our Project Filmmaker, who will:
- Give an overview of project progress and what needs to be done to secure the next phase of funding from the NLHF, which will provide a major investment into our village
- Summarise the results of the recent fabric investigations and explain what needs to be done to repair and conserve St Peter’s
- Give an update on our project activity planning, including the vision behind the new ‘Forncett –A Village of Stories’ film
- Provide opportunities for discussion and feedback – it is critical that we hear from you as to how the project can best deliver for the community in Forncett
We do hope that you can attend the consultation evening so that we can better understand how we can work together to successfully deliver this project. The evening will last around an hour and a half and refreshments will be provided.
We look forward to seeing you at St Peter’s on 11th July!
With very best wishes
The Village of Stories Project Team
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- Written by: Forncett: Village of Stories Project Team
St Peter’s Forncett - 1,000 years of history
For the first time in the history of Heritage Open Days St Peter's is joining in! An opportunity to go behind the scenes and it's free. Step inside the exceptional flint round tower of St Peter's Church - an Anglo-Saxon treasure built around 1000 AD. A very rare 16th century stair and a jewel window await you.
The top of the ancient staircase Photo: A MoskvinaThe round tower of St Peter's Church, Forncett St Peter, is usually locked for safety reasons. Today you will be able to step under the narrow arch and stand within the massive walls, where the bell ropes snake down from the bell loft above. Access up the tower is via an extremely rare wooden staircase, shaped to the curve of the wall, the great treads worn by the foosteps of generations. Gaze up into the darkness and wonder. The stair and tower access is too dangerous to go up now, but there will be photographs of the upper floors. One of the small lancet windows is a gem of gleaming Victorian stained glass. The tower is considered one of the finest Anglo-Saxon round towers in the country and you can also explore the rest of the church which is usually open, with Anglo-Saxon herringbone flintwork in the chancel and Norfolk flushwork in the porch. Take a look at the pew carvings - seasons of the year, the vices - they are all here. Can you find avarice? Volunteers will be on hand to tell you the very special story of St Peter's. A wonderful setting where William and Dorothy Wordsworth walked in the late 1700's; perfect for a short - or longer - walk along the adjacent Tas Valley Way before tea. Refreshments available.
More details here: Heritage Open Days
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- Written by: Ally Rae