We see ourselves as a safe space - a place of sanctuary which welcomes people of diverse ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, sexualities and disabilities.

All are welcome, as reflected in our response to the Honest Church campaign.

Our church is open Mondays to Saturdays for visitors and private prayer between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Entrance is through the doors at the West end of the building on Millennium Plain and Hay Hill.

Level access can be found at the south porch (opposite Next).
On Sundays we have services at 8.00am, 10.00am and 5.00pm. The 10.00am

Sung Eucharist is livestreamed every week on our YouTube channel.

For more details about our worship and the many other things happening

at Mancroft, please see our weekly newsletter.

I look forward to welcoming you at the church soon.

Music

St Peter Mancroft's thriving and vibrant music tradition dates back over 500 years. The church offers an exciting range of musical activities for children and young people aged 5-18, and for adults. The choir also sing for concerts, weddings, and other special services throughout the year. They are led by our director of Music Jody James and our organist Julian Haggett.

St Peter Mancroft also hosts many concerts and recitals, including the successful Saturday Lunchtime Mancroft Music series of recitals (More info on the link below.

Our Choirs

Mancroft Music Recitals

This Month's Music Scheme

RINGING

The tower at St Peter Mancroft is one of the most historic ringing towers in the country. The first ever recorded peal was rung here in 1715 along with many other notable 'firsts'. The tower has a ring of 14 bells. It is suggested that St Peter Mancroft would have had five bells soon after the tower was completed c.1510. Work on the tower had probably begun in the 1390s and by c.1431 the building had reached a stage where a bell could be hung. In 1602 a treble was added to the five bells, with the new bell being cast by William Brend.

By 1652 there was also a Sanctus bell. In 1672-6 the ring was augmented to eight. In 1724 the bells were again augmented to ten, with the two trebles being cast by John Stephens. Stephens appears to have carried out the work out speculatively, but the expected subscriptions for the payment of the new bells never materialised and they were removed from the tower before October of the same year, only months after being installed.

In 1735 it was proposed to augment the bells to twelve and a subscription list was opened. However, in the event not enough money was collected to buy four new bells so two were bought, augmenting the ring to ten.

A new peal of twelve bells was cast in 1775 which replaced the earlier ten, and these are the bells that are still in use today, with the exception of the tenor bell which split in 1814 and had to be re-cast. In 1909 the ring was augmented with a flat 6th bell to allow a lighter ring of eight to be used and a 14th bell was (another treble) was installed in the 1997 to allow a light ring of ten. The peal is in the key of C and the tenor bell weighs 37cwt (1.85 tons).

For more information view the website of the St Peter Mancroft Guild of Ringers.

The Tower of St Peter Mancroft

To commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first peal and to enhance the ringing at St Peter Mancroft, major changes within the tower were completed in 2018 with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The changes included reinstatement of a ringing floor at the level of the original 18th Century ringing gallery, restoration of historic peal boards and creation of the Mancroft Ringing Discovery Centre (MRDC), a bell ringing heritage and training centre with a peal of 8 state-of-the-art training bells.

Practice night is on Mondays from 7.45pm - 9.15pm. If you are a ringer and would like to ring, access is via the external ringers' door at the south-east corner of the tower.

We ring twice on Sundays, from 9:15am until 9:55am and again in the evening, from 4pm until 4:55pm. The Sunday evening ringing consists of general ringing on the first and third Sundays of the month and a pre-arranged quarter-peal attempt on other Sundays. It is worthwhile checking with secretary@mancroftbells.co.uk if you are planning a visit.

If you would like ring or to learn more please visit the ringers' website.

The Mancroft Ringing Discovery Centre

The Mancroft Ringing Discovery Centre (MRDC)

This is an exciting new facility, one of only three in the world. It offers bell ringers from the complete novice to accomplished ringers the opportunity to learn and improve their skills.

The Centre has eight training bells, designed and installed by Matthew Higby and using a ringing simulator designed by David Bagley

The bells can be rung individually or as a ring of eight.

The design of the training bells makes them especially suitable to train ringers in the early stages of learning and makes it possible to teach children to ring from a younger age than is normal.

Groups are welcome to arrange a visit to the Centre where they can see the impressive boards recording the first ever peal and other performances dating from 1715. They can try ringing and step back in time and discover the history of bell ringing in Norwich.

Taster sessions and talks can be arranged for interested groups, please contact the Centre manager manager for further information. You can also visit the MRDC website for more information

The St Peter Mancroft Guild of Ringers

The St Peter Mancroft Guild of Ringers is a voluntary guild whose members are elected by other members. The Guild, which is affiliated to both the church and the Norwich Diocesan Association of Ringers, is over a hundred years old. Prior to this there was a ringing society called the Norwich Scholars who unfortunately fell out with the church and were subsequently disbanded.

Under the leadership of an elected Ringing Master who holds office for up to 3 years at a time, the Guild aims to ring for Sunday services, major Christian festivals, weddings, civic events, funerals and at regular practice nights.(MRDC)

HISTORY

A Place of Faith and Unity

Located in the market place in the heart of the medieval city of Norwich, St Peter Mancroft is the largest of the city's 31 surviving medieval parish churches and one of the finest perpendicular parish churches in Norfolk. It is known for its medieval stained glass, its collection of medieval and renaissance treasures and its importance as a pioneering tower in the uniquely English art of change-ringing on church bells.

John Wesley (1703-1791), on his visit to Norwich, came into St Peter Mancroft and wrote in his diary:

“I scarcely remember ever to have seen a more beautiful parish church; the more so because its beauty results not from foreign ornaments, but from the very fine form and structure of it. It is very large, and of uncommon height, and the sides are almost all window: so that it has an awful and venerable look, and at the same time surprisingly cheerful.”

Explore

OUR NET ZERO PROJECT

Exciting developments

St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich city centre has transformed its carbon footprint and energy use by replacing its entire interior lighting system, installing heat pumps as well as batteries and solar panels.

Through this work, the church expects to see an 84% reduction in emissions by saving 60 tonnes of CO2 each year.

St Peter Mancroft is now recognised by The Church of England as a Demonstrator Church as an example for all churches striving to meet the CofE's Net Zero 2030 ambition.

C of E Video

Eco Project Leaflet

If you want to explore/estimate your own carbon footprint, to complement the more general eco questionnaire, try https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/questionnaire. And to find out how much carbon emissions your neighbourhood produces, go to https://www.carbon.place.

St Peter Mancroft Church

St Peter Mancroft has ministered from the heart of Norwich since 1075. The current church building was first started in 1430 and dedicated in 1455. It has always been a place of prayer and sanctuary.

Regular Worship

Forthcoming Events

Message from the Vicar, The Revd Canon Edward Carter