Norwich church faces new bill for £85,000

A Norwich city centre church forced to close its doors because one of its walls is collapsing is facing yet another challenge - it needs to raise more than £80,000 to restore a medieval stained glass window.

The centuries-old St Stephen's Church closed for major structural repairs in September after a large crack appeared in its east wall. The damage was caused by a nearby burst water main which had undermined the foundations and Anglian Water agreed to foot the bill for the repairs.

But, when the stained glass window in the Norwich church's east wall was removed to enable the repair work to be carried out, it became clear restoration work is needed, for which the church will have to raise £85,000.

Rev Madeline Light, priest-in-charge at St Stephen's Church, in Rampant Horse Street, said: “It's quite a significant window, with the glass brought from the continent in the 1600s. It also contains some fragments of old medieval Norwich glass.

“The church is going to take responsibility for making sure the glass is restored, but it was a huge shock when we found out.”

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www.ststephensnorwich.org 

Pictured is the inside of St Stephen's and the west window.