St. Mary the Less

The church is medieval but became redundant in 1544 when its parish was absorbed by St George's, Tombland. In the mid-1560s,St Mary the Less was assigned as their bay hall to 24 Dutch masters representing the first of the Elizabethan Strangers in Norwich. The building was used as a wool hall where Dutch merchants sold cloth. In 1637 it was converted into a church for Walloon and French Protestants, l’Église Protestante Française de Norwich or the French Church, Norwich. Pastors at this time included John Bruckner and Joseph Nicol Scott. In 1989 it was sold into private ownership by the Norwich French Church Charity. It is on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register, which says it is…

There is no significant documentation regarding the church's construction. Its present structure dates to the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, though the plan is more similar to that of a church of the 11th or 12th centuries. There was a recorded lack of church income in the 1420s, possibly due to expenditure on building works on St Mary the Less, and recorded spending on chaplains celebrating in the church in 1431 may be evidence of the completion of this building project. The church consists of a west tower, a nave and chancel, and a south porch. The church has a total length of 22.5 m, similar to that of St Augustine's and St Martin at Palace in the city. It is built of flint with stone,…