Trunch is a village located in North Norfolk, about five miles from the coast. The oldest building in Trunch is St. Botolph’s Church, which dates back to the 14th and 15th centuries. The church is a regular pile with a nave, 2 isles, and a chancel covered with lead, and has a tower with four bells. It is believed that some fragments of stone in the walls were reused from an earlier Saxon church, which was recorded in the Domesday Book. One of the most interesting features of the church is the font canopy, which dates back to the mid-14th century. The carved and painted font canopy is one of only four surviving in the entire country (the others are at St. Peter Mancroft in Norwich, Durham Cathedral, and Luton). It is supported on six beautifully carved legs, and the carving detail is exquisite, with fanciful animal figures and foliage and a bit of political commentary, in the shape of a pig wearing a bishop’s mitre.
In addition to the font canopy, Trunch features a superb 15th century hammer beam roof, a feature of many churches in Norfolk and Suffolk. Here the carvings of angels are beautifully performed. Much easier to see are the medieval misericords (mercy seats) in the chancel. Each carving is unique; some represent angels, and others are more grotesque in nature. In addition, there are some beautifully carved pew ends and a painted medieval rood screen that rivals many more famous churches in detail and colour. There are 12 niches in the screen, each painted with a depiction of a single figure – 11 disciples plus St Paul. Much of the costume detail is well preserved, but the faces of the figures were destroyed during the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.
Trunch is the largest of the villages between North Walsham and the sea. The village is surrounded by a lovely collection of cottages and the more modern Crossroads Inn. The church is perhaps the most interesting of all round about; and, while the large village lends it an urban quality that lacks the charm of, say, the churches of neighbouring Edingthorpe and Crostwight, it has by no means the Victorianised sterility of those at Bacton or Happisburgh. The whole piece seems to have been rebuilt in the early 15th century, although the chancel may be a little later, and there is a hint of Decorated about the nave. The tower is quite simple, even slight. It builds boldly enough, but at the top of the second stage fades into a simple bell stage, understated, elegant and probably intended. This is not a building that shouts at you. A curiosity is the massive priest porch surrounding the door in the chancel. These are very unusual, although there is another, smaller one at neighbouring Knapton.
St Botolph is a big church, and its tight graveyard makes it rather hard to photograph. The great treasure, of course, is the marvellous font canopy. It is particularly fascinating because of its date, coming in the early 16th century right on the eve of the English protestant reformation. Like all church furnishings at this time, it gives us a hint of what the English renaissance might have been like if it had been allowed to flower. Here, the massive structure tumbles with intricacy; fruit and flowers, leopards and lions peep around the silvery oak of the six octagonal columns which are fluted with interlocking chains of detail. The glory is the massive crown of canopied niches, with the haunting ghosts of crucifixion groups still apparent on three of the faces. The whole thing is at once in perfect harmony with the west end of the church, but exists because it was believed to be beautiful rather than known to be useful.
The village has a rural charm and avoids the excesses of industrialisation and tawdry caravan sites that are hard against the coast. Trunch has a shop, a green, a pub run by an ex-professional footballer, and generally all the typical features you expect to find in a large village in deepest rural Norfolk. The tenths were 4l. 10s. deducted 15s. The patronage of the church was granted to the priory of Castleacre by William Earl Warren, the first on his founding that priory. In the reign of Edward I. the rector had a manse, and 13 acres of land valued at 16 marks, Peter-pence 13d. and the prior of Castleacre had a pension or portion of tithe valued at 40s. the present valor is 10l. 13s. 4d. and pays first fruits, &c. the Norwich registers say that William, the second Earl Warren, granted the patronage, and Eborard Bishop of Norwich, confirmed it; and that Simon the Bishop confirmed the pension in 1268.
Overall, Trunch is a village worth visiting, especially for its remarkable St. Botolph’s Church. With its fascinating features such as the carved and painted font canopy, superb 15th century hammer beam roof, medieval misericords, and painted medieval rood screen, the church is a treasure trove of history and craftsmanship. The village itself is filled with rural charm, and offers visitors typical village amenities, such as a shop, a green, and a pub.