One of a series of impressive windows by London-based artist Alfred Wilkinson in the aisles at St Stephen's, installed in the 1950s as replacements for war damaged glass.
Norwich's grandest parish church after nearby St Peter Mancroft is St Stephen's, an impressive essay in the Perpendicular style, lit by extensive clerestorey windows and dominated by an unusually designed north tower, decorated with distinctive flint flushwork, that doubles as the church's main entrance porch. It remains in use as a fully working church, but not always one that welcomed visitors, I had tried on several previous occaisions to get inside but always found it locked. Fortunately today would be different.
The interior is really splendid, all of a piece, early 16th century East Anglian Perpendicular at it's best (a shame it was so hard to see). Sweeping arcades and clerestoreys flooding the nave and chancel (somewhat tunnel-like with no structural division or change of design) with light. There is notable stained glass here, most significantly the huge east window which contains a medley of figures and fragments in 16th century Continental glass (mainly German, with some English fragments, original to the church, mixed in). There is also a fine sequence of windows from the 1950s by Alfred Wilkinson (replacements for bomb damaged glass).
St Stephen's, after years of being locked outside of services now has limited opening hours, being open each morning 10 - 12 .
For more see Simon Knott's excellent Norfolk Churches website below:-
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichstephen/norwichstephen.htm
The church is currently (Jan 2011) closed for structural repairs and the east window glass has been removed during an underpinning operation for the east end (following being structurally compromised by a burst water main). It will remain inaccessible to visitors and congregation until the works are completed (discoveries are being made during the extensive works, including a lost medieval brass).
ststephensnorwich.org/about/ 