The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Norwich (medieval)
Parish church, redundant
Godwick is a deserted medieval village (DMV) in NW Norfolk, sited immediately NE of Tittleshall, about 4.5 miles S of Fakenham. The remains of the W tower of the parish church of All Saints comprise the only remnants visible above ground, although the site of the village is exceptionally well preserved as a series of earthworks. From 1630 the priest was shared with Tittleshall, and the parishes were formally united in the 19thc.
The tower has a complex history. It appears to have been built in the later medieval period, perhaps in the 15thc. Its upper section appears to have collapsed by 1596 on the evidence of a contemporary map, and the building was described as utterly ruined in 1602.
However, the upper section of the tower appears to have been rebuilt around this time in brick and flint with moulded brick windows, incorporating re-set early masonry (See Comments). The tower was probably rebuilt to act as a folly to the now lost Old Hall, and especially for the Great Barn, which directly faces it, built in 1597. The E half of the tower fell during a storm in 1981, leaving the ruined tower as it appears today. The remains have recently been stabilised and incorporate some re-set Romanesque fragments.