Trinity Church Saved for Worship & Community Use

The Catholic Diocese of East Anglia has acquired the former Trinity United Reformed Church which neighbours the site of St John’s Cathedral in Norwich, subject to contract.

The Grade II listed church, designed by the celebrated architect Sir Bernard Feilden, who was also the consultant architect of the University of East Anglia, and built in 1956, will continue to be used for worship, including being offered as a sustainable base for the Syro-Malabar (South Indian) Catholic community in the area. With its associated buildings, it will also provide clergy accommodation, a new home for the Diocesan Archive, offices, new teaching and meeting spaces, as well as expanding the Cathedral’s car parking offer, and will be available to the wider community.

As recognised by the official listing, Trinity church has group architectural value with the Cathedral and, when integrated into the wider site, will complete the fourth side of the Cathedral’s gardens making them a full cloister-style quadrangle.

Works to upgrade the church and its associated buildings for their new purposes will take some time and will be led by the Cathedral’s architect, Nicholas Warns.

St John’s Cathedral, a grade I listed major Norwich landmark commissioned by the then Duke of Norfolk in 1882 and designed by George Gilbert Scott, is currently used by over a thousand people every week for worship, offers guided tours and events, and has a welcoming café that is open to all from Monday to Saturday offering breakfasts, refreshments and lunches. The Cathedral recently received a significant grant from Historic England as part of a projected major programme of repair works.

The purchase of Trinity church is being funded by proceeds from the sale of unused Diocesan properties and does not represent a charge on the Diocese’s day-to-day budget.

Image © Copyright Graham Hardy and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

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