Ranworth Church

Ranworth is a charming Broadland village.  Ranworth Church, St. Helen’s, is known as the Cathedral of the Broads. 

There are Saxon foundations from an earlier church underneath the chancel. 
The church is mainly fifteenth century.  There was substantial restoration at the beginning of the twentieth century, including the chancel and the roof. 

There are magnificent views from the tower, and the interior is  very fine. 

In a few words, it is possible to mention only a few points of especial interest, but there is an excellent guidebook available. The chancel screen is one of the finest surviving in the country, of a quality worthy of a cathedral and unusual in a country church. It dates from the late fifteenth century and originally would have been surmounted by a rood cross. 

By the door as one enters is the splendid Antiphoner, a book of services with psalms, showing the alternating exchanges in Latin between the priest and the congregation or choir.
This book, most beautifully illuminated, is understood to have been made at Langley Abbey, which held the vicarage of Ranworth. 
It was bequeathed to Ranworth in 1478, but after the Reformation and the introduction of the Prayer Book in English it fell into disuse and was lost for centuries.  It was eventually restored to Ranworth (at a cost of around £575) in 1912.

Down a lane next to the church is a small nature reserve, on Ranworth Broad, with a Conservation Centre, built in 1976, described by Pevsner as being: “Like a floating Malayan long-house, thatched, with timber posts…”