The Church
All Saints is a large perpendicular church perched on a hill top above the Wensum valley. The tall tower is a local landmark, seen for miles around.
The church is a superb example of late 14th century perpendicular architecture, with a beautiful, open airy interior.
There are carved 17th century pews in the nave, a 14th century font and Royal Arms of 1711.
The village has close connections to the Royal Air Force and has a striking RAF memorial window in the chancel.
The church has regular events as well as services and holds a weekend long flower festival in July.
Our Work
Swanton Morley is home to a large roost of Natterer's Bats. The bats mainly roost in the chancel roof, but tend to fly freely throughout the church leaving a large amount of mess and droppings.
In spring 2019 the project built a series of new, enclosed roosting boxes in the chancel roof. After allowing the bats to get used to the new boxes, the bats' access to the interior of the church was closed off in summer 2020.
Further surveys in 2023 proved that the bats were not using a damaged window to access the church so the church was allowed to repair this without a bat licence.
The church saw an initial reduction in the amount of mess and damage inside the church, however the bats are continuing to find routes into the church and it may not be cost effective to continue blocking works in this exceptionally large church.
The project have also provided help and advice with cleaning, some new interpretation and helping the church encourage local schools to use the church for lessons.
Swanton Morley Case Study Poster
Swanton Morley Fact Sheet
Swanton Morley Final Report 2023
Upcoming events
If you’d like to contact or find out more about the church, visit their page on A Church Near You