The Church
All Saints is a small rural church tucked away in the fields near Fakenham with only a few farm buildings nearby.
Inside however is one of Norfolk's most spectacular Norman fonts, carved with an array of tracery, geometric patterns and fantastic carved beasts.
The church also has several interesting hatchments and royal arms, original surviving altar rails, some small survivals of Medieval stained glass and a 13th century priest's door.
The church is open during daylight hours from Easter until autumn.
Our Work
Toftrees is home to at least thee species of bat, Common and Soprano Pipistrelles and Natterer's bats with the occasional Brown Long-eared Bat. There has previously been a large Natterer's bat colony in the church and although numbers have declined in recent years, the roost had a significant impact on the interior in the small, compact church.
Toftrees has taken part in a number of trials to manage the bat behaviour before joining the project which had limited short term impact on the bat damage.
After full surveys in 2019 the project created four enclosed roosting boxes in the south west corner and more roosting space in the low tower.
The bats appear to be adapting to the boxes well and bat mess in the church in summer 2023 dropped significantly.
The church has now reopened to visitors and is seeking grants and funding to carry out restoration and repairs. In summer 2023 it was featured in our Bats In Churches Live- Heritage Treasures event.
Toftrees Case Study Poster
Toftrees Two Page Case Study Narrative
Toftrees Fact Sheet
Toftrees Bat Management Plan 2020
Upcoming events
If you’d like to contact or find out more about the church, visit their page on A Church Near You