The Church

The first thing you notice as you walk into Great Hockham church is the array of medieval paintings, seemingly on every wall.

Above the chancel arch is God the father, and the annunciation with the angel Gabriel visiting the Virgin Mary. On other walls are the Adoration of the Magi and possibly the last supper.

As well as the paintings, Great Hockham has some wonderfully carved pew ends including a mermaid and several acrobats and contortionists.

Our Work

Great Hockham church is home to a colony of Natterer's Bats. The bats primarily roost in the chancel roof and cause no problems inside the church. However, some bats use the corners of the nave and may be causing damage to the wall paintings.

In spring 2021 the project installed four new rafter boxes in the north and south aisles. The north aisle boxes will be artificially heated to encourage the bats to use them, the south aisle boxes will be naturally heated by the sun. We've also added a new external box by the south porch.

The bats are using some of the boxes and excluders have been installed in the aisles as the first step to removing bats from the church interior completely.

The church has also hosted a Heritage Cleaning Workshop in 2023 and has received a specialist cleaning kit to help them look after the church.

Great Hockham Case Study Poster

Great Hockham Fact Sheet

Great Hockham Bat Management Plan June 2020

Upcoming events

If you’d like to contact or find out more about the church, visit their page on A Church Near You