The Sacred Heart

Introduction

Bower Norris designed the church in the Art Deco style. The church is built of red brick laid in Flemish bond with flat asphalt roofs, and the southwest tower has a green copper pyramid capping.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is in a Scandinavian Art Deco style. The church has a nave, aisles, chancel and south-west porch-tower. The west front has a slightly projecting centre section with a rectangular stone doorcase and recessed double-leaf single-panel doors. The centre section of the west front projects above the parapet line and contains three tall lancets fitted with metal casements, the centre one rising higher.

The aisle west ends terminate in single-storey square extensions lit through one metal lancet to each exposed face. The south aisle extension is developed as the base of the porch-tower, with a triple-rebated square-headed doorway to the south containing a single-panel door. Each face of the tower has two square brick fillets rising to a stepped parapet and enclosing two tiers of metal lancets. The parapet has three set-offs, the second one with three tall narrow recesses, and a stone parapet with one raised panel to each face.

The aisles are lit through three sets of triple lancets containing metal casements, framed by triangular brick fillets rising from the plinth course to the parapet. Three cast-iron water hoppers and downpipes to the aisles and blind clerestory are deployed as part of the design. The chancel has one triple lancet to the north and south, and a blind east end. Single-storey vestry rooms are attached to the north of the chancel, embracing the east end of the north nave aisle, and flat-roofed sacristies and confessionals fill the northeast corner.

The interior has a narrow west narthex separated from the nave by a west screen. The nave has no arcade division of aisles, which are marked by a lower ceiling height. The nave and chancel have a flat ceiling with plastered and reinforced concrete beams. There are arched entrances to chapels at the east end of the aisles, and stilted triangular-headed openings from the chancel chapels to the chancel, fitted with wrought-iron grilles.

There is a round-headed recess in the chancel east wall. The church is believed to have the largest unsupported pre-stressed concrete roof in England.

A choir gallery was created over the narthex in 2004, with a framed glazed front. The present benches were installed in the 1970s.

The sanctuary was reconfigured in 2004, and the font repositioned in 2008. The church has a plain octagonal font. The glazed west screen consists of four sections either side of double panelled doors, with a panelled screen dado and panelled cornice. Each of the eight glazed sections of the west screen has Art Deco glass, stained in pale colours and with geometric motifs in leading and glazing patterns.

Similar Art Deco glazing is used in the aisle windows, and all the windows are square headed. The church retains original wrought-iron altar rails with a timber top rail. The Stations of the Cross are in plaster. The church is described as a fine quality and little-altered church of the period with very carefully designed external detailing and good fittings including characteristic stained glass.

The church has two chapels, one dedicated to Our Blessed Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the other to St Nicholas. In the porch is a statue of St Joseph, carved from a single piece of wood by a German prisoner of war, given in thanksgiving to the parish after his liberation at the end of the Second World War. Within the altar lie the relics (bones) of many saints, including St Gregory the Great, St Augustine of Canterbury, St Edward king and martyr, St Francis of Assissi, St Bernard, St Gemma, St Alphonsus and St Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney. The twelve brass crosses and candleholders are called consecration crosses.

Music and liturgy

Active choirs at Aylsham and North Walsham welcome all voices. Liturgy groups meet at the Sacred Heart from time to time, with contact details available from the parish clergy. The parish holds an annual Mass for the sick. An annual Memorial Service is held in the garden of the Sacred Heart, usually in August.

The parish is twinned with the Parish of Saint Francis Xavier, Svay Sisophon, and holds regular 'Cambodia-style' Masses. House Masses are held about once a month for those in outlying areas, except during Lent and August.

Parish life

Twice a year, at Khmer New Year in April and the Feast of the Ancestors in October, the parish celebrates special 'Cambodian-style' community Masses to which everyone, of all faiths and none, is invited. Annual visits are made to Svay Sisophon and other centres, with all visitors paying for themselves.

The parish has a library with books for spiritual reading, theology and bible reading in the churches. RCIA consists of a series of talks and discussions for those thinking of becoming a Catholic.

The parish has an annual Mass during which the Sacrament of Anointing is celebrated, usually in July. The parish covers a wide area and transport to and from Mass is often needed. The parish has an annual meeting to which all are invited to discuss parish activities including finances. The parish has flower arrangers in each of the churches who arrange displays for liturgical celebrations.

The parish has a Finance Committee that meets regularly and reports each year at the annual parish meeting. The parish has a repository offering a range of religious goods and cards for sale at the back of each of the churches. The parish has sacristans for each church community. The parish has altar servers, and anyone who has made their first Holy Communion is invited to join the group.

The parish has a Garden of Remembrance at each church where ashes of loved ones may be interred. The parish has a Parish Directory provided to every household in the parish, covering all three communities. The parish is a rural parish that includes a large area of northeast Norfolk with over 40 villages. The parish has a Parish Newsletter that can be accessed via the Parish Website when away from the parish.

Visiting

The parish has a Pastoral Council that meets regularly with the parish priest and plays an important part in the running of the parish. The parish has a Parish Newsletter available at Mass each week outlining the various activities in the Parish and wider community.