Swaffham Prior: St Mary with St Cyriac and St Julitta 2013-09-14

Two parish churches in the same churchyard (St Mary on the left; St Cyriac and St Julitta on the right), probably reflecting an early manorial or tenurial division. In 1667 an Act of Parliament united the two parishes under a single vicar but ordered that both churches should be maintained. In 1779, however, the spire of St Mary's was struck by lightning and, according to the church guide, the removal of the spire in 1802 resulted in damage to the roofs of the nave and of the W. porch. The nave roof of St Mary was removed in 1806 and St Cyriac and St Julitta thereafter served as the main parish church, being rebuilt, apart from the tower, from 1806 onwards. The Allix family of Swaffham Prior House thereafter used the chancel of St Mary as a family mausoleum but St Mary's was restored and repaired at the start of the C20, apparently under their patronage. Thereafter it was St Cyriac and St Julitta's turn to become derelict, although it was put in the care of the Churches Conversation Trust in 1973, and has since been restored. List description: St Mary (Grade I): list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1127040 ; St Cyriac and St Julitta (Grade II*): list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1127041 . RCHM: www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=129083 (mons. 1-2).