History of the Church

Christ Church has stood for 167 years as the place of worship in New Catton. Between 1816 and 1821 there was a sudden influx of agricultural workers into Norwich. New Catton was established outside the city walls to the north as a distinct settlement of about 1100 people, many of whom became weavers.
Christian work among the new settlers began in 1818 with the establishment of a nonconformist Sunday school.
By the 1830s the settlement was expanding and on 23rd June 1840 the foundation stone of Christ Church New Catton was laid. Christ Church was the first church to be built outside the city walls and was designed in the Gothic Lancet style using flint and gault brick dressing – both locally sourced materials, characteristic of the region. The entire cost of the work was £2400. The Bishop of Norwich consecrated the church on 16th November 1841, the occasion being marked by a procession and demonstration by the Chartists.
Christ Church is a grade II listed building and is in regular use for worship, marriages, baptisms and funerals. It is an important part of the heritage of Norwich.