Facilities and features
Accessibility
There are a few car park spaces reserved for visitors in front of the church gates on Hall Lane. A local business kindly helps out with parking spaces, by arrangement only, in the event of a wedding or funeral taking place in Rushall's Church
The entrance into the porch of the church is almost flat with only a shallow threshold step at the porch entrance gates and the main door. There are no steps to negotiate on the pathways to the building entrance from the main gate. Wheelchair users are advised to take the left hand path from the main gate, which has just a very slight incline as the path progresses towards the church's main door. The path on the right hand side of the church is a little uneven in parts and could prove difficult for wheelchair users.
Our Building
The church is open for private prayer and visitors 24 hours a day outside of service or event times - please check the calendar of events taking place in the church.
Rushall Church has registered with A Rocha UK and started it's Eco Church journey, taking action and working through the process of becoming as eco-friendly as possible in order to protect God's creation, improve biodiversity, and address climate change.
St Mary's is a small Grade 1 listed building in Rushall village. The lower part of the round tower dates back to late Anglo-Saxon times and the earliest documentary evidence is in the Domesday Book 1086. The tower which was built onto the nave of the existing 13th century church was extended to house two bells in the 15th century, one bell having since been sold to fund restoration work. In the 17th and 18th centuries the church fell into disrepair and was fully restored in 1878, when the restoration of the chancel was funded by Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Today, the church is once again in need of repair work. The nave and chancel roofs were repaired in Spring 2024, following fundraising for the nave repairs and Emmanuel College funded the church's chancel roof repairs. Now that the roof of the church is in good repair we will be looking towards making inside repairs as funds allow.
Music and Worship
We have an electric organ in church which is played at our church services
Groups, Courses and Activities
We occasionally hold community events, please check out Rushall's page of services and events within the menu on the left hand side of the main page
Help for Visitors
Please call Linda, the Rushall PCC Secretary if you are interested in a group guided tour around this Medieval church building
We supply a free Rushall Church information guide, though a small
The church is open 24/7
Friendly dogs are welcome
Other Features
We collect food items for the Waveney Foodbank which are regularly taken to the Foodbank depot in Eye for distribution. You will find a food donation box on the left hand side of the church as you enter - please ensure the lid is placed back firmly, as the church mice may take an opportunity to have a nibble. If you are able, please check https://waveney.foodbank.org.uk/ for their list of currently needed items, otherwise please donate non-perishable items, a list of needed items can be found on the outside noticeboard by the church gate - Thank you.
In conjunction with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust the graveyard on the South side of the church is maintained for flora and fauna