The Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey

The Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey is a volunteer led community archaeology project that is undertaking a systematic survey of the country’s surviving medieval churches.

The pilot project, which ran from January 2010 to June 2012, undertook detailed surveys of the first 200 of Norfolk’s 650+ medieval churches and carried out initial surveys at an additional 40 sites.

Established to discover and record examples of this little known resource, the survey has already achieved some noted successes. Of the 200 churches surveyed during the pilot project over 80% were discovered to contain significant pre-reformation graffiti inscriptions.

Changing the way we look at our church buildings

The Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey is changing the way we look at the very fabric of our historic church buildings. Where instances of medieval graffiti were originally thought to be relatively rare within the country, the survey has now established that the phenomena are far more common and tell us a great deal about the people who once lived and worshiped there.

It is hoped to be able to expand the pilot project to undertake the surveying and recording of the other 450 of Norfolk’s churches. The NMGS is an opportunity for real people to undertake real and meaningful archaeology.