Binham Priory, Norfolk

In open country a few miles from the north Norfolk coast stands the nave of a Benedictine priory, still in use as the parish church, with the ruins of the rest of the monastery around it. Its west front of about 1245 may have the earliest bar tracery in England, and inside are a Norman nave, a carved Seven Sacrament font and a screen on which medieval saints are surfacing through Reformation texts.

The west front of Binham Priory in Norfolk, a tall stone gable with a great bricked-up Gothic window above a row of arches — Binham Priory: the west front of about 1245, with its great window bricked up in 1809. Photograph by Amitchell125 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

A priory of St Albans

Binham Priory was founded in 1091 by Peter de Valognes, a nephew of William the Conqueror, and his wife Albreda, as a cell of the great abbey of St Albans. The nave was built from around 1100, and the west front was begun under Prior Richard de Parco (1227–44) and complete by about 1245, as recorded by the St Albans chronicler Matthew Paris. English Heritage describes the priory’s history as one of almost continuous scandal, with quarrelling priors and, in 1212, a siege by Robert FitzWalter.

The priory was dissolved in 1539 and granted to Sir Thomas Paston, who demolished the east end and reused its stone. The parishioners kept the nave as their church. The arcades were walled up and the aisles later demolished (the north aisle survived into the early nineteenth century), which is why the church today looks so tall and narrow.

Detail of the carved stone arcading and tracery of the west front of Binham Priory, with pale blue sky through the openings — Tracery on the west front, perhaps the earliest bar tracery in England. Photograph by Amitchell125 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

The visitor's cheat sheet

Binham Priory at a glance
Where	Binham Priory, Warham Road, Binham, near Fakenham, Norfolk, NR21 0DQ
Getting there	About 5 miles south-east of Wells-next-the-Sea; bus 46 (Holt–Cley–Wells); small car park through the gatehouse
Opening hours	Church daily from 10am, closing 4pm (5pm in summer); ruins at any reasonable time in daylight
Admission	Free; guided tours May–September for a suggested donation of £2
How long	An hour
Best time	A late summer afternoon, with the low sun on the west front
Dress code	Outdoor shoes for the ruins
Tours	Guided tours May–September, booked by phone; café by the car park; toilets in the church

Hours and admission checked against the official site in October 2026. They change; the official site is always the last word.

Saints through the paint. The lower panels of the rood screen, now kept in the church, were painted with saints in the fifteenth century. At the Reformation they were whitewashed and painted with black-letter texts from the Bible. As the later paint has flaked, the saints have started to reappear underneath.

What to see, in the order you meet it

The west front

Approach through the gatehouse and stand back from the west front. Its great window, now filled with brick, still shows the pattern of its tracery, among the first of its kind in England.

The long flint and stone south side of Binham Priory church with the ruined walls of the cloister in the grass in front — The nave from the south, above the ruins of the cloister. Photograph by Paul Buckingham on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The nave

Inside, the Norman nave rises through three storeys of round arches. The arcades are walled up, but the scale of the priory church is clear.

The tall Norman nave of Binham Priory, round arches in three tiers rising to a timber roof, looking west — The Norman nave, three storeys of round arches. Photograph by J.Hannan-Briggs on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The font, benches and screen

Near the door is the octagonal Seven Sacrament font, carved in the fifteenth century with the seven sacraments of the church. The benches have carved ends and there are carved seats; look for the swaddled baby. Look too for the painted panels of the rood screen.

The octagonal stone Seven Sacrament font at Binham Priory, carved with worn figure scenes — The fifteenth-century Seven Sacrament font. Photograph by David from Colorado Springs, United States on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

A carved wooden misericord seat at Binham Priory with a bearded face in foliage — A carved misericord. Photograph by David from Colorado Springs, United States on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

A carved wooden bench end at Binham Priory topped by a figure of a swaddled baby — A bench end carved as a swaddled baby. Photograph by J.Hannan-Briggs on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The ruins

Walk round the east end into the ruins: the broken piers of the crossing and transepts, the chapter house, cloister and domestic buildings, and the fifteenth-century gatehouse.

The tall broken flint piers of the ruined crossing and east end of Binham Priory — The ruined crossing and east end, cared for by English Heritage. Photograph by Bs0u10e01 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The ruined flint gatehouse of Binham Priory with a pointed archway — The fifteenth-century gatehouse. Photograph by Amitchell125 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

An aerial view of Binham Priory, the church standing at the west end of the outlined ruins of the monastery among fields — The church and the outline of the priory from the air. Photograph by John Fielding from Norwich, UK on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Visiting

Free to visit

The church and ruins are free. Guided tours run from May to September; donations help to keep the church open. There is a café by the car park.

Where to stay in Wells

The hotel link goes to Booking.com. This site earns nothing from it at present — it is here because it is the quickest way to check what is actually available.

Don't miss

The west front Early bar tracery, about 1245.
The painted screen Saints showing through texts.
The Seven Sacrament font Fifteenth-century carving.
The Norman nave Three tiers of arches.
The swaddled baby On a bench end.
The ruins Crossing, cloister and gatehouse.

Insider tips

Combine it with Walsingham. The pilgrim village of Walsingham is a few miles south, and the coast at Wells and Blakeney is close by. In Binham village, look for the medieval market cross on the green.

Common questions

Is Binham Priory free to visit?

Yes. The church is free, and so are the ruins of the priory around it, cared for by English Heritage. Guided tours of about an hour run from May to September for a suggested donation of £2 a head, booked by phone.

When is Binham Priory open?

The ruins are open at any reasonable time in daylight. The church is open daily from 10am; it closes at 4pm, or at 5pm in summer according to English Heritage. Check before travelling late in the day.

Why is the west window bricked up?

The great west window of about 1245 began to fail after the Dissolution. Parts of the west front were bricked up from 1738, and the great window in 1809, but the tracery survives, and you can still see its pattern in the brick.

What is painted on the screen?

The lower panels of the medieval rood screen were painted with saints, then painted over at the Reformation with texts from the English Bible. As the later paint has worn, the saints have begun to show through.

How do you get to Binham?

Binham is about five miles south-east of Wells-next-the-Sea. Bus 46 runs between Holt, Cley and Wells through the village. There is a small car park inside the priory gatehouse.

Where to stay and eat nearby

Binham has a pub and a village shop; Wells-next-the-Sea and Holt have more places to stay and eat.

Hotels near Binham

More English churches

Walsingham — England’s Nazareth, a few miles south
Castle Acre Priory — another great Norfolk priory ruin
Salle Church — a cathedral-sized church in the Norfolk fields

See all the churches worth visiting in England →