The Norfolk village of Weeting was originally divided into two parishes, All Saints and St Mary’s. In about 1699, the tower of one church collapsed and the parishes were united. It is generally assumed that it was St Mary’s that survived – and that is certainly the dedication of Weeting’s church today – but it may have been that All Saints was the survivor. In any event, the site of the other church is, apparently, close to the nearby housing estate that was built over Weeting Hall (demolished in the 1950s).
In any event, the picture-perfect church known as St Mary’s is thought to possibly have Saxon origins (Anglo-Saxon Weotingas – possibly ‘wet fields), but the current building is no older than 12/13th century. The nave was rebuilt in the 15th century and the tower collapsed in the 16th/17th century. The current tower was added in the 19th century, when the church was restored. It is one of more than 100 round-tower churches in Norfolk. There is some medieval graffiti near the south porch doorway, the interior boasts late medieval windows in the south aisle and nine members of the Angerstein family are interred in a vault under the nave floor. John Julius Angerstein was born in St Petersburg in 1735 and became a wealthy businessman in London. The church is located adjacent to the ruins of Weeting Castle.