It contains a major collection of medieval artefacts, in particular the church's rood screen and the Ranworth Antiphoner, a liturgical manuscript.

Known as "the Cathedral of The Broads",[1] Historic England's listing record describes St Helen's as of the 15th century, although other sources date it to the 14th.

[3] The significance of the church lies mainly in its late medieval decoration, particularly of the rood screen.

Simon Jenkins considers the work "England's finest church screen paintings".

The church is a Grade I listed building[2] although, beyond the interior paintings, Jenkins considers it as "of limited architectural interest".