St Benedict's Church, Lincoln facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Benedict's Church, Lincoln |
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St Benedict’s Church, by Samuel Hieronymus Grimm, 1784
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 St Benedict's Church, Lincoln
Location in Lincoln city centre
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| 53°13′46.77″N 0°32′23.76″W / 53.2296583°N 0.5399333°W ACoordinates: Extra unexpected parameters |
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| Location | Lincoln, Lincolnshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Now the Lincoln Street Pastors Base & Office, and Unicorn Tree Bookshop. |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 8 October 1953 |
| Style | Medieval |
| Closed | 1931 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Lincoln |
St Benedict's Church, Lincoln is a very old church in Lincoln, England. It was first mentioned in 1107. Before the English Civil War, it was Lincoln's main church for city events.
The church was badly damaged during the Civil War and only partly fixed. What remains today is the main part of the church, called the nave. This used to be the chancel (the area around the altar) of the older, larger church. There is also a small chapel to the north, built by Robert Tattershall in 1378.
The church has a bell named Old Kate, which was made in 1585. The Lincoln barber surgeons company paid for it. The church closed in 1931, and there were plans to tear it down. However, many people protested, and the church was saved and repaired. It then became the main office for the Lincoln Diocese Mothers' Union, but it closed again in 2018.
In June 2020, St Benedict's became the home for Lincoln Street Pastors [1]. These volunteers go out on Friday and Saturday nights to help and care for people in Lincoln's city centre. In April 2022, Unicorn Tree Books [2] moved into the church. They needed a new home after their previous shop in Lincoln Central Market closed.
Contents
The Parish of St Benedict
A parish is an area served by a church. St Benedict's had one of the smaller parishes in Lincoln. In 1553, when Lincoln's parishes were reorganized, part of St John's parish joined St Benedict's.
On a large map from 1842 by Padley, the parish stretched from the Brayford Pool in the west to Sincil Street in the east. It also included a long part of the High Street. This ran from just north of the River Witham and the High Bridge down to the Cornhill area in the south.
Inside the Church: Furnishings
Inside St Benedict's, you can find several interesting old items:
- A wooden pulpit from the late 1600s. It has eight sides and carved panels.
- An 18th-century font, which is a basin used for baptisms. It looks like an eggcup and has decorative carvings.
- A royal coat of arms from 1734. This was repainted in 1819 and includes the names of the churchwardens (people who help manage the church).
- A brass plaque from 1687 with figures of mourners.
- A fancy carved frame with arms and cherubs from 1739.
- A memorial from 1853 dedicated to William Adams Nicholson, a famous architect from Lincoln.
Gallery
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Other Churches in Lincoln
Further Reading
- Antram N (revised), Pevsner N & Harris J, (1989), The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, Yale University Press. pg 496
