St Martin's Church, Bole facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Martin's Church, Bole |
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St Martin's Church, Bole
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| 53°22′26.16″N 0°48′39.66″W / 53.3739333°N 0.8110167°W | |
| OS grid reference | SK 79308 87102 |
| Location | Bole, Nottinghamshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | www.achurchnearyou.com |
| History | |
| Dedication | Martin of Tours |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II listed |
| Specifications | |
| Bells | 3 (Temporary Unringable) |
| Tenor bell weight | 5.5 cwt |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Bole with Saundby |
| Deanery | Bassetlaw and Bawtry |
| Archdeaconry | Newark |
| Diocese | Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham |
| Province | York |
| Circuit | Retford Area |
| District | Bassetlaw |
St Martin's Church is a historic building in Bole, Nottinghamshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building, which means it is considered very important and protected. This church belongs to the Church of England.
Contents
History of St Martin's Church
This church has been around for a very long time! It was first built in the 13th century, which means it's over 700 years old. Imagine all the history it has seen. The church was later repaired and updated in 1866 by an architect named Ewan Christian.
Church Bells
St Martin's Church has three bells. These bells are quite old and special. They are held in a wooden frame. Unfortunately, the frame is currently in poor condition, so the bells cannot be rung right now.
The first bell, called the treble, weighs about 4 cwt (which is about 448 pounds!). It was made in 1611 by Henry II Oldfield. The second bell weighs about 4.5 cwt (about 504 pounds) and was made even earlier, around the 1500s, by John Seliok. The largest bell, the tenor, weighs about 5.5 cwt (about 616 pounds) and was also made by Henry II Oldfield in 1611. These bells are usually rung from the ground floor of the church.
Church Clock
It seems that St Martin's Church once had a clock! There is a space under the bells where the clock would have been. A picture of the church, given to a vicar during the Second World War, clearly showed a clock face on the south side of the church tower.
The Clays Group of Churches
St Martin's Church in Bole is part of a group of churches called the Clays Group. This group includes several churches in nearby villages:
- St John the Baptist in Clarborough
- St Peter in Hayton
- St Peter & St Paul in North Wheatley
- St Peter & St Paul in Sturton le Steeple
- St Martin in Bole
- St Martin in North Leverton
- All Saints in South Leverton
In North Wheatley, the Church of England church and the Methodist chapel used to work together. They were known as "The Church in Wheatley." However, the Methodist Chapel was sold in 2023 because it needed very expensive repairs. In South Wheatley, you can find the ruins of an old church called St Helen. St Martin in North Leverton and All Saints in South Leverton, along with the Methodist Chapel there, form "The Church in the Levertons."
Church Leaders (Clergy)
The Clays Group of Churches shares one main leader, called a Vicar. The current Team Vicar is Reverend M Cantrill. He is in charge of all the churches listed above. Reverend Cantrill is special because he is an ordained minister for both the Church of England and the Methodist Church. He also looks after Grove Street Methodist church in Retford. The Clays Group also has a Lay Reader, who is a trained church member who helps with services.
Vicars of Bole
A church in Bole was mentioned way back in the Domesday Book, which was written in 1086! However, we don't know the names of most of the church leaders (clergy) from before the late 1300s. For about 200 years before 1864, the vicars didn't live in the parish. This means that most of the daily church work was probably done by assistant curates.
Here are some of the vicars who have served at Bole:
- 1317-? Roger de Nassington
- 1377 John Attewell
- 1390 Gilbert Thynne
- 1429 John Pye
- 1443 Henry Marschall
- 1445 Richard Mydelom
- 1447 Thomas Mirfelde
- 1449 William Harrison
- 1451 Thomas Pesse
- 1453 Robert Walker
- 1468 Robert Hogley
- 1474 Richard Nicholl
- 1483 Stephen Hobson
- 1485 Thomas Watson
- 1499 Thomas Randesby
- 1501 Simon Spynk
- 1503 John Clewgh
- 1522 Leonard Bower
- 1551 John Hudson
- 1558 Edmund Wingreve
- 1576 Robert Rogers
- 1598 John Noble
- 1599 Richard Molton
- 1619 Roland Campion
- 1624 Edward Barnes
- 1629 William Lacye
- 1632 Richard Baylye
- 1639 Nicholas Browne
- 1669 Stephen Maisters
- 1687 Robert Ward
- 1691 John Battersby
- 1711 William Ellay
- 1714 Thomas Smith
- 1731 Charles Henchman
- 1780 William Davis
- 1811 William Singleton
- 1836 James Henry Willan (He lived in Gainsborough and was also a school master there.)
- 1858 Henry Stockdale (He started Bole School and built the Vicarage.)
- 1873 Thomas Henry Craster
- 1886 Frederick Harcourt Hillersden
- 1891 Thomas Holland Chadwick
- 1913 George Bird
- 1926 Donald Thomas Glasford
- 1941 John Thomas Gordon
- 1947 William Henry Marshall
- 1954 Arthur Llewelyn Thomas (He and the vicars after him also looked after Sturton-le-Steeple with Littleborough.)
- 1959 Charles John Llewelyn Jones
- 1965 John Norman Darrall
- 1966 Lawrence Rex Rowland Harris
- 1972 John Ford (He and the vicars after him also looked after North Wheatley and South Wheatley.)
- 1979 Adrian Butt
- 1986 Anthony Reader-Moore
- 1994 Michael Weston Briggs (He also looked after Clarborough from 2003. This is when the churches became known as the Clays Group.) He retired in 2005.
- 2007–present day Mark James Cantrill
Some people who served as Assistant Curates (helpers to the vicar) include:
- 1823 John Mickle
- 1829 James Stovin
- 1831 Thomas Curston
The Vicarage
Bole has a building that used to be the Vicarage, which is the house where the vicar lives. It was built in 1864. However, it hasn't been used as a vicarage since 1965. It is now known as "Bole House" and was sold again in 2009.
See also
- Listed buildings in Bole, Nottinghamshire
