St Mary and St Peter's Church, Harlaxton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary and St Peter's Church, Harlaxton
Church of St Mary and St Peter, Harlaxton
52°53′03″N 0°41′23″W / 52.88403°N 0.68973°W / 52.88403; -0.68973
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Founded	12th century
Dedication	Saint Mary; Saint Peter
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	20 September 1966
Architectural type	Early English ; Perpendicular; Tudor
Specifications
Materials	ironstone and limestone-ashlar
Administration
Parish	Harlaxton
Deanery	Deanery of Grantham
Diocese	Diocese of Lincoln
Province	Canterbury

South chapel Tudor windows and Tudor doorway

Tower third and fourth stages and embattled parapet

North chapel and north aisle

South porch, rebuilt in 1856-58

East of the church with chancel and side chapel windows

Nave with rood screen and chancel beyond

From the south aisle looking along to the south chapel and across the nave to the north aisle

Chancel with choir stalls, looking through the rood screen to the nave and tower beyond

Tomb of Sir Richard Rickhill and his wife, Elizabeth, with canopy above

Tomb of Daniel De Ligne and his wife, Elizabeth

North aisle stained glass window

Nave slate slab to the Leeson family

Funerary hatchment in the tower

Graves in the churchyard

Churchyard tomb chest

Chancel tomb slab to rector Robert Cane's son, Joseph

St Mary and St Peter's Church is a very old and important church in Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, England. It is dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint Peter. The church is about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Grantham. It sits on the eastern edge of the Vale of Belvoir.

This church is special because of its connections to the Gregory and de Ligne families, who lived at Harlaxton Manor. It also has old statues from around 1410 of Sir Richard Rickhill and his wife, Elizabeth. The church was also carefully repaired in the 1800s by a famous architect named John Oldrid Scott. It is a "Grade I listed building," which means it is a very important historic place.

History of the Church

The church's records, called parish registers, go all the way back to 1558. This helps us learn about the people who lived here long ago.

There is no mention of a church in Harlaxton in the 1086 Domesday Book. This book listed everything in England after William the Conqueror took over. However, between 1174 and 1185, William the Conqueror's granddaughter, Matilda, gave land to build a church here.

The church building you see today has parts from the late 12th century. Other parts were added or changed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. The tall, pointy part of the church, called the spire, was fixed in 1885. The inside of the church was also restored between 1856 and 1858. The south porch, which is like an entrance hall, was rebuilt then too.

Another big restoration happened in 1890-91 by John Oldrid Scott. It cost a lot of money back then, about £1,200. Before the 1856 restoration, there was a beautiful carved oak screen between the chancel (the area around the altar) and the nave (where people sit).

Church Bells

In 1925, a new steel frame was added for the church bells. The five bells were retuned and rehung. Today, St Mary and St Peter's has six bells! They were made by different bellfounders over the centuries. The oldest bell is from around 1500.

There is also a special bell called a 'sanctus bell' from around 1699. It was used to call people to prayer. Long ago, someone gave land to the church so that the rector (the priest) would ring this bell every day at 4 AM and 8 PM. This land was known as 'Day Bell Close'.

Church Leaders and Support

The first priest recorded in Harlaxton was Gilbert de Segrave in 1291. When the Church of England separated from Rome in 1534, Richard Reynes was the rector here.

For many years, the church was supported by "tithes." This was when people paid one-tenth of their income to the church. By 1795, this changed to payments made in corn instead of money. The church also had "glebe land," which was land used to help support the parish priest.

In 1966, St Mary and St Peter's Church was given a "Grade I" listing. This means it is a very important historical building that needs to be protected.

Church Design

St Mary and St Peter's Church is built from ironstone and limestone. It has a chancel (the area near the altar), chapels on the north and south sides, a nave (the main part where people sit), north and south aisles (passageways), a west tower, and a south porch. The church mostly shows the Perpendicular style, but also has parts from the Early English and Tudor periods.

Outside the Church

The church tower has four levels. The lower parts are from the early 1300s, and the top part is from the late 1300s. The very top has battlements (like castle walls) and pointy pinnacles. A tall, thin spire rises from the tower, topped with a weathercock. You can also see gargoyles on the tower, which are carved figures that help drain water away.

The main body of the church, called the nave, has a clerestory above the side aisles. This is a row of windows that lets light into the church. These windows have a style called "panel tracery," which means they have straight upright stone bars.

The north aisle, built in the early 1400s, has four windows. Three are on the north wall, and one is at the west end. There's also a simple doorway on the north wall. The roof edge of the north aisle has two more gargoyles.

The south aisle has a plain top edge. It has three windows, two of which are stained glass. The south porch was rebuilt in 1858. It has a pointed arch entrance supported by columns. Inside the porch, the main church door has fancy hinges and carvings.

The chancel and its side chapels were built between 1325 and 1350. The east wall of the chancel has a large window with five sections. The north chapel has a four-light window, and the south chapel has a smaller three-light window. The south chapel also has two Tudor style windows, which are wider than they are tall.

Inside the Church

The inside of the church is plastered. The wooden roofs, from the mid-1800s, are supported by carved stone corbels (brackets) shaped like angels.

The nave has arcades (rows of arches) on both sides. The north arcade is from the late 1100s and has round columns. The south arcade is from the early 1200s and has octagonal (eight-sided) columns.

At the east end of the north aisle, where it meets the north chancel chapel, is the church organ. The north aisle also has a stained glass window from around 1888. On the north wall, you can see an early 1800s painted Royal arms. The south aisle has two stained glass windows, one from about 1860.

The arch leading into the tower is tall and pointed. A wooden screen with double doors separates the tower area from the nave. Inside the tower, there's a doorway leading to the upper levels.

The chancel arch has a wooden rood screen from the late 1800s. This screen separates the chancel from the nave. The chancel and both side chapels are also separated by similar screens. The chancel has a beautiful stained glass east window from around 1970.

Both the north and south chapels have special canopied niches (recesses in the wall). The north chapel also has a piscina, which is a basin used for washing sacred vessels. The south chapel has a piscina, an aumbry (a cupboard for sacred items), and a stoup (a basin for holy water).

The church has an octagonal (eight-sided) font from around 1400. It has a carving of Christ holding a chalice. The church also holds some valuable silver items, like a chalice from 1711 and a silver-gilt flagon from 1713.

Memorials and Tombs

The church has many memorials that tell stories of people from the past.

In the north chapel, there is an early 15th-century tomb with two stone figures. These figures are believed to be Sir Richard Rickhill and his wife, Elizabeth. Also in the north chapel is a tomb for Sir Daniel De Ligne (died 1686) and his wife, Elizabeth (died 1682). The De Ligne family bought the Harlaxton manor in the 1600s.

A marble memorial on the north chapel wall, from 1742, remembers Daniel de Ligne (died 1730) and Cadwallader Glynne (died 1736). It says that Glynne left money to be given to the poor of Harlaxton parish every year. Another memorial in the north chapel is for George Gregory (died 1758) and his wife Ann (died 1785).

In the south chapel, there is a brass plaque for William Strood and his wife Agnes, who both died in 1448. There are also three marble tablets for the Gregory family. One of these is for Daniel Gregory (died 1819), and another is for George De Ligne Gregory (died 1822).

The beautiful stained glass window in the chancel is dedicated to John Sherwin Gregory, who died in 1869. A brass plaque on the north wall remembers William Henry Simcox, who was the rector (priest) of this parish and died in 1889.

The stained glass window in the north aisle is dedicated to Henry Hemsley (died 1888) by his neighbors. Another memorial nearby remembers Arabella Saul (died 1726), her daughter Beaumont Saul (died 1736), and her mother Cassandra Beaumont (died 1742). It also remembers Edward Saul, who was the rector of the parish from 1705.

On the chancel floor, there is a stone slab for Joseph Cane (died 1761), the son of rector Robert Cane. Another slab remembers James Morrison, a cleric who died in 1705. In the nave, a floor slab remembers Arabella (died 1740) and Richard (died 1741), children of Beaumont and Mary Leeson. Mary Leeson (died 1770) is also remembered on this slab.

Inside the tower, there is a framed memorial for Alban Sackett Hope, who was the rector from 1920 to 1943. It also mentions that his family and parishioners added a new bell to the church in 1946. You can also see two diamond-shaped black-framed funerary hatchments (coat of arms) in the tower. They both have the Latin motto "Resurgam," which means "I shall rise again."

A framed text in the tower lists "Benefactors to the parish of Harlaxton." These are people who gave money to help the poor or provide books for the parish.

The church also has a memorial plaque to remember those from the parish who died during the First World War.

Churchyard

The churchyard around St Mary and St Peter's has many old tombs and headstones. There are fifteen "Grade II listed" chest tombs, which are like stone boxes, and five "Grade II listed" headstones. This means they are also important historical items.

The chest tombs are from the early to mid-1800s and are made of limestone. They come in different shapes, some with flat tops, some with sloped tops, and some shaped like coffins.

The listed headstones are mostly from the 1700s, with one from 1809, and are made of slate. They have different tops, some flat, some arched. One even has a skull and bones carved on it!

Parish Priests

Here is a list of some of the rectors and curates (priests) who have served at St Mary and St Peter's Church over the centuries:

Images for kids

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  Font, c. 1400

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  South arcade label stop

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  Lectern with rood screen and choir stalls

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  Nave corbel

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  South aisle stained glass window

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  Chancel choir stalls

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  Chancel east window

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  South chapel memorial to George De Ligne Gregory

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  South chapel piscina

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  Framed text of parish benefactors