St. Mary's Church,

Horncastle, Lincolnshire Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains. History Romans Alt ...

, England, dates from the early 13th century and is dedicated to Saint Mary. It serves the

Ecclesiastical Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Horncastle Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains. History Romans Alt ...

and a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

that was heavily restored by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

between 1859 and 1861.

History

It is thought that a

Roman church Holy Roman Church, Roman Church, Church of Rome or Church in Rome may refer to: * The Diocese of Rome or the Holy See * The Latin Church * Churches of Rome (buildings) In historical contexts ''Roman Church'' may also refer to: * The Catholic Chur ...

once stood on the site. This appears to have been succeeded by a Saxon Minster, although construction of the present building started c.1250. The building appears to have experienced two major works of restoration: * The first, which took place around 1660, once he had been restored as Vicar of Horncastle, and is commemorated on the south wall near to the altar rails by a large metal painted plaque, is credited to The Rev'd Thomas Gibson. Gibson was ill-treated during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and deprived of his living for some years. * The 1859–61 restoration is commemorated by a stained glass window in memory of The Rev'd Canon W H Milner, who is credited with being the primary driving force behind the restoration. Whilst remaining in regular use as the Parish Church of Horncastle, by 2001 a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

congregation was also using the building for its Mass on Saturday evenings at 6:00 pm and continues to have Mass there at that time.Woodhall Spa Catholic Parish Newsletter 26 October 2014

Architecture

The building is dominated by three

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

s: * Early English as seen in the five-bay

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

arcade (the upper sections of which were re-built in 1859–61), internal tower arch with pointed head and western-facing lancet windows, with their moulded string courses. *

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

as evident in the north and south

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

chapels and nave clerestory, with its five 15th century windows. *

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proc ...

seen especially in the east window, chancel arch, nave aisles, porches and

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

office. The floor level at the east end of the church was raised in height by two feet during the 1859-61 restoration, in order to accommodate the central heating system. There are also some

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

influences (such as the heavily restored 14th century piscina, which may be found in the chancel's south wall).

Governance

Horncastle

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

is part of the South Wolds Group of Churches, which was inaugurated by Bishop John of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

during a service in St Mary's Horncastle on 7 November 2010. This benefice is sub divided into three groups: * The Asterby Group; * The Hemingby Group; and * The Horncastle Group.

Past clergy of note

These include: *

John Langton John Langton (died 1337) was a chancellor of England and Bishop of Chichester. Life Langton was a clerk in the royal chancery, serving as the first Master of the Rolls from May 1286, and became chancellor in 1292.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of B ...

, later

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

Simon Islip Simon Islip (died 1366) was an English prelate. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury between 1349 and 1366. Early life Islip was the uncle of William Whittlesey. He was a cousin of Walter de Islip, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer:Ball, F. ...

, Rector, later Archbishop of Canterbury * John Rouceby (murdered 1388) * William Strickland, later Bishop of Carlisle * Joseph Robertson, Vicar 1779- * Sidney Clarke, Asst Curate, later Chaplain-in-Chief of the RAF

Monuments and burials

* Sir Ingram Hopton * Sir Lionel Dymoke * Jane Dymoke * Sarah Sellwood, niece of

Sir John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

and mother of Emily who married

Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

References

External links

* Website for Catholics http://www.catholicchurchwoodhallspa.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Horncastle, St. Mary's Grade II* listed churches in Lincolnshire Church of England church buildings in Lincolnshire St Mary's Church Ewan Christian buildings