St Matthew's Church is a de-consecrated church in

Normanton, Rutland Normanton is a village and civil parish on the eastern shore of Rutland Water in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population remained less than 100 at the 2011 census and was included in the civil parish of Edith Weston. ...

. It is now on the shore of

Rutland Water Rutland Water is a reservoir in Rutland, England, east of Rutland's county town, Oakham. It is filled by pumping from the River Nene and River Welland, and provides water to the East Midlands. By surface area it is the largest reservoir in En ...

. The building is

Grade II listed 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 ...

. Church of St Matthew, Normanton

History

The church was built in classical style for the

Normanton Hall Normanton Hall was a large, now demolished, country house at Normanton in Rutland. History Normanton was the possession of the De Normanvilles for fourteen generations following the Norman Conquest. The estate then passed in 1446 to Alice Basin ...

estate on the site of a 14th-century building. Except for the tower, the medieval church was rebuilt in 1764 by

Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 3rd Baronet Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 3rd Baronet (died 2 November 1785) of Normanton Park, Rutland was a British Member of Parliament. Heathcote was the son of Sir John Heathcote, 2nd Baronet, and Bridget, daughter of Thomas White and was educated at Quee ...

. A new classical tower and the western portico were built by

Thomas Cundy junior Thomas Cundy the younger (1790 – 15 July 1867) was an English architect, son of another architect of the same name. He joined his father's practice and ultimately succeeded his father as surveyor of the Grosvenor Estate, and held the posit ...

between 1826 and 1829, based on the design of

St John's, Smith Square St John's Smith Square is a redundant church in the centre of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored as a concert hall. This Grade I listed churc ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

; the nave and apse were constructed in 1911, by J. B. Gridley of London. The church was de-consecrated in 1970, and was to have been demolished as part of the reservoir construction, as its floor was below the proposed water level. Following a public outcry, the lower half was filled with stone and rubble, and a concrete cap constructed just below the level of the windows. An embankment was built around the church leaving it a prominent feature on the water's edge. The structure is owned by

Anglian Water Anglian Water is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial Water privatisation in England and Wales, privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment ...

and is now used as a venue for civil weddings and concerts. It formerly housed a museum recording the history of Rutland Water. Seven

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

of family members of the Earls of Ancaster were moved in 1972 to St Michael's,

Edenham Edenham ( ) is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Bourne, and on the A151 road. While the civil parish is called 'Edenham', the parish council is called Edenham ...

, the parish church of the

Grimsthorpe Castle Grimsthorpe Castle is a country house in Lincolnshire, England north-west of Bourne on the A151. It lies within a 3,000 acre (12 km2) park of rolling pastures, lakes, and woodland landscaped by Capability Brown. While Grimsthorpe is not ...

estate in Lincolnshire. Other monuments, gravestones and burials were moved to the

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Edith Weston The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a church in Edith Weston, Rutland. It is a Grade I listed building. History The church was built in c1170 but the tower was built two centuries later. The northern aisle in the chancel is used as a vestry and ...

References

Normanton Normanton {{England-church-stub