St. Swithin's Church, Lincoln is a

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 I ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

located in St Swithin's Square, Lincoln, England.The Buildings of England. Lincolnshire. Nikolaus Pevsner. 1989 The congregation is still active as is the church but the building has been closed due to repairs being needed to the roof of the church.

History

The original church of St Swithin, was near the Sheep Market. It suffered a bad fire in 1644 during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

. It was rebuilt in stone in 1801. This was replaced with a new building on Sheep Square. The foundation stone was laid on Easter Day 1869 by the

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

Christopher Wordsworth Christopher Wordsworth (30 October 180720 March 1885) was an English intellectual and a bishop of the Anglican Church. Life Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity, who was the youngest b ...

. The mathematician

George Boole George Boole (; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher, and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in ...

was christened in the earlier church on 3rd November 1815. He had a close association with the church whose Rector, Rev. Dickson, encouraged him in his mathematics. The church was built to designs of the architect, James Fowler of Louth and financed by Alfred Shuttleworth, a Lincoln industrialist. The nave and aisles were built between 1869 and 1871, the chancel was completed in 1879, and the construction of the tower and spire took place between 1884 and 1887.

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, '' The Buildings of England'' ...

described the church as "without doubt his (James Fowler's) most important church." During the construction a Roman altar was discovered. The church contains a west window which was made by A L Moore & Co. The church was listed as Grade II* in 1973.

Present day

In October 2014, St Swithin's Church was relaunched, at the invitation of the

, by a

planting Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

team from Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in the Diocese of London led by Revd Jim Prestwood. The original church building is closed. The church now meets in person at the Salthouse in Free School Lane (the former Co-op Ballroom) at 9.15am, 10.15am and 6:15pm each Sunday. Although it is hoped that the church could be reopened for worship in the future, should funding be found and it being feasible.

Organ

Details of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Organists

* John Pullein 1896–1903 * A. A. Osborne 1903–1917 * Gerald Conran Hodgson 1917–1937 * Michael Boltz 2010–2014

Bells

A single bell of 3 cwt and 21 pounds was supplied in 1851, cast by Messrs Mears. It is currently described as unringable.

References

External links

Genealogy wez site - summary page about Lincoln Churches
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Swithin's Church, Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Churches in Lincoln, England Lincoln Holy Trinity Brompton plants Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom