St. Mary's Church,

Horncastle, Lincolnshire Horncastle is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, England. It is 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 rem ...

, England, dates from the early 13th century and is dedicated to

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. It serves the

Ecclesiastical Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Horncastle Horncastle is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, England. It is 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 rema ...

and a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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 (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...

between 1859 and 1861.

History

It is thought that a Roman church 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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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 The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 classification of buildings (and nonbuilding structures) based on a set of characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, for ...

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 window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s, with their moulded

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

s. *

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

as evident in the north and south

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

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

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive wikt:refurbish, refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England church (building), churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century Victorian era, re ...

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 of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

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 influences (such as the heavily restored 14th-century

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

(a basin for washing communion vessels), which may be found in the chancel's south wall).

Governance

Horncastle

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

is part of the South Wolds Group of Churches, which was inaugurated by Bishop John of Lincoln during a service in St Mary's Horncastle on 7 November 2010. This

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

is sub divided into three groups: * The Asterby Group; * The Hemingby Group; and * The Horncastle Group.

Past clergy of note

These include: * John Langton, later

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East Sussex, East and West Sussex. The Episcopal see, see is based in t ...

* Simon Islip, Rector, later

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

* John Rouceby (murdered 1388) * William Strickland, later

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The Episcop ...

* Joseph Robertson, Vicar 1779- *

Sidney Clarke Sidney Clarke (October 16, 1831 – June 18, 1909) was a U.S. Representative from Kansas, a Kansas state speaker of the house, and an Oklahoma territorial legislator. He was a part of the Oklahoma statehood movement. Early life Born in Southbri ...

, 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, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and thro ...

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 ...

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