St Matthew's Church is a de-consecrated church in Normanton, Rutland. 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 E ...

. The building is

Grade II listed 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, H ...

. Church of St Matthew, Normanton

History

The church was built in classical style for the Normanton Hall 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. A new classical tower and the western portico were built by Thomas Cundy junior between 1826 and 1829, based on the design of

St John's, Smith Square Smith Square Hall (formerly St John's Smith Square) is a concert hall in the centre of Smith Square, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. Its name was changed by its current operator, Sinfonia Smith Square, in 2024. Originally a church, ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

; 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 Services Limited is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment to the area formerly ...

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, historical ...

of family members of the Earls of Ancaster were moved in 1972 to St Michael's, Edenham, the parish church of the Grimsthorpe Castle 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 c.1170 but the tower was built two centuries later. The northern aisle in the chancel is used as a sacristy, ...

References

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