A Pretty Thatched Church

...is what the Bishop reported, when he visited the Augustinian Priory which used to stand on this site. It was dissolved in 1534 and the stone was used to build the pretty little church of St Peter. The bell is said to be the refectory bell from the priory.

Just Click to Enlarge!

As you can see, it is thatched. One of only a few left in the country and the only thatched church in Lincolnshire. When it was built in 1611 it had a tiled roof, but in 1672 a Church Warden (Richard White) thatched it, and took the tiles as payment. I don't know why that happened, perhaps the roof tiles were leaking - or perhaps he was simply an early wheeler-dealer!

1898 view of interior, English Heritage

By the late 19th century the church was in a very dilapidated and run down state so a corrugated iron church was built nearby... and the old church was used only for funerals or the occasional wedding. By 1962 the corrugated church was also in a poor state of repairs, so they finally decided to renovate St Peter's Church.

It is a very small church set nicely back off the road. The site is well sheltered and screened and there are the remains of a moat around part of the site, probably part of the original priory.

The sun was shining as I made my way to the door - it is a quite plain door,

which shows the wear and tear of many years, lovely. I like the very simple ironwork too.

So, it was with a tingle of anticipation and delight that I turned the door handle...to find I was greeted by

this rather less than beautiful interior. It is having all manner of renovation work done to it, not all, I fear is sympathetic. We can only wait to see what happens, I hope it turns out to be a minimally invasive renovation. I'll keep you posted.