Читать книгу Records, Historical and Antiquarian, of Parishes Round Horncastle онлайн

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“I, sweetly tolling, men do call,

To taste our meats that feede the soole.”

This old bell is a very fine one, and is named among the “Bells of Lincolnshire.”

Of the church itself, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, it may be said that it has had its peculiar vicissitudes. It was built probably by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; as the flamboyant style of its architecture indicates a late 14th century erection; and he was granted the manor in that century (1363). Many of our finest churches, such as those of Boston, Grantham, Heckington, &c., were built in that century. This of Bolingbroke is one of the latest of them, corresponding most closely in style and date to the Church of Kyme Priory; but it is certainly not one of the least striking. We now see in it only a portion of the original, namely, the south aisle, porch, and tower. It was occupied as head quarters by the Parliamentary troops in 1643, while they were laying siege to the castle, which was held for the King; and, with their usual puritan hatred of holy places, they destroyed the beautiful stained glass which adorned the windows; while, further, their presence there drew upon the building heavy bombardment by the King’s men, no less destructive to the edifice itself. Since that time, the original south aisle has been used as the main body of the church; and until recently, the arches of the arcade, formerly dividing it from the original nave, were distinctly visible, built up in the (later) north wall; while the tower, originally standing at the west end of the nave, became (in consequence of the destruction of the latter, semi-detached from the later south aisle) church, at its north-west angle. The church was restored in 1889, through the munificence of Mr. C. S. Dickinson, of Lincoln, at a cost of £3,000; the architect being the late Mr. James Fowler; and it was re-opened by the Bishop on Oct. 10th of that year; the old disfiguring galleries having been removed, and new battlements and pinnacles being added to the tower; and a new north aisle being erected, extending eastward from the tower; the original south aisle being still retained as a modern nave, re-seated, and re-furnished in every respect; and a new organ added, with various improvements. As to the result, we cannot do better than quote some of the observations of the late Precentor Venables, made by him on the visit of the Lincolnshire Architectural Society in 1894. [28] He described it as “a building of great stateliness, the proportions being excellent, and in its general design and architectural details, presenting a specimen of the decorated style in its greatest purity and beauty; the windows are almost faultless examples of flowing tracery in its early purity. The east window has five lights, with quatrefoil window in the gable above; the west window four lights; and the side windows three lights each; all excellent. The south porch has a well-proportioned inner door with good moulding; there being an open quatrefoil over the door. In its east corner there is a very sumptuous holy water stoup of unusual design, surmounted by a tall canopy of great richness. There is a statue bracket over the door, and one at the side. The recently opened arcade on the north side of nave is composed of fine equilateral arches, with mouldings continuous from their bases, without the intervention of capitals. On the south wall of the present chancel is a range of three rich, though rather heavy, stone sedilia, with projecting canopies over-braided with wall-flowers, and groined within Traces of canopied niches of similar design to the sedilia, are visible on each side of the east window. The piscina, with projecting basin, is plain.”