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Eastern england

Boston and the Lincolnshire FensFar-reaching, flat landscapes and church towers complement each other brilliantly. The partnership is nowhere more exciting than in the Lincolnshire fens, where just the generous distribution and astonishing dimensions of the stone spires often defy superlatives – to say nothing of the sheer magnificence of so many individual examples, all with a backdrop of wide, limitless skies.

Boston St Botolph

Why visit: Huge 14th-century church with iconic Perpendicular lantern tower Where: Off Church Lane, north of the Market Place in the centre of Boston, PE22 9EP

It is unfortunate that the ungainly name of ‘Boston Stump’ has been forever linked with the majestically proportioned tower of this vast parish church. The building harks back to Boston’s glory days as England’s second most important port, the gateway to European markets for wool and other medieval merchandise. In fact, the town’s prosperity had already passed its peak by the time of the tower’s completion in about 1520. However, by then a project to enlarge the chancel of the 14th-century Decorated building had already made this the largest parish church in England.

Externally, the church has changed little since that time. Today its glorious Perpendicular tower is still the tallest parish church tower in England, dominating town, country and even inshore waters. In 2009 St Botolph’s celebrated the 700th anniversary of the founding of the present church.

Later work inside the church included rebuilding the chancel vault in the 18th century and installing an east window in the 19th. A Victorian restoration opened up the inside of the tower: a remarkable sight if you look up at the soaring vault above. The ornate font was designed and donated by E.W. Pugin, son of the eminent architect A.W.N. Pugin, in 1853.

Other treasures of the church include fine 14th-century carvings, including an amazing collection of 62 late 14th-century misericords with vivid and (as is often the case) sometimes positively unholy scenes. These include one of a choirboy being birched and using a book to shield himself, and another of an ox dressed as a bishop. A more recent quirky

Algarkirk St Peter and St Paul

Why visit: Imposing medieval church with colourful Victorianised interior Where: Church Lane, PE20 2HH

Looking like a cathedral in miniature, St Peter and St Paul’s sits very grandly in the flat landscape, with its battlements and a row of great Perpendicular clerestory windows. These extend to the transepts, which have aisles as in the nave. Evidence of a Saxon church has been found here, and some Norman work survives. The present building dates from the 13th to the 15th centuries and was sensitively restored in 1854 so that medieval and Victorian work are not

Brant Broughton St Helen

Why visit: Steeple; medieval porch carvings; Victorian chancel Where: Church Walk, at the southern end of the village, north of the A17 between Newark and Sleaford, LN5 0SN

Generally agreed to be one of the finest churches in Lincolnshire, St Helen’s was already in the front rank before the Victorian architect G.F. Bodley added a sumptuous chancel (with painted vault and lavishly gilded reredos), in his late 19th-century restoration. Bodley worked closely with the rector of the time, Canon F. Sutton, who was sufficiently hands-on to have made the stained glass

detail is a 20th-century roof boss depicting a white elephant, in recognition of the bric-a-brac stall held to help raise money for restoring the roof.

The church has a famous library of 1,600 historic books, most of which date from the 16th and 17th centuries but also includes a 12th-century manuscript. Open days are held a few times each year, but the library is not normally accessible.

always easy to tell apart. The glass and most of the furnishings and fittings, however, are unmistakably Victorian or later. The tower is 13th-century, with a short leadwork-covered spire of 1850. There are medieval stone effigies, including one of a priest. A stone in the churchyard is reputed to mark the grave of the Mercian earl, Algar, after who the village is named. He is said to have died in battle in 870.

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Boston and the Lincolnshire Fens

Grantham St Wulfram

Why visit: Elegant steeple Where: Church Street, NG31 6RR

St Wulfram’s slender and graceful spire, distinctively flanked by its four spirelets, would very likely have been the tallest in England when it was built in 1280–1300, and it is still one of the most elegant. This was clearly a church of importance by that time, and the pillars in the eastern part of the nave survive from a Norman cruciform church. Successive centuries, with their differing styles of Gothic, have left their imprint. These include 13th-century windows and doorway in the north aisle, fluid tracery of the 14th century in the windows of the Lady Chapel and a crypt of the same period. There is Perpendicular work of the 1480s in the 15th-century Corpus Christi Chapel and a lovely 15th-century font. The church has essentially changed little since that time. Don’t miss the gargoyles and corbels on the exterior – a gallery of

Heckington St Andrew

Why visit: Exceptional stonecarvingWhere: Jermyn Street, in the centre of the village, off the A17 east of Sleaford, NG34 9JU

A visit to see this masterpiece of the Decorated style is an exceptional experience. There is much to enjoy, from the window tracery (note especially the seven-light east window and that of the south transept) to the crocketed pinnacles, niches and parapets.

Outstanding carvings are everywhere, including a collection of 14th-century figurative work. It adorns the south front and porch, inside and out, and even the tower, with dozens of statues. Inside the church the chief treasures are in the chancel, where yet more carving demands careful attention: this time in the form of a piscina, three-seat sedilia and a rare Easter sepulchre. The tomb recess is of Richard de Potesgrave, the 14th-century rector of Heckington, who was responsible for all this amazing work.

Tattershall Holy Trinity

Why visit: Fine Perpendicular church Where: Sleaford Road (A153), LN4 4LR

Sharing the limelight with Tattershall Castle is Lincolnshire’s grandest Perpendicular church, a collegiate foundation of the mid-15th century. Church and castle are all of a piece, along with the remains of what was once the college – a trio of buildings that were the brainchild of Ralph (Lord) Cromwell, who was Chancellor to Henry VI. He died before the church was completed, so the rest of the work was supervised by the Bishop of Winchester.

The church is very large, and all in the Perpendicular style, and so flooded with light from enormous windows. The original conception for the church was that all the windows should be filled with brightly coloured stained glass, and so they were until the 18th century, when a vicar suggested that the stained glass be removed and replaced with clear. By 1754 all the stained glass was gone. At this point there was a misunderstanding or dispute over how much the new, clear glass would cost, with the result that the chancel windows were left with no glass and other windows were bricked up.

Today, some of the original stained glass can still be seen in the east window and consists of tantalising fragments.

Opposite page: Inside the tallest parish church tower in England at Boston.This page: St Wulfram’s steeple, Grantham (left); intricate stonework decorating St Andrew’s, Heckington (centre).

himself. His nephew, who followed him as rector, installed the beautifully painted font cover in his memory, in 1889.

The two richly embellished, stone-vaulted porches of the 14th century are among the best medieval features of the church, each one a gallery of spirited carvings that range from daily life (including its seamier side) to the pious and the fantastical. In this remarkable area of Lincolnshire, it almost goes without saying that the lofty 14th-century spire is also magnificent, with spire and spirelets alike generously crocketed at every angle.

medieval face-pulling. The chained library of 1598 is still in its original room above the south porch. Founded by Francis Trigge, a far-sighted clergyman of the time, it was the first public reference library in the country.

Sleaford St Denys

Why visit: Rood screen, window tracery Where: Market Place, NG34 7SH

On the east side of the market place, St Denys is surrounded by fine old buildings from many periods, including the 16th-century half-timbered vicarage.

The church’s west front is magnificent, with delicately traceried windows and crocketed pinnacles framing the tower and its broach spire. The spire is one of the earliest of its type, dating from the early 13th century. The window tracery throughout the church is superb.

The interior of the church is dominated by its rood screen. The base of this is original medieval work, but the rest, with angels, saints and Christ on the Cross is by Sir Ninian Comper and dates from the early 20th century. It is flanked by two monuments, one from the late 16th century and one from about 1618.