St Botolph's Church, Skidbrooke
Encyclopedia
St Botolph's Church, Skidbrooke, is a redundant
Anglican
church near the village of Skidbrooke, Lincolnshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. It stands in an isolated position in the Lincolnshire marshlands, about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Louth
, and to the west of the A1031 road.
and brick with some rendering
. The roofs are in slate
, with stone coped
gable
s. Brick is used on the parapet
s of the aisle
, the east gable of the nave
, and on the eaves
of the clerestory
. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory and north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel
and a west tower. The tower stands on a moulded
plinth
and is supported by stepped angle buttress
es. It has a west doorway with a pointed arch, above which is a window with three ogee
-headed lights. A moulded string course separates the two stages. In the upper stage are two-light windows on the north, west and south sides, and above these is a two-light bell opening on each side. The parapet is battlement
ed, with gargoyle
s and plain pinnacle
s on the corners. On the gables at the east ends of the nave and the chancel is a cross finial
. Along the north wall of the north aisle are four gabled buttresses dividing it into three bays
. The central bay contains a 13th-century doorway with a pointed head, and in each lateral bay is a three-light window. The east end of the aisle has a four-light window and two buttresses. The clerestory has four three-light windows on both north and south faces. On the north side of the chancel is a three-light window and a brick buttress. The east window of the chancel is large, with five lights. On the south wall of the chancel are two three-light windows, a blocked doorway, and a buttress. There are more three-light windows, one in the east wall, and two in the south wall of the south aisle. The south porch is gabled, and to its west is another three-light window.
date from the early 13th century. The piers
are octagonal, carried on tall octagonal plinths. The capitals
of the north arcade are plain; three of the four capitals in the south arcade are carved with a variety of motifs. In the north wall of the chancel is an aumbry
, and in the south wall are a piscina
and a damaged sedilia
. On each side of the east window is a large grotesque corbel
painted white. In the chancel floor is the gravestone of a vicar of he church who died in 1413, and in the nave floor are two further gravestones with dates in the 18th century. The south aisle contains another grotesque corbel stone. The font
dates from the early 13th century and consists of an octagonal bowl on an octagonal base. Also in the church are monuments dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
, in the church.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church near the village of Skidbrooke, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. It stands in an isolated position in the Lincolnshire marshlands, about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
, and to the west of the A1031 road.
History
The church dates from the early 13th century, with alterations and additions in the 14th and 15th centuries, in 1854 and 1871, and during the 20th century. It was declared redundant in November 1973.Exterior
St Botolph's is constructed in limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and brick with some rendering
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
. The roofs are in slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, with stone coped
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s. Brick is used on the parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s of the aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
, the east gable of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, and on the eaves
Eaves
The eaves of a roof are its lower edges. They usually project beyond the walls of the building to carry rain water away.-Etymology:"Eaves" is derived from Old English and is both the singular and plural form of the word.- Function :...
of the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory and north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and a west tower. The tower stands on a moulded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
and is supported by stepped angle buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. It has a west doorway with a pointed arch, above which is a window with three ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
-headed lights. A moulded string course separates the two stages. In the upper stage are two-light windows on the north, west and south sides, and above these is a two-light bell opening on each side. The parapet is battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed, with gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s and plain pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s on the corners. On the gables at the east ends of the nave and the chancel is a cross finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
. Along the north wall of the north aisle are four gabled buttresses dividing it into three bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The central bay contains a 13th-century doorway with a pointed head, and in each lateral bay is a three-light window. The east end of the aisle has a four-light window and two buttresses. The clerestory has four three-light windows on both north and south faces. On the north side of the chancel is a three-light window and a brick buttress. The east window of the chancel is large, with five lights. On the south wall of the chancel are two three-light windows, a blocked doorway, and a buttress. There are more three-light windows, one in the east wall, and two in the south wall of the south aisle. The south porch is gabled, and to its west is another three-light window.
Interior
The four-bay arcadesArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
date from the early 13th century. The piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
are octagonal, carried on tall octagonal plinths. The capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
of the north arcade are plain; three of the four capitals in the south arcade are carved with a variety of motifs. In the north wall of the chancel is an aumbry
Aumbry
In the Middle Ages an aumbry was a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels, as well as for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. This latter use was infrequent in pre-Reformation churches,...
, and in the south wall are a piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
and a damaged sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
. On each side of the east window is a large grotesque corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
painted white. In the chancel floor is the gravestone of a vicar of he church who died in 1413, and in the nave floor are two further gravestones with dates in the 18th century. The south aisle contains another grotesque corbel stone. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
dates from the early 13th century and consists of an octagonal bowl on an octagonal base. Also in the church are monuments dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Paranormal activity
There have been reports of ghosts, and of activity by satanistsSatanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
, in the church.