Building record MLI22383 - Church and churchyard of St Mary and St Nicolas, Church Street, Spalding

Summary

Church and churchyard of St Mary and St Nicolas, Church Street, Spalding

Type and Period (10)

  • (Medieval to Modern - 1284 AD to 2050 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1284 AD to 1853 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1284 AD? to 1899 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1284 AD? to 1899 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1284 AD? to 1899 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1284 AD? to 1899 AD)
  • (Undated)
  • (Undated)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1470 AD to 1699 AD)
  • (Post Medieval - 1800 AD? to 1880 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

PRN 22383 The church of St Mary and St Nicolas was begun in about 1284 by the Prior of Spalding. The fabric is early Decorated and Perpendicular, rebuilt and restored. It was built on the site of the Norman cemetery chapel of St Thomas a Becket. The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin and Guild of St Thomas the Martyr at the east end of the south transept was founded in 1315 as a chantry. At the Reformation it came to the Crown. In the 19th century it was still in use as a free grammar school, founded in 1588.{1} The chancel covers the greater portion of the site of a cemetery chapel of St Thomas the Martyr that stood here before the building of the church about 1284. The very rough and irregular masonry in the east wall, up to the sill of the east window is believed to be the lower portion of the east wall of the chapel utilised for the new building.{1} A mortuary chapel dedicated to St Thomas stood on the site of the present church. {4} A watching brief in 1998 on the building of the new vestry recorded features relating to the church and churchyard. The foundations of a Victorian buttress were revealed. A row of rough limestone blocks extended southwards from the base of this buttress; it is uncertain whether the blocks continue on the same line beyond the buttress, but if they do, this implies that they are the footings of an earlier building. Alternatively, they may be deep foundations or the foundations of an earlier buttress if they follow the line of the Victorian foundations. The foundations of the south transept were revealed to be stepped in two stages. Thirty-five burials and a quantity of disarticulated bone were recorded in four areas of the churchyard, dating from the twelfth to the nineteenth century. Grave cuts were generally hard to distinguish, although coffin remains were noted in several graves. Three alignments of graves were noted, thought to relate to different periods of use. A vault containing a lead-lined coffin was also recorded. It was observed that there were no graves by the wall of St Thomas's chapel, implying that the burials are later than the construction of the chapel. Therefore this part of the churchyard cannot have been in use before 1315.{5}{6} A watching brief in 1998 on a sewer trench recorded thirteen burials and a large quantity of disarticulated bone dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century. A pit or ditch of uncertain function which dated to the late fifteenth to seventeenth century was also recorded.{6}{7} An archaeological scheme of works was implemented during and following groundworks associated with the construction of a new rectory on land at Halmer Gate, Spalding. The work consisted of an archaeological watching brief (ELI6458) and an examination of dressed stone fragments found scattered on the site. In total 59 fragments of medieval to post medieval date were recorded, some of which were derived from the Church of St Mary and St Nicolas. In particular, the upper section of the church spire was recorded. The remains probably originate from the 14th century, although the capping stone and finial are 17th century in date (these stones display a date of 1636 and at least eight sets of initials). It would appear from church records that the top ten feet of the spire was replaced in 1954, with the removed stone being placed in the rectory gardens. A plain 18th or 19th century grave slab was also recorded.{8}{9} The parish church was built by Prior William de Littleport in about 1284, and there are 14th and 15th century additions. It is cruciform in shape and was built on the site of a Norman chapel, some of which remains. The north chapel was built in 1865-67 during a general restoration by Sir G. G. Scott. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {10} A floor was inserted across the chapel of St Thomas a Becket and the arches blocked to form an upper room which was used as the site of the grammar school between the early 19th century and 1881, when the current grammar school buildings were erected. {12}

Sources/Archives (12)

  •  Index: OS CARD INDEX. SPALDING. TF 22 SE:1,1965, D.A..
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). -.
  •  Index: SMR FILE. SPALDING. TF 22 SE:U,1979, AMBROSE, T.M..
  •  Article in Monograph: Sylvia J. Hallam. 1970. ‘Settlement around the Wash’ in The Fenland in Roman Times. GAZETEER P 286.
  •  Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Sept 1998. The Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Spalding. SPC98.
  •  Archive: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Sept 1998. The Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Spalding. LCNCC 201.98.
  •  Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Nov 1998. The Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Spalding. SPC98.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Mar 2005. Archaeological Watching Brief at the New Rectory, Land off Halmer Gate, Spalding. HGSP03.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Mar 2005. Archaeological Watching Brief at the New Rectory, Land off Halmer Gate, Spalding. LCNCC 2004.160.
  •  Index: Department of the Environment. 1975. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 1/44.
  •  Report: South Holland District Council. 2007. Spalding Conservation Area Appraisal. Church and Church Street character area.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Elsden, Michael J. 1986. Aspects of Spalding 1790-1930. p.50.

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Grid reference Centred TF 2502 2241 (124m by 126m)
Civil Parish SPALDING, SOUTH HOLLAND, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (2)

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Record last edited

Aug 10 2023 11:33AM

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