Monument record MLI82764 - St Andrew's church and churchyard, Heckington

Summary

St Andrew's church and churchyard, Heckington

Type and Period (6)

  • (Restored in 1867 and 1887-8, Medieval to Modern - 1307 AD? to 2050 AD)
  • (Medieval to Modern - 1307 AD? to 2050 AD)
  • ? (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD to 1699 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD to 1699 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1300 AD to 1699 AD)
  • (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

St Andrew's is built of Ancaster stone and is 164ft in length, with a spire of c.185ft high. The church is mostly Decorated in style, though certain details in the north transept and north aisle are suggestive of earlier activity. The tower has a broach spire with pinnacles; the clerestorey is tall with three-light windows. The south porch has an Early English internal doorway, while the north porch doorway is Decorated. There appears to be an extra bay to the north and south aisles, placed between the north and south transepts and the chancel, containing the spirelets of the rood-stair turrets. The seven-light east window contains 'one of England's greatest displays of flowing tracery'. Internally, the arcades are of four bays; the south transept contains sedilia. The long chancel has piscina, sedilia, Easter Sepulchre and a tomb recess. A chantry in the church was founded by Richard de Potesgrave, rector from 1308-1345, in 1328 and the chancel was rebuilt c.1333. The font is a six-sided Decorated bowl-and-stem font; a tiled floor dates from James Fowler's restoration of the chancel and spire in 1888. Charles Kirk's restoration took place in 1867. Stained glass in the east window dates to 1897 by T F Curtis of Ward and Hughes, with a Te Deum in the main lights, and a Benedicite in the tracery. Other stained glass work was done by A L & C E Moore. {1} The church was restored in 1867 by Kirk and Parry, and in 1887-8 by J. Fowler of Louth. Built of limestone ashlar, Westmorland slate and with lead roofs. The tower is of three-stages; the lower north chapel has a crypt beneath. The south transept has a triple sedilia, a piscina and an aumbry. The chancel has a triple sedilia, a double piscina, an Easter Sepulchre ('one of the most celebrated English examples') and the builder's tomb (Richard de Potesgrave). 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. {2} Stained glass in this church dates to c.1300-50 AD and has been removed. It was awaiting conservation at the time of publication. {3} It is thought that the major churches of Newark, Sleaford and Heckington developed from each other as a result of a single lodge of masons working in the area before its dissemination in about 1335 to a variety of minor buildings. There is evidence to suggest that the influence of Heckington was very strong in south and east Lincolnshire from about 1325 to 1345, and that it was the centre of a great deal of building work in the region. {4}{5}{6}{7} During archaeological monitoring and recording of the excavation of drainage trenches at St Andrews Church in October 2012 undated, medieval and post medieval deposits were recorded. Two ditches and a posthole were excavated. These features were sealed by a dumped deposit which contained a fragment of 14th to 17th century floor tile which suggests that the features probably date from the medieval period. The deposit was then sealed by a path which was again sealed by another path, probably 19th century in date due to the presence of a sherd of 19th century bottle glass. Elsewhere the limestone fragments of the churchyard wall, graveyard soil which contained a sherd of late Saxon Stamford ware pottery and a possible pit containing a fragment of 14th to 17th century floor tile was found. Medieval and post medieval pottery, glass and a possible chisel were also found within the topsoil. {8}{9}

Sources/Archives (9)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). pp.375-8.
  •  Index: Department of the Environment. 1988. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 10/52 (220.011).
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Penny Hebgin-Barnes. 1996. The Medieval Stained Glass of the County of Lincolnshire. pp.118-19.
  •  Article in Serial: Wilson. W. D.. 1980. 'The Work of the Heckington Lodge of Masons, 1315-1345' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.15, pp.21-8.
  •  Index: OS CARD INDEX. HECKINGTON. TF 14 SW:11, DA, 1963/1965.
  •  Index: SMR FILE. HECKINGTON. TF 14 SW:N.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Rev. Edward Trollope. 1872. Sleaford and the Wapentakes of Flaxwell and Aswardhurn in the County of Lincoln. pp.389-396.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2012. Archaeological Monitoring and Recording at St Andrew's Church, Heckington. HSAC12.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2012. Archaeological Monitoring and Recording at St Andrew's Church, Heckington. LCNCC 2012.145.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 1430 4412 (83m by 85m) Approximate
Civil Parish HECKINGTON, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Dec 6 2023 10:29AM

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