Building record MLI82768 - St Denys' church and churchyard

Summary

St Denys' church and churchyard

Type and Period (3)

  • (Restored in 1911, Medieval to Modern - 1100 AD? to 2050 AD)
  • (Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD? to 2050 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 800 AD? to 1100 AD?)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

PRN 62260 It is suggested that there was a high status pre-Conquest church in Kirkby la Thorpe, due to the place-name and the pesence of Saxon sculpture. The 'kirk' element of the name is normally that given by the Danes to villages in which the Danes found a church on their arrival, which suggests that there was an important pre-Conquest church in Kirkby. A grave cover of the mid tenth to early eleventh century is located in the west face of the west tower of the present church. {1}{2} In the Domesday Book half a church is mentioned in entries for both Kirkby and Laythorpe (PRNs 60571 and 63683). It is thought that these are the two halves of St Denys. Ownership of the church was split in two throughout the medieval period. {6}{7} St Denys' comprises west tower, nave and north aisle, and chancel. The south doorway is Norman in date, although restored. The four-bay arcade is Transitional, while the west tower west window is Decorated, as are those of the north aisle. The chancel was rebuilt in 1854 in the Early English style, with a Transitional priest's doorway. Restoration took place in 1911 by C H Fowler. There are two fonts (as Kirkby la Thorpe originally had two churches), both octagonal and Perpendicular. {3} The south wall of the chancel contains a piscina. 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. {4} Stained glass in this church dates to the 14th-15th centuries, some dated specifically to about 1340-63 AD. {5} Two fragments of an Anglo-Saxon cross are built into the west face of the church tower. {9}{10}{14} These Anglo-Saxon stones have been interpreted recently as fragments of 10th - 11th century grave-covers. Another, unlocated, grave-cover is mentioned. {13} The history and incumbents of this church are discussed by Trollope, who claims that the dedication was originally St. Dionysius or Denis. {11}

Sources/Archives (15)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: Paul Everson and David Stocker. 1999. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture: Volume 5 - Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire. page 74.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Kenneth Cameron. 1998. A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names. page 74.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p. 416.
  •  Index: Department of the Environment. 1988. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 2/77; 249.001.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Penny Hebgin-Barnes. 1996. The Medieval Stained Glass of the County of Lincolnshire. pp. 149-50.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: C.W. Foster and T. Longley. 1924. Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey. 1/1; 26/30.
  •  Unpublished Document: Roffe, D.. 2000. The lost settlement of Burg refound?. -.
  •  Article in Serial: D.S. Davies and A.W. Clapham. 1926. 'Pre-Conquest Carved Stones in Lincolnshire' in the Archaeological Journal. VOL33 (2nd Series) p14.
  •  Index: Kirkby la Thorpe SMR cards. KIRKBY LA THORPE. TF 04 NE: CL.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Kirkby la Thorpe OS card index. KIRKBY LA THORPE. TF 04 NE: 5, 16.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Rev. Edward Trollope. 1872. Sleaford and the Wapentakes of Flaxwell and Aswardhurn in the County of Lincoln. pp 416-18.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire (Second Edition). pp 547-48.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Paul Everson and David Stocker. 1999. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture: Volume 5 - Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire. p 191; Appendix C, p 302.
  •  Index: NORTH KESTEVEN RECORDS. KIRKBY LA THORPE. NK 34.50.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Yerburgh, Dr Richard. 1825. Sketches Illustrative of the Topography and History of New and Old Sleaford. pp 269-72.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 0990 4606 (49m by 72m)
Civil Parish KIRKBY LA THORPE, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Dec 6 2023 10:31AM

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