ADDLETHORPE CHURCH

The parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas and is a Grade I listed building dating from the 15th century, being restored in 1875. Both the tower and the font are 15th-century, and the pulpit is early 18th-century.  It lost its chancel in 1706. The churchyard is the lower half of a 14th-century churchyard cross, which is both Grade II listed and a scheduled monument

The church is very significant it has one of the finest collections of surviving medieval timber work in the county and is mentioned in almost all of the past and current research on such material. Some of the most important bits include:

• The early 15th century south door still with its original planted tracery
• The nave queen post roof with angels
• The rood screen (former chancel screen) and the parclose screens in the north and south aisles
• The west tower screen
• Some surviving medieval glass in the north aisle windows
• The pews which include medieval bench ends and some pew backs and seats of the same age which are a rare survival.

Added to this the building itself is very interesting too given its history and development as well as the loss of the chancel in 1706. Another important fact is that it is constructed from limestone ashlar – blocks of limestone accurately cut and finely jointed which is an expensive form of construction in the middle ages.

The limestone is of the Lincolnshire type none of which is particularly local and is likely to have been brought to Addlethorpe via the river network and the coast as this was the most economic method of transporting large quantities of limestone. Ashlar and limestone both demonstrate the church had wealthy patronage which may also explain the significance and high quality of its interior fittings and fixtures.

On that basis alone the church is perfect for heritage tourism - there is also the potential for the church to be part of a heritage trail. Other nearby churches which could be included in this are Ingoldmells, Winthorpe and perhaps Croft. Grant funding may be available to help set up a heritage trail and these days you don’t necessarily need interpretation boards as technology such as Info-points are available. See  https://info-point.com/products/info-point/ This is a self-contained unit which does not need an internet connection and the content is what you choose to put on it. A number of our churches have these now including one at Long Bennington which is part of a wider village trail.