BURTON OVERY : CHURCH OF ST ANDREW

Church Post Code LE8 9DB

Open to visitors

Much of my travelling during 2020 and the first part of 2021 was spent in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, looking at slate gravestones. The country was suffering greatly with covid 19. Churches were allowed to be open for private prayer from mid June 2020 and open for organised worship from early July. In truth though, few were open!

We travelled when we were allowed to travel and it was an ideal time to concentrate more on the church grounds. We did find a few churches open though; with one of these being the church of St Andrew at Burton Overy.

The village, which recorded a population of 305 at the time of the census of 2021, can be found a little to the east of the A6 which heads from Market Harborough towards Leicester. The centre of Leicester is some eight miles away to the north west with Market Harborough around 12 miles off to the south east. This pleasant Leicestershire village dates back to Saxon times and was mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086; and is a little curious in design, long and narrow and pointing off in a north easterly direction! The church of St Andrew can be found to the north of the village, alongside the main road which runs through the village.

On an afternoon of vastly changeable weather conditions these two photographs were taken within ten minutes or so of each other. Another ten minutes after that it was pouring down with rain!

It was an afternoon of contrasting weather; bright sunshine on arrival; cloud building and heavy rain on departure all within the space of half an hour! The church that we see today consists of west tower, nave with north aisle and clerestory, south porch, north chapel and chancel.

The oldest part of the structure that we see today is the tower which dates from the late 13th to early 14th centuries. The rest of the church dates from the 14th to 15th centuries, with the church being restored between 1864 and 1868.

Taking a look at the church from the south the west tower is of three stages. It is battered and bruised with much signs of patching up over the years. There used to be a steeple here with a request made in 1706 to remove the steeple due to its poor condition. This was done, after a wait of more than half a century, with the tower being repaired at that time. The tower is battlemented with church clock in the traditional colours of blue and gold attached to the south wall. Interestingly the tower here is built without buttresses but at some point it has been tied in with iron bands.

The visitor enters in through the south porch, which has crocketed pinnacles; a grotesque figure looking out from the foot of each.

With no south aisle there is no clerestory to the south; with two tall square headed 14th century windows against the south wall of the nave, with two more continuing on in to the south wall of the chancel. The clerestory to the north is of three small two light windows. To be fair the north side isn’t going to win any architectural awards with more evidence of patching up over the years.

The north chapel dates from the late 15th century; a real statement piece which stands proudly above the roof of the north aisle. The view of the church from the east is impressive, with a fine five light window at the east end of the chancel with similar north chapel window alongside.

There are three bells in the ring here, which were looked at by Thomas North, whose study of the church bells in Leicestershire was published in 1876. He noted three bells, all of which were cast by Hugh II Watts from his foundry at Leicester.

The first of the ring was cast in 1632 and has the inscription ‘CVM SONO SI NON VIS VENIRE NVNQVAM AD PRECES CUPIES IRE’ which translates as ‘If you are unwilling to come when I call you to prayers you will never desire to go at all’.

The second and third were identical; cast by Watts in 1616 and each inscribed ‘CELORVM CHRSTE PLATIAT TIBI REX SONVS ISTE’ which reads ‘O Christ King of Heaven may this sound be pleasing to thee’.

The situation today is the same, with the exception of the third of the ring which was recast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1956.