CROXTON KERRIAL

CHURCH OF ST BOTOLPH & ST JOHN THE BAPTIST.

Probably a lifetime together and the two passed on within eight days of each other. Disease or a broken heart? No way of telling.

This couple would have been born a few years after the end of the English Civil War and they would have lived through the bubonic plague as it hit the country during the 1660's. What hard times they lived through.

Anyone visiting here might also care to take a look at a wall monument on the exterior east wall of the chancel. This monument is dated to 1711 and also features an angel design; this one though doesn't wear a ruff and is not in slate so it would not be included in any listing.

Church Post Code NG32 1QP

Open to visitors

There is one Vale of Belvoir Angel gravestone in the church grounds at Croxton Kerrial. To be fair it is not the easiest to find.

It is to be found at the west end of the grounds, leaning over at an improbable angle, with some very faded text on the reverse side.

The skull and crossed bones remind the onlooker that Man is mortal and will die. The details on the gravestone are really difficult to make out due to the angle of the stone leaning.

The Heathcote's though were able to note the inscription though, which reads as follows...

'Here lies the bodys of William Hallan and Margarett his wife William departed this life August ye 21st 1719 aged 75 years Margarett departed this life August ye 13th 1719 aged 75 years

SOME NOTES FROM MY VISIT

I made two visits to the church of St Botolph and St John the Baptist at Croxton Kerrial. The first was as part of a week’s long churchcrawl of the area in the spring of 2014 while stopping in Grantham. The second was in the summer of 2022, whilst on a trip out to photograph Belvoir Angel stones for this site. Photographs are mostly; but not entirely, enclosed from that second visit.

First of all the important bit! Evidently the village name is pronounced ‘Croston’, with the ‘X’ turning in to an ‘S’. This became evident when the friendly bed and breakfast owner asked me where I had been that day; looking at me in disbelief as I mispronounced the name!

Croxton Kerrial is a small village that recorded a population of 531, including that of neighbouring Branston, at the time of the 2021 census. The village is set alongside the A607 which connects Grantham to Melton Mowbray. Grantham is seven miles or so away to the north east with Melton ten miles away to the south west.

We are on the edge of the Leicestershire/Lincolnshire border with neighbouring Denton, three miles away to the north east, across the county line in Lincolnshire.

The village was mentioned in the Domesday Survey in 1086, with no church or priest being recorded at that time in lands that were owned by King William. There was a Premonstratensian Abbey here which was founded before 1159 and was dissolved in 1538; with this order being known as the White Cannons due to the white habits that they wore.

The church of St Botolph and St John the Baptist can be found to the north of the A607; set back from that main road a little on slightly raised ground. This is a quiet and peaceful setting with the church surrounded by trees on three sides.

The church that we see today consists of central tower, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch, north vestry and chancel. Much of the church dates from the 14th century but there was a church here before that time and it is thought that the oldest surviving part of the present structure are some Early English arches under the tower.

There was Victorian restoration here between 1866 and 1868; under the guidance of George Gilbert Scott, during which time the church was reroofed, the gallery was removed, the church refitted and re seated, making use of the 15th century poppy heads that we will come to shortly.

When Thomas North had his study of the church bells in Leicestershire printed in 1874 he noted five bells in the ring here. North was really thorough in his work but there was a little less information here so I don’t have a founder for the first two of the ring. The first was cast in 1613 and has the inscription ‘MEROREM MESTIS LETIS SIC LETA SONABO’ which translates as ‘Sadly to the sad to the joyous joyful I will sound’.

The second of the ring is inscribed ‘JESVS BE OVR SPEDE’. Spede is a Middle English word for success so this is a prayer asking Jesus for guidance and prosperity for the church and parish.

The third of the ring is dated around 1529; cast by Richard II Seliok of Nottingham. This is simply inscribed ; AVE MARIA’ ‘Hail Mary’. The fourth was cast by Tobias Norris III of the Stamford Bellfoundry. This has the inscription ‘God Save the King Tobie Norris Cast Me 1674’.

The fifth was cast by Henry Dand of Nottingham who was an active founder between 1558 and 1598. This has the inscription ‘CELORUM CHRISTE PLATIAT IBE REX SONUS ISTE’ which translates as ‘O Christ King of Heaven may this sound be pleasing to you’.

The situation today is a little different; with six bells now in the ring, with a new first of the ring cast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1876. The first of the ring in North’s day was recast by Taylors in 1875 and the second of the ring was recast by the same founded in 1977.

The visitor enter in through the south porch, with a glance upwards showing a more modern statue of St John the Baptist, holding the Agnes Dei, the Lamb of God’ in a more ancient image niche. The church here was open on each occasion that I visited. A funeral bier hangs from the ceiling of the porch which has a painted Bible passage on it; this being from the Gospel of John Chapter 5 verse 28 reads in the Old King James of the day reads ‘The hour is coming in which all who are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth’.

Glancing up’ when entering in through the inner south door, there is a depiction of the Virgin and Child; which was damaged in a fire at one point and was restored during the 19th century. The door itself is a 'humility door' which is arranged so that the visitor has to bow down upon entering. Just to be on the safe side there is a 'Caution Low Door' sign over the top!

Moving inside there are three bay arcades to north and south with octagonal piers and moulded capitals. A wooden doorway to the north of the chancel arch would have led out on to a minstrel’s gallery, which was removed as part of the 1860’s restoration. This is turn would have stood where the rood loft would have stood in pre reformation days.

Moving in to the chancel the altar is plain and simple with just a couple of candle sticks. The altar cloth was white on my first visit; which is the colour used during the Easter season. On my return this had been changed to green which is the liturgical colour used in ‘Ordinary Times’, the time between the major Christian festivals.

The reredos is Victorian and depicts effigies of Moses, John the Baptist, the apostle John and St Botolph; this being flanked by commandment boards, the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed.

There is some interesting graffiti to be seen on the piers here; which could date back to medieval times, with the highlight being a soldier carrying a small shield, a small shield that was used in hand to hand combat. Close by is a depiction of a fish and a single letter ‘W’, which could be two interlocking letter ‘V’ looks to be a Marion Mark, a prayer of protection over the church and the people inside it to the Virgin Mary.

We also have a fine example of a daisy wheel or a haxafoil; similar to the pedalled flower designs that many used to make with a compass as a child. There are contrasting views on what these represent; with some seeing them in a secular sense, seeing these as designs to aid apprentice masons. The other view is that they are an apotropaic mark; designed to ward of evil spirits, which would become attracted to the design and be unable to find their way out through the unbroken lines. On a more personal note ‘EH’ left his or her mark in 1711.

The church here is well known for a fine collection of 15th century poppy head carvings, which as mentioned earlier, were incorporated in to more modern benches during Scott’s restoration. We see eagles and dragons; busts of monks and a noble man out walking his dogs. Close by there is a Maltese cross with a Green Man. There is also one which features the carvings of two women. It is suggested that this might be a depiction of two ladies from Waltham on the Wolds, which is the neighbouring village heading towards Melton Mowbray, who were generous benefactors to the former abbey.

The church grounds are of great interest; and as is often the case, a careful study of the often long epitaphs, carved in to hard wearing slate gravestones shows how short and hard the people’s lives were back in the 18th and 19th centuries.

A beautifully carved gravestone to Mary, the daughter of George and Elizabeth North features an hourglass which is circled by an Ouroboros, a serpent with its tail in its mouth. This was an often used symbol for eternity.

Mary died in 1746 at the age of twenty. This was by no means unusual sadly; with life expectancy being between 25 and 40 years during the middle of the 18th century. This was mainly due to very high infant mortality, and it was still possible to live a long life.

The epitaph is still moving 280 odd years later, it reads ‘Beholder: Take time while time doth serve its time today/But secret dangers still attend delay/The blast which nipped my youth will conqueror thee/It strikes the bud the blossom the tree/Do what thou canst, Today hath Eagles wings/And who can tell what change tomorrow brings’.

There is a quote from Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 verse 1 which reads ‘Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth’.

A headstone in the shape of a heart is of great age with script illegible. We can still see though two more Ouroboros circling crossed bones and an hourglass.

A small detailed carving of a female figure draped against an urn; the scene framed by a willow tree which was used as a symbol of mourning but also of eternity. ‘Prepare to meet thy God’ it reads across the top. A further figure nearby clings to a cross!

The message is clear, you will go the same way as the deceased, so live a good Christian life, trust in God and do not be caught lacking when your own time comes; and in days of low life expectancy it could be later than you think!

A group of three table tombs from the 18th century, which can be found to the east of the chancel, have their own Grade II Listing; as do two 17th century grave slabs to the south of the chancel.

An exquisite church, I really enjoyed looking around this one. Full of history and well worth taking a look at if you are in the area. If someone from overseas asked to be taken to a small English parish church in a nice setting with a wealth of history, you could do far worse than brink them here!