HARLAXTON LINCOLNSHIRE : CHURCH OF ST MARY & ST PETER

Church Post Code NG32 1JQ

Open to Visitors

It was early March 2026 and a full day’s churchcrawl was planned, which started off in Lincolnshire before crossing the border in to Nottinghamshire during the afternoon. We had started off the day at Grantham and the early morning fog had lifted by the time we arrived at the church of St Mary and St Peter at Harlaxton; a dull start to what tuned out to be a day of glorious sunshine later.

The village here can be found some two miles to the south west of Grantham and 12 miles to the north east of Melton Mowbray; recording a population of 841 at the time of the 2021 census. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, with no church or priest in land that was owned by King William.

To the south east of the village is Harlaxton Manor, which was built between 1831 and 1854, this replacing an earlier mid 14th century manor house on a previous site which was deserted by 1780 and pulled down in 1857. After an interesting history the manor these days acts as a college; the British campus for the American University of Evansville and is affectionately known as Hogwarts locally.

The church of St Mary and St Peter stands central in the village, but with green fields to its south and east; set back from the A607, which connects Grantham to Melton Mowbray, which runs to the north of the village

Built from ironstone and limestone ashlar, the church that we see today consists of west tower with spire, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch, north and

The original church was built between 1174 and 1185 on land donated by William the Conqueror’s niece Matilda. The oldest part of the present structure is the nave and the north arcade which dates to that original structure, with the south arcade and aisle following between 1175 and 1225.

The lower three stages of the tower were completed by 1325 with the south arcade of the chancel and the south chapel itself, according to the informative church history booklet, dating from 1325 until 1350. I suspect that we can disregard the years 1349 and 1350 though, with the country having more to worry about as the Black Death decimated Europe and beyond.

The tower was completed and the clerestory was added around 1380 with the north arcade of the chancel, the north chapel built between 1420 and 1450, with the north aisle being rebuilt at the same time. A new south porch was built in 1858 and the church was thoroughly restored between 1890 and 1891.

Taking a look at the church from the south we see a square four stage tower which is heavily buttressed battlemented and pinnacled, with the top stage, which as mentioned earlier was a later addition, built purely from ashlar as opposed to the ironstone used on the lower three stages. Gargoyles of high quality look out centrally from the four sides of the tower; smaller grotesque heads can be seen on the frieze which runs around the top of the tower. A recessed crocketed spire rises up, which has a single tier of gabled lucarne windows.

The clerestory takes the form of four two light windows; the east end is impressive, reflecting of the wealth of the manor when building was underway. Chancel runs seamlessly in to north and south chapels, separated only by buttresses; all three under battlements.

Stone heads peer out from throughout the exterior; including a stern faced gentleman with long hair and impressive beard and moustache who looks on in a slight disapproving manner. We see tethered beats, mouth pullers and a grinning impish like figure who gleefully holds its legs over its shoulders, exposing itself to anyone who cares to look up and notice. Fortunately, this wasn’t as anatomically correct as some that I have seen over the years and I was to see another in similar vein at neighbouring Denton half an hour or so later.

Whilst taking a look at the exterior, I was diverted for a short time by a beautiful building to the east of the church grounds. Tudor style in design with bell tower and some glorious chimneys; this is the Old School House, which has Grade II Listing; one of no fewer than 79 listed structures in this village.

It was a chilly start to the day on this early March morning; the fog having lifted but winter was unwilling to let go! Meteorological spring had started a few days previously but there was a bite still to the cold. A few late season daffodils were out still; a little colour dotted around on a dull day. It was quiet and peaceful; it was lovely!

Thomas North saw his study of the church bells in Lincolnshire published in 1882; he noted that there were five bells in the ring here, with details as follows. The first and fifth of the ring were each cast by Robert Taylor of St Neots in 1820. The first was inscribed ‘The Gift of Geo: Ligne Gregory Esq Lord of the Manor of Harlaxton’. The fifth of the ring was inscribed with the names Robert Cox Junior and Nicholas Hearby, the church wardens of the day.

The second of the ring was cast by Henry II Oldfield of Nottingham in 1604. This one bore the inscription ‘I Sweetly Tolling Men Do Call to Taste on Meat that Feed the Soule’. The third of the ring was cast by Hugh Watts of Leicester in 1635 and was inscribed ‘HIS NAZARENVS REX IVDEORVM FILI DEI MISERE MEI’ which translates as ‘Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews Son of God have mercy on me’.

The fourth of the ring in North’s day is primarily blank and is attributed to a Nottingham founder c1500.

The situation today is that there is now a ring of six with a new first of the ring being cast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1946. North notes also that there were only four bells in the ring prior to 1820 and one was recast by Taylor when he extended the ring to five. The bell that was recast was dated 1639 and inscribed ‘All men that hear my mournfull sound repent before you lie in ground’.

The church was open to visitors, as it had been on my previous visit, with the visitor entering in through the south porch.