THISTLETON & TEIGH RUTLAND

THISTLETON : CHURCH OF ST NICHOLAS

Church Post Code LE15 7RE

Church Open for Saturday café

Not for the first time; and hopefully not the last, church photograph and food went hand in hand. We had started this fine early June morning in 2026 with a fellowship breakfast at my own church to the west of Peterborough before starting out on the day’s churchcrawl.

Seven churches were planned, with four in the north of Rutland before crossing the border in to Leicestershire where we had a further three planned. First point of call was the church of St Nicholas at Thistleton; this being one of the few churches in Rutland that I had failed to see inside. Between February and November the church here hosts a café each Saturday morning; an ideal opportunity to see inside and sample the chocolate cake; it being at least an hour and a half since my full English!

Thistleton is the most northerly Rutland village, with neighbouring South Witham, two miles or so away to the north east, in Lincolnshire and Edmondthorpe, five miles away to the west, being in Leicestershire. The resident population is less than 100 with census figures and statistics grouped together with nearby Stretton.

The village has the A1 running a short distance away to the east; Oakham, the largest of Rutland’s two towns, is some eight miles away to the south west with Melton Mowbray 11 miles away to the west.

There is a great deal of history here with evidence of a Roman settlement and temple precinct; with some of the archaeology erased by Ironstone mining. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, with no church or priest recorded here at that time.

One quirky piece of history comes in the form of a prize fight back in 1811 between English bare knuckle champion Tom Cribb and American Tom Molineux. Reports from the time suggest that between 10,000 and 20,000 were in attendance with the fight taking place at Thistleton Gap just outside the village. Interestingly this spot was chosen due to its close proximity to the Lincolnshire and Leicestershire county lines. If magistrates from one county attempted to stop the fight, prize fighting being illegal at that time, the fighters could move over in to the neighbouring county.

The village here is essentially just a single street with the church of St Nicholas central. Approaching the church there was a lovely buzz of conversation from inside and this is a regular event that is obviously well attended and well loved! The food looked of a really good standard and the welcome was warm and friendly, what’s not to like!

The church is dedicated to St Nicholas and is now a chapel of ease; Thistleton merging with the nearby parish of Cottesmore with Burley to form an enlarged parish. St Nicholas at Cottesmore is the parish church with St Nicholas at Thistleton becoming a chapel of ease; still consecrated and holding services at the major festivals. Events such as the regular Saturday café help to fund raise to keep the church open; both for worship and as a community space. It is great to see the church still open for worship, albeit only occasional worship; but also great to see this being used as a community space when there are no other public spaces in the village.

The church that we see today dates from the 14th century but there appears to have been a previous church here with rectors recorded back to the 12th century. The structure itself is fairly basic with west tower, nave, south porch and chancel which is in the form of an apse. There was much restoration and rebuilding here between 1879 and 1880, financed by Sir John Henry Fludyer, 4th Baronet who was rector here between 1834 and 1870, with the rebuilding dedicated to the memory of his three elder children who died of ‘malignant’ scarlet fever.

The perpendicular three stage west tower is the oldest surviving part of the present church, dating back to the 14th century. The tower is buttressed, battlemented and pinnacled, with gargoyles of high quality, with scales and lichen encrusted eyes, facing out from all four corners. The church clock, which was telling the correct time; which is unusual enough to comment on, looks out from the south face.

The tower is best viewed from the west; a delightful sight with cottages and a barn close by to the north; the latter of interest with all windows bricked in on its south wall. A bench is set against the barn looking south across the church grounds.

There are no aisles and no clerestories here; the chancel ends in an apse; half octagonal in shape from the exterior but semi-circular from the interior. There is a beautiful rose window at the east; four winged dragons on the verge of springing out from the wall surround the apse.

There is a single bell hanging here, which was cast by George Hedderly of Nottingham in 1793; this being inscribed with the name W Frear who was church warden at the time. Thomas North, in his 1880 study of Rutland church bells, notes that prior to that time there were two bells in the ring here, each of which was cracked. These two were melted down to form this ‘new’ bell.

Moving inside, it was bright and welcoming; armed with a large slice of chocolate cake it was time to look around the interior. Due to the number of people gathered together towards the west end of the church, interior photographs are a little limited.

Fixtures and fittings are from the restoration and rebuilding; the pulpit is of stone and has an inscription on it which reads ‘Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine’. This is from 2 Timothy Chapter 4 verse 2 and to be fair is not the easiest to understand. Perhaps the Message paraphrase is a little clearer, reading ‘Proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple’.

Moving in to the chancel the altar is small and without adornments; which would be put on prior to services. Statues of the four Gospel writes are on the wall at the east end with the fine reredos depicting the deposition with the body of Jesus being prepared for burial after the crucifixion. Both the statues and the reredos were carved by Italian Mario Raggi who had a studio in London, with other work of his being a sculpture of Benjamin Disraeli in Parliament Square in London, with other works throughout the world including statues of Queen Victoria in Hong Kong and Canada.

The east window is a roundel surrounded by eight smaller roundels. The main roundel shows Christ in Majesty. The risen Christ is cloaked in red, symbolic of the blood that he shed; one hand raised in blessing with wounds visible on hands; we can’t see his feet and is surrounded by a golden aureole. He is flanked and attended to by angels with golden hair and brightly coloured wings. Ona angel has golden wings, the other has red wings; with apparently red wings being quite rare. I can’t recall seeing an angel with red wings before and certainly a red and gold combination is certainly unusual.

Both are at prayer, with one looking up intently at Christ, the other with head bowed. Perhaps the symbolism of the colouring of the wings is linked in to this depiction. Perhaps the red symbolises fire for God and the gold symbolises reverence and submission. The real meaning is likely to be lost in the mists of time; known only by those who commissioned it!

Further stained glass running around the apse includes the crucifixion and the resurrection, with this time the Risen Christ depicted with wounds visible on hands, feet and side; with a further window shows Jesus with children.

This latter depiction is historically interesting and also very sad considering that the church was rebuilt in memory of three of Rector John Henry Fludyer’s children. The script at the foot of this depiction reads ‘Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me: for as such is the Kingdom of Heaven’. This is from Matthew Chapter 19 verse 14 and this script was often used on the gravestones of children.

There is more stained glass at the west end under the tower with a two light window containing depictions of the Baptism of Jesus and the dove bringing an olive leaf back to Noah in the ark.

One gravestone, which has been saved and stands alongside the pulpit is reads ‘Here lyeth the body of Henry Bennet who died Thistleton Anno Domini 1674’.

Moving outside, there is little of interest or rarity in the church grounds here but something of note is a gravestone to one Louise Seward Heath, nee Burrows, who was briefly engaged to writer DH Lawrence; she died in 1962 aged 74 years. I am not one to hold grudges but I still hold a slight grudge against DH Lawrence; being forced to read Lady Chatterley’s Lover as part of my A Level English Literature course when I wanted to read Lord of the Rings. That was back in 1981; perhaps it’s time to move on!

I enjoyed my time here very much. It’s about the churches, that much is obvious, it’s why I do what I do, However, there is more to it than that. It’s also about the collective store of memories gathered along the way; with things such as café’s and coffee mornings given a large amount of pleasure over the years.

Perhaps what has happened to the church here could be a template for other churches facing dwindling congregations. It might not be the preferred option for those who would like regular weekly worship but the church is still here, still consecrated and is very much a focal point for the community.

The church of St Nicholas at Thistleton is well worth a visit. We headed south west towards Langham; it was great to be back in Rutland again.

TEIGH : CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY

Church Post Code LE15 7RT

Open to visitors

We revisited the church of Holy Trinity at Teigh on the same day that we visited Thistleton; a bright and sunny Saturday morning in June 2026. My previous visit here was back in the winter of 2014, on a cold and crisp November afternoon; walking the two miles from Ashwell, fond memories of some fine churches visited on the day and fond memories of the much lamented Number 9 bus service run by Kimes which ran from Peterborough to Nottingham, stopping off at Ashwell.

Teigh is a very small village on the Rutland/Leicestershire border. The picturesque Edmondthorpe is off to the north west; Market Overton to the east and Ashwell to the South. Oakham is just over five miles away to the south with Melton Mowbray around ten miles away to the north west. The population was 61 at the time of the census of 2021; a mighty increased from the 48 recorded in 2001.

This is a small village but with some interesting history. Back in the 14th century a Rector here, one Richard Folville, was a member of an outlaw gang, which was led by his brother Eustace. In the early 1340's, Richard was cornered in the church, and after an exchange of arrows which led to one death, he was captured, taken outside and beheaded in the church grounds.

The Old Rectory at Teigh was used for the filming of the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice; it served as Hunsford parsonage, the home of Mr Collins.

Teigh is listed as one of the 'Thankful Villages'. This is the term given to villages which lost no men during World War One. Teigh is the only village in Rutland that could claim this. Villages that lost no personnel in First and Second World Wars are known as 'doubly thankful villages'. There are 53 thankful villages listed but only 14 doubly thankful.

Teigh was mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086, with no mention of a church or priest at that time, in land owned by Robert Malet.

There was a church here as far back as the very early 12th century. Nothing of that early building remains and the oldest part of the present structure is the lower stage of the tower which dates from the 13th century. Most of the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1782; the church being rebuilt following a disastrous fire.

The church can be found at the western end of the village; the tower, which stands exactly 100 feet tall dominating the landscape. The heavily buttressed tower is of four stages, battlemented and pinnacled, one of which appears to have been replaced recently. The battlements also run the length of the nave, with an eighteenth century frieze running below the battlements. Nave and chancel run seamlessly in to one another; there are no aisles or clerestories.

The exterior is devoid of carvings; with no gargoyles or grotesques. A bench is set out against the south face of the tower, a pleasant place to sit awhile with a pack up and a cold drink.

Three bells hang here and local legend states that two bells at one point back in history were removed from the tower here and sent to Stapleford in Leicestershire. The first two bells of the ring were cast in 1746 by Thomas Eayre I from Kettering. The first is inscribed 'OMNIA FIANT AD GLORIAM DEI GLORIA DEI SOLI'. This translates as 'Let all things be done for the glory of God glory to God alone'. The second has an identical first part of the inscription, followed by 'GLORIA PATRIFILIO ET SPITITUI SANCTO' 'Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit'. The third of the ring is of real age, being cast by Henry Oldfield of Nottingham circa 1540.

There are no porches here; with the visitor entering in through a door to the west of the tower. The ‘Church Open’ sign was out and we were good to go! The interior is a real surprise; from the exterior we see a medieval church; but the interior is very much Georgian; dating from the rebuilding of 1782. The architect here was George Richardson who designed the church for the Fourth Earl of Harborough. Richardson was also responsible for designing the church of St Mary Magdalene at Stapleford, a few miles away to the north west. Simple Georgian elegance!

The visitor will immediately notice that the elegant box pews face each other rather than facing east. Nave runs seamlessly in to chancel with the high altar as normal to the east. The east end of the church consists of three blind arches; the central arch hosting the four light east window, which contains patterned glass and the high altar. The glass dates from 1890 and not from the 18th century rebuilding.

The reredos behind is a painting of the Last Supper. Commandment boards in the old King James Version flank the altar to east and west.

The pews, both north and south, are on three different levels. There is no real stained glass as such but windows along the nave have delicately toned patterned glass with candle holders wall mounted along both walls.

The west end of the church is interesting; and personally unique to me in what I have seen on my travels. The visitor enters in underneath a triple decker pulpit which dominates the west end. The lower stage of the pulpit would have been for readers, with the sermon itself being read from the upper level. I had a quick trip up to the top and looked down upon this purely Georgian interior; as always trying to imagine what things would have been back in the day with congregation facing each other; looking to the west for the preach and turning to the east when saying the creed.

A beautiful but curious layout! A quick internet search suggests that pews sometimes faced each other to promote communal singing and to emphasise the belief of community, that the congregation was part of a church family and was not there simply to watch a show!

The font dates from the time of the 18th century rebuilding. Normally, the font is to be found at the western end of the church. Here though it is to be found a little hidden in the pews to the north.

The church grounds are of interest, with one gravestone, to one Mary Dawson who died in 1836 aged 22 years, standing out in particular as being worth noting. This slate gravestone; finely carved by stonemason Joseph Gilbert of Wymondham, passes on the message that Man is mortal and will die. The scene that we see involves a woman clinging to two symbols of the Christian faith; a cross and an anchor. Death in the shape of a skeleton peers from around a curtain; holding in its hand a dart, or an arrow.

Life expectancy was low, somewhere in the 40’s and many people lived through childhood but died young, as is the case here. The skeleton is a memento mori symbol ‘Remember Death’ but the addition of the dart indicates sudden death. Be prepared is the message here, live a good Christian life and trust in God; it might be later than you think!

This is a beautifully crafted gravestone, but I have to say that the carving of human faces was probably not their strength!

One further stone is to Ann Patchett, who died in 1826 aged 44 years. This again points out how hard times were then. The epitaph reads, with a couple of spelling errors as follows…’The best of wives lies buried here/And loving to her children dear/ Affliction sore with patience bore/Physicians where in vain/Till God did please to me release/And ease me from my pain’. This stone also records the loss of her son Joseph who died aged 17 years.

Nothing in the church grounds has its own Grade II Listing and parts of the grounds have been left to grow; ideal for the insect life and possible helping to east the grass cutting workload of those who care for the grounds.

To complete this look at Holy Trinity at Teigh, I have included a couple of shots below from the winter 2014 visit; enclosed due to the vibrant colours at that time of the year.

It was time to hit the road again; crossing the border in to Leicestershire where Wymondham was to be our fifth church of the day. Holy Trinity at Teigh is open to visitors and is well worth a visit. Thinking about things when typing this up it is remarkable that the church here is still able to offer regular worship with a village population as small as it is. A look at the June 2026 pew notes for the Oakham Ministry when typing this up shows that there were services on two Sundays in the month with a midweek Wednesday communion; really impressive when so many churches have closed.