St BOTOLPH NEWTON

Newton

















This church shares the same dedication as the more famous Boston Stump. It stands with its tall 13th-century tower facing towards the village on a slightly raised churchyard. The tower has simple pointed lights with "Y" tracery to the lower stages, but Perpendicular tracery to the top belfry stage. The belfry lights have amusing faces looking down from the centre of their hood moulds.

The nave has aisles to both sides with English slate roofs. The south aisle was rebuilt in 1867 by Kirk and Parry of Sleaford, but the north aisle is 14th-century and retains its original three light windows with wave moulded surrounds and triangular heads. Beside the chancel, adjacent to the south aisle, is a south chapel dating from the 13th-century. It has two beautiful light windows with geometic tracery. They appear to be reset.

The white washed interior is quite colourful with a Minton tiled floor and stained glass by Ward and Hughes of 1866. The reredos behind the altar, which partly obscures the window is however rather gaudy; both it and the altar are gilded, and the centre panel depicts Christ in Majesty with the flanking panels of the four Evangelists.

The nave arcades and tower arch are all 13th-century with nice human head stops, and at the east end of the south arcade is a fine human head with a smile and wavy hair! The south chapel - a lovely space - has a pointed headed piscina to the south and a fine alabaster wall plaque to Mary Savile, died 1637.

The chancel has also has a piscina, a double one with gabled top with dog toothed decoration and three small human heads.

Fittings are mostly Victorian, apart from the churchwardens chest with two locks and two padlocks, and the plain octagonal font onto which an early graffito artist has inserted his name "Thomas".

The churchyard is a pleasant sloping site surrounded by tall mature trees, and contains some good 18th-century stones, a fine tomb chest and some 19th-century inscribed slate gravestones.

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