St Denys’ Church, Sleaford
St Denys’ Church is a Grade I listed building in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It is a prime example of Decorated Gothic church architecture in England. The tower and spire were largely rebuilt in 1884 after being struck by lightning. The church is dedicated to St Denys, a medieval form of St Dionysius.
About St Denys’ Church, Sleaford in brief
St Denys’ Church is a Grade I listed building in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It is a prime example of Decorated Gothic church architecture in England. The tower and spire were largely rebuilt in 1884 after being struck by lightning. The church is dedicated to St Denys, a medieval form of St Dionysius. As of 2015, the vicar is Rev. Philip Anthony Johnson, who was appointed in 2013. The benefice is a vicarage and falls within the deanery of Lafford and the archdeaconry and diocese of Lincoln. A church and a priest have probably been present in the settlement since approximately 1086. The oldest parts of the present building date to the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The nave, aisles and north transept were built in the 14th century. The north aisle was rebuilt by the local builders Kirk and Parry in 1853 and the tower was largely rebuilt after it was hit by lightning in 1883. It has a medieval rood screen and a communion rail, possibly by Sir Christopher Wren, and has a peal of eight bells, dating to 1796. It also houses several memorials, including two altar tombs commemorating members of the Carre family, Sleafords’ lords of the manor in the 17th century, and a pair of altar tomBS commemorating them in the early 18th Century. The area has been inhabited since the late Iron Age; people settled around the ford where a prehistoric track running northwards from Bourne crossed the River Slea.
A large hoard of coin moulds belonging to the Corieltauvi tribe have been uncovered in this area. It was occupied by the Romans, and then by the Anglo-Saxons. The place-name Slioford first appears in 852, meaning ‘crossing over a muddy stream’ The settlement around the crossing came to be known as ‘Old’ Sleford in 13th-century sources to distinguish it from developments further west, around the present-day market place. The town’s compass-point and other topographical features offer evidence for this theory. The parish church is located next to the market place at the town centre. The origins of New SleafORD are not clear, leading to a theory that it was planted by the Bishop of Lincoln in the 12th century as a means of increasing his income, hence the epithet ‘New’ The town is in the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire, and the church is in a rural area with a population of around 2,000 people. It falls under the benefice of Sleafor, which encompasses most of the market town and 320 acres of woodland, 1 acre of meadow and 330 acres of marsh, as well as 8 mills, 6 villeins, 11 bars, 6kemen, sokemen and a church and priest. The Domesday Book of 1086 records two manors called Eslaforde and Ramsey Abbey.
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