Winterton is a small town just south of the Humber estuary. It has a long history as there is evidence of a Roman settlement here, near the river crossing. St Paulinus visited in the C7th and baptised many Christians here. There is evidence of an Anglo-Saxon church although no remains have been found. Although Winterton is mentioned in Domesday book, there is no mention of a church.
The church tower dominates the surrounding houses and is the oldest part of the church, dating from 1080-1100, with the typical double Norman windows. The top bell chamber was added a hundred years later. The parapet and pinnacles were added in 1903. The clock was made by local craftsmen in 1834 and is still wound by hand every week.
The rest of the church is Early English dating from 1245.
The church was in a ruinous condition after the Civil War. There was no glass in the windows and the lead had been stripped from the roof. There were major repairs in 1690. In 1870, Sir George Gilbert Scott prepared plans for restoring the church although he didn’t direct the work. This was completed in 1872. Further work was carried out in 1903 when the parapet and pinnacles were added to the top of the tower, the nave and side aisles reroofed and the clerestory added. Much of the furniture and stained glass dates from this work.
There has been another major restoration since 2000 which was just reaching completion in 2015. The aisles and south transept were reroofed, new floors put in with under floor heating. The C19th pews were removed and replaced by chairs. A Heritage Room has been opened at the end of the north aisle.
Entry is through the C13th south porch. The door dates from the C16th, reusing much of the C13th decorative ironwork hinges. There is a smaller inset door.
Inside it is a big church with an arcade of octagonal pillars separating the nave and side aisles. The join can be seen where these were extended when the clerestory was added.
The C19th font is at the back of the nave, in front of the early Norman archway into the tower.
The original font dating from 1200 is in the south transept. This was thrown out of the church during the Commonwealth. It was found in a local garden where it had been upended for many years and used as the base for a stone vase. It now stands on a pillar capital which needed replacing. On the wall above it are pieces of carved medieval masonry. To the left is a rather nicce stained glass window representing the Tree of Jesse.
The carved wooden chancel screen dates from 1903 although figures of Christ Crucified with St John and the Virgin Mary were added in 1939.
Standing in front of it is the wooden pulpit on a stone base.
The carved wooden altar reredos dates from 1972. The 1872 reredos is now part of the exhibition in the Heritage Room.
On the south wall is a rather nice carved stone with a crest.
The organ was bought in 1839 and was one of the first in the area. There was concern about the “ unsatisfactory conduct and irregular attendance at the services” of the West Gallery musicians who provided music for services at that time.
The north transept contains the parish bier with its violet Utrecht velvet pall. It was bought after the churchyard was closed to take coffins to the newly opened cemetery on the edge of the town. It was pulled by a pony or small horse and was last used in 1962.
The wooden altar near it is dated 1593 but is Victorian, made using pieces of reclaimed Elizabethan woodwork. It was presented to the church in 1901. The centre panel shows St Peter being rescued by Jesus as he steps out of a boat.
Behind the bier is a carved gravestone mounted in a metal frame of William Teanby who ran the school in what is now the Heritage Room. He cut the epitaph on both sides to his wife and children. He died at the grand old age of 94 and his epitaph was added by a friend. He seems to have been a very quirky character as he used the gravestone as a dining table and his coffin served as a cupboard.
On the wall of the north aisle are the memorials to the dead of both world wars.
All Saints’ Church is a large and splendid church which is very much the focal point of the town. It is open Every Wednesday from 2-4pm. There is a list of key holders in the porch. There is no parking by the church although there is some in Market Street or along High Street. The post code is DN15 9TU and the grid reference is SE928186.
DISABLED ACCESS
There is a ramp from the door in the south porch into the church. However floor are at different levels inside the church and not all of it is accessible for wheelchair users.
For some reason, I’m having problems adding pictures to my reviews. There are pictures of All Saints’ Church “here.”:http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/churches/england/lincolnshire/lincolnshire_five/winterton/index.html
