Wootton is an attractive small village set around a large village pond with ducks. The church is signed down a short lane off the A1077 which runs through the village. There has been a church here since Saxon times and the old font in the church is alleged to date from then.
The tower, made of local ironstone, glows orange in the sunlight, in contrast to the rest of the church which is constructed from paler limestone. There seems to be some confusion over the date of the church. A flier in the church porch describes the tower as C12th. British listed buildings describes it as C14/15th. The arcades are C13th. There was a major restoration of the church in the mid C19th and most of the nave and chancel date from then. Over the last ten years there has been a major restoration project to replace timbers with dry rot and reroof the church.
Surrounded by a graveyard, the church is set on top of a hillock which is thought to have been an Stone Age burial ground. It is a typical parish church with a square tower with battlements and pinnacles, nave side aisles and chancel.
Entry is through the south porch which has a wooden door with massive decorative wrought iron hinges. There is a modern stone font at the back of the church.
An arcade of octagonal pillars with pointed arches separates the nave from the side aisles. The dark wood ceiling has small square bosses painted gold. Walls are plastered and above the chancel arch is a small Royal Coat of Arms. The rather nice Victorian wooden pews have embroidered kneelers.
A tall pointed arch separates the nave and tower. On either side are boards with the Ten Commandments, which would originally have been in the chancel. In front of the chancel arch by the south arcade is the original font. This was thrown out during the C19th restoration. In 1940, it was found in the Vicarage garden and returned to the church. It is a very simple stone bowl. The font has been described as Saxon, although is now thought to be later.
The colourful stained glass in the church is C19th.
This is a typical parish church, like so many others in England. There is nothing special about it to attract the visitors and there is very little information about it. It is worth visiting for the C19th stained glass. It is a lovely setting on the edge of the village and as soon as you step into the church there is a sense of peace. The only sound is the ticking of the clock. While I was there, the sun went in and the wind got up, whistling round the church. Inside the church felt like the refuge from the storm.
The church is open Saturdays and Sundays in the summer. There is a”keyholder”:https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/grants/visit/st-andrew-pondside-dn39-6sf/ in the village.The nearest post code is DN39 6SE and the grid reference is TA 091161. There is plenty of parking around the village pond.
There are more pictures “here.”:http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/churches/england/lincolnshire/lincolnshire_five/wootton/index.html
