The parish church of St Margaret of Antioch was rebuilt and extended in the 14th and 15th centuries incorporating elements from an earlier 12th century church.

The Romanesque sandstone font has a base of three crouching figures supporting a circular bowl with a bead decoration.

During the 14th century Sir Thomas de Astley had the chancel, nave arcades, and north aisle rebuilt on a grand scale. The height of the nave was also increased with the addition of a clerestory in the mid C14.

Fragments of C16 Flemish stained glass are incorporated into the north aisle window.

The chancel east window was installed in 1863 the inscription reads: “This window is inserted by C. L. Swainson and Harriet his wife.” It is not known who the manufacturer or designer were.

The chancel windows have double label stops carved with figures, exotic beasts and foliage.

Also in the chancel is a badly eroded medieval stone effigy of a lady c1300.

Tags: font, margaret, stained glass, tower

13th century parish church in the Perpendicular Gothic style.

The sedilia to south of chancel has nodding ogee arches, and was retained from earlier times when the chancel was remodeled in the C19. The alabaster effigy on the low tomb chest is decorated with quatrefoils in the perpendicular style. Its the monument to John Dycson, rector from 1439 to 1445.

The bench ends are probably C15 with Gothic tracery.

Perpendicular style decoration around north chancel window.

Tags: effigy, monument, perpendicular, sedilla, stained glass, tomb, tower

Due to the small population of the parish St. Peter’s has been closed and reopened a number of times during the last 150 years. It finally ceased to hold any regular services in the 1950s.

Nowadays it is owned by the Churches Conservation Trust, and remains a consecrated building, although services are only held here once a year.

The church originally served the nearby medieval village which was abandoned some time during the 14th century. The church continued to serve the villages of Flecknoe, Sawbridge, and Nethercote. However, a smaller church was built in the late 19th century in the village of Flecknoe which is about 2-3 miles away as the crow files. The building was paid for by the railway company in 1891 as compensation for the disruption caused at Wolfhampcote. The railway itself was closed to passengers in 1952 but carried freight until 1963.

The pews in the foreground are medieval as can be seen by the low shelf which is for resting elbows, not books. The date of these pews is thought to be 14th century but there is some evidence for an earlier 11th century date. The font is Anglo-Saxon. The octagonal pulpit with inlaid panels is dated 1790.

The chancel contains a modern pointed traceried five-light window, and the altar rails are also modern. The floor is paved with a number of memorial slabs from the 18th century, and the walls contain 19th century memorials to the Tibbits family.

On either side of the chancel arch are half-round moulded corbels. The steep-pitched king-post roof in the chancel consisting of three trusses, and is probably 14th century.

A C14 ogee-headed piscina with circular basin is inset into the south wall of the north chapel, indicating that an altar was once there. The north aisle has a memorial cross to John Truslove who died aged 16.

The sanctuary contains memorial slabs and a brass memorial to Frances Benyon wife of parish minister (died 1687).

Tags: brass, font, peter, pews, pulpit, tower

Parish church of St. Martin, Welton.

Gravestone of John Hewitt, lost and starved to death aged 6. The simple font is late medieval.

The pulpit was carved by local villagers, a wooden alms box stands by the door, and a C18 memorial plaque on the wall beside the pulpit.

The C19 polychrome marbles and malachite floor, is reputed to be a Russian gift.

Tags: malachite, marble, martin, memorial, monument, pulpit, stained glass, tower