GRANTHAM: St Wulfram's Church, Grantham
This week we will be leaving Grantham in Lincolnshire, which has been our home since November 1990. We moved here from Forres, which is a small town in Morayshire, 30 miles from Inverness in Scotland and on Wednesday we will be returning to Scotland to live, this time to Dunbar in East Lothian.
I have decided to dedicated the blogs this week to places around Grantham and today's article is on St Wulfram's Church, the dominant landmark in the town.
History
It is believed that a church stood on the site long before Norman times, but of the original Saxon church probably only a few stones, near the organ loft, remain. The church was totally altered by the Normans and the remains of their church may still be seen in the nave.
The north aisle arcades, except for the two west bays, date from before 1180. The original Norman church was ruined by fire when it was hit by lightning in 1222.[2] The north aisle was rebuilt in about 1250. In 1280 the church expanded westwards over what was the market-place. The huge piers in the west end of the church have many 13th-century mason's marks, as do the spiral stairs to the belfry. In 1450 the north aisle was extended, and some time after 1496 St Katherine's Chapel was added by the Hall family. In 1550 the south aisle was lengthened and the Lady Chapel was built.
The church was restored in 1866-67 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Of interest are window frames from different periods, the use of ballflower ornament and the crypt chapel. The north porch was built to house relics of St Wulfram (possibly an arm bone), and the chained library occupies a room over the south porch which was once a priests' living room.
Sixth Tallest Spire in England
The design of the church, which is built from local limestone, was probably influenced by Salisbury Cathedral. The church's chief feature is the slender crocketed spire which stands 282.5 feet (86.1 m) high. The spire is the sixth highest in the country (Salisbury and Norwich Cathedrals' are higher), and fourth highest of any parish church, after the Church of St. Walburge, Preston, St. James Church, Louth, and the St Mary Redcliffe. It is the third highest of any Anglican parish church in the UK, after St. James' Louth and St Mary's, Redcliffe and second highest in Lincolnshire, after St. James', Louth.
The spire is in dire need of repair and £600,000 is needs to complete the repairs. A special appeal website has been set up here - http://www.savegranthamsspire.org.uk/public/index.php
CLICK HERE for more on St Wulfram's Church
Images taken on the Fujifilm Finepix X100 and 23mm f2 Fujinon lens
ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION
I have decided to dedicated the blogs this week to places around Grantham and today's article is on St Wulfram's Church, the dominant landmark in the town.
History
It is believed that a church stood on the site long before Norman times, but of the original Saxon church probably only a few stones, near the organ loft, remain. The church was totally altered by the Normans and the remains of their church may still be seen in the nave.
The north aisle arcades, except for the two west bays, date from before 1180. The original Norman church was ruined by fire when it was hit by lightning in 1222.[2] The north aisle was rebuilt in about 1250. In 1280 the church expanded westwards over what was the market-place. The huge piers in the west end of the church have many 13th-century mason's marks, as do the spiral stairs to the belfry. In 1450 the north aisle was extended, and some time after 1496 St Katherine's Chapel was added by the Hall family. In 1550 the south aisle was lengthened and the Lady Chapel was built.
The church was restored in 1866-67 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Of interest are window frames from different periods, the use of ballflower ornament and the crypt chapel. The north porch was built to house relics of St Wulfram (possibly an arm bone), and the chained library occupies a room over the south porch which was once a priests' living room.
Sixth Tallest Spire in England
The design of the church, which is built from local limestone, was probably influenced by Salisbury Cathedral. The church's chief feature is the slender crocketed spire which stands 282.5 feet (86.1 m) high. The spire is the sixth highest in the country (Salisbury and Norwich Cathedrals' are higher), and fourth highest of any parish church, after the Church of St. Walburge, Preston, St. James Church, Louth, and the St Mary Redcliffe. It is the third highest of any Anglican parish church in the UK, after St. James' Louth and St Mary's, Redcliffe and second highest in Lincolnshire, after St. James', Louth.
The spire is in dire need of repair and £600,000 is needs to complete the repairs. A special appeal website has been set up here - http://www.savegranthamsspire.org.uk/public/index.php
CLICK HERE for more on St Wulfram's Church
Images taken on the Fujifilm Finepix X100 and 23mm f2 Fujinon lens
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ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION
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