SUTTERBY & BAG ENDERBY
SUTTERBY : CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST
Church Post Code LN11 8RB
Open to visitors
Visited July 2020
Redundant : cared for by the Friends of Friendless Churches.
It was midsummer 2020; the warmest spell of the summer thus far. Two days had been taken off of work, with two churchcrawls in to Lincolnshire. I visited some fine and ornate churches over those two days; but the church of St John the Baptist at Sutterby, alone in a field with just a nave chancel and porch, gave me as many pleasant memories as any church visited over that two day period.
Sutterby is a tiny hamlet which can be found some nine miles south east of Louth and eight miles east of Horncastle. In 1931 the population of the parish was 24 and the parish merged with neighbouring Langton by Spilsby in 1936.
It appears as if the village here has always been small in size. The Domesday Survey entry in 1086, sees the figures for Sutterby, Dalby and Dexthorpe (a now deserted medieval village) included together, with an estimated 22 households and two churches between the three. It does appear that there was a church here though as a burial from the Domesday era was excavated which was under the existing church.
It appears that this tiny village was depopulated further by the Black Death in the 14th century but amazingly worship continued here until 1935, with services ceasing at that point. It was declared redundant in 1971 and was taken over in the early 1980’s by the Friends of Friendless Churches, who have cared for it since along with local volunteers.
The church that we see today consists of nave, south porch and chancel and has 12th century origins, with the oldest part of the present structure being a bricked in Norman north doorway, which has a delightfully off centre semi-circular arch. There was a bell turret here until the mid 20th century, but the two bells that hung here had been sold off to help church repairs in the 18th century.
The south porch is more recent, being built in 1743. The church is built from Spilsby sandstone and there are several areas that have been patched up with red brick, with these repairs dating from the 18th century.
This is beautiful! The church stands isolated in the field off a minor road, isolated except for a nearby farm; as different as possible from nearby Louth with its majestic tower and spire. There is something special about these surviving two cell buildings in villages that are abandoned or just have a scattering of houses. Fond memories of a cycling tour of South Lincolnshire a few years ago, cycling in a stiff headwind to take in a communion at Scott Willoughby, one of the smallest churches in Lincolnshire, with the village there consisting of the church, a house and a farm. They hold a monthly communion, with people from other churches coming over to support it.
The situation with regards Sutterby is different in that it is redundant, but it still survives; against the odds! St John the Baptist at Sutterby could easily have been lost to us for ever but it is still here for people to enjoy, thanks to volunteers over the centuries and organisations such as the Friends of Friendless Churches.
The church was open to visitors and it was good to step in to the cool interior, away from the outside heat. The interior is for the most parts empty, with pews no longer in place. Nave is separated from chancel by a 19th century chancel screen, with a modern pulpit close by. At the west end of the nave is a 14th century font. The rest of the church is empty.
The faded remains of a wall painting can be seen over the chancel screen. The chancel itself is empty with the exception of communion rails. There is no altar, with a cross and candles set out on the sill of the east window. There is no stained glass here.
Moving back outside, in to the heat of the afternoon, there was a delightful feeling of isolation here. No noise at all apart from the insect and bird life. Looking around in every direction there was nothing except a single farm. Goodness only knows where the nearest moving car was! We were still very much in the grip of covid 19, with things destined to get far worse as the winter approached. Here though, at this time, we were far removed from the horrors that were going on around us. A joy to visit!
BAG ENDERBY : CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL
Church Post Code PE23 4NP
Closed to visitors July 2020 but open on revisit in August 2022
It was early afternoon and we were roughly half way through the day’s photography. We headed west towards neighbouring Bag Enderby; a charming hamlet which has a connection to poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson.
I know that it is a stereotype possibly but, when the occasion arises, the English really are the most polite nation on earth. We arrived at Bag Enderby, a hamlet consisting of a farm, manor house, church and a few houses. There is a lovely big area of grass to the north of the church and Gary parked up the van there.
There were a couple of lady hikers, out enjoying the sun and having a picnic lunch on the grass. As I walked past them and said hello; one of the ladies said. ‘If we are in the way just say and we will move’. They couldn’t possibly have been in the way if they had tried but it was really nice of them to say! The church was closed to visitors due to covid concerns on the original visit in 2020 but was open when we returned in the summer of 2022.
The church of St Michael dates from 1407, and was built with money left by Albinus De Enderby. Built of greenstone, which has been heavily patched up with red brick in places; the church consists of west tower, nave, south porch and chancel. A fairly basic structure with no aisles or clerestories. Its biggest claim to fame was that the father of Alfred Lord Tennyson was rector here between 1807 and 1831; also being the rector at neighbouring Somersby. The church was closed to visitors on the day; covid restrictions still very much in evidence!
The church is set on slightly high ground and is buttressed throughout. The west tower has a very large three light window to the west face. Gargoyles surround the tower, these being very weathered and of great age. The patched up tower, when looked at close up is a thing of great beauty!
The porch here is a delight. Seemingly put together with what was at hand and much patched over the years. The door itself is straight but the rest of the porch appears to be leaning over to the left at a precarious angle. A couple of photographs of this porch which I posted up on my Facebook page got more feedback than just about any other posted up during the year!
This was a church that I really wanted to see inside and the chance came in August 2022, when we revisited several previously locked churches. It was good to see the majority of churches in this area now open again to visitors.
Moving inside, there are wooden chairs instead of pews, with a restored 15th century screen separating nave from chancel. There is no stained glass here with the exception of some medieval fragments in the south west window of the chancel.
The chancel itself is plain and beautiful; less is more! The altar has a white altar cloth and just a cross on it. A piscina can be seen to the south wall of the nave, which would have been used to wash the holy vessels when the mass was taken. Apart from that, there are just a couple of memorials on the north wall.
One of these is to Andrew Gedney and his wife Dorothy (modern spelling). She is named Dorothie and Dorathe on the epitaph, neither of which my spell checker cared for! She died June 7th 1591 and strangely Andrew’s date of death is not recorded, with the text reading ‘Andrew died the 7 of …’
The parents face each other across prayer desks; their hands clutched around prayer books. Two sons and two daughters line up behind, kneeling with hands raised in prayer. Curiously, the faces of the three female figures have been damaged. Below the figures is a carving of a human skull; the deaths head which points out to the onlooker that Man is mortal and will die.
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The font is octagonal and dates to the 15th century. There are several interesting carvings on the bowl, including a shield with some of the instruments of Christ’s crucifixion, a musician playing a lute, a deer which appears to be eating leaves from a tree and a cross with laurel wreath draped around it. There is also a panel showing the pieta; the Virgin Mary cradling the body of her son; this one being carved in a very rustic fashion!
That Friday and Saturday in mid summer 2020 saw around 25 churches visited over the two days; a fairly high total due to most still being closed due to covid concerns. As mentioned at the start of the piece we visited bigger and more ornate churches than these two but I wanted to include these as they were among my most favourite visited over those two days. Both are usually open and welcoming and are each well worth a visit. If anyone asks me why I do what I do, I could refer them to this page and that would be my reply.
My goodness it was warm; with the forecast suggesting storms for later on. From Bag Enderby we headed off a short distance to the north west to Somersby, continuing the Alfred Lord Tennyson. The historic interest was high, but so was the desire to find a shop selling ice cream. Our Lincolnshire churchcrawl continued.