June 2011:
RAITHBY Methodist Chapel, and SPILSBY St James.
Our
first visit for our June meeting was to the Methodist chapel
at Raithby
by Spilsby
which is the oldest Methodist chapel in Lincolnshire,
and one of the oldest in England.
It is one of the few surviving chapels which was opened by John
Wesley,
the founding father of Methodism, and is still in use today. The
chapel is a Grade I listed
building
and stands above the former stables
at Raithby Hall. We had a must interesting guide and it was
fascinating to think that Wesley actually preached here to a
congregation with the ladies having ascended the left hand staircase
and the gentlemen the right and were segregated for the service!
Raithby Methodist Chapel
We then had refreshments in Spilsby before visiting St James church. Here we had an excellent guide who gave a potted history of the church and described its many changes over the centuries. The main attraction here is the amazing Willoughby Chapel packed full of monuments to the Willoughby de Eresby and Bertie families.
The chapel is in fact the original Sanctuary the arch of which is filled with a massive monument to Richard Bertie who died in 1582, and his wife Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. There are six passages of text from the bible - five in Latin and one in English in panels decorated with strap work on the church side of the blocking wall. Space does not permit a description of all the monuments. I hope the photographs help.
St James church Spilsby and the Willoughby Chapel
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