May 2016:
GRAINSBY, St Nicholas.
*click on photos to enlarge them*
Grainsby is a hamlet situated west of the A16, just 5 miles south of Grimsby. At Domesday there were 29 households in Grainsby, and at the 2011 census there were 68 households. The church is reached down Grainsby Lane which is very narrow. We were allowed to park in the Old Rectory next to the church because of the regular passage of farm machinery down the lane. We were greeted by Barry Hannington, administrator, and Tim Stones, churchwarden, who walked us round the exterior of the church first.
As with many old churches, the external walls tell a story of repairs and rebuilds. The west tower is of chalk and ironstone dressings. The north wall has brick repairs and the east wall has some unusual zig zag brick coloured work that could be from Roman times.
In the past, much of the stone work had been repaired with cement, which is porous and draws water into the stone. Most of these repairs have been removed and replaced with traditional lime mortar which enables the stone to ‘breathe.’
In the past, much of the stone work had been repaired with cement, which is porous and draws water into the stone. Most of these repairs have been removed and replaced with traditional lime mortar which enables the stone to ‘breathe.’
The Haigh family were wool merchants and owned the village as well as much of the land between Grainsby and the sea. There is an interesting online article about the family and a photo of the now demolished Grainsby Hall which Pevsner calls ‘a crazy Victorian house.’ Click here to see the article.
The interior of the church is light and clean and it shows how well the church is cared for and is regularly in use. There is a small congregation and a service once a month. There are three churches in the group at present, North Thoresby, Marshchapel and Grainsby. Shortly they will join the larger Louthesk group. Barry explained how difficult fundraising can be, and showed us a huge folder containing his many contacts and the funds he has raised for ongoing repairs. NADFAS, the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies, visited and recorded and catalogued the contents of the church.
A stone church was here around 1100 AD. The south door, with Norman arch indicates this. The Early English tower would have been added in the thirteenth century. There are three bells in tower. An inventory of 1553 describes ‘three Gret Belles one sanctus bell. In the south wall of the tower is an unusual oval window, a Vesica Piscis window. The name means ‘the bladder of the fish’ in Latin. This might be associated with the fish symbol. The initials of the phrase ‘Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour’ in Greek spell the word ‘fish’ which became a secret symbol for Christians.
Tim told us he is descended from the Haigh family and showed us where some of his ancestors are buried in the churchyard. They would have sat in pride of place in the family pew at the back of the church, from where they could observe their farm workers!
We had a warm welcome and a very informative visit to St Nicholas. The church is in very safe hands for the foreseeable future.
We had a warm welcome and a very informative visit to St Nicholas. The church is in very safe hands for the foreseeable future.
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