Minster Church of St. Mary, Stow-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire

The Minster Church of St. Mary, Stow in Lindsey is one of the oldest parish churches in England. It originally served as the Cathedral Church of the ancient diocese of Lindsey, founded in the 7th century, and stands on the site of a much older one.

Historty

There had been a church situated in Stow even prior to the arrival of the Danes in 870 - the year they are documented to have burnt the church down. [1] The building remained in ruins until an Abbey was built in 1040, reputedly by bishop Eadnoth II. [1]

Dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, Stow parish church, sometimes referred to as the "Mother Church of Lincolnshire," [1] is one of the largest and oldest parish churches in England. It is partly Saxon and partly Norman in build and is designated by English Heritage as a “Scheduled Ancient Monument” and was also included in the World Monuments Fund's 2006 list of the world's 100 most endangered sites. [2] It has the tallest Saxon arches of its time in Britain, [3] the earliest known example of Viking graffiti in England (a rough scratching of an oared Viking sailing ship, probably dating from the 10th century), a font that is Early English, standing on nine supports with pagan symbols around its base and an early wall painting dedicated to Thomas Becket.

Ralph de Diceto attributes the church’s foundation to Elnothus Lincolniensis, almost certainly Aelfnoth, Bishop of Dorchester, c. 975, who built the church, possibly on the site of an earlier wooden Saxon church, to serve as Minster (or mother church) for the Lincolnshire part of his large diocese, it was a sort of cathedral because part of the bishop's household of priests (which later became the cathedral chapter) lived in Stow and administered this part of the diocese. The memory of this period gave rise to the tradition that Stow is the Mother Church of Lincoln Cathedral.

It is said to have been re-founded and re-endowed in 1054 by Leofric and Godiva encouraged by Bishop Wulfwig as a Minster of Secular Canons with the Bishop at its head. In 1091 Bishop Remigius of Fécamp re-founded it as an abbey and brought monks to it from Eynsham, describing the church as having been a long time deserted and ruined. Within five years his successor had transferred the monks back from where they had come and St Mary’s had become a parish church.

In 1865 J .L. Pearson built the stair turret outside of the church. This was originally inside the church in the nave up against the north side of the tower arch. At the same time some windows were altered and the church was re-roofed. A new vestry was added in the early 1990s with skeletons and a broken 13th century limestone cross being found during the work.

One mile (2 km) to the west of the village and lying just to the south of the Roman road known as Tillbridge Lane are to be found the remains of the medieval palace of the Bishops of Lincoln built in 1336. All that can be seen today are the earthworks of the moat and to the north and east of the site the earthwork remains of its associated medieval fish-ponds.

Conservation Issues

Included in the 100 most endangered sites in the world by the World Monument Fund in 2006, this special building is in need of water and weatherproofing before the internal decoration can be addressed. [4]

This important Anglo-Saxon Minster has parts dating from 950 A.D. It attracts visitors from round the world and is an important historic and spiritual site which was restored in Victorian times but now needs major restoration and repair works. [4]

The Church is a Grade 1 listed building so great care needs to be taken. It is estimated that the work will take at least 10 years to complete and cost between £2-3 million at current prices. [4]

References

[1] GENUKI. Stow-in-Lindsey. Retrieved on 2007-06-15 - [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Stow/]

[2] BBC NEWS. Accessed 9th April 2008 - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/4629115.stm]

[3] Lincolnshire County Council. Accessed 9th April 2008 - [http://microsites.lincolnshire.gov.uk/venuedetails.asp?venueCode=2094]

[4] Stow Group of Churches and the Friends of Stow Minster. Accessed 9th April 2008 - [http://www.stowminster.org.uk/projects/projects.htm]