St Denys, Sleaford
St Denys, Sleaford
St Denys is the Grade I parish church on the Market Place in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, in the Diocese of Lincoln. Pevsner and Harris called following the mason's inventiveness here a prolonged delight, and the church is a prime example of Decorated Gothic in England.
- Location
- Sleaford, Lincolnshire
- Country
- England
- County
- Lincolnshire
- City / town
- Sleaford
- Address
- Market Place, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 7SH
- Postcode
- NG34 7SH
- Built
- Tower c.1180; spire c.1220; Decorated nave C14; clerestory c.1430
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Denys
- Diocese
- Lincoln
- Parish
- Sleaford St Denys
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Decorated Gothic; early stone broach spire
- Materials
- Ancaster stone with lead roof
- Grid reference
- TF 068 458
- Opening hours
- Sorry, there are no public contact details for this church.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby
Overview
The listing dates the tower to about 1180 and the stone broach spire to about 1220, one of the earliest of its type, though the spire was rebuilt after lightning in 1884. The fourteenth-century Decorated nave and aisles extend westwards and a large north transept was added. A clerestory of about 1430 accompanied remodelling of the chancel. Kirk and Parry added an outer north aisle in 1853, reusing old windows. Mid-fourteenth-century tracery and ornament are particularly fine, with carved corbels and heads in the nave.
The medieval rood screen retains its original platform and pulpitum; Sir Ninian Comper restored the balustrade and rood in 1918. Other fittings include a communion rail said to be by Wren and brought from Lincoln Cathedral, a much-repaired Decorated font, a piece of seventeenth-century Sheldon tapestry, a dole cupboard, a desk with fifteen chained books, and a peal of eight bells of 1796. Carre family monuments commemorate Sleaford's seventeenth-century lords of the manor. The fabric is Ancaster stone with a lead roof.