St Helen, Edlington

St Helen is a Grade II greenstone parish church at Edlington, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire, in the Diocese of Lincoln, largely rebuilt by James Fowler but retaining Norman and Early English fabric.

Overview

Historic England and Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer date the church to the twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, with restoration and rebuilding in 1860 by James Fowler of Louth. The fabric is squared greenstone rubble with ashlar dressings and plain and fish-scale tiled roofs. The plan comprises a western tower, nave, chancel, south aisle and porch. The sixteenth-century three-stage tower has a moulded plinth, angled buttresses and a nineteenth-century belfry stage with battlemented parapet; the west window is of three lights under a four-centred arch. The blocked thirteenth-century north arcade is visible externally, with reset late-thirteenth-century aisle windows in the blocking. The chancel has a nineteenth-century three-light east window with roundels.

The listing notes a square font dated 1599 decorated with blank round-headed arches. Local accounts add a Norman tower doorway and tower arch and an Early English font among the survivals. The church stands under the Wolds near the River Bain and is seen at its best during the February snowdrop festival in the churchyard.

Further Information

• Historic England list entry 1063178
• Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer: St Helen, Edlington