Church Of St Guthlac

Church of St Guthlac

A church dating from the late 13th century with 17th-century alterations and repairs, located on Church Lane. It was restored in 1867-8 by R W Johnson. The building is constructed of coursed squared ironstone and coursed ironstone rubble with limestone dressings. Lead roofs cover most of the structure, except for the north aisle and porch which have Swithland slate roofs.

The church comprises a chancel, a former north chancel chapel, an aisled nave, north and south porches, and a west tower.

The chancel has a 4-light east window with cusped heads to the lights and a 4-centred head, together with 2-light windows to the south having ogee-arched heads to the lights and basket-arched heads. All windows have hood moulds, with the eastern window featuring label stops. A small chamfered priest's door to the south has a Tudor-arched head. The former north chancel chapel contains a 2-light east window, probably of the 17th century, with a chamfered mullion and straight head, and a 3-light window to the north with round trefoil-headed lights and a 4-centred head. Both have hood moulds. A door to the northwest is blocked.

The nave has a 3-window clerestory of 2-light windows with ogee-arched heads to the lights, straight heads, and hollow-chamfered surrounds. The north aisle features a 3-light window to the northeast with round trefoil-headed lights and a 4-centred head, lancet windows to the northwest and west end, all except the last with hood moulds. A chamfered north doorway has imposts decorated with small nailhead ornament. The north porch has a weathered doorway with a double-chamfered head, the continuous outermost moulding and polygonal responds innermost, plus a hood mould. The south porch has a similar doorway.

The south aisle has a 3-light east window with Perpendicular tracery featuring fleur-de-lys ornament to a small transom above the central light, a 4-centred head, and a hood mould. A 3-light window to the southeast has pointed trefoil-headed lights and a 4-centred head. A 3-light window to the southwest has cinquefoil-headed outer lights, an ogee-arched head to the central light and a basket-arched head, and a lancet window to the west end, all with hood moulds and label stops to the southwest window. A fine late 13th-century south door has roll-moulding with a fillet innermost, large dog-tooth ornament outermost, imposts, and more dog-tooth ornament to the hood mould. A scratch dial appears on one of the quoins of the southeast angle of the south aisle.

The 3-stage tower has a 1-light window to the bottom stage west with a cinquefoiled head and hood mould, and a 1-light window to the middle stage south with a straight head, chamfered surround, and transom. Cast-iron clock faces appear on the north and south, and 2-light bell-chamber openings have ogee-arched heads to the lights and hood moulds. The tower features offset clasping buttresses and a battlemented parapet with crocketed pinnacles at the angles and two gargoyles to each side. The body of the church has stone-coped gables with kneelers, those to the south aisle carved with animal or demon heads.

Interior features include a cusped ogee-arched piscina in the chancel. A tall double hollow-chamfered arch leads to the north chancel chapel, with the continuous outermost moulding and inner chamfer on polygonal responds with moulded capitals. The former chapel, now used as a vestry, has a round trefoil-headed piscina immediately to the right of a blocked corner fireplace and graffiti, mostly of the 18th century, to the base of windows. Between the chapel and north aisle stands a double wave-moulded arch with double-chamfered responds and capitals decorated with fleurons and heads. An image bracket to the right of the arch on the aisle side at high level is decorated with fleurons.

The nave has 3-bay arcades with octagonal piers, polygonal responds, moulded capitals, and double-chamfered arches. A Perpendicular-style roof features arch braces to ties and wall posts on carved stone head corbels. The south aisle contains an aumbry and the remains of a piscina. The tower arch has double-chamfered responds with broad fillets innermost, moulded capitals, and a triple-chamfered arch. A chamfered ogee-arched doorway in the tower leads to an internal stair turret. An octagonal font features 2-light blank tracery patterns to the bowl, including Perpendicular motifs. A blackened charity or commandment board in the tower has a moulded surround.

Monuments include a wall monument in the chancel of veined white and black marble with a Latin inscription to Reverend Richard Cooke, died 1704, featuring a broken segmental pediment framing a cartouche of arms. A slate wall monument with gilded incised ornament and lettering to Reverend Thomas Parke, died 1839, is signed Johnson, Melton.

The former north chancel chapel was once used as a village school. The poet George Crabbe was curate here from 1785-89. Three of his children were baptized in the church, which was where he began to write his poetry.