Church Of Holy Trinity

Church of Holy Trinity

A collegiate and parish church standing on the south side of Sleaford Road at Tattershall. Built between 1440 and 1500 by Ralph Cromwell, following a royal licence granted in 1439 by King Henry VI to convert an existing Norman parish church into a collegiate foundation. The college was designed to house seven priests, six secular clerks, six choristers, and thirteen poor elderly people in almshouses. The work was completed by William of Waynflete. The college buildings were demolished in 1545. Much of the original stained glass was removed to Stamford in 1754. The church was restored between 1893 and 1897.

The building is constructed in ashlar with lead roofs. It comprises a western tower of four stages, a clerestoried nave with aisles, transepts, chancel, and a north porch.

The western tower stands on a plinth with moulded string courses, a plain parapet, angle buttresses and pinnacles. The belfry stage features triple louvred lights within a four-centred arched surround on each side. The main entrance is formed by panelled and traceried double doors set in a deeply recessed double concave arched surround, with shields and quatrefoils in the spandrels and an outer panelled order decorated with lozenges. Two vertical traceried panels flank the doorway, above which runs a cusped frieze bearing shields. Above this is a large five-light transomed window, with a single rectangular light to the third stage. The north side of the tower carries a large painted clock face. To either side are large four-light windows serving the aisles.

The church body has a bell-moulded plinth, plain parapets, and stepped buttresses with pinnacles. The north side displays five large four-light windows. The clerestory contains four pairs of three-light windows within four-centred arched surrounds. The gabled south porch features a four-centred outer arch with quatrefoils to the spandrels, and to the right a niche for a stoup. Above the arch is a square panel containing the arms of Bishop Waynflete, surmounted by an empty ogee-headed niche with cross fleury. The porch has side benches and two-light windows, with a fifteenth-century roof displaying moulded principals. The inner door is panelled with traceried heads and an ogee wicket, the inner arch matching the outer.

The north transept has a single four-light window to the west, a six-light transomed window to the north, and two four-light windows to the east. The transept sides are clerestoried with paired three-light windows. The chancel contains five transomed three-light windows, with the east window transomed with seven lights. Above the east window is an empty rib-vaulted and embattled niche. The south chancel wall matches the north; at its base are ledges indicating the former position of a cloister roof. The south transept mirrors the north, with the addition of a doorway in the south wall having a moulded surround. The south aisle matches the north and has a doorway without a porch.

Interior

The interior is constructed in ashlar. There are four-bay north and south arcades with taller single eastern bays opening into the transepts. The arcades feature lozenge-shaped piers on tall bases with clustered triple-shafted reveals and octagonal imposts. The arches are hollow-chamfered. Between the arches, round wall shafts ascend to octagonal corbels, which support the tie beams of the contemporary roof. This roof features angel supporters and brattished principals. The tower arch is tall and panelled, with a double wave-moulded continuous surround and a tall bell-moulded base. Deeply hollow-chamfered arches in the tower sides open into the aisles. The aisle roofs match that of the nave and have foliate corbels.

In the south transept chapel is a piscina with ribbed vault and a frieze of roses to the cill. The ashlar base with pierced quatrefoils of the original screen survives, as do two pierced panels of woodwork. In the south wall of the north transept is a further vaulted piscina with an oak-leaf frieze to the cill.

Before the chancel arch stands a sixteenth-century stone pulpitum with central double doors bearing decorative muntins and traceried panel heads, set within a four-centred arched surround with shafted reveals and cusped head. The doors are flanked by two recesses with similar arches; the right-hand recess is pierced with three quatrefoils. Above the arches are two tiers of blank cusped-headed panels divided by half-round ribs. The screen top is embellished with enriched trefoil brattishing. A panelled passageway leads to the collegiate chancel. On the eastern side of the screen is a projecting canted gallery with blank panels and brattishing matching the west side. The panelled chancel arch has shafted reveals and annular capitals. The chancel roof has arched ties resting on octagonal corbels of angel supporters carrying shields, with brattished wall plates and principals, and pierced panel traceried spandrels.

In the south wall of the chancel is a triple sedilia with a piscina beyond, featuring four-centred arched heads with ogee crocketed canopies, pinnacles, and a frieze decorated with fabulous beasts and trefoil brattishing. The east window contains fifteenth-century glass in its seven lower panels, some reset; this represents all that remained after the Earl of Exeter removed the remainder to Stamford in 1754.

Fittings and Monuments

Many pieces of fifteenth-century woodwork are reused in prayer desks and the sides of the chancel pulpit. The octagonal nave pulpit with decorative panel sides appears to be original. The font is octagonal with a swept base having traceried panel sides, a chamfered bowl, and a plain upper section.

Six brasses are located in the north transept, three commemorating collegiate clergymen and two showing the deceased in full vestments at half-life size. These include William Moor, B.D., died 1456; Joan, Lady Cromwell, died 1479, depicted in rich costume surrounded by figures of saints; and Matilda, Lady Willoughby d'Evesby, died 1497, also life-sized and attended by saints. Additional brasses commemorate a warden of the college (1510–1520), possibly Henry Hornby, shown attired as a priest with cassock, surplice and fur tippet; and William Symon, died 1519, priest.