Church Of St Benedict

Church of St Benedict

A Grade II* listed church in Lincoln, now the offices of the Lincoln Diocesan Mothers' Union. The building dates from the 13th and early 14th centuries. The nave and north aisle were demolished in the mid-17th century, when the west tower was rebuilt using salvaged materials. The church was restored and converted to secular use in 1931. It is constructed of coursed rubble with dressed stone and brick, ashlar dressings, and a plain tile roof.

Exterior

The west tower is square with two stages. It has a renewed rendered plinth, quoins, a single string course, and an eaves band with the remains of gargoyles, a plain parapet, and corner piers. On the south side is a 17th-century studded door with wooden lintel, surmounted by a mask corbel. Two small square windows are set to the west. The second stage has on each side a double round-headed opening with a reused central mullion.

The south side comprises four bays with a central buttress, incomplete sill and impost bands, and a mask corbel table. A small Decorated 2-light window is positioned to the left, with three 3-light pointed arched windows of the 14th century above and to the right, all restored. A 13th-century lancet with hoodmould stands to the right again. The east end has flanking buttresses and a round-headed blocked door, above which is a 5-light window with flowing tracery and hoodmould. At the west end is a blocked four-centred arch and a 3-light pointed arched window of the 14th century.

The north aisle comprises three bays with a brick parapet and three buttresses. At the west end are the remains of a demolished gable. The north side has a Perpendicular-style 3-light window with hoodmould and stops to the west. The west end features a Decorated-style 3-light window with ogee-headed lights. The east end has a similar window with a four-centred arched head, hoodmould, and mask stops.

Interior

Below the tower is a 17th-century cleft ladder. The north arcade, dating to the 13th century, comprises two bays with an octagonal pier bearing two remaining round shafts and half-octagonal responds, all with stiff-leaf capitals. Double roll-moulded arches on the nave side have hoodmoulds. To the east is a 17th-century doorway with a studded door. The south side and east end have incomplete sill bands. The south side has a 13th-century double piscina to the east and a cusped ogee-headed tomb recess with mask and beast finials to the west. At the west end is a moulded blocked arch. The roof is a much-altered double purlin common rafter construction.

The north aisle has a blocked double-chamfered arch at its west end with a fielded panelled door and an inscription dated 1952. The east end has a moulded plinth and sill band to the south, and a door to the north, above which is a blocked 13th-century lancet with hoodmould. The roof is low-pitched double purlin with arch braces, wall shafts, and mask corbels.

Fittings and Memorials

The fittings include a 17th-century octagonal panelled oak pulpit, altered in the 19th century, mounted on a reused panelled octagonal stone base. A late 18th-century font of eggcup form with swags and a square stem is also present. Royal arms dated 1734, repainted 1819, bear the churchwardens' names.

Memorials include a brass with weepers dated 1687, a scrolled cartouche with arms and cherubs from 1739, and a tablet of 1853 to William Nicholson, RIBA. Several 18th and 19th-century tablets are also present.