Church Of St. Guthlac

Church of St. Guthlac, Market Deeping

A parish church of complex build dates spanning the late 12th century through to the 19th century. The church was substantially restored in 1875 by James Fowler of Louth. It is constructed in ashlar and coursed limestone rubble with lead roofs, and comprises a western tower, clerestoried nave with aisles, chancel, south porch and vestry.

The three-stage tower dates to 1440 and features clasping buttresses and an embattled parapet. On the south wall is a pointed niche with a grotesque mark, and a two-light window to the middle stage. The belfry stage contains large two-light windows with two tiers of louvred openings topped with trefoil heads and quatrefoils. The south side only bears a portcullis above the window and a painted sundial originally from 1710, restored in 1880 and 1980. Two-light windows appear in all upper stages. The west wall has a chamfered four-centred arched doorway and a three-light panel-traceried window. The west walls of both north and south aisles contain three-light 15th-century windows with cusped heads and four-centred arched surrounds.

The 15th-century aisle features a bell-moulded plinth and moulded parapet. The north aisle has two-light windows, with only the western example being 15th-century with cusped heads; the other three are of 1877 restoration, the aisle itself being dated 1877. The nave clerestory has a battlemented parapet with coved cornice bearing fleurons, and four two-light windows with trilobe heads and quatrefoils.

The vestry contains a reset early 15th-century pointed doorway with moulded surround and hood, and 19th-century two-light windows in the north and east walls. The large 15th-century chancel east window consists of five lights arranged in two tiers with panel tracery and cusping to the heads and transoms. The chancel south wall, dating to around 1500, has three three-light windows divided by stepped buttresses, with cusped heads, moulded pointed surrounds, and a contemporary doorway with moulded surround.

The south aisle east wall contains a two-light 14th-century cusped ogee window with cambered head, and in the south wall a 14th-century two-light Y-tracery window. Beyond to the east is a broad 15th-century two-light window with cusped head and quatrefoil. The clerestory to this side matches that on the opposite side.

The early 13th-century gabled south porch has a double-chamfered pointed outer arch with shafted reveals and circular capitals. Cast iron side benches are present, and the porch gates date to around 1875 by Colman of Market Deeping. The inner late 12th-century doorway has a rounded head with single angle shafts featuring waterleaf capitals and keeled roll moulding to the head. The 19th-century double doors contain reset scrolled and floriated early 13th-century ironwork hinge pieces.

In the porch are several important fragments of sculptured stone. These include a fragment of a late 10th-century Anglo-Saxon tomb cover with single-strand interlace panels, an early 13th-century coped and tapering grave cover with floriated cross and horseshoe ribbons to the centre, and a fragment of a late 13th-century tomb cover with elaborately decorated cross head and raised flowers.

Interior

The tower arch of 1440 has shafted reveals with bell-moulded bases and embattled octagonal capitals, a moulded and pointed arch with hood bearing 19th-century stops. The late 12th-century north arcade comprises three bays with quatrefoil piers and responds, circular abaci, and double-chamfered round arches with chamfered hoods. The 13th-century south arcade also features quatrefoil piers with moulded capitals, double-chamfered pointed arches and hoods.

An early 14th-century piscina in the south aisle has a cusped ogee head and trefoil hood. The east wall holds an aumbry and statue bracket. The north aisle contains a cusped-headed piscina with pointed hood, above which is a 15th-century four-centred arched opening to the former rood loft. A pointed archway in the east wall retains one probably reset late 12th-century waterleaf angle shaft. Late 15th-century grotesque corbels support the nave roof.

The 1875 chancel arch has sandstone wall shafts supporting a double-chamfered arch with moulded hoods; the shaft bases are carved with birds. The chancel north wall contains a reset 15th-century archway with octagonal reveals and capitals, beyond which is a reset tomb recess with relieving arch. The south wall holds a square aumbry and early 16th-century double sedilia with a priests' door, both featuring scrolled crocketed gablettes. To the east is a 14th-century piscina with a crocketed ogee arched head with foliate terminal. The east wall contains two 14th-century niches with ogee canopies, now housing 19th-century plaster figures of St. Hugh and St. Guthlac.

Behind the latter figure is a fine 19th-century mosaic reredos depicting a stepped cross flanked by kneeling angels. The chancel also has grotesque corbels and retains the moulded principals and rafters of the circa 1500 roof, enriched with angel supporters carrying books and scrolls.

The stained glass in the south chancel wall depicts the life of St. Guthlac in windows of 1878 and 1908 by H. Hughes. In the north aisle is a fine two-light stained glass window of 1920 in grisaille glass depicting St. Michael and St. Gabriel, by H. Hendry.

All fittings date to 1875, including the facetted wooden pulpit and brass eagle lectern. The octagonal font is a recut 15th-century example with cusped shields and quatrelobes to the sides and trefoils on the base.

Monuments include a slate wall tablet in the south wall of the chancel to William Bailey, died 1812, with a draped marble urn above. In the north wall of the chancel is a mid-13th-century coped and tapered grave slab bearing a cross fleury with foliate stem and tailed terminal.