RIPPINGALE & KIRKBY UNDERWOOD
RIPPINGALE : CHURCH OF ST ANDREW
Church Post Code PE10 0SR
Opened by arrangement
It was a crisp February morning in 2023, with the church of St Andrew, Rippingale being the first church of the day visited in what turned out to be a 13 church crawl which started in Lincolnshire; crossing the border in to Rutland during the afternoon.
The frost was thick on the ground as we arrived, with the temperature having dipped to minus five the previous night. The church here was due to be closed to visitors but had been left open for me by prior arrangement, which I really appreciated. I did feel a certain amount of guilt though in the keyholder coming out on so cold a morning!
In the past, the church here had been open to visitors from Easter until the autumn, but I am not sure if that is still the case now.
This was a revisit for me, with my previous visit here coming back in 2016, when I briefly popped in on a blustery Sunday morning as I cycled from my digs close to Morton to a Communion Service at Scott Willoughby; one of the smallest churches in Lincolnshire. I was very tight for time that morning, with more than half an eye on the distance that I had to cycle in to a strong headwind, with just five minutes spent at Rippingale that morning. It took a mere seven years to revisit; no point in rushing.
Rippingale is a village in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire which had a population of 929 at the time of the 2011 census. It can be found just off the A15, some five miles north of Bourne. This is as far north as my sites cover; being some 22 miles north of Peterborough using the A15.
Interestingly, Rippingale is suggested as being the inspiration behind BBC Radios the Archers. Those in Inkberrow in Worcestershire disagree , saying that the radio series was inspired by their village.
The church of St Andrew, sits centrally in the village, alongside the main road, set in picturesque grounds with evergreen Cedar trees dominating. It sits on slightly raised ground, with the top of the churchyard wall being at ground level, giving an uninterrupted view across the church grounds. The trees are beautiful but, as with nearby Edenham, it does make it a little difficult to photograph the exterior from certain directions.
There was a church and priest mentioned here at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, but nothing of that previous structure remains. The church that we see today was begun in the mid-13th century and consists of west tower, nave, south aisle, clerestories, south porch and chancel.
The square, battlemented tower dates from the mid-15th century; crocked pinnacles rising up from all four corners. Gargoyles can be seen on the south and west sides. There is a beast with mouth pulled open in medieval gesture of insult on the west and south sides, and a bearded human figure to the south supports a more modern water spout on his shoulder head titled and looking upwards towards Heaven.
There is a modern sundial to the east of the porch, this dating from 2001, with the previous one now spending its retirement in the church, under the tower. Looking at the exterior from the south, I hadn’t realised that there were clerestory windows here until I went inside!
The view of the church from the west is impressive, with substantial nave and south aisle; the latter dates from around 1300 and ended in a chapel dedicated to St Anne.
The wide south porch dates to the 14th century, with stone benches inside. On one of these is graffiti in the form of the traced outline of a Hobnail boot. There are several hexfoil designs; ritual protection marks, in the frame of the inner door.
When Thomas North compiled his study of the church bells In Lincolnshire, which was published in 1882, there were five bells in the ring here, with all five cast by William Dobson, a Downham Market founder; in 1830, towards the end of his 32 years career.
This replaced a previous ring of three, with a £200 legacy from local man Richard Casswell financing this ring of three to be recast in to a ring of five. Of the three bells prior to 1830, the first had the name Samuel Orr inscribed on it. The second was dated 1620, along with the name Thomas Bacon and the third was cast at the Stamford bellfoundry, being inscribed ‘Thomas Norris made me 1672’
Of the ring of five cast by Dobson, two were blank, two had the basic information of date and founder’s name and one was inscribed ‘Long Live William the Fourth’.
In his usual thorough style North mentioned notes in the church wardens account books which stated that it cost £51 10 shillings for work on the bell frames in December 1831, with a further cost of £50 for the bells to be hung. These days, there is a ring of six bells here with one further being added by Taylor of Loughborough in 1935.
Moving inside, the internal set up is interesting. The nave and south aisle are separated by a six bay arcade, which dates from around 1300, with the piers being quatrefoil with moulded capitals. The bays extend as far as the east wall with the church organ occupying the most eastern bay. There is no chancel arch here. A series of stone monuments face the east window of the south chapel. I will cover those later. Standing at the east and looking west, the previous outline of the roof from the pre clerestory days is visible on the west wall.
The tower arch is tall and slender, with pointed arch, with Victorian patterned glass in the west window.
The east window of the chancel is of three lights, and dates from 1920 with a stained glass depiction of Jesus as the God Shepherd at the centre. A small panel below shows the reinstatement of Peter after he betrayed Jesus three times on the night of Jesus’ arrest.
To the left as we look at it we see St Andrew with saltire cross, on which he would later be martyred. To the right we have St Anne teaching Mary the mother of Jesus to read.
A 19th century piscina is set in to the east wall, to the right of the altar, which is plain and simple, with green altar cloth indicating that we were in ‘ordinary time’, one of the periods between the major festivals, in this case the period between Christmas and Lent.
The east window of the south chapel is of four lights; containing stained glass of vibrant colours. There are eight main panels, with a mix of Old and New Testament. Starting with the former, Joseph is lowered in to the well by his brothers, with a powerful depiction of Elijah being taken up to Heaven by a chariot of fire, Elisha watching on.
Close by we have Job seated under a palm tree and Abraham stopped from sacrificing his son Isaac; an angel of the Lord preventing this and pointing out the sacrificial ram that had been provided.
The New Testament has the resurrection and the ascension put together, with close by illustration of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and the crucifixion. The former shows Jesus at prayer on the night of his arrest; at prayer with an angel presenting the cup from which he is to drink. The disciples sleep in the foreground.
The latter shows Christ crucified, with Mary the Mother of Jesus and John in their traditional positions. The sky consists of dark blue and blood red bands.
Up in the tracery of this window, the Risen Christ is throned in glory, hand raised in blessing, with wounds visible; attended by angels. Lower down, two trefoil panels show angels with censers worshiping their King.
As mentioned earlier, memorials face the east window. A 13th century recumbent effigy of a deacon holds open a book which rests on his chest; the inscription in the book is said to read ‘Here lies Hugh Geboed. Pray for his soul’. This monument has been defaced, literally with the facial features erased.
Close by is a 12th century effigy of a knight in armour, sword at side, with hands raised in prayer and one foot resting on a lion. The knight is crossed legged and some suggest that this denotes that this was a crusader who died in the Christian faith.
The largest monument is badly mutilated and is to Sir Roger De Quincey, who is depicted with his two wives. The three lay on a fabulously crafted altar tomb; with the figure of Sir Roger in particular being badly mutilated, having lost his legs. Mutilated angels tend their pillows with mutilated dogs at their feet.
In a recess in the south wall, under an elaborate ogee canopy, is a 14th – century memorial to Margaret Goband. She rests with head on pillow and hands raised in prayer. The Gobands/Geboeds’ were the Lords of the Manor in Rippingale during the medieval period.
The church grounds here are large, well maintained, with some interesting slate gravestones. Close to the path which leads to the church from the east is a stone to one Ann Shield who died in 1735. The symbolism at the foot of the stone is interesting; the human skull bottom left with the gravedigger’s tools of pick and shovel, crossed with two human bones bottom right. All of these are symbols of the mortality of Man and reminds the onlooker as to the fragility of life and the inevitability of death.
Script at the bottom reads ‘O crewill death that would not spare/a loving wife, a tender mother dear/Great is the loss to those that’s left behind/No doubt but eternal joy will find’.
One further slate stone has a finely carved angel holding a trumpet and a crown. The trumpet was a often used symbol of the resurrection with the crown symbolising victory. Both taken together can also be a statement as to the faith of the deceased.
Close by, there is an intricately carved cross and anchor; each symbols of the Christian faith. These are connected with a banner on which is carved ‘In hope of salvation thro’ Christ our redeemer’.
This is a beautiful, historic church with much of interest. It was time to hit the road again; revisiting several Lincolnshire churches in the area, including Burton Le Coggles, which I gained access to for the first time after six previous failed attempts spread over a period of 16 years!. The frost was lifting, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, it was two days away from work and all was good with the world. We headed westwards towards Corby Glen!
KIRKBY UNDERWOOD : CHURCH OF ST MARY & ALL SAINTS
Church Post Code PE10 0SA
Closed to visitors
It was early August 2025 and a day’s churchcrawling in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire had ended with an unscheduled visit to the church of St Mary and All Saints at Kirkby Underwood.
We had completed our list of planned churches visited at Aslackby, and then decided to head off to the south west to Kirkby Underwood; a journey made more in hope than expectation with the church here being closed on ten previous occasions visited over a 15 year period. With the church here not answering my e mails (which is not a criticism but a fact) it made entry to this church very difficult. As it happens we fell lucky with the church open with someone doing some work in the tower.
The church is set to the west of the village, at the end of track; lonely and isolated with a road alongside the track leading off through the Lincolnshire farmlands to nowhere in particular. Fond memories of standing in the church grounds here on a cold blustery grey winter’s afternoon watching a Red Kite circling the tower looking for food. It was quiet, peaceful and beautiful. Another visit saw the approach to the church from the east a mass of yellow with the oilseed rape in full flower; much to the disgust of hay fever sufferers everywhere.
It had been a warm and sunny day on this August revisit, with hardly a cloud in the sky; with the country having come through its third but not final heatwave of the year. The clouds had built though and it was still and humid. In past years we would have had storms forecast but not this time.
The church that we see today consists of west tower, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch and chancel. At one point back in time there was a north aisle here.
The church dates back to the 12th century but a close look at the exterior shows what appear to be fragments of Saxon interlace stonework built in to the walls. The main bulk of the structure that we see today dates from the late 12th to early 13th centuries; with the west tower being an early 15th century addition. The clerestory was added later that century. The church was fully restored in the 1890’s.
There are no airs and graces here and no signs that anyone here over the centuries was trying to build bigger and better than its neighbours. This is a basic structure which will have modestly served the needs of its congregation without fuss for many centuries; tucked away out of sight but there for anyone who needed! I have a great deal of time for that!
Looking at the church from the south, the tower is plain and without buttresses; a single broken gargoyle looks out forlornly from the south, if something that has lost its head can look out at all! A plain parapet runs across the top of the tower with substantial crocketed pinnacles at each corner. The outline of the original roof line before the clerestory was added can be seen against the east wall of the tower.
The clerestory takes the form of three two light windows and my eye was caught by a 14th century triple lancet ogee headed window on the south aisle. The south porch dates from the 15th century and working along the lines of if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing I will pass over the blue doors to the south porch and one further of the same colour to the north. The chancel roof is steeply pitches tile with 11th century Saxon fragments in the south wall of the nave and chancel.
The views of the church to the south are restricted a little due to trees, so most of the exterior shots showing the full length of the church are shot from the north.
There are four bells in the ring here with the first of the ring dated 1957 from Taylor of Loughborough. The third dates from Mears and Stainbank of London; cast in 1938. The third and fourth are each courtesy of Henry II Harrison of Barrow on Humber Lincolnshire.
When Thomas North had his study of the church bells in Lincolnshire published in 1882 there were three in the ring here. North was very thorough in his work but his entry for Kirkby Underwood has scant details; there is also a discrepancy in as much as he notes only a single bell from Harrison and two bearing a shield that was used by Tobias Norris I of the Stamford bellfoundry.
The visitor enters in through an early 13th century south door which has an ancient image niche with trefoil head above it; with this housing a modern statue of the Virgin Mary.
There was the sound of drilling coming from up in the tower; a very long vertigo inducing ladder propped up leading to the bell tower. I certainly didn’t want to shout out and be responsible for anyone having to climb down that ladder any more than necessary so took a quick look around the interior.
The eye of the visitor is immediately caught by the outline of the bricked up arches of the north aisle. I haven’t found out what happened to necessitate the removal of the aisle and the date of the removal but Kelly’s Directory from 1885 made no mention of the north aisle and described the church condition as being in a ‘very ruinous state’.
The south arcade dates from the mid 13th century and is of three aisles, with the most western pier having been remodelled during the 14th century with the capital on that having foliate decoration. The chancel arch is a 19th century rebuilding, the tower arch though is ancient dating from the late 12th century indicating that the present tower replaced an earlier structure.
The church organ sits at the east end of the south aisle. Much of the fixtures and fittings here date from the period of late Victorian restoration. At the east end of the nave, a banner shows a trinity shield. This was a diagram which was often used to explain the concept of the trinity. It consists of four nodes. The three outer nodes would have been labelled with the elements of the trinity “Father” “Son” and “Holy Spirit”. The inner node would have been labelled “God”. Six lines connect the nodes and these lines would have been marked either “is” or “is not” Twelve statements can be made as follows…
The Father is God" "The Son is God" "The Holy Spirit is God" "God is the Father" "God is the Son" "God is the Holy Spirit" "The Father is not the Son" "The Father is not the Holy Spirit" "The Son is not the Father" "The Son is not the Holy Spirit" "The Holy Spirit is not the Father" "The Holy Spirit is not the Son"
Moving in to the chancel the east window is of three lights and takes the form of a memorial window for those of the parish who fell during the First World War. Central is Christ in glory, hand raised in blessing; flanked by golden haired and golden winged angels who hold scrolls on which are written ‘I am the resurrection and the life’. Golden shafts of light radiate out from the risen Christ, stretching out towards Mary the mother of Jesus and St George who stand either side but below Jesus. This window was made by Burlison and Grylls, stained glass manufacturers of London and was unveiled and dedicated in October 1920.
The altar is plain and simple, in keeping with the rest of the structure. There is a double piscina against the south wall of the chancel; with this being another Victorian rebuilding. Of considerably more age is the doorway high up to the south of the chancel arch, which provided the access out on to the rood loft in pre reformation days when the rood, a large carving of the crucifixion with Mary the mother of Jesus and John standing alongside the cross, was a part of everyday church life before times changed with these and other items seen as idolatrous and destroyed.
A carving of a male figure looks out from across the west end of the nave; depicted with wide eyes and long wavy hair. Perhaps a representation of an actual person present here at the time, centuries ago.
The church grounds are of interest with several finely carved gravestones in slate which is rich in symbolism. One in particular caught the eye with a funeral urn central with symbols of the mortality of Man in the form of human skull and the gravedigger’s tools of pick and shovel. The anchor and cross are symbols of the Christian faith with a serpent, a symbol of eternal life, weaves its way through the tableaux. We can read this as death being part of Man’s life, with the Christian faith leading to eternal life.
One further gravestone has a similar theme but also has an open book which has the script ‘For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive’ which comes from I Corinthians Chapter 12 verse 22.
Some more modern gravestone make for sad reading. There is a stone standing for a 16 year old boy who died in a farming accident in 1924 and curiously over to the east we see a stone which notes the deaths of Hannah and Lizzie Marshall who each died in their 50’s within two days of each other in 1922.
It was great to finally see inside this church after several earlier attempts; and that was it for the day. The church here at St Mary was the 12th and final visited with ten being open, with admittedly this final one being more by look than planning! I can’t sit here and claim that anyone visiting this church out of service times will find it open; however I can say that it is worth taking a look at and there are normally several churches open in the close vicinity to make it worthwhile with
And to complete this look at the church of St Mary, Kirkby Underwood three photographs taken back in 2007; approaching the church from the east with fields of oilseed rape.
