THE SAXON MINSTER OF ST. MARY

The magnificent Lincoln Cathedral is well known but how many people know that there is a Minster in Lincolnshire which is recognised as the Mother Church of Lincoln Cathedral ? Just eleven miles North/West of Lincoln, on the A1241, stands the Old Saxon Minster of St. Mary which dates back to roughly 975 AD and was possibly built on the site of an earlier wooden building. In 1054 Leofric and Godiva (everyone will know of Lady Godiva of Coventry) urged on by Bishop Wulfwig re-founded the Minster and then in 1091 it was again re-founded as an Abbey by Bishop Remigious after it had been described as a ruin. Within five years though, the Minster had become one of the largest Parish Churches in the Country. At a later date there were various renovations and alterations to the building and a 13th Century broken limestone cross was found, together with skeletons, in the 1990s.

Today, more renovations and restorations are needed if the Minster is to survive and fortunately there seems to be a dedicated group of people who are doing just that.








St. Mary's has the tallest Saxon arches in Europe.




The Early English Font in the Minster has a number of Pagan carvings around it such as a dragon and a Green Man and is also notable for standing on nine supporting columns










In another section of the church, the wall has been defaced by graffiti - but WHAT graffiti !!! A sketch of a Viking ship has been scratched onto the wall possibly by an invader who reached this part of the country by sailing down the River Trent in the 10th Century.

In the photographs below, one of them is of the wall itself but with the ship very hard to see and in the other I have tried to show just where the ship is but I don't for one moment think that my interpretation of the sketch is correct in every detail - a lot of it was guess work. You may have a better view of this, or in fact, any of the photographs in this blog, by clicking on the image. Once you have finished looking at the larger version then click on the return arrow at the top of your screen.




There are so many beautiful things to see in the Minster, such as this candelabra....


....or this lecturn.....


......and this pulpit beside which is a plaque with the following inscription on it.

+IN MEMORY OF EDMUND H. HASKINS, RECTOR OF THIS PARISH OF STOW WHO DIED OF SMALLPOX CAUGHT IN MINISTERING TO HIS FLOCK MARCH 2 1877 THIS PULPIT WAS RESTORED FROM WHICH FOR 12 YEARS HE PREACHED GOD'S WORD. +I HAVE NOT SHUNNED TO DECLARE UNTO YOU THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD.


The plaque below states - THIS PIER, BEARING MARKS OF FIRE, HAS BEEN LEFT UNRESTORED THAT IT MAY TELL THE HISTORY OF THIS ANCIENT SAXON CATHEDRAL OF LINDSAY, BURNT BY THE DANES AD.870 AND CALLED BY THE TRADITION OF THE COUNTRY 'THE MOTHER OF LINCOLN MINSTER'.



Part of the 19th Century ceiling with the Altar and the stained glass windows above it.

The Saxon shelf and statues in the south transept.









The ladies of Saxon England were renowned for their skills in needlework and from the embroideries I saw during my visit, the present day embroiderers are well up to the standard of their predecessors.




The old carved pews have what appears to be old gravestones between them.


What a magnificent place this is and all credit should go to the many men and women who have worked so hard over the centuries to ensure that it continues to be one of the great treasures of the United Kingdom....


.....and if a few of the parishioners in the past did not live up to the standard set by these people then there was always the whipping post just outside the church grounds.


The noticeboards inside the Minster tell of the work which is being done to ensure that future generations can see how men have glorified God in ages past.



St. Mary's has overseas connections, too, with the Pilgrim Fathers having worshipped here and the architect of the 19th Century renovations, John Loughborough Pearson, was also the architect of Brisbane Cathedral in Queensland, Australia.

Unfortunately I was not able to see the wall painting of Thomas A'Becket in the north transept because the ongoing renovations have made this part of the building dangerous but hopefully I will be able to visit this part of the country again when the work has been completed and fill in a few more of the gaps in what I have learned about this magnificent place of worship.

Below are listed a number of websites for those who are interested in a much more detailed history of St. Mary's Minster, the mother Church of Lincoln Cathedral.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stow,_Lincolnshire
http://www.stowminster.org.uk/history/History.htm
http://www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/section.asp?catId=1165
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1EJR
http://www.stowminster.org.uk/friends/friends.htm
http://www.stowminster.org.uk/