Stow, Lincolnshire
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Stow is a small attractive village that dates back to Roman times when it was known as Sidnacester. It lies on the B1241 road, 17km NW of Lincoln, England within the county of Lincolnshire and the district of West Lindsey. It has a mixture of modern brick and older stone built housing, some of the latter being thatched. It boasts a popular traditional country pub, the 'Cross Keys' and a small Methodist chapel, but the village is completely dominated in a way that few other villages are by the vast bulk of its parish church, known locally as Stow Minster.
Named "St Mary’s" it is one of the largest and oldest parish churches in England. It is partly Saxon and partly Norman in build and is designated by English Heritage as a “Scheduled Ancient Monument” and was also included in the World Monuments Fund's 2006 list of the world's 100 most endangered sites. It has the tallest Saxon arches in Europe, the earliest known example of Viking graffiti in England (a rough scratching of an oared Viking sailing ship, probably dating from the 10th century), a font that is Early English, standing on nine supports with pagan symbols around its base and an early wall painting dedicated to Thomas à Becket.
Ralph de Diceto attributes the church’s foundation to Elnothus Lincolniensis, almost certainly Bishop Aelfnoth of Dorchester round about 975 AD, who built the church, possibly on the site of an earlier wooden Saxon church, to serve as Minster (or mother church) for the Lincolnshire part of his large diocese, it was a sort of cathedral because part of the bishop's household of priests (which later became the cathedral chapter) lived in Stow and administered this part of the diocese. The memory of this period gave rise to the tradition that Stow is the Mother Church of Lincoln Cathedral.
It is said to have been re-founded and re-endowed in 1054 by Leofric and Godiva (of Coventry fame) encouraged by Bishop Wulfwig as a Minster of Secular Canons with the Bishop at its head. In 1091 Bishop Remigius re-founded it as an abbey and brought monks to it from Eynsham, describing the church as having been a long time deserted and ruined. Within five years his successor had transferred the monks back from where they had come and St Mary’s had become a parish church.
In 1865 J.L. Pearson built the stair turret outside of the church. This was originally inside the church in the nave up against the north side of the tower arch. At the same time some windows were altered and the church was re-roofed. A new vestry was added in the early 1990s with skeletons and a broken 13th century limestone cross being found during the work.
[edit] Coates by Stow
Three kilometres to the east but still within Stow parish lies the hamlet of Coates by Stow. There is no village here just a farm with a farmyard and a church standing nearby. The church which is dedicated to St Edith is late Norman (12th century), but has alterations and additions up to Georgian times including a double bellcote. The church has a very low small nave and chancel and is peace itself. It contains a 15th century rood screen (which is the only one in Lincolnshire). The screen is very much Early English but has been restored.
There is a Jacobean family pew at the west end and the rest of the seating is just rough benches sometimes described as "Rustic". There is the royal coat of arms of Charles I dating from 1635 and brasses to a William Butler and his wife, the figures on these are small and he died in 1590. In a niche there is a demi-figure made of alabaster of a Brian Cooke who died in 1653. There are also small pieces of stained glass. Outside just south of the chancel is the tomb of the Maltby family comprising an urn on a table with tapering columns as legs with a sarcophagus underneath.
- Stow Minster
- St Edith's Church, Coates by Stow
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