Scartho Church ~ Pictures and Historical Research
St Giles church in Scartho, now a suburb of Grimsby, is notable for the fine Saxon tower.
I was there today on a cold but gloriously bright day
The most notable part of this beautiful old church is the Anglo-Saxon tower and its patchwork build of coloured stones and boulders.
It’s an ancient village and church mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, as Scarhou, and fortunately the remains of it’s history remain in the tower of the church.
Mee suggests that many of the stones show signs of burning and that it was possibly a consequence of the original Saxon building being fired by marauding Danes !
It has a 13th century doorway and 15th century parapet with the nave being mostly 14th century.
If you check out the gallery below you’ll see some of the old bricked in doorways and beautiful window arches.
As well as the ancient there is also a considerable amount of modern extension courtesy of T.J. Rushton in 1955.
It has been, as far as is practical, sympathetically done and is nothing like as hideous as is so often seen.
As it’s all on the north side it does not spoil the original aspect of the building (unlike the huge bush in front of it ! - sorry pet hate again)
Parish registers go back as far as the 1560s but there is a notable absence of early gravestones, early in this case being 1700s.
It’s a delightful and simple building which gains most by the feeling of real antiquity. Although clearly restored it’s all been done well and the whole building is in a much better state of repair than many I’ve seen - a genuine credit to all those involved in the upkeep
St Giles Church in Scartho Lincolnshire
Note black cat sat on grave looking at me ~ how many bad omens do you want ?
For more photographs please visit the gallery we’ve created specifically for this church.
Click on the pictures to enlarge - and check if they extend to another page
It will open in a new window or tab ~ simply close it down to return to this site
See More Photographs of this Church
It never ceases to inspire and amaze me when stood on such a site that Vikings stood just as I did looking pretty much at what I see today - it’s a heritage that must be appreciated and preserved.
We are very keen to learn as much about this church as possible, if you know anything at all of interest or you have any association or memories of it please do leave a comment - many thanks.
All the best
Rod
Amiguru said,
May 25, 2010 @ 10:07 pm
Rod,
I was at a loss to find an exactly appropriate thread for what I want to say so thought I would put it here as this one needs a boost and is of slight relevance.
This morning’s reading choice was The History of Grimsby by Rev. M. Davis DD and a couple of things made me smile.
The first smile was ironic. Bearing in mind that the book was published in 1942 and that all hell was being unleashed all over Europe including Grimsby, (as we now know full well, see other threads folks!), yet the Reverend states with full confidence in the nature of the locals that -
“In almost all the old churches of Grimsby there is some interesting, irreplaceable treasure of the past. If the parson is at hand do not be shy about questioning him concerning the church. He usually will be very pleased to tell of its past and show it’s treasures and you will return home with something interesting to talk about for many weeks afterwards.”
Would the incumbent be so happy these days to ’show the churches treasures’?
The second smile was one of exact understanding. The ethos of his next statement could summarise what we, under your hosting are trying to achieve -
“A love of local history is being fostered in our schools today, and from the present small beginnings much interesting knowledge may accrue, which we hope will be made available for all; but time is pressing and the need urgent. Within the past century many hundreds of precious heirlooms have disappeared - some through carelessness and some through ignorance - by the loss of which we are the poorer.”
He would have been astounded at the means of communication and learning that are available to us today with the facility of universal knowledge available via the web.
More of Rev Davies another day.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
May 26, 2010 @ 7:22 am
Neville,
very interesting indeed.
Would the incumbent be so happy these days to ’show the churches treasures’?
This is a good point and one I can perhaps shed some light on.
I get a lot of emails about the churches featured on the site and get a lot of offers to go back for a guided tour or just to let them know and they’ll unlock the church for me - these come from all over Lincolnshire.
much interesting knowledge may accrue, which we hope will be made available for all
That could be our ‘mission statement’ Neville - word for word in fact.
A young man, who is wise beyond his years, said to me the other day “why aren’t we taught anything at all about our own local history”
It’s a good point, a very good point in fact
Best
Rod