Wainfleet Saint Mary's Parish Church
St Mary's has been described as "Lovely but Lonely" and any visit will show why.
The old village of Wainfleet Saint Mary was on an ancient salt panning route and, as salt was vital for preserving meat, fish and vegetables and for medical purposes, this made it a centre of population and wealth, but with the growth of the Port of Wainfleet on the Haven, the population eventually drifted away leaving only bumps, hollows and the Church.
Religion was brought to this part of the world by the first Bishop of York called Paulinus who was made a saint after his death in the mid 7th century; one of the statues on the side of the high altar is dedicated to him. Paulinus and his fellow monks brought a love of music and chanting of psalms and this heritage lasted for many centuries. St Mary's originally was under the patronage of the Prioress of Stixwold who belonged to the Norbertine Order.
It is believed a chapel was erected in early Saxon times but this collapsed and a new church built in the 11th/12th century with some of the Saxon Stone being incorporated into the bell tower. Further additions were made in the late C12, early C13, early C15 and early C18 with a full restoration during the period 1875-92, the architect for this project being Sydney Smirke, architect for The Bethlehem Hospital, who also designed the Georgian style properties in Barkham Street in Wainfleet All Saints which are well worth a view. Further repairs have been carried out to the bell tower in 2007 and following lead thefts to the south and north aisles in 2020/2021.
Patronage passed to the Barkham family who were very generous benefactors presenting a silver communion set hallmarked 1725 which is still used on "high days" along with the wooden panels at the back of the Church inscribed with the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, which orignally hung around the high altar. It is worthy of mention that one of the Barkhams, like Dick Whittington, became Lord Mayor of London in 1622. On the death of Edward Barkham in 1732 his estates and the patronage of St Mary's passed to The Bethlehem Hospital (originally called Bedlam) and this continued till 1919 when the estates were broken up and the patronage passed to the Bishop of Lincoln. The Hospital was a good landlord and also took great care of the Church, presenting the fine east window in the Burne Jones tradition. Another fine window enhances the side chapel which was given in memory of Father Faulkner who was Parish Priest from 1879 to 1908. On the south aisle a window is dedicated to Emma and Lorence Martin whose family were agents for the Hospital for many years.
A full list of priests since 1217 is testimony to the centuries of worship. One priest was arrested during the Second World War by an enthusiastic young policeman who was suspected of being a German spy but he was quickly released by the sergeant who stated "he married me at St Mary's last year". A recent incumbent form the USA was astounded that three of the four churches in his group were centuries older than any church building in America.
The Church posseses a fine Harrison and Harrison organ which was installed in 1975 being brought from Kirk Sandall near Doncaster.but sadly is unfortunately not played enough. The same thing can be said of the fine peal of 6 bells which date from 1620 to 1820. The PCC, however, take great pride in these items and have them serviced annually to preserve them and keep them available for when the occasion arises.
Services of Holy Communion are held on the first and third Sundays at 11.00am to a high church tradition and everyone is welcome to this friendly church.
A full architectural description of the Church can be found on Google.
Te pre-arrange a visit to view the church, ring the bells or play the organ please contact johnandannseymour@yahoo.co.uk