Walcot

The village of Walcot, ten miles south of Bourne just off the A15, is easily identified by the lofty grey 14th century crocketed broach spire of the ashlar-faced parish church dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron saint of seafarers, and is a powerful landmark for miles around, peering at you through the trees as you approach from the neighbouring slopes and soaring high above the mellow red roofs clustered around. 

There was a Walcot mentioned in the Domesday book when it was known as Walecote and there have been other various spellings since but all mean "the cottage, hut or shelter of the Welshmen", indicating that isolated groups of Welshmen had moved eastwards to live in this part of Anglo-Saxon Britain.

The monks from St Gilbert's Prior at Sempringham a few miles away were rectors at Walcot in the 12th century and the wool from their grange in the village was sent to Boston for export to the Continent. In 1193, all of Walcot's wool was confiscated to pay the ransom for liberating King Richard the Lionheart from imprisonment in a castle overlooking the Danube while on the way back from the Crusades in the Holy Land. 

The fine oak door has 17th century panels and inside is a massive carved font which is over 700 years old and there are 24 beautifully carved wooden bench ends to the pews while the north chantry of the de Walcotes has unusual double squints for the chantry priests to see the high altar as well as a little piscine over a carved stone head.

There is also delightful priest's doorway in the south wall, made from an ancient low-side window as can be seen by the grooving for the glass ending two feet above the ground. 

This is a church of great charm, unrestored, unsophisticated and full of history but lacking recent care because hens peck their way around the unkempt churchyard and cylinder heaters scattered around the interior remind us that this is a cold place in winter without the benefit of central heating. During cold weather in olden times, the priests at the altar chapel clasped a round metal hot-water bottle called a pome while the parishioners stood around a glowing brazier. The doorway in the north wall, known as the devil's door, was blocked up to keep out the draught but before 1547 it was left open at baptisms to let the child's evil spirit out into the shadows. 

There is a cheerful royal blue carpet in the chancel, hand woven by a parishioner and containing 150,850 stitches. The west of the nave was used as a school and from 1660 to 1695, the Rev George Boehm, the Puritan vicar of Sleaford from where he was ejected, came and taught at Walcot since the priest here could not read, but he was finally banned by the Bishop of Lincoln.

The church however does have a problem. A printed notice in the porch asks visitors: "Please close the door and keep the birds out of Walcot church."

Go to:     Main Index     Villages Index