Bourne. THE Abbey Church
I visited the church of St Peter & St Paul at Bourne, more commonly known as the Abbey church, in early October 2008. A gorgeous sunny Saturday
afternoon. I had previously visited Bainton and Barnack and the Abbey church was the third and final church of a mini church crawl. This was my second visit to this church. Whilst on a cycling holiday in May I made a fleeting visit in dreadful conditions. The waterproofs had been out all day and I was so wet and bedraggled by the time that I arrived here that I did not even attempt to get in, even though the church open sign was set up outside the west door.
I always had a liking for Bourne, from days long gone when I used to visit the Abbey Lawns on a Saturday afternoon to see the mighty Bourne Town play football in the United Counties League. It was good to re-visit this church and see it at its best, with the sun blazing down.
Regular visitors to this site will probably know that my main interests are gargoyles, grotesques and elaborately carved graves. There were a couple of decent gargoyles on the south wall, and a couple that were very hard to photograph on the East wall. Some superbly carved mid 18th Century graves caught my eye in the nicely kept grounds. There were also three mid 17th century graves to be seen, with one having the date of 1663 still legible on it. South Lincolnshire, in my experience, has some of the bext carved gravestones that I have seen on my travels. There are many slate gravestones to be seen in the Bourne area, with some of the best having the makers name of Fish at Bourne on them.
One ornate tomb caught my eye as well. This featured two downturned torches symbolising mourning whilst a flame burning freely at the top of the carving symbolises eternity and immortality. And still on the subject of symbols of mortality, a Victorian momument had a cherub on it, head in hands, with downturned torch. This was similar to an external monument on the east wall at Yaxley.
Mention was made of a Christian church in Bourne since as far back as the Domesday survey in 1086. In the early 12th Century there was a great revival in religious thought and action, and this led to the present Bourne Abbey being formed in 1138. In the Middle Ages it is thought that schemes were drawn up to increase the size of the Abbey to be like that of a cathedral. However, this came to nothing and it has been suggested that the Black Death might have been the reason.
The Abbey suffered dissolution in 1536, and since that time the Abbey church has been used as the parish church for Bourne. In the centre of the Nave is a beautiful brass chandalier, similar to one hanging at nearby Langtoft. This was donated in 1742 by Matthew Clay, in memory of his daughter who passed away at the age of 22. The nave here is an imposing sight at the best of times, but with the sun blazing in through the south windows on what was one of the most pleasant afternoons that you could wish for, it was a delight to be here.
The font is interesting. The carving around it reads, in a form of Latin shorthand, "Jesus, the name above all other names". There is evidence that, at one time, it was painted and gilded.
The pulpit is an oddity! A Jacobean oak pulpit that had stood in te Abbey church, was sold in 1890 for the sum of £3 and 3 shillings, to a church near to Boston. A stone pulpit was made, with the though being that a Norman church should have a Norman pulpit. It was made in the Norman fashion but Norman churches did not have pulpits so it is a real contradiction! This was not to my taste, but each to their own obviously.
Well worth a look if you are in the area.
