Thurlby. CHURCH : ST FIRMIN
Thurlby is a large village two miles South of Bourne. A busy place, with the A15 going through the centre of the village. The church of St Firmin stands back from the main road, right on the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens.
The Carr Dyke, an ancient Roman waterway, runs literally by the west side of the churchyard. This was built in between the years 140 and 180 AD and it stretches a massive 122 km, along the edge of the fens, starting off at Waterbeach near Cambridge and ending up South of Lincoln where it joins up with the river Witham. A massive feat of engineering in its day, the Carr Dyke is nearly as long as Hadrians Wall.
Given it's fairly close proximity to the busy A15, it is quiet and peaceful in the church grounds here. The grounds are massive and for those who like flat fenlands the view to the South and the East from the back of the church grounds is amazing. This must be a bitterly cold place in the depths of winter.
It was gloriously on my visit here. Two weeks previously, the UK had been hit by the worst snowstorms in many years. The snow had hung around for a week or so, but it had all melted by the time that I visited Thurlby. The sun was blazing down and there was the first hint of warmth in the air.
This is an unusual dedication, with the only other St Firmin in the UK being at North Crawley in Buckinghamshire. St Firmin (or Fermin as the spelling sometimes goes) was the son of a Roman Senator in 3rd Century Pamplona. He converted to Christianity and was later to become the first Bishop of Pamplona. Whilst preaching the Gospel he was be-haeded at Amiens in France around the year 303). Certain relics of St Firmin were found and brought back to Pamplona in 1196. The cult of St Firmin was to be of considerable religious and economic significance during the Middle Ages.
Parts of St Firmins date back to Norman times, and it is thought that parts of the tower might be of Saxon origin.Inside the porch stands a Saxon coffin lid, with similar found just down the road at St Guthlac's at Market Deeping. Whilst on the subject of the porch there was initials carved in to the inside walls, with WKY carving his initials in 1680.
Some very ancient looking gargoyles surround the tower. These are very worn, particularly those on the South side. Not surprising really considering countless years of screaming wind that must have come over the Fens.
Running along the south wall are a selection of animal carvings along with a very curious carving of a human face, pictured below. I remember seeing similar as Buckden near to Huntingdon some time ago.
Sadly, the church itself was locked, and this is one that I would like to see inside one day. Church grounds are well maintained, a feat in itself given the large size of them. Was fond of the large, rustic, cross that was at found at the eastern edge of the church grounds. A small bench, placed underneath a delightful small tree would have been a beautiful place to have rested in the Summer. As is the norm in South Lincolnshire there are a number of very nicely carved slate gravestones. There used to be a stonemason by the name of Fish who worked in Bourne, and this makers name can still be seen on some of these wonderfully carved slate gravestones.
A delightful, historic, place in which to spend some time. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.
