West Deeping. CHURCH : ST ANDREW
West Deeping is a favourite watering hole for me as I make the fairly regular cycle trip to Bourne, opting for King Street, the old Roman road, rather than takeing my life in my hands and peddling down the busier A15.
My last visit here proved to be less than satisfactory due to scaffolding being up on the south wall. The scaffolding had come down though as I made a return visit in July 2009, on the first day of a long weekend in the area.
I have not had the best of luck over the last few years with visiting this particular area. The days have always seemed to start off bright and then cloud over by the time that I reach West Deeping and Tallington. And so it proved this time as well. A gorgeous sunny Friday morning had given way to heavy cloud. I sat in the church grounds for a while, listening to the drone of bees and idly trying to photograph some of them to relieve the boredom as I waited for the clouds to clear.
In the end I gave up and came back later on in the day, by which time the sun was blazing down, and would be for the rest of the day.
West Deeping is a very ancient settlement this, with evidence of occupation in Prehistoric times. Given that it is so close to the Roman Road, West Deeping also had a Roman connection. In my research for this piece, I found that a very rare Roman item had been found at West Deeping, this was a "curse tablet" Curse tablets’ are small sheets of lead, inscribed with messages from individuals seeking to make gods and spirits act on their behalf and influence the behaviour of others against their will. The motives are usually malign and their expression violent. Fascinating stuff.
West Deeping today consists of a church, a public house and about 100 houses. The church of St Andrew is, in parts, about 750 years old. The tower dates from 1370, with the font also dating from the 14th Century. Inside a chandalier, similar to that found in nearby Langtoft, is dated 1770.
