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The building is a delightful mish-mash of  architectural styles and has
benefited from centuries of having been messed around with! At one time it was
much larger than at present, but even in the sixteenth century money mattered
and when the south aisle became uneconomical to maintain or repair, they knocked
it down! We have a suspicion that a few local pig sties and outhouses were built
from the proceeds! For the church hunter it's got everything: ancient bells,
Tudor bench ends, some old glass, three unusual modern windows, a fascinating
organ, a Saxon grave stone and even a shepherd's crook!
The following is intended as a guide for people who
visit the church - if you are coming our way you might like to print it out and
use it when you come.
Welcome to St. Helen's.
St Helen's isn't great gothic architecture, but it's homely and full of signs
that it's been important to generations of local people.
There has been a church on this site for more than a thousand years - just how
much more we don't know. The building you see here wasn't built in one go at a
specific date. It is rather the result of many generations of local people
adding, subtracting and modifying their church to fit in with changing ideas
about religion, worship and plain simple fashion.
Trying to understand a building like this is almost impossible without
understanding something of its history, so this guide starts with a short resume
of the changes that have happened over many generations and then goes on to look
at individual features.
To start this guide in the right place make your way to the wrought iron
gates leading to the tower. Now face the main altar at the east end of the
church.
Overview of development of building
You will see that the church divides into four main parts. The chancel (1) with
the altar and choir stalls stands at the east end. The main body of the church
is in two parts, the nave(2), immediately in front of you, and the North
aisle(3) beyond the row of three arches to your left. Behind you stands the
tower(4).
Earliest days
If you imagine yourself back sometime around the Norman conquest, the church
would have consisted of the area ahead of you bounded by the arches on your left
(which, of course would have been the north wall) the East wall where the
chancel arch now stands and the south wall to your right. The tower behind you
probably existed at this time - more of that later. In short, the church would
have been an oblong building with a tower at one end. There might have been a
short chancel, probably with a semicircular - or apsidal - end in which the
altar stood, but that is by no means certain.
Addition of chancel
The chancel, beyond the arch, where the altar now stands was added at some early
stage, but later changes have made it difficult to date this. However, by the
year 1250 the church probably consisted of the present nave plus the chancel.
Where the chancel arch now stands there may have been a curtain to separate the
nave, which was very much the ordinary people's place, from the chancel which
was the area in which the priest was entirely in charge. The nave was not just a
religious space. Villagers probably held all sorts of meetings here, and
possibly even the occasional market.
North Aisle
Around the year 1300 there were two factors which provoked a flurry of church
building all over the country and literally changed the shape of St Helens.
Firstly, religious Guilds became one of the most powerful and influential
factors in the local scene. In many villages the majority of the population
belonged to such organisations. They wanted their own place for worship and
frequently had the wealth to insist on it. Secondly the pattern of public
worship changed so that processions became a major feature of religious life.
To accommodate these changes it seems likely that the local guilds extended the
church by knocking down the north wall (to your left), replacing it with the row
of arches that you see now and building the North aisle beyond them. This aisle
accommodated the altars at which priests, paid by the guilds, officiated. A door
was provided (Where the Madonna and child now stands) so that processions could
go round the church and then out of the North door, round the outside of the
church and back in through the south door.
The north aisle is very large - almost the same size as the nave - so we can
guess that the local guilds were probably very wealthy.
The Windows in the north aisle are typical of the turn of the fourteenth
century, the middle one being a little earlier than the outer two..
South Aisle
At some time in the next 100 years the same thing happened on the south side of
the church
This South aisle was probably smaller than the north one, but judging by the
ornamentation on the pillars may have been rather more decorated. The little
leaf mouldings at the top of the pillars suggest a fairly early date for this
aisle - say 1340-50. It's always hard to tell because the current fashions
tended to start in France or Germany and took a while to get this far - just as
we got skinheads and mini-skirts about the time that they died out in London
The church then consisted of the building we see today plus an aisle to the
south (to your right). It must have been an impressive building at this time.
Demolition
If we Jump 200 years to the time of the first Elizabeth we find there has been a
marked change in religious outlooks and the power of the guilds has declined
dramatically. England is now a protestant country and processions are no longer
so prominent a part of worship.
About 1560 the South aisle was knocked down - it was probably in bad repair -
and the stone used to fill in the arches and to build the South porch. This was
done in the time of Hugh Mapletoft, rector of the parish. Unfortunately, there
seem to have been at least two Hugh Mapletofts and at least one Robert Mapletoft
and their dates aren't at all certain.
At this time they also blocked up the North door and the Church took the form
that we see now. Since then there have been many minor alterations and major
restorations, but as far as we can see none of them would have greatly altered
the general shape of the building.
We will now take a more detailed look at some of the more interesting features
of the church.
Font
If you Turn to your left you will see the Font and one of the most poignant
features in the whole building. Look at the bottom of the bowl. You will see a
simple decorative border made up of connected squares. The sort of thing that
any competent mason could do. The interesting thing is that it is unfinished.
Now doing any work on a church building, especially something as important as a
font would have been seen as a religious work in itself, so we can be sure that
the mason didn't just get fed up and leave the work half completed. We can only
guess that he might have died, or become unable to work through illness or
injury and that for some reason no-one noticed this piece of work which he was
engaged in. A reminder that the people who built St Helen's were vulnerable,
human and ordinary.
You can see some filled holes in the front of the font near the top which
probably supported a kind of drip tray. At one time the blessed water of baptism
was thought too precious to allow it to spill onto the floor so a tray was
provided to catch the drops.
Continue through the arch into the north aisle.
Pillars
Take a look at the pillars on the way. The top parts - the abaci - on which the
arches themselves rest are typical of the late thirteenth century. They look
very simple, but if you go close to them you'll see that the mouldings are
deeply undercut and all the curves carefully designed to give a smooth effect.
Look over to the South wall. The pillars there are more ornate with half leaf
mouldings at the top. This style was fashionable in the middle of the fourteenth
century so we can date the south aisle to that time.
When the south aisle was knocked down the arches were filled in flush with the
pillars and the windows inserted. The strange shapes you see around the windows
now came about in the late nineteenth century when the Rector of the day decided
that the arches were too good to be hidden. He and a local builder spent a great
deal of time and energy cutting the wall back to reveal the arches. Presumably
they were worried that if they removed too much material the wall might fall
down - hence the odd shapes.
Medieval glass
Turn round and have a look at the left hand window in the north wall - the one
with the stained glass in it. These fragments are fifteenth century and until
the late 1940s they were set in the large East window. It's worth having a close
look to see the fineness of the painting, especially on the faces. There are all
sorts of ideas about who is depicted but there really isn't enough glass to come
to any conclusion.
Poppy head
Now Put your hand on the top of one of the bench ends in the north aisle.
You'll feel it's cold - It's made of cast iron (probably nineteenth century) and
it's a copy of one of the original wooden ones in the nave.
The bench ends in the nave are well known features of St Helen's and we'll have
a better look at them later.
Turn to Face east
North door and Madonna
- immediately to your left is the north door, now blocked
up. It was completely hidden from inside the church until about sixty years ago.
The Revd H. H. Ashley uncovered it in the 1930s and installed the Madonna and
Child as a Memorial to Clara Vessey Ashley, his mother. This memorial often
prompts visitors to think we are very "high Church" The Revd Ashley was, rather,
but we're fairly middle of the road now.
Prayer desk
The little prayer desk in front of the Madonna is a memorial to Mavis Truepenny
who was a much loved Sunday School teacher in the 1950s and who died tragically
young.
Set in stone
Walk up to the End of this aisle and turn to your right. Ahead and to your left
you will see a piece of Carving set in the end pillar. There is only one other
piece of carving of this style in St Helen's and it probably comes from another
church. It may have been a gift from the cathedral or perhaps from Waltham
church which in medieval times was the most prestigious church of this area.
Now Look up at the roof
Roof Ties
At some stage the roof was too heavy for walls which started to bow outwards -
you can see the way the north aisle arches lean outwards. The metal ties were
installed to counter this movement.
Stand in middle of the nave and look at the chancel arch
Restoration Plaques
Above the pulpit and above the British Legion flag you will see two plaques
which look rather like small tombstones. These record and eighteenth century
restoration and have the inscriptions:
On the left:
John Towers - Churchwarden
John Mackrel - Mason 1732
On the right:
William Mackrel, Joseph Mackrel, Masons
William Ayscough, John Kemp, Servers
Laurence Kender, Puty Maker 1732
Coat of arms
Above the centre of the Chancel Arch you can see the Coat of arms
In 1660 it was decreed that every parish church should display the royal arms.
There are quite a few surviving in local churches and this one, the arms of
George I, was installed in the year 1722. Over the years it became very
discoloured and spent about twenty years in the tower loft. In 1992 it was
restored by the Friends of St Helen's and returned to its original place.
Ten Commandments
At this time it was usual to have the Ten Commandments displayed over the
chancel arch and sometimes the "Our Father" and the "Gloria" were written there
as well. We have two boards with the commandments written on them in the tower,
but they are very heavy and not at all attractive.
Francis Bond
Francis Bond was a 19th Century authority on Medieval architecture. His biggest
work, Medieval Architecture in England is still regarded as one of the great
reference works on the subject. He was born in the village and his memorial
tablet is on the west facing wall to the north of the chancel arch.
Rectors and Curates
Also on this wall there is a list of Rectors and Curates with a few interesting
notes about a number of them.
Face the altar again and go to pulpit
Nave piscina
In the corner between the pulpit and the wall where the pillar has been revealed
you can see what looks like a little pointed arch. This is the remains of a
piscina ( a hand basin) which was provided near each altar. This one would have
been next to an altar in the south aisle.
Continue into chancel
Chancel step
The chancel step isn't very even. Whether the chancel arch piers are sinking or
an ancient grave under the chancel has collapsed - who knows. We're having to
watch this!
Organ
The two manual organ was built by Cousins of Lincoln and installed here in 1904.
It was the gift of a Canon Smythe and the very incomplete notes of the time
don't mention whether it came from another church. It wasn't new at the time. It
seems that it was originally a much smaller instrument - possibly for domestic
use and most likely built by Foster and Andrews of Hull in the middle of the
nineteenth century. So did Canon Smythe have this instrument installed at home?
Whatever its provenance it is just right for the building, being sufficiently
powerful and quite versatile. We would be grateful to know more about the organ
and its history.
Organ arch finials
Have a look at the decoration at the ends of the arch over the organ. These are
very strange, a sort of horn with a bulbous end. If you have seen others like
this or can date them, again, we would be interested to hear from you. The arch
itself is deep from front to back. It's not at all plain how this part of the
church was changed when the north aisle was built. Perhaps it was done in two
stages. A recent fall of plaster revealed that much of this arch is built of
brick, which raises more questions than it answers!
Modern choir stalls
The choir stalls were installed in the 1903-1905 restoration. At the same time
the pulpit was extensively altered, the seating rearranged and the sanctuary
steps and rail provided and the floor tiled.
Windows
The three windows on the south side of the chancel are puzzling. They seem to be
early (mid thirteenth century at the latest) but authorities claim that the
chancel is a good hundred years later. A great deal of rebuilding has taken
place and it isn't easy to work out just what has happened. Although these
windows are simple, the curves of the openings are beautifully designed,
especially on the most westerly one (the one with two lancets.)
Priest door
Underneath the middle window you can see some boarding which has been painted to
look like masonry. This covers up an old doorway which is plainly visible on the
outside of the church. It was probably the priests entrance so that he could get
into the chancel without going through the main part of the church.
Piscina
On the right hand side of the sanctuary there is a piscina which has a
pleasantly fluted bowl. You can see a row of filled holes round the rim. These
probably supported a metal rail.
Boss
There is a little piece of carved stone in the south wall of the chancel just
about level with the communion rail. It looks as though it might be mid
fourteenth century but we have no idea why it's there and any suggestions would
be very welcome.
There is another piece of carved stone on the other side of the sanctuary next
to the aumbry. A sacred heart statue now stands on it - a relic of our High
Church days! This looks like a corbel - a stone bracket on which a timber
structure would have rested. However, there's no matching one on the other side
and it's really a bit of a mystery.
East Window and Reredos
The east window is a war memorial installed in 1947. The glass is typical of the
time and shows the risen Christ flanked by angels. Overhead we see God the
Father (although this is a matter of dispute - it might be a depiction of Christ
in majesty) and a dove representing the Holy Spirit. In the lower panels we have
St Helen with her cross and St Hugh with his swan. I particularly like the
flowers and butterflies round the feet of Christ.
The whole of the sanctuary was reordered in 1950. The linenfold panelling and
the seraphim were added at this time and there is a note of the donors of
various items on the north of the chancel arch. The seraphim are slightly
different. one has his eyes wide open while the other has them closed in prayer.
Go back to the chancel step and face west
Ashley glass
in the first window to your left there is a pleasant little stained glass light
which commemorates The Revd H.H.Ashley whom we've mentioned before.
Victoria window
In the second window we have a memorial to Queen Victoria. There is a tale - who
knows whether it is true - that in the 1940s some polish prisoners of war were
heard to say " In Poland we have many pictures of Our Lady, but none so
beautiful as this." Stained glass representations of Queen Victoria are not very
common. This one has suffered from occasional acts of vandalism but still has a
certain appeal.
Wall Painting
Turn round at look up
Between the two westerly arches on the north side we have a small cartouch with
some writing and the remains of a picture which are, to be honest,
indecipherable. When we redecorated the church a few years ago we found traces
of pictures and texts under the old whitewash all over the church, especially on
the North Wall and over these arches. All were fragmentary but they did give an
indication of how the church might have looked when the whole of the interior
was covered with such decorations. We decided to tidy up this little piece as a
kind of acknowledgement of that earlier time. This piece contains some text
(unrecognised), probably from the seventeenth century and traces of what might
be drapery which is much older.
Many medieval churches had a painting of the last judgment over the chancel
arch. This was called a Doom. we don't know Whether there was one in St Helen's,
because the plaster over the chancel arch was cut back quite severely during the
eighteenth century restoration.
Pew ends
Now is a good time to look at the original pew ends in the nave. The pews
themselves are nineteenth century but the ends date from the 1530s and are
interestingly carved. The initials might refer to the people who rented the
pews, but we have no real way of knowing just who they were though some match up
with register entries of the time.
Tower
Go through wrought iron gates into the tower room
The tower has been much changed during the life of the church. The pinnacles
were added as late as 1929. But there was probably a tower of some sort from the
earliest times. The window in the west wall probably dates from the thirteenth
century and there was almost certainly a tower of sorts before that. When you go
outside you might notice that the stonework in the south side of the tower is
finer than most of the rest of the church. There's a fair chance that the
material was scavenged from one of the local abbeys that fell victim to Henry
VIII's demolitions.
Most local towers are the subject of tales of how the villagers took refuge here
when the Danes came marauding. These stories are colourful, but probably need to
be taken with a pinch of salt.
Bells
There are three bells in the tower. There were certainly bells here in 1553 but
of the present ones two are certainly later than that. The first has a Latin
inscription saying "May John's bell sound for many years." the second has the
inscription "God save the King 1605". And the third says "Rev Samuel York,
Rector. Rev Myles Myers, Curate, John Parker, Churchwarden 1792, James Harrison
of Barton, Founder" James Harrison was the brother of John Harrison who
developed the marine chronometer.
Now make your way back to the main door
Grave slab
The grave slab set in concrete was once thought to be part of a preaching cross.
However, it isn't. It's rather more interesting than that. It's late 10th or
early 11th century - that is pre-conquest. At that time Waltham had all the
local burial rights. They did not bury people at North Thoresby at all. It was a
matter of money - the larger church got a fee for each burial so it jealously
guarded its monopoly. However, the person for whom they made this grave slab
must have been very wealthy. His family may have had enough prestige to do as
they wished, ignoring the church rules, or more likely, they paid handsomely for
the right to bury their dead at St. Helen's.
Shepherd's crook
There is a simple shepherd's crook tucked behind the curtain by the door. I've
no idea who put it there, but how appropriate!
Chest
The chest would once have held the church registers and other records. The
ancient registers are now kept in the County Archives and the current ones are
in the safe. The chest has been relegated to holding the crib figures and the
lent boxes!
Lock
The south door isn't very old - probably nineteenth century - but the lock is
much older. Have a look at the decoration round the edges of the casing. The key
goes in upside down - whether that is because the lock is unsprung and relies on
gravity to operate the levers or whether it's simply that at one time the door
was hung the other way round - who knows.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit. If you can ever come to join with us in our
services you will be sure of a warm welcome.
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