About Our Village

The Church

Welbourn is proud of its unique Grade I Listed church building, so much the focal point of the village. The oldest part of the medieval structure is the tower which is 12th century, but this was part of an older Saxon church, mentioned in Doomsday Book, The tower is topped by an impressive 14th century spire, its inward-curving shape making it a local landmark. The lofty nave and clerestory, the north and south aisles and the south porch are a mixture of Early English, Perpendicular and Decorated styles, being built between 1200 and 1500.

The PCC has recently produced a highly informative, illustrated booklet describing the church in more detail.  Copies are available in the Church.

The Chancel was rebuilt in 1854 and the church was restored generally in mid-Victorian times. It is notably light and spacious, as all its large windows except the East window are glazed in clear glass. The steeple houses 8 bells, recently removed from Hagworthingham church, said to have been the very "wild bells" referred to by Tennyson in his poem "In Memoriam".

With its excellent acoustics, St. Chad's makes a wonderful setting for concerts which are arranged periodically. The church is also used by local schools for plays and other events.

The Rector,  is also responsible for the adjoining parishes of Leadenham, Brant Broughton and Beckingham.

Weekly services are held, alternating between 9am and 10am, Communion and Family Service.  Special services are held at Easter, Christmas, Harvest and other festivals.  A choir has recently been formed and its enthusiasic members meet at 7pm on Mondays to rehearse under the guidance of the organist.

St.Chad's welcomes visitors from within and outside the village; we try to make our services lively and enjoyable as well as meaningful.

History of the Church

he present church at Welbourn dates from Norman times. William the Conquerer gave the avowedson to one of his favourites, Robert Malet, who founded the Priory of Eye in Suffolk. The Rector of Welbourn was appointed by the Prior of Eye for 450 years- until the dissolution of the monasteries.

The Tower is the oldest part of the present church, 12th. century. The crocketted spire is 13th century. The pointed shape of the roof of the church, before the Perpendicular Clerestory was added, can be seen from inside on both the chancel and the west wall. The oldest section of the church is said to be the base of the extreme north west pillar which is different from the other sections.

To John de Welborne, the Treasurer of Lincoln Minster 1360-80, the church is indebted for its Decorated work. The beautiful south porch, with its canopied niches, was built by him. The stone Trinity over the outer porch is about 1380. The nich in the porch probably held an effigy of St Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, A.D. 673, to whom the church is dedicated. The graffiti of bygone days on the walls of the porch is of particular interest.

The South aisle was restored by John de Welborne who founded there his Chantry Chapel of "The Blessed Mary "n Welborne". The tracery of the south east and the south windows is of his time. The only pieces of the old glass left are in the top of one of the windows.

The burial place of John de Welborne is not known. The empty recess on the right and the Double Piscina are too plain to have been his work, and it would seem that he incorporated in his Chantry the remains of a much older and forgotten altar. The Double Piscina was used for washing the sacred vessels and -the priest's hands. The Chantry Priests officiated at the "Altar of the Blessed Mary" until the suppression of The Chantries in 1526.

The first Chancel of which there is any record had a memorial window of 1500. The second, in 1821, had a small circular window, the present one is of 1854. The East Window depicts, on the left St. Peter from the seal of Eye Priory, then St. Chad, our Patron Saint, St. Hugh of Lincoln and St. Patrick. The tracery is an almost exact copy of the south-east window of 1360. The whole interior of the church was once covered with plaster, and had large square pews and a high plaster ceiling, which were all taken down at the restoration of 1884 under-taken by the late Canon Leslie Melville, Rector of the parish for forty years.

The circular window over the chancel arch was behind the plaster; it was filled with plain glass which was painted by the late Canon Sutton Snr.of Brant Broughton. Canon Arthur Sutton made and gave the Tower Clock. Canon Disbrowe, son of a former Rector of Welbourn, gave the present Font. The oak choir stalls, etc. belong to this restoration. The oak reredos and panelling were gifts in 1930. The Organ is by Wordsworth of Leeds and is a very fine instrument. It was installed in 1892.

The West Door is ancient, the span of the arch is of unusual width. The North Door, originally used for processions, was closed at the restoration. Both the South and West doorways have the stone sockets into which the ends of a beam which secured the door in the old days were placed.

The Church had three bells dating from 1663, the largest of which was badly cracked. In May 1978 these were replaced with a ring of eight bells, a most generous gift by Mr & Mrs R.J. Brealey of Welbourn. The Bells were dedicated by the Bishop of Lincoln on Ascension Day 1978. They originally hung in Holy Trinity Church, Hagworthingham in the Lincolnshire Wolds, and are of considerable archaeological interest. The oldest bell dates from the 15th century, two are of the 17th century and the other five from the early 19th century. They are reputed to be the bells that inspired Tennyson to write, in his poem 'In Memoriam', "Ring out Wild Bells" ......

The memorial Cross in the Churchyard, commemorating the men of the parish who gave their lives in the two world wars, was unveiled in 1920 by Field Marshal Sir Willaim Robertson Bart., a native of the parish.

On the south buttress outside can be seen the remains of the mass, or scratch, dial. The hole for the stylon, or pointer, has been filled but some of the lines on the dial remain. It belongs to the same period as the Sanctus Bell cote over the gable arch, a beautiful specimen with a canopy. Below it can be seen the grooves worn in the stone below the holes for the bell ropes. Above is a good specimen of a gable cross.