Fulstow Church and History

St. Lawrence Church
Churchthorpe
Fulstow

Today, 138 year to the day of the foundation stone being laid, Fulstow once again has a problem the roof has started to fall in and unless we can raise the nearly £60,000 to have a new one our Church will close.

  Our plain but beautiful church has been in the same spot of high ground for centuries, it is clearly marked on Haiward's map of 1595 and is mentioned In 'Houses of Cistercian monks: The abbey of Louth Park', A History of the County of Lincoln: Volume 2 (1906), which states that in “1404 the church of Fulstow was appropriated on account of the poverty to which the Louth abbey was reduced.

Built close by the Manor House known as “North Hall”, so that the Lord of the Manor did not have far to go but the common man did!

From the cross roads by the pub and post office go North, continuing straight on when the main road turns left. Pass the school and continue until you reach a T junction. Turn left then the Church is on your right
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In the 1700's the tower of the church fell down and the largest bells was sold to Old Clee church and the others sent to Marshchapel. In 1867 part of the church wall fell down; after rather a long delay a building committee was establish to raise funds. Richard Barton, churchwarden, stripped the nave roof of its lead and sold it in Hull for £104. With the sale of the lead and others fund raising, £333 was raised or promised. Rev Alexander Bourne laid the foundation stone on 1 st July 1868 . It was rebuilt in the lancet style, with a big bellcote. Inside, remains of the arcade of a demolished E.E.s aisle (three bays, circular piers and abaci) and N aisle (two bays, keeled piers, probably quatrefoil, and cruciform abaci. Also a nice E.E s doorway with a cluster of fine triple nook-shafts.

FONT – 13 th century Octagonal bowl on a circular E.E. base with four attached shafts.

ROYAL ARMS - On canvas dated 1768

MONUMENTS - Early C14 effigies of a cross-legged knight and a lady. Lord and Lady Robert de Hilton There were angels originally to hold her pillow. The effigies are in the porch, standing upright to receive you.

In the churchyard is the base and part of the shaft of the medieval preaching cross

Notable for the many springs hereabouts, it has a plain little church, rebuilt last century, with a great bell swinging in an enormous bellcot. Of the old building there are the remains of arcades in both sides of the nave, a medieval font with its bowl on a cluster of shafts, and the figures of an old knight and his lady in flowing gown and wimple.

Taken from Arthur Mee “The King's England Lincolnshire” Circ 1890