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| West Lindsey in May (with the Rambler's Church in the distance)* |
This year a record 103 churches are participating over the two weekends and we are also pleased to include eighteen churches across the border in North Lincolnshire.
The first weekend takes place in the west of the area and what a treat our churches have in store for you. Tower tours at St Andrew’s, Kirton in Lindsey, a family friendly ‘mouse hunt’ at St Genewys, Scotton, and Viking Graffiti at the cruciform Anglo-Saxon Minster church of St Mary at Stow.
Travel across the border to Epworth, birthplace of Methodism and visit the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, built as a lasting memorial to John Wesley, considered the father of Methodism and his brother Charles, composer of over 6,500 hymns.
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| Buslingthorpe St Michael* |
Highlights during week two include ‘Value it, Flog it’ at St Edmund’s, Riby, where you can receive expert advice on your treasured items. St Peter and St Paul, Middle Rasen enjoy ‘Holiday Memories’, Holy Rood, Market Rasen celebrate ‘angels’ and St John the Baptist, Nettleton depict the ‘Colours of The Rainbow’ through vibrant floral Decorations.
So are you interested in a spot of “church crawling” this May?
Here on the website you will find an
- A-Z listing page with links to each church's individual page
- A Google Pin Map to plan your tour
- PDF of the 44 page brochure
- A form to request a print copies of the brochure
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| St Thomas of Canterbury, Gainsborough* |
Read on for more festival details, including visitor reviews and this year's highlights.
Beth Sliwinski from Sheffield explains why she travels to the event from Yorkshire: "If ever a reason is needed to visit beautiful Lincolnshire, this is it. Every church provides its own treats - interesting architecture, friendly volunteers, delicious refreshments, picturesque churchyards - even the drives from one church to the next are a pleasure."
Long-time visitor Lexie Brookes-Ashmore, from Caistor, says she enjoys the graveyards as well as the churches: “I have been visiting the churches festival since 2012, so this will be my 12th year! My best friend and I cancel all other plans for the festival (plus the September one) and always end the day with a picnic. We love the architecture and history as well as the many interesting graves.”
Visitor Patrick Flynn explained how the opportunity to play many of the church organs was a highlight for him and his friend: "We travel from Hull and visit on one of the days each weekend. My friend is a professional organist and usually plays all the available instruments and we plan our route beforehand. We enjoy the festival very much indeed."
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| East Barkwith St Mary |
Sheffield visitor Cath Mirfin offered her recommendation to people considering taking part this year: “Whether you love visiting a new church, finding out about the building’s history or just admiring the architecture this is the festival for you. Everyone we met were very friendly and full of interesting info. And some churches have fabulous cakes! We put it in our diary every year and make it a long weekend at the East coast.”
Visitor Angela Mayne from Middle Rasen explains her reasons for taking part: “I love taking pictures in Churches, so during the festival makes my job a lot more interesting. People looking round the displays in the Churches makes for good photography.”
Gillian Poucher (Wolds based author and URC minister) wrote: "May Churches Festival celebrates the rich variety of churches across our district, from ancient to modern, peaceful to vibrant, in hamlets, villages and market towns. The Festival offers something for everyone: opportunities for reflection in the Quiet Churches, enjoyment of organ and other music, fascinating heritage displays, and of course many cups of tea and mouth watering cakes!
Chris Gale, also from Sheffield, combines visiting her brother Andy (who lives in Lincolnshire) with church visits. "We always take time to visit the church festivals, last year we took the family’s Sealyham terrier Arthur who really enjoyed it, especially the ham sandwiches at Stainfield. This is an unusual Queen Anne-style church next to the Manor House in a tiny village that you would never know was there! The festival helps you discover some hidden gems in Lincolnshire."
Lincoln-based Tracey Kidner explains how much the event means to her.“Always a highlight of my year: such a
delight to explore our beautiful county and discover our shared history and
heritage. Plus amazing cakes!”
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| Market Rasen Methodist* |
Highlights from the 103 churches taking part this year
Our churches showcase our communities’ histories through the ages. As well as delightful 14th-15th century pew ends, Ulceby, St Nicholas has a rood screen linked to nearby Thornton Abbey.
Hainton, St Mary’s, remembers the Heneage Family through its collection of nationally important monuments, spanning five centuries from brass memorials of 1435 to modern day memorials of 1954.
And 11th century Glentworth, St Michael shares its links to the Mayflower Pilgrims that sailed to American from Boston.
All Saints, Tealby displays information of the village links with Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Finally, Scampton, St John the Baptist proudly recognises its close association with the RAF, with windows dedicated to personnel from RAF Scampton and 617 Squadron and interactive screens exploring the lives of people buried in the miliary and war graves in the churchyard. Some churches open for you to take time out from the busy pace of life.
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| Blyton St Martin |
We hope you enjoy our festival and that you tell your friends about your experiences here in West Lindsey. We know many of you visit year after year and we thank you for your support in making this one of the biggest and best Churches Festivals in Europe. Not only are you supporting our church heritage, you are also supporting many of our small villages.
Every church really does have a story to tell…
* all photography on this page by the team at Push Creativity.