All Saints Church, Wellingore

The advantage of exploring rural villages is that their churches, unlike those in urban areas, are often left unlocked during the day. All Saints Church in Wellingore, Lincolnshire, stands proudly on the edge of the escarpment, its spire visible for quite a distance (and a useful location for a mobile phone mast!)  Like many of our rural churches it is Grade I listed so it must be considered of great historical interest, though I have seen many churches that appealed to me more.

It sits within a fair-sized graveyard and inside seems relatively light and bright as the majority of its windows are plain rather than stained glass. There has been a church on the site since Saxon times, and the existing building, with Norman origins but mostly 13th - 15th century, has been altered and expanded many times, undergoing a significant restoration around 1880.

The altar reredos (above) is relatively modern, a carved mahogany relief of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Last Supper', commissioned in 1969.

In contrast, the alabaster effigies (below) of a knight and his lady on a tomb chest are believed to date back to the 15th century. It is reputed to be Sir Richard de Buslingthorpe and his wife, Isabella. Over the years, the little animal at his feet has been stroked so much that it is wearing away! It may be his dog, but it is more likely to be a lion, a symbol of valour and nobility.