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by
Sue Wilkinson
Most
villages and towns have a parish church. This one is in Heckington,
very near where I live. The church and its spire dominate the landscape
for miles around.
It
is regarded as one of the finest churches in England built in the
Decorated style. It was built between 1309 and 1333, in the time
of King Edward II. His second cousin was Lord of the Manor of Heckington.
The King's Chaplain, Richard de Potesgrave, retired here in 1326
when Edward was deposed and replaced by his wife Matilda. It was
Richard who is responsible for the magnificent church. It gives
some indication of the wealth available to people in royal employment
at that time.
Of
course the church can be used to illustrate the power, importance
and wealth, of the church in the Middle Ages. Many churches also
contain work from different periods - the church in the next village,
Great Hale, has a Norman tower, as well as Decorated and Perpendicular
windows, as alterations were carried out by new Lords of the Manor.
But there are lots of other ways we might use a church in a local
study.
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 This
is the newest window in Heckington.
It commemorates people linked to the village who served and/or
died during World War Two.
Each
panel is dedicated to a particular service. Can you work out
which is which?
Click
to enlarge
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 There
are some items in the church that raise questions too.
What
about this? It is a photo of part of a family memorial slab
near the altar rail in Heckington church. The Taylor family
were obviously very important in the area at the time, but
how do you explain the dates for the life of Edward Taylor
who was born and died in 1706?
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 Or
what about this plaque from the wall of Heckington church?In
fact there is still today a sale on the village green on 'Arnhem
Sunday' and some of the survivors still return each year to
maintain the friendships made all those years ago.
A
simple plaque helps explain events both then and now, and
could form a good way into a study of World War Two.
click to enlarge
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 Finally,
of course, do not forget the churchyard. This can be a mine
of information about local events and families. Here is a
photo of a gravestone in Nettleham churchyard, just north
of Lincoln.
There
is plenty of information here to provide an interesting starting
point for local history.
Reports of the trial must have been published in the local
press, and the County Record Office may well have records
of the trial.
click
to enlarge
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I hope
we have shown you how you might use your local church as a starting
point for a whole variety of local history activities. You could
of course conduct a graveyard survey and record the details in a
database to make them easier to analyse. You could focus on the
architecture, the memorials inside, or whatever. Just remember,
the church is much more than a building, it is a living record of
the community it stands in.
Web
links
Churches
There are lots of sites on the web dedicated to churches. To start
you might try
Graveyards
Again, there are lots of sites to select from. Try these to start
you off:
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