Church of St Helen

Details

BURGH ON BAIN MAIN ROAD TF 28 NW 6/19 Church of 9.3.67 St. Helen II*

Parish church. C11, C13, C14, C16 and restoration 1871/2. Coursed and squared limestone rubble. Slate roofs. Western tower, nave, aisles, chancel. The 3 stage tower of squared rubble has stepped buttresses to west face only, and battlemented parapet with corner pinnacles. On the south side is a rectangular light which reuses ovolo moulded mullions in the surround. To the top stage is a triangular headed window with moulded surround. Above the clock is the date 1871. The west door is C19 and double chamfered and above are 2 lights as the south side. In the north wall a single window to the second stage. There are a number of fragments of reused masonry in the walls of the tower including 3 pieces of C12 chevron moulding. In the west wall of the north aisle is a fragment of C14 cusped tracery. The north west angle of the aisle has massive quoins and immediately to the east is a blocked C11 round headed doorway, possibly reset. In the north wall also are 2 C16 windows one of 3 and one of 4 lights, much restored. In the east wall is a C19 2 light window. In the chancel are 2 C16 3 light windows, all with trefoil heads to the lights, to the north and to the east a C19 window of 3 lights. The south wall matches the north, and there is a 2 light C19 window in the east wall of the south aisle, to the right of this window the massive quoins of an earlier nave can be seen. The south wall has 2 C14 windows of 3 and 4 lights, both with cusped ogee heads to the lights, chamfered square surrounds and hoods. The south doorway is C14 with outer chamfered surround and a hollow chamfered inner order, both with moulded imposts. Interior. Early C13 2 bay south nave arcade having octagonal pier and engaged collared angle shafts, moulded capital, keeled responds and double chamfered arches. The north arcade is a C19 copy of that to the south. The C11 tower arch has a plain rounded head and chamfered imposts. The chancel arch has double chamfers and dies into its facetted reveals. The nave and aisle walls have unusual elaborate carved stone texts of the 1871 restoration, some of which have Gothic surrounds and details. On the chancel north wall is a white marble plaque recording the restoration of the church in 1871/2 in memory of Flora Zoe Fox. In the south aisle is a single chamfered pointed niche, and in the north aisle the round headed rear arch of a doorway is visible at the west end of the north wall. C19 stained glass in chancel. All fittings are C19 including stone altar rails, octagonal font and facetted ashlar pulpit. The wooden lectern reuses a handsome late C17 Corinthian capital with fine acanthus leaves and shells. Monuments. In the tower is a wall monument with white marble base and grey sarcophagus, flanked by heraldic cartouches and supporting an obelisk bearing a pair of oval carved panels of Thomas Pindar d.1741 and his wife, Ann. Also a semi-circular headed marble plaque with base and sunk circular heraldic panel commemorating late C18 members of the Lister family of Girsby Hall. The base contains a sunk segmental headed panel containing 3 Grecian urns. The lectern capital could possibly come from the London Wren Church of St. Mildred in the Poultry, other fragments of this demolished building have been found in this area, notably at Thorpe Hall, South Elkington.

Listing NGR: TF2225186406

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

195271

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.