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St Michael
Coningsby
Lincolnshire
LN4 4RA
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Who we are
The church is open every day between 10am and 4pm
Parish office open most Fridays between 10.30am and 12 noon
Please see the notice board outside church for details of current events and services
Parish office open most Fridays between 10.30am and 12 noon
Please see the notice board outside church for details of current events and services
Location of worship / Church Address
Church Pastor
The Revd Susan Ann Allison
Incumbent
High Street
Coningsby,
Lincolnshire
LN4 4RA
United Kingdom
Phone: 01526 348505
Download Incumbent The Revd Susan Ann Allison vCard
Quote of the Day
Proverbs 4:23
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Denomination
Church of England
Church of England churches in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Church of England churches in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Church of England churches in United Kingdom
All churches in Coningsby, Lincolnshire
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Leadership
Leader Name:
The Revd Susan Ann Allison
Leader Position:
Incumbent
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St Michael Coningsby Service Times
Morning Prayer
Every Tuesday at 10 a.m. for 30m
Midweek Communion
Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. for 30m
Sung Eucharist
Every Second, Fourth Sunday at 10 a.m. for 1hr
Service Times last updated on the 28th of January, 2019
Every Tuesday at 10 a.m. for 30m
Midweek Communion
Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. for 30m
Sung Eucharist
Every Second, Fourth Sunday at 10 a.m. for 1hr
Service Times last updated on the 28th of January, 2019
Worship Languages
English
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St Michael Photo Gallery
St Michael History
INTRODUCTION
The Old Norse word 'konungr' meaning 'King' with an Old Norse suffix 'by' gives Coningsby the meaning 'The Settlement of the King'. Coningsby lies 8 miles (13 km) south of Horncastle on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, with the Lincolnshire Wolds to the west and the Fens to the east.
Coningsby Town is overseen by the impressive church tower. Half a mile (1 km) to the south of the village lies RAF Coningsby, and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight formed in 1957 to commemorate the Royal Air Force's major battle honours, with a Lancaster, five Spitfires, two Hurricanes and a Dakota. These aircraft all still fly and are the only ones seen at air shows during summer.
ARCHITECTURE
The church as we know it today was begun in the C13th. The north aisle in C14th and the south aisle from C15th. The west end Rose window is thought to date from C15th. As you can see the addition of the north and south aisle changed the original nave from its simple structure with lancet windows, the remains of which can be seen high up in the walls above the archways introduced as the walls were opened to allow the aisles to be added.
CHANCEL
There have been three known chancels. The first rectangular one was demolished in 1741 and the much smaller replacement erected the following year. This remained until extensive restoration was carried out between 1869 and 1871 by our Victorian forebears. During this redecoration, restoration work was carried out on the roof using the old timbers and an organ chamber was added.
The whole of the chancel roof was originally painted with blue paint and stars which was apparently very impressive. During the 1970s when some repair work was carried out to the church roof the condition of the grant was that the roof was lime-washed. Unfortunately this included the chancel roof, but more recently some of the roof was returned to its original condition and the blue background and stars above the altar are very striking.
The Carved Reredos is gilded and enamelled. This was a presentation in memoriam by the Soulby family who were brewers in Coningsby. The sanctuary with its reredos and riddle posts and side curtains are as restored in 1937.
The organ is modern. It was built by Drovers and Haigh of Bradford in 1975 - 1975. It has an extremely sensitive keyboard which taxes the musicianship of our organists!
Stained Glass:
The West Rose window – was donated by Richard Hartley in 1871 in memory of his mother and father.
East Rose window is probably C15th.
Sanctuary NE window is of Mary and Martha donated by Canon Wright Rector 1873 – 1912 in memory of his wife.
Sanctuary SE window depicts Jesus with children and as the Good Shepherd. It was installed in memory of Matilda Martin donated by her husband when he was churchwarden.
Central aisle:
Beneath the carpet are two tombstones – one to Richard Wheatcroft and his two wives, Jane & Margaret, dated 1524 and the second to John Smith dated 1461 with his wife Janet. The original brass plates are missing but we have written evidence from a record made in 1640 which also notes that both were “Merchants of the Staple”.
There is evidence left of the entrance to the screen and musicians gallery to the right of the chancel.
It is worth examining the few gargoyles – one above us is that of a ‘scolded woman’!
The Font:
The font is C14th – octagonal in shape with well worn stepping stones on the east and west sides. The cover is also very old – but probably not the original.
The Lady Chapel:
This was dedicated only in 1934. The oak from which it is made was grown locally in Tumby Woods. This is the local shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham and there is a replica of the Walsingham Statue of Our Lady on a plinth donated by the Mothers Union.
The RAF Chapel:
The altar was made in 1970 by the staff at RAF Coningsby as a memorial to those from 83 Squadron who lost their lives in the Second World War. The Dutch flag was dedicated on 8th May 1983 in memory of Coba Pulskens, a Dutch resistance worker, who hid RAF officers in her house after they had been shot down. The Dutch flag by the altar is the one she used to cover their bodies when they were discovered by the SS and shot in her garden. She was later arrested and died in a concentration camp.
The South Porch:
On the roof above the south porch there is a small carving of a monkey. It refers to a tragic event which happened in Culverthorpe Hall near Sleaford nearly 300 years ago. On the 16th October 1732 a son, Viscount Coningsby, was born to Margaret, Countess of Coningsby and her husband Sir Michael Newton KB. On 14th January 1733 when the child was about 3 months old the family pet monkey stole the baby and carried him up from his cradle to the roof of the house and then either accidently or deliberately dropped the child to the ground and he died of fatal injuries. This brought the earldom of the ancient ‘royal house’ of Coningsby to its close.
The Tower:
The impressive tower is 15th century tower, with its unusual one-handed clock face. It is one of the few in the country (there is another at St Andrew's in Holt, Norfolk), it is claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world. The face is painted directly onto the wall of the tower and was probably installed in the 17th century. It is 16.5 feet (5m) in diameter and its hand is nearly 9 feet long. The driving weights are large stones and the pendulum is so long that it swings only once every two seconds. It keeps excellent time and needs winding once every day. The tower is quite unusual in that it is built on the outside of the nave with an arched passage running north to south, probably originally for processional use, which is now part of a public footpath from the High Street to the school through the churchyard.
The Bells:
There are six bells in the tower. The oldest being cast in 1616 and the newest in 1959. The peal of six bells was recast in 1959 by Mears and Stainbeck of the very famous Whitechapel Foundry The heaviest is the tenor bell which weighs just over half a ton!. They are rung regularly and well by our very active ringers.
The Old Norse word 'konungr' meaning 'King' with an Old Norse suffix 'by' gives Coningsby the meaning 'The Settlement of the King'. Coningsby lies 8 miles (13 km) south of Horncastle on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, with the Lincolnshire Wolds to the west and the Fens to the east.
Coningsby Town is overseen by the impressive church tower. Half a mile (1 km) to the south of the village lies RAF Coningsby, and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight formed in 1957 to commemorate the Royal Air Force's major battle honours, with a Lancaster, five Spitfires, two Hurricanes and a Dakota. These aircraft all still fly and are the only ones seen at air shows during summer.
ARCHITECTURE
The church as we know it today was begun in the C13th. The north aisle in C14th and the south aisle from C15th. The west end Rose window is thought to date from C15th. As you can see the addition of the north and south aisle changed the original nave from its simple structure with lancet windows, the remains of which can be seen high up in the walls above the archways introduced as the walls were opened to allow the aisles to be added.
CHANCEL
There have been three known chancels. The first rectangular one was demolished in 1741 and the much smaller replacement erected the following year. This remained until extensive restoration was carried out between 1869 and 1871 by our Victorian forebears. During this redecoration, restoration work was carried out on the roof using the old timbers and an organ chamber was added.
The whole of the chancel roof was originally painted with blue paint and stars which was apparently very impressive. During the 1970s when some repair work was carried out to the church roof the condition of the grant was that the roof was lime-washed. Unfortunately this included the chancel roof, but more recently some of the roof was returned to its original condition and the blue background and stars above the altar are very striking.
The Carved Reredos is gilded and enamelled. This was a presentation in memoriam by the Soulby family who were brewers in Coningsby. The sanctuary with its reredos and riddle posts and side curtains are as restored in 1937.
The organ is modern. It was built by Drovers and Haigh of Bradford in 1975 - 1975. It has an extremely sensitive keyboard which taxes the musicianship of our organists!
Stained Glass:
The West Rose window – was donated by Richard Hartley in 1871 in memory of his mother and father.
East Rose window is probably C15th.
Sanctuary NE window is of Mary and Martha donated by Canon Wright Rector 1873 – 1912 in memory of his wife.
Sanctuary SE window depicts Jesus with children and as the Good Shepherd. It was installed in memory of Matilda Martin donated by her husband when he was churchwarden.
Central aisle:
Beneath the carpet are two tombstones – one to Richard Wheatcroft and his two wives, Jane & Margaret, dated 1524 and the second to John Smith dated 1461 with his wife Janet. The original brass plates are missing but we have written evidence from a record made in 1640 which also notes that both were “Merchants of the Staple”.
There is evidence left of the entrance to the screen and musicians gallery to the right of the chancel.
It is worth examining the few gargoyles – one above us is that of a ‘scolded woman’!
The Font:
The font is C14th – octagonal in shape with well worn stepping stones on the east and west sides. The cover is also very old – but probably not the original.
The Lady Chapel:
This was dedicated only in 1934. The oak from which it is made was grown locally in Tumby Woods. This is the local shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham and there is a replica of the Walsingham Statue of Our Lady on a plinth donated by the Mothers Union.
The RAF Chapel:
The altar was made in 1970 by the staff at RAF Coningsby as a memorial to those from 83 Squadron who lost their lives in the Second World War. The Dutch flag was dedicated on 8th May 1983 in memory of Coba Pulskens, a Dutch resistance worker, who hid RAF officers in her house after they had been shot down. The Dutch flag by the altar is the one she used to cover their bodies when they were discovered by the SS and shot in her garden. She was later arrested and died in a concentration camp.
The South Porch:
On the roof above the south porch there is a small carving of a monkey. It refers to a tragic event which happened in Culverthorpe Hall near Sleaford nearly 300 years ago. On the 16th October 1732 a son, Viscount Coningsby, was born to Margaret, Countess of Coningsby and her husband Sir Michael Newton KB. On 14th January 1733 when the child was about 3 months old the family pet monkey stole the baby and carried him up from his cradle to the roof of the house and then either accidently or deliberately dropped the child to the ground and he died of fatal injuries. This brought the earldom of the ancient ‘royal house’ of Coningsby to its close.
The Tower:
The impressive tower is 15th century tower, with its unusual one-handed clock face. It is one of the few in the country (there is another at St Andrew's in Holt, Norfolk), it is claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world. The face is painted directly onto the wall of the tower and was probably installed in the 17th century. It is 16.5 feet (5m) in diameter and its hand is nearly 9 feet long. The driving weights are large stones and the pendulum is so long that it swings only once every two seconds. It keeps excellent time and needs winding once every day. The tower is quite unusual in that it is built on the outside of the nave with an arched passage running north to south, probably originally for processional use, which is now part of a public footpath from the High Street to the school through the churchyard.
The Bells:
There are six bells in the tower. The oldest being cast in 1616 and the newest in 1959. The peal of six bells was recast in 1959 by Mears and Stainbeck of the very famous Whitechapel Foundry The heaviest is the tenor bell which weighs just over half a ton!. They are rung regularly and well by our very active ringers.