The nave, chancel and tower of All Saints were rebuilt during the 19th century.

Much remains from medieval times, however, notably the early 13th century south arcade and the 15th century nave roof.

September 2012

View from the south-west.

September 2012

Kelly's Directory 1930 has :-

"The church of All Saints is a building of stone and chalk, in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower containing 3 bells:

the nave was rebuilt in 1843 by the Rev. William Smyth, vicar from 1821, and late patron, and the chancel in 1873, when a north aisle was added, the total cost being about £1,700:

the carved stone reredos, the gift of Miss Smyth, of Elkington Hall, was erected in 1875, at a cost of about £175:

the stained east window, representing the Passion of Our Lord and His final glory, was presented by the Rev. W. Smyth, in 1873; there is another to the late Major Edmund Locock, d. 1893:

in the south aisle is a tablet to the late Rev. William Smyth, d. 1873, and to his wife Mary, d. 1839:

in 1904 the chancel was decorated and a new organ provided, and in 1901 a window was erected to commemorate the vicariate of the late Rev. James Granville Smyth M.A. vicar of North and South Elkington 1854-1902; there is also a memorial window erected in 1909, to Mrs. Locock:

a chapel was constructed in 1921 on the south side, in memory of the men of the parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18: 

the altar was decorated by Mr. H. Bernard-Smith, who executed the decorations in 1904:

there are 220 sittings"

DB 19 March 2023

Buttresses at the south-east corner of the chancel are made from chalk and ironstone.

All Saints' church is one of a few surviving Wolds buildings in which chalk has been used.

September 2012

Looking east towards the sanctuary.

White's Directory 1872, before the chancel was rebuilt in 1873, states :-

"A great part of the parish belongs to the Rev. Wm. Smyth, who is lord of the manor, impropriator, and patron of the benefice.

The vicarage, which is valued in K.B. at £5. 7s. 4d., was consolidated with that of North Elkington in 1854, and both are now jointly worth £500; it is in the incumbency of the Rev. James Grenville Smyth, B.A., rural dean, who has a neat residence here.

The Church (All Saints) is a small, but neat building, consisting of nave, chancel, and tower, with three bells. Its nave was almost entirely rebuilt in 1843, at an expense of about £1400, defrayed chiefly by the present patron, at whose cost an organ was purchased in 1846. It is at the present time undergoing alteration and repair.

Elkington Hall, the seat of the Rev. Wm. Smyth, is a handsome mansion, erected in 1842 in the Italian style" 

DB 19 March 2023

"The chancel roof is divided into square panels with moulded ribs and bosses and has decorative roundels containing paintings of saints"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1359950?section=official-list-entry 

Local signage explains "The Chancel Roof is intended to illustrate the first verses of the Te Deum,

"We Praise Thee O God, To Thee all Angels cry aloud, To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, The Glorious Company of the Apostles praise Thee, The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise Thee, The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee, The Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee"

These words of the Te Deum will be found round the Walls of the Chancel on the Border on which the roof rests so far as there is room for them; where the words do not appear they are to be imagined to be rolled up in the Scrolls on which the words are painted. 

The Roof itself consists of four Divisions allowing of 16 figures in all, each four illustrating in turn Angels, Apostles, Prophets, Martyrs, and Members of the Holy Church.

Immediately ,over the Altar in the Division nearest the East Window are the two Angels known as the Cherubim and Seraphim always nearest the Throne, each with six wings " full of eyes " as described in the Scriptures, the Cherubim carrying the Book of the Te Deum, the words being inscribed in Latin ... "

DB 19 March 2023

"In 1993 the late G.R.A. Mack A.R.I.B.A, M.R.S.H., former Diocesan Surveyor and for many years a member of South Elkington Church Council, instigated the process which resulted in the cleaning and re-decoration of the chancel. Mr Mack was the elder son of the Revd Harold Mack who was the Vicar of this parish from 1936-1946.

The work was completed in January 1995, three months after Mr Mack's death ... "

DB 19 March 2023

Victorian features of the church include the reredos, the impressive painted chancel roof and an elaborate organ case.

September 2012

Kelly's Directory 1930 reports "the carved stone reredos, the gift of Miss Smyth, of Elkington Hall, was erected in 1875, at a cost of about £175"

DB 19 March 2023

"TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF EDMUND LOCK DIED NOV 24TH 1893"

DB 19 March 2023

Memorial to Henry Langton Brackenbury of Thorpe Hall, Louth (1868-1920). MP for Louth 1910 & 1918-20. Also to his father, Major Henry Brackenbury.

Mark Acton, 2020 

Looking east towards the chancel.

Nave rebuilt 1843. 

DB 19 March 2023

Looking west towards the font.

"4 bay south arcade is early C13 with circular piers, annular capitals, double chamfered arches with moulded hoods and stops recut C19. The north arcade is similar but with foliate capitals and is all C19"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1359950?section=official-list-entry 

DB 19 March 2023

"C15 octagonal font which has shields and quatrefoils on the sides"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1359950?section=official-list-entry 

DB 19 March 2023

"SOUTH ELKINGTON C.E. SCHOOL HONOURS BOARD"

Presumably transferred from the former school. Located adjacent to the tower arch.

DB 19 March 2023

Looking east towards the vestry.

DB 19 March 2023

Looking west.

DB 19 March 2023

Looking east towards the memorial chapel.

DB 19 March 2023

Looking west towards the entrance.

DB 19 March 2023

Kelly's Directory 1930 reports "a chapel was constructed in 1921 on the south side, in memory of the men of the parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18"

DB 19 March 2023

A closer view of the chapel altar and reredos.

DB 19 March 2023

"TO THE GLORY OF THE EVER BLESSED TRINITY & IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE MEN OF NORTH & SOUTH ELKINGTON WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-19 ... "

DB 19 March 2023

""THIS TABLET IS ERECTED BY A GRATEFUL SON IN MEMORY OF HIS ESTEEMED PARENT ELIZABETH TROUGHT, WHO DIED SEPTEMBER 15TH 1832, AGED 75 YEARS; AND OF HER HUSBAND SAMUEL TROUGHT, ESQ. WHO DIED MAY 7TH 1804, AGED 71 YEARS ... "

DB 19 March 2023

C19 stained glass. 

Inscription at the top of the window reads "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" a quotation from Matthew 11:28.

DB 19 March 2023

This handsome early nineteenth-century farmhouse immediately north of the church is Grade II listed:

The details on the Historic England website are as follows 

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

By the time the Institute was built Canon Smyth had retired.

The letters after his name have been cut out and amended; it appears that he had gained an additional qualification c 1895.

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

The retaining wall alongside the path to the door is lined with loose-laid, over-burned bricks, which are also seen elsewhere in the village.

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

This Italianate house was designed by W A Nicholson and built in 1841.

Hugh D Martineau, c.1980

Elkington Hall, in South Elkington, was a relatively plain brick building in Italianate style, relieved by a substantial tower.

It was built in 1841-42 for the Smyth family by Edward Buckton Lambe. (Smyth also rebuilt the nave of the church.)

It remained in the Smyth family until the estate was sold in the 1930s. The house was demolished in the 1960s.

More details about this house and its owners can be found in T R Leach and R Pacey's book, 'Lost Lincolnshire Country Houses: Volume 1', published by SLHA.  Buy a copy.

T R Leach Collection, undated postcard

A more distant view of the Hall from the south. The outbuildings included a small gas-making plant with retort house and gasholder.

T R Leach Collection, undated postcard by Hickingbottom and Bullamore of Lincoln

The location of this temporary camp of the First World War period is uncertain but was very likely in the parkland near Elkington Hall.

T R Leach Collection, undated postcard 

A meeting of a local hunt - possibly the South Wold - in the grounds of Elkington Hall.

T R Leach Collection, undated postcard 

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

A low extension at right angles has increased the accommodation as a dwelling. A commendable effort has been made to match materials and window design to the original chapel building.

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

The dedication stone above the porch entrance is still very clear cut. It appears there was once a light above it.

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

This substantial house for the schoolmaster appears to be contemporary with the school next door. The imposing twisted chimney looks original.

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

Water cistern now in the parterre garden at Holme Pierrepont Hall near Nottingham. Local signage states :-

"The lead water cistern dating from 1786 was rescued from Thorpe Hall, near Louth in Lincolnshire, as part of the Brackenbury family heritage and placed here by Robin Brackenbury to grace the newly laid parterre garden, in the 1970s"

Thorpe Hall was built about 1584 for Sir John Bolle. Captain Langston Brackenbury, MP for Louth, bought the Hall in 1906.

DB 23 February 2020

Constructed of Cornish granite and built by Mawer Bros of Louth, the memorial was dedicated and unveiled on 12 December 1920.

One hundred years later, with Covid likely to disrupt a ceremony on Armistice Sunday, the members of South Elkington Women's Institute decided to decorate the memorial and boundary chains with hand-crafted red poppies.

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022

Jean Howard, 11 April 2022