St Peter & St Paul

About

Set in the heart of Osbournby, the second largest village in the parish, the church contains a number of original medieval carved pew ends alongside Victorian copies.

Restoring Osbournby Church

It is nine years since fundraising began in earnest for the restoration of Osbournby church, which was completed in 1320 on the site of an earlier Saxon church and is recorded in the Domesday Book. We are now at the final hurdle, awaiting the faculty (formal permission) from the Diocese of Lincoln to carry out the remedial work needed to keep the church standing for the next generation.

The work required includes:

• Installing drainage, which was removed in the 1960s and never replaced

• Replacing the disintegrating asbestos guttering and downpipes with cast iron

• Stabilising the tower

• Repointing and resurfacing the north wall

• Repairing and rehanging the bells

• Reroofing the porch and other vulnerable areas

Because bats are present in the church, this work can only take place during April and September, so as not to disturb them during their breeding and hibernation periods.

The estimated cost of the repairs and restoration is in excess of £300,000. With the generous support of the local community, we have so far raised in the region of £30,000, and the next step is to seek further funding.

We are also considering other improvements to make the church more viable for wider community use, including a servery, toilets, heating and lighting, and a digital archive of the history of the church and village. With the help of the village schoolchildren, we plan to develop a wildflower and wildlife area in the churchyard next year.

Previous Restorations

Aside from work carried out on the tower and north wall in 1965 — which stabilised them with buttresses, though a distinct, slightly unnerving lean to the north remains — the last major renovation took place in 1873, funded by the vicar and the local community. That restoration raised the roof and chancel arch (the roof has in fact been raised and lowered three times over its lifetime), replaced the old box pews with those in use today, and replaced the east window, which had previously stood at only half its current height.

An extract from a local newspaper recounting the 1873 restoration work, and the faculty application for permission to carry it out, is available here.

History

The Domesday Survey of 1086 records a church here in the possession of Gilbert of Ghent, the wealthiest landowner in the county at that time. The western end of the nave dates from the 12th or early 13th century, but much of the church as it stands today was built in 1320, when the nave, south aisle, chancel, and porch were rebuilt. A further extensive restoration began in 1873, during which the roof was replaced and the east window and pews installed, at a cost of £1,460.