St Thomas of Canterbury

About

St Thomas of Canterbury's is the Grade II* listed Anglican parish church of Aunsby, a small village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, near Sleaford. It sits within the Church of England parish of South Lafford, in the Diocese of Lincoln, alongside its neighbouring churches at Dembleby and Scott Willoughby.

Also known historically as St Thomas the Martyr's or St Thomas a Becket's, the church is dedicated to Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury murdered in 1170 and canonised soon after. Built in a mixture of Norman and Perpendicular Gothic styles, it is the oldest church in the parish, and Pevsner's Buildings of England singles it out as "a specially rewarding church." A distinctive feature is its spire, inscribed with the words "Ave Maria" near the top.

History

Aunsby appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Ounesbi." The present church dates from the 12th century, with further additions and alterations made through the 13th to 15th centuries as the building grew and changed with the parish it served.

The church was restored in 1861 by the architect W. Thompson of Grantham, a project which included rebuilding the tower and spire. Its ring of three bells reflects this long history in itself: the oldest, cast in 1612 by Henry Oldfield II, was joined by a bell from Thomas Norris in 1669 and another from Tobias Norris III in 1685, all later rehung in a timber frame built in 1860.

St Thomas of Canterbury's was designated a Grade II* listed building, recognising it as a particularly important building of more than special interest.