You could be forgiven, in your haste to explore the delights that adorn the wonderful interior of St. Peter and St. Paul’s church, to pass through the South Porch – the main entrance to the church – without a second thought. Assuming that your visit here is to soak in and learn the history of the church, then you would do well to pause at the porch before you go any further.
The porch was built in the 1300s. So, it’s a mere 700 years old.
Medieval churches were designed to be, quite literally, awe-inspiring. The bigger and grander they could be built, the better. No wonder, then, that instead of a mere doorway into a church, we encounter magnificent porches. The porch is making a statement that you are entering, after all, the House of God.
That said, the porch serves a practical purpose, giving shelter from the elements to congregations filing into and out of the church.
But that’s not all.
Porches also generally played a part in some rituals in days gone by, particularly baptisms. In the very early days of Christianity, the baptismal font was commonly situated in the porch.
There is no written account, however, which suggests the font in St. Peter and St. Paul’s church was ever sited in the porch. In fact, by the time the porch was built in the 1400s, fonts were generally sited in the church. However, it may well be that the porch at some point did play some role in the baptismal service here in Gosberton, with the priest receiving the sponsors and the infant there, and beginning the service at that point before proceeding to the font inside.
The porches of some churches had two storeys, with a room above the entrance which could be used for storage, a meeting room, or even a school. Not this porch, however, as it is only a single storey.
