St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Gosberton
Whilst the fabric of the church we see today was erected, extended and renovated in phases from the 14th century, there are a number of traces of an earlier church to be found under the floor of the nave.
The original Norman Church (12th century)
At the base of the most easterly pier on the north arcade is a trapdoor in the wooden floor, which, when raised, reveals one of the few remaining traces of the Norman church (12th century) which originally stood on this site. What can be seen is a large circular Norman pillar base, the present pillar being founded upon it.
The adjacent pier also apparently stands on the remains of a circular Norman pier, although today it is inaccessible. Walter Jenkinson Kaye, in his book ‘A Brief History of the Church and Parish of Gosberton’ (1897) records seeing it.
Kaye also records that underneath the third pier, towards the west, are the foundations of the original western wall of the church, which run from here to the equivalent pier in the south arcade. During the reflooring of the church in 1896, these foundations were exposed, including traces of a recessed doorway (i.e. the original western doorway).
The Early English remodelling (late 12th century-late 13th century)
The extent to which the Norman building was remodelled in the thirteenth century (an architectural period classified as ‘Early English’) is not known, but underneath the southern arcade are the foundations of an Early English south wall, which was knocked down and turned into the arcade when the south aisle was built in the fourteenth century. A trapdoor under the westernmost pillar shows the a fragment of an Early English pillar base, which Kaye conjectures was brought there from another part of the church as a useful foundation for the present pillar.
M.R. Begley, in his booklet ‘The Church of SS Peter and Paul, Gosberton,’ (1974) suggests that “the walls of the chancel may date from this period, although its roof and windows are later.” He does not cite any evidence to support this.
Was there once an even earlier church?
Going back even further, to Saxon times (9th to 11th centuries) there was a church in Gosberton. We don’t know where it was sited – there is no trace of it on the site of the present church – but we know there must have been one, because by the time the Normans conquered Britain in 1066, this place was called “Gosberkirk” or “Gozeberlechercha” (as it appears in the Domesday Book) meaning probably ‘the church of Gosbert or Gosberd.’ We don’t know who this person is, but presumably he was a Saxon leader or religious person. It was thought the church (and thus ‘Gosberton’) was founded in the early 9th century
