St. Mary’s Church, Cowbit
Our Church is Grade 1 listed and built in Perpendicular style.
The settlement of Cowbit can be traced back to pre-Roman Britain. Cowbit is from the old Norse meaning ‘Kau and Beit’ meaning Cow Pasture, it is where cows came to graze on the marshy land. Cowbit, with Peakhill, was within the Parish of Spalding and contributed to the Priory at Spalding. The Priory provided the necessary spiritual ministrations and the relief of the poor. In return Cowbit supplied the priory with fish, fowl and swans (swans were bred locally). These swans would have been branded on mandibles with the ‘Swan Mark’, to proclaim ownership. This ‘Swan Mark’ may be seen in the east window of the south nave wall. Nothing really is known before 1360 when a cemetery Chapel with an Altar was built by Prior de Moulton for the Priors dependents. There is no record that this Chapel was consecrated. There is evidence in a preserved deed that the church was consecrated in 1384 giving the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (February 2nd) as its feast of title. The stone above the North door is thought to be the base of a heavy parapet at Spalding Priory.
The present nave is part of the original building made of thin red slop bricks with buttresses of Barnack Rag, but around 1480 this simple structure was considerably enlarged. The Nave was extended by 10 feet and the Tower was added. At the East end an opening was made and the Chancel added, a small room was added on the north side of the Chancel for the Ministers Vestments. This stone doorway still exists. After the addition of the Tower and the Chancel the Church was re-consecrated necessitated by the removal of the Altar to its current position in the new east end. This was performed by John Russell, the Bishop of Lincoln, on May 11th 1486.
The porch was added in around 1540.
Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Chapel of Cowbit passed away with the rest of Spalding’s endowments and fell into the hands of a pious yeoman called Richard Russell. On November 8th 1631 he left all endowment of Cowbitt ON TRUST to seven feofees (fefees )who were to appoint a ‘preaching minister ‘to preach the word of God from time to time. We owe a great debt to Richard Russell.
Originally the roof of the Nave was thatched, then slated, thatched again and finally leaded in the 1830’s.
Originally the roof of the Nave was thatched, then slated, thatched again and finally leaded in the 1830’s. Picture to the left.
The Tower originally had a ‘conical straw hat’up to Rev Edmund Harken’s time here when it was removed under the guidance of Rev Harken and magnificence of Major Dyson and a stone parapet added.,
In 1880 the church was in a very bad state and the vicar of the time, Rev.J.T. Dove, had the Church retored at the expense of over €1,150. The building was entirely overhauled, a new roof constructed,new stonework put in the north window, the west window was opened up, the bells rehung, the walls in part demolished and rebuilt with the old material, the floor was lowered and paved with wood tiles Old Pews were replaced and soil was removed from the outer walls, this plus drainage kept the floor dryer. The reopening of the church after the restoration was performed by Dr Wordsworth, the Bishop of Lincoln, in the spring of 1884.
