SAXON TOWERS
- Saxon Christianity associated with the name of Augustine,
nor had St. Ninian, St. Kentigern, St. Oswald, St. Cuthbert, or St. Wilfrid any work to do in Lincolnshire. St. Paulinus alone, by his visit to Lincoln, connected the province of Lindsey, which was part of his diocese of York, with the religious life of Northumbria. But the only existing trace of this is the dedication of the church in Lincoln to St. Paul, i.e., St. Paulinus.
Still, Saxon architecture was a real thing in the two centuries preceding the Norman invasion, and we have in Lincolnshire an unusually large number of churches (I can mention no less than thirty-eight at once), which represent a late state of Saxon architecture carried out probably by Saxon workmen for Norman employers and bearing traces of Norman influence. At Stow, near Lincoln, is some very fine Saxon work, but there the Norman overlies the Saxon more decidedly than it does in the notable church of Barton-on-Humber; both of these have been discussed in previous chapters. But we may here draw attention to the less magnificent Saxon remains in the county, and notice how often the churches with Saxon work still visible, lie in groups. Thus, quite in the north we have Barton, Winterton, and Alkborough, with Worlaby not far off. Then in the course of ten miles along the road from Caistor to Grimsby we have Caistor, Cabourn, Nettleton, Rothwell, Cuxwold, Swallow, Laceby, Scartho, and Clee; with Holton-le-Clay and Waith just to the south on the road to Louth. On the west, near Gainsborough, we have a group of five close together at Corringham, Springthorpe, Harpswell, Heapham, and Glentworth; and Marton and Stow are not far away, one by the Trent and the other on the central road between the Trent and the 'Cliff.'
Lincoln has its two famous church towers of St. Mary-le-Wigfords and St. Peters-at-Gowts. Near it, to the south, are Bracebridge, Bramston, Harmston and Coleby, the two latter close together, and all with traces of "Long-and-Short" work; and if we continue our way southwards, we shall pass Hough-on-the-Hill between Grantham and Newark, with its interesting pre-Conquest stair turret, and so finish our Saxon tour by visiting three churches on or near the river Glen, at Boothby-Pagnell, Little Bytham and Thurlby. This is not an exhaustive list, for Great Hale near Heckington must be included, and Cranwell near Sleaford and Ropsley near Grantham,
