All Saints Church, Theddlethorpe

All Saints Church stands in the flat marshland of Theddlethorpe All Saints, a village five kilometres northeast of Mablethorpe. Built mainly of greenstone and limestone rubble, the church has a nave with clerestory, north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel and a four-stage west tower. The tower carries a lead-covered crocketed pinnacle and battlemented parapet with gargoyles. The church’s plan and stonework show work from the 12th century, with later additions in the late 14th and 15th centuries, late 17th century and 19th century. The church has been called the ‘Cathedral of the Marsh’ for its size and detail. Inside, octagonal piers support five-bay arcades and the nave roof is decorated with fleurons and coats of arms. The chancel screen, in seven bays, dates from the 15th century, while the pulpit and lectern are 19th-century replacements. Medieval altar slabs, painted text fragments and a 15th-century octagonal font with a wooden cover remain in place. Visitors find benches in the gabled south porch and carved 16th-century pews with poppyheads along the aisles. Fragments of 15th-century glass survive in the south aisle windows, and the east window of the chancel has three lights. A brass dated 1424, 18th-century wall plaques and a marble monument from 1727 mark the church’s long history. The tower’s louvred bell openings and the battlemented parapets give the exterior a fortified appearance.