St. James Church

St James’ Church stands in the heart of Louth, a market town in Lincolnshire. Its 287-foot spire is the tallest on any Anglican parish church in the UK and the third tallest overall. The building replaced earlier churches on the same site, with the present structure mainly dating from the 15th century. The tower has three external stages and contains a rare medieval treadmill hoist called the ‘Wild Mare’. A ring of eight bells hangs in the belfry, the heaviest peal in England being the eighth heaviest. The church also holds a pre-Conquest stone cross found in the Rectory garden, carved with a figure of Christ. The church played a key part in England’s religious upheavals. In October 1536 local people gathered here to launch the Lincolnshire Rising against Henry VIII’s changes. The vicar who led the rising was later hanged, drawn and quartered. The spire has survived storms in 1558, 1587, 1634, 1828 and 1843, each time being repaired. Major restorations in the 19th century added new seating, tiles, a porch and a heating system. The organ installed in 1515 came from Flanders and was replaced in 1531 after wear. Inside, the nave has open oak seats and Minton tiled floors laid in the 1860s. A stained glass window in the south aisle was given by J. L. Fytche, while another in the north aisle commemorates General Sir George Patey. The tower clock, made in 1846, was replaced in 1901 by a Leonard Hall instrument that still chimes every quarter-hour. Visitors can now see the ‘Wild Mare’ treadmill through a viewing door below the spire floor.