St Vincent's Church, Caythorpe

St Vincent’s Church stands at the southern edge of the Lincoln Cliff in Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, ten miles north of Grantham. Built chiefly of limestone rubble and ironstone with ashlar details, the church follows a cruciform plan with a central tower topped by a crocketed spire rising to 156 feet. Inside, the unusual double nave is one of only four such arrangements in England, while the exterior shows Early Decorated and Perpendicular styles with 19th-century additions by George Gilbert Scott. The octagonal spire contains six small lucarnes on each side and is capped by a weathervane, while the belfry stage has two clocks and lancet windows with hood moulds. The church is dedicated to Vincent of Saragossa and holds notable monuments to Sir Charles and Sir Edward Hussey, along with a memorial to the 18th-century astronomer Edmund Weaver. It also preserves traces of medieval Doom paintings above the west arch, whitewashed after damage in 1859, and a restored organ installed in 1871 by Forster and Andrews. In 1947 the funerary armour of Baron Hussey, executed in 1538 for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace, was donated to the church, though it was stolen in 1997. The church’s ring of eight bells, originally by Mears of Whitechapel, was recast in 1912 and credited to several founders. Visitors find a spacious interior divided by the double nave with its north aisle added by Scott in 1860. The north aisle contains stained glass windows installed in 1994, dedicated to the Airborne Signals and those lost in the Falklands War. The chancel holds the brackets that once supported the Hussey armour, and the crossing retains the remains of the Doom murals. The church hosts yearly memorial services for the No. 216 Parachute Signals Squadron on the first Sunday in September, and in 2011 and 2012 the Band of the RAF Regiment Brass Ensemble performed concerts within its walls.