Holy Trinity Church, Ratcliffe-on-Soar

Holy Trinity Church stands in the village of Ratcliffe-on-Soar, a Grade I listed parish church built in the 13th century. It belongs to a group of five churches along the A453 known as ‘The 453 Churches’. The others are St Lawrence’s in Gotham, St George’s in Barton in Fabis, St Winifred’s in Kingston on Soar and All Saints’ in Thrumpton. Earl Howe paid for major repairs in 1886, spending £830 to restore the building. Inside, alabaster monuments remember members of the Sacheverell family from the 16th and 17th centuries. A single-manual pipe organ was moved here in 1936 from St Winifred’s Church for £29. The church is worth visiting for its historic fabric and family memorials. The Sacheverell monuments include pieces from 1539, 1558, about 1590 and 1625, carved in alabaster. The organ, originally hand-pumped for 15 shillings a year, was electrified in 1946 and moved to the north aisle in 1973. Though the tower holds three bells, they do not chime together in tune. The building’s Grade I listing recognises its national importance. Inside, visitors find the nave and chancel with the alabaster monuments on the walls. The organ stands in the north aisle, its pipes visible above the case. The tower contains the three bells, silent or rung individually rather than together. Outside, the churchyard borders quiet lanes and fields beside the River Soar. The simple stone structure and its grouped churches offer a quiet corner of Nottinghamshire’s heritage.