St. Mary's Church, Walton on the Wolds

St. Mary's is the sister church of Holy Trinity, Barrow upon Soar. The church as it stands today was built in 1739.

There is a service every Sunday at St. Mary's Walton. The details of services can can be found in the This Month section of this website.

What follows is a brief history of St. Mary's and was compiled by Lexie Clarke of Walton.

The Early Church

The earliest signs of Christianity in Walton are the remains of the 900 year old preaching cross in the churchyard, used by travelling priests and probably by the first rector, Hugh Dispenser before the original church was built in 1221.

The earliest memorial dates from 1695 and is very worn. It is situated high on the west wall above the font. It is surrounded by the family arms of, and commemorates Mary, the wife of Thomas Pochin of Walton, and later of Barkby.

The gravestones of their youngest son George and later members of the family are on the floor of the porch.

Two bells were hung in 1656, the inscription reading:

"God save his church, Robert Blunt, James Blunt"

The bellfounder was George Oldfield of Nottingham. The frame was made by Henry Gutteridge, the local blacksmith. A Third bell, since recast, was hung in 1659 and was inscribed:

"I rouse up sluggards."

The original church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew became

"...so ruinous and decayed, by the general decay of the timber, and the bulging of the wall thereof, that the said church was in such danger of falling that the parishioners could not assemble therein for the public worship of Almighty God, without manifest hazard of their lives."

The old building was demolished and the present church dedicated to St. Mary was completed in 1739.

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The New Church

An inscription was put into the lead of the tower roof, this read:

"This church was rebuilt in the year 1739 by ELir Porte, plumber and William Jackson, mason. The chancel was built in the same year by Rev. John Bainbrigge, the rector of this parish."

The Bainbrigge family memorial is on the wall to the south of the chancel and states that their bodies are interred in a vault nearby.

On the opposite wall is the memorial to Mary, the wife of Rev. Augustus Hobart. They were the parents of Augustus Charles Hobart - Hampden, born at the rectory in 1822, later known as Hobart Pasha on becoming adviser to the Turks and Admiral of the Ottoman Fleet. The Memorial to Mary's brother, Rev. Charles Williams, is on the west wall of the nave.

The chancel was restored and the vestry rebuilt Rev. Augustus Packe, Rector, at his own expense in 1856. A tablet below the vestry window gives this information plus the fact that his resting place is below the floor.

The brass plaque once in the vestry is now above the pulpit and reads 

"Rev. Augustus Packe died 1st Feb. 1861 aged 55 years."

Two stained glass windows in the chancel are in memory of him and his wife Henrietta.

The building was restored in 1877 at a cost of £940 6s 11d in the time of Rev. John Bird's ministry (1873-1894). The walls remain as built 1739.

A stained glass window in the nave is dedicated to Charlotte Edmunds, wife of Rev. Payne Edmunds of Peterborough. This was erected by her daughter Louise Bird, the wife of the rector. Another link with Peterborough is the carved organ seat which was once a choir stall in that cathedral.

The west door was built in 1891 costing £46 10s 0d.

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Clocks, Bells and the Village

The clock, by Messrs. Smith of Derby, was dedicated at the evening service held on May 8th 1899 and set going by the donor, Miss Mary Ann Mason of Ealing in memory of her father Nicholas, the last Mason born at Walton.

His nephew, Michael had added the south face of the tower in 1897. 

The Masons lived at the Manor House for many years and have several memorials in the graveyard.

More bells were hung in the 19th century:

An interesting entry in the churchwarden book for 26th September 1808 reads:

"Paid for the great bell casting and putting up £18 19s 6d. 
The blacksmith's bill 13/6. For ale at the same time 14/-."

Tradition has it that the third bell was broken by a clumsy ringer on November 5th 1852. As it was customary for a bell ringer to receive a shilling on that date, it may well have suffered from the over enthusiasm of a ringer keenly anticipating his bonus.

Walton le Wolds was fortunate in that its rectory was an exceptionally good living.

It attracted many well educated and well connected men who were often given the living as a reward for services rendered or in recognition of their status.

Today Walton no longer has its own rector but is joined with the neighbouring parish of Barrow upon Soar.

The Church and graveyard are maintained by villagers and the bells are often rung by local teams. The rectory is now a private house.

Text taken from "St. Mary's Church Walton-le-Wolds - A Brief History". Compiled by Lexie Clarke of Walton.

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