St. Mary's Church, Horncastle

St Mary's Church, Horncastle
The church's west facade, facing the market place
OS grid reference	TF 25855 69555
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
History
Dedication	St. Mary
Administration
Parish	Horncastle
Deanery	Horncastle
Diocese	Lincoln
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Rector	The Revd Charles Patrick
Asst Curate(s)	The Revd Sam Parsons
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	Michael Hieatt, Helen Marshall

St. Mary's Church, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, dates from the early 13th century and is dedicated to Saint Mary. It serves the Ecclesiastical Parish of Horncastle and a grade II* listed building that was heavily restored by Ewan Christian between 1859 and 1861.

It is thought that a Roman church once stood on the site. This appears to have been succeeded by a Saxon Minster, although construction of the present building started c.1250.

The building appears to have experienced two major works of restoration:

Whilst remaining in regular use as the Parish Church of Horncastle, by 2001 a Roman Catholic congregation was also using the building for its Mass on Saturday evenings at 6:00 pm and continues to have Mass there at that time.

The building is dominated by three architectural styles:

There are also some Georgian influences (such as the heavily restored 14th century piscina, which may be found in the chancel's south wall).

Horncastle Parish is part of the South Wolds Group of Churches, which was inaugurated by Bishop John of Lincoln during a service in St Mary’s Horncastle on 7 November 2010. This benefice is sub divided into three groups:

These include:

Website for Catholics http://www.catholicchurchwoodhallspa.org

Coordinates: 53°12′25″N 0°07′15″W / 53.206838°N 0.120875°W / 53.206838; -0.120875