Bassingham – St. Michael and All Angels Church

The Church of St Michael and All Angels in the Lincolnshire village of Bassingham is Grade II* listed and has elements from as early as the eleventh century and it was also listed in the Domesday Book. Much of the older section of the church dates to the thirteenth century, but it was extensively restored in 1860 under the supervision of JH Hakewill.

The design drawings prepared by JH Hakewill in advance of the 1860 restoration. During this work they discovered two Anglo-Saxon grave covers which are now located near to the altar, used as a table for the sacraments.

The entrance gate to the church from the road, with the rear of the churchyard reaching the River Witham.

The pretty long graveyard leading to the church from the road.

The rather blocky tower was rebuilt in 1782.

The south porch.

We weren’t able to visit inside the church, but the listed building record notes that there are the remains of a fifteenth century screen, the altar rail and organ are from the nineteenth century, the nineteenth century pulpit has a panel from 1674 and the alms box is from 1668. Also inside the church is the bell from the minesweeper HMS Bassingham, which was given to the community in 1999 after it was decommissioned by the Royal Navy. It was explained at the service that at the time, minesweepers were named after villages which ended in ‘ham’.