St Matthew
Normanton, Leicestershire
Fairy tale church almost lost forever under the waves of Rutland Water.
It now presides over a pretty and much visited village surrounded by water. Hambleton would be on an island in the reservoir, but for a strip of land connecting it with Oakham.
Its large and imposing church was once the most important in the county. It is recorded in Domesday Book as one of three in Hambleton, which had at one time been the capital of Anglo Saxon Kings in Rutland.
The oldest features of St Andrew's visible today are the Norman capitals and arch of the south doorway, and the unusually shaped font, believed to date from the 12th century. Much of the rest of the church is 13th century except for the chancel and its arch, which were rebuilt as part of an 1890s restoration.
The Victorian stained glass, as well as the unusual lectern and ornately carved organ-case, all date from this time.
