All Saints
Gautby, Lincolnshire
A rather unassuming village church on the outside but containing a wealth of interest and heritage within its walls, but there also lies a hidden story of murder and intrigue.
One of many remote Lincolnshire churches made redundant in the 1970s, St Margaret's is in the secluded valley of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The tiny hamlet of Waddingworth features in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as Wadingurde, with 60 households, so there was some prosperity once.
The church is tucked away in the corner of a farmyard and is privately owned. Although it is for the most part a 14th century greenstone building, the church fell into disrepair and most of the building was reconstructed in brick in 1808 with further restoration in 1913 by HF Traylen of Stamford.
The delightfully furnished interior of the church is mostly due to Traylen's work. He converted the box pews into panelling and provided a simple 'English' altar. The furniture is painted green. Traylen retained some furnishings including the pulpit and Georgian altar rails. The roof retains some of its medieval timbers, but has probably been reconstructed too.
The only significant monument is a ledger slab in the nave floor to Edward Dymoke, a member of the prominent family seated nearby at Scrivelsby. But, even the tiniest of hamlets have a story to tell. Sir Henry Hubbertson, a former Waddingworth resident travelled to London and became a Merchant Taylor, becoming a sheriff in 1542 and then Lord Mayor of London in 1546.
