St John the Baptist
South Carlton, Lincolnshire
The picturesque village of South Carlton is situated on the edge of the limestone cliff to north of Lincoln, just at the point where it dips down to meet the valley of the Trent.
The pews in the nave replaced box pews in 1897 in celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Also on show are hatchments to William, 6th Baron Monson who died in 1862 and his wife Eliza. The Monson Gallery, above the nave, was once shared by the Monson family and the rectory. It has a fireplace and contains the two coronation chairs used by Lord and Lady Monson at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Of particular interest is the Randes memorial. This monument is in memory of Christopher Randes, who died in 1639 and his wife Katherine. The monument has small kneeling figures of a father with four boys and a mother and three girls as well as a small babe (Moundeford) in swaddling clothes and an unusual strap work decoration down each side with memento mori. The interesting thing is that the right hand side tassel actually manages to hang upwards. It is assumed that this monument has been moved or restored since its original installation, and the decorated panel incorrectly reinserted. Christopher Randes was born in 1573 in St Margarets, Lincolnshire, son of Thomas and Mary Randes. He first married Faith Dighton in about 1562 and they had 2 children, Thomas and Edmond. His second wife was Katherine Moundeford who was born in 1588 and came from Norfolk. They had 5 sons and 3 daughters. His son Christopher (Xofer) died in his 20's in 1639, apparently at the same time as Katherine. Moundeford died as a baby aged 3 months. It is believed the family lived in a large house on the site of the current Manor House.
