Kettlethorpe Church

St Peter and St Paul’s Church is situated in the peaceful village of Kettlethorpe lying at the western edge of the county of Lincolnshire. The parish also includes the neighbouring villages of Fenton and Laughterton.

The Church is open every day during daylight hours. 

There are Sunday services at 9am every Sunday except the first in the month, when there is a service in the nearby village of Newton. For details of special services and the programme of events at Kettlethorpe, see News.

Kettlethorpe has been a place of worship on the site at Kettlethorpe for almost 800 years. The present church stands on the site of the former church and was completed in 1812, with further restoration later that century. There is a magnificent 15th century bell in the older tower, which is included amongst the small peal (restored in 2019), and a 15th century stone angel corbel with a shield bearing a royal coat of arms. And there is a medieval stone cross in the graveyard just outside the church.

Opposite the church is the stone gateway leading to Kettlethorpe Hall, which stands on the site of the fourteenth century manor that was the home of Katherine Swynford (d.1403), the mistress and third wife of John of Gaunt, son of Edward III. It was through his descent from on of John and Katherine’s children that Henry Tudor laid claim to the throne, after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

There are also remains to be seen of the Hall that was rebuilt in the 17th century, when Kettlethorpe saw conflict during the Civil War. The Victorian front of the house bears the arms of the Amcotts; the last member of the family to live there has a magnificent gravestone in the churchyard.

More details of the fascinating history of Kettlethorpe can be found inside the church, which is always open in the daytime, and any contributions to maintaining this historic, living community church are gratefully received.

For any further information, please contact Ann Lister on 01427 362993 or listerann@hotmail.co.uk,”