St Nicholas
Swaby, Lincolnshire
St Nicholas is beautiful in its simplicity, letting in plenty of natural light, with a clear window behind the altar which looks out on the surrounding farmland.
In the middle ages, the manor of Haugh was owned by the de Hagh family, until they died out and the title passed on to their relatives, the Bolle family, sometime in the late 15th century.
St Leonard’s is Norman in origin and still retains its early Norman chancel arch. Restored in the 14th and 15th centuries, it is for the most part a mausoleum to these two local families.
On the south wall there is an alabaster wall plaque to Sir Charles Bolle, who died in 1590, and on the north wall a large wall monument to his son, John Bolle, who died in 1606.
John was a soldier and in June 1596 was a captain in the force of 150 ships and some 8,000 soldiers meant to lay siege to the Spanish navy in the port of Cadiz. The fleet was destroyed and the town taken, and John Bolle was knighted for his gallantry.
The 15th century font is eight sided and decorated with a wonderful window tracery pattern.