St Peter ad Vincula

The current church of St Peter Ad Vincula (St Peter in Chains) can be dated to the 12th century with various features in the chancel including the now infilled north arcade and the east windows. The tower dates from the 13th century and so the church must have been a substantial building from soon after the Norman Conquest, reflecting the status of Threekingham as a relatively prosperous market town until the population was decimated by the plague.

The earliest part of the church is the chancel which dates to about 1180. The tower dates to the 13th century, the consequential scale of the church suggestive of the substantial and comparatively wealthy community at this time before the Black Death. The fine monument to Sir Lambert de Trykingham also speaks of local wealth and importance. The fact that the nave lacks the addition of a clerestory, and the relatively crude 14th century roof structure also may speak of the decline in the fortune of Threekingham and its depopulation.

It is likely that little major work was undertaken on the building, other than introduction of pews, until the Victorian era. White’s Trade Directory of 1872 records a major restoration of the building in 1860, at a cost of £550, where the pews were replaced and a new pulpit erected, the cost of the restoration of the chancel being paid by A Heathcote Esq. 

The top 3ft of the 132ft high 13th century broach spire and the vane were repaired following a lightning strike in July 1871 (the third recorded lightning strike). The three tomb chests now in the south aisle were brought into the church and initially placed in the north aisle around 1806.