St Mary Magdalene
Gedney, Lincolnshire
Gedney's elegant and beautifully decorated tower is crowned by a spire that is little more than a stump.
The oldest parts of the church may date back to the Knights Templar, who had a Preceptory at Fleet.
Records show that the church existed in the 1100s, the stone being brought from the Barnack Quarry and worked on the site of Jocelyn of Fleet's Manor nearby.
The present church has a choir of musician corbels lining the nave, in 14th century costume. The dappled light from the soaring west window traces ethereal pastel patterns of the floor and the rare mensa altar beneath the window.
The rector of the time fought the Parliamentarians at the siege at Crowland, barely escaping with his life. Realising the desecration bring wrought by local iconoclasts he returned in haste, and had the altar hidden, with it's consecration crossed erased. The altar itself was eventually retrieved and there is the tantalising possibility that it may have originally come from the Knights Templar chapel.
Also in the chapel, the Fleet Imp watches over all the proceedings, no less impious than his cousin in Lincoln Cathedral.
Outside, on the buttress by the west window is a beautiful spiral carved into the stonework, signifying the wheel of life. It probably dates back to the 1100s, along with two daisy wheels of similar date.