Visit to St. Magdalene Church

Linda Brighton organised the Society’s June meeting which was held at the Church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, Fleet near Holbeach Lincs & not to be confused with a church with the same name at Gedney a few miles away.
On a fine sunny evening 17 members, guests & friends listened to a talk by the church warden on the history of the church & were then taken to see the stone imp above the choir stall.
The church was built prior to 1245 & rebuilt last in 1860-1862. The inside of the church was restored in 1911.
As with some fen churches, when the ground was not strong enough to support the tower on top of the church, the old tower is found separate to the church.
A large grave yard surrounds the church. The brave amongst the visitors climbed the tower, and waved to their friends below. The view from the top was remarkable.
Several days before this visit the church held a wedding & christening display. The wedding gowns were many & varied & needless to say very beautiful. Each gown had a photo & printed history about the bride & groom placed beside it. One dress was made from parachute silk & another very delicate pale blue dress was 80+ years old. The church was also adorned with wedding hats & christening robes, 2 made from left over fabric from the bride’s dress. A cake stall, raffle & refreshments were also available.
As part of this celebration our Society displayed wedding & christening photos which had been loaned by members & copied by Peter. Set out by Bridget & Linda it was fascinating to see how the fashions had changed over the years. Added to this display Peter set up a continual slide display of photos & these caught the attention of many of the visitors.
A delightful well preserved church -well worth a visit.
The speaker for our July meeting is Mike Petty on Following History through newspapers
[Barbara Holmes]