Our Church
St Botolph and St. John the Baptist, Croxton Kerrial
St Botolph is part of the High Framland group of churches.
The oldest part of the present structure are some arches under the tower, which date back to the latter years of the 12th century. The church that we see today dates from the 15th century, and is made from Ironstone. Sir George Gilbert Scott carried out a church restoration here in 1866-8. This included re-roofing the church, removing the gallery so that an organ could be used, and refitting and reseating the church using the old fifteenth century bench ends.
There are six bells in the ring here. Three are fairly modern and are from Taylor of Loughborough. Two are re-castings of earlier bells and one is a modern addition to the ring.
The church has some finely carved medieval bench-ends and some mediaeval graffiti. The bench-ends came from a nearby Abbey which was closed down during the dissolution. The church guide tells us that tests on the back boards have suggested a date of mid 15th century. Symbols carved in to the bench-ends include monks, noble men, eagles, lions, dragons and a green man. It is thought that some of these are symbols from those people who helped to finance the abbey.
This link will take you directly to our new website https://www.framlandparishes.org/
Meet our Vicar: Rev. David Cowie
There are many reasons why it’s a pleasure to be the parish priest in this area, and one of the best reasons is our primary school at Croxton Kerrial. Having originally trained to be a primary school teacher up in Chester, I ended up becoming a priest instead. So, when I moved to this area, I knew I was really blessed when I discover that our village school had exceptional staff and children, who always give their best and who have welcomed me as part of the school family.
I do my best to make my weekly assemblies as interesting as possible; occasionally one of my lightsabers or some LEGO makes it into the re-enactment of a Bible story, as we learn about how much we are loved by God, and how that should inspire is to be more loving with one another. (Our retelling of these stories always feature the children in starring roles!) I’m delighted to invite the school family into our church buildings a couple of times a term, and I’m always proud of how thoughtful, kind and funny our children are.
In my spare time, I enjoy reading and rereading the Harry Potter books, and my collection of Star Wars and Harry Potter LEGO is always expanding. I’m owned by a small fluffy dog, Honey, who has been known to make the odd appearance from time to time at school, too.