St Denys' Church, Sleaford

The Sleaford area has been inhabited since the late Iron Age; people settled around the ford where a prehistoric track running northwards from Bourne crossed the River Slea. A large hoard of coin moulds belonging to the Corieltauvi tribe have been uncovered in this area and dated to the late Iron Age. and then by the Anglo-Saxons. The place-name Slioford first appears in 852, meaning "crossing over a muddy stream", in reference to the Slea. The settlement around the crossing came to be known as "Old" Sleaford in 13th-century sources to distinguish it from developments further west, around the present-day market place, which came to be known as "New" Sleaford. The origins of New Sleaford are…

St Denys' is constructed in Ancaster stone across four periods: the earliest sections in a transitional style between Early English Gothic and Decorated Gothic; the late medieval nave, aisles and chancel in Decorated Gothic; the later Perpendicular Gothic clerestory and chancel; and the Victorian neo-Gothic restorations. The earliest parts consist of the late 12th or early 13th-century tower and spire on the west side of the church, which have a combined height of 144 ft. Its arched entrance exhibits features of both the Early English and Decorated Gothic styles. During the restoration, a 15th-century window was removed, placed in the churchyard and replaced by arcading and three circlets,…

St Denys' Church is the parish church of the benefice of Sleaford (formerly called New Sleaford), which encompasses most of the market town of Sleaford in the English non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire. The benefice is a vicarage and falls within the deanery of Lafford and the archdeaconry and diocese of Lincoln; as of 2015, the vicar is Rev. Philip Anthony Johnson, who was appointed in 2013. The church is located next to (and faces onto) the market place at the town centre. According to a pamphlet published by the parochial church council, St Denys is a medieval composite of Dionysius of Paris, Dionysius the Areopagite and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. As of 2025, regular church…