ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH
GRIMSTON, LEICESTERSHIRE
HISTORY & FOUNDATION
HISTORICAL ARTICLES
LEICESTER JOURNAL
30 NOVEMBER 1866
Re-opening of Grimston Church:
On Friday last the little outlying village of Grimston, was almost startled from its propriety by the life that was poured into it upon the occasion of the re-opening of the Church, which has been restored……festive emblems were displayed, everyone was in his best, the church’s steeple was gay with flag and streamers, and the merry bells were rung with unwonted (sic) vigour. It not only rained but it poured…the line of carriages and cavalcade were such as probably never seen before in the village.
The Lord Bishop of Peterborough preached….After the service, in addition to the entertainment given by some of the inhabitants of the village, large parties sat down to a sumptious luncheon…'.
GRANTHAM JOURNAL
13 OCTOBER 1877
Entertainment
The Bishop of Peterborough recently inaugurated a mission to the employees engaged on the new branches of the Great Northern and Midland Railways in the neighbourhood of Melton Mowbray. …The temporary chapel belonging to the settlement on the Grimstone tunnel is filled with railway people on Sunday evenings…'.
GRANTHAM JOURNAL
10 JANUARY 1885
Extraordinary proceedings
On Monday last, there was considerable excitement in the village of Grimstone, arising out of the following circumstances: It appears that a child belonging to a Mr. Holmes died, and the usual course was taken for the opening of the grave in the churchyard – a grave in which one of Mr. Holmes’ children had already been interred. We are told that the legal fee, on the authority of the Rural Dean – who had been appealed to in a former dispute – for the opening of the ground was offered to the Vicar, the Revd. Lefroy Baker, who requested payment of a larger sum. It was stated that orders were given by the rev. gentleman that unless the fee he charged was paid, the grave was not to be opened. Mr. Holmes is a Wesleyan, and the funeral service was to be conducted by the Revd. T. Whitmore, a Wesleyan minister, of Melton; and the action of the Vicar created a vast amount of feeling in the village, it being thought that it was a case of ‘Church v. Dissent’. On Monday, the Revd. L. Baker was, for some cause or other, refused the keys of the Church, on which he drove to Melton, and returned with a whitesmith, who broke open the church doors. In the meantime, the villagers, who had ceased to ‘nurse their wrath’, turned out and saluted the Vicar with tin cans, &c., and afterwards burnt his effigy on the village green. On Tuesday, the Vicar was in the parish, but the funeral passed off without any further excitement.’
GRANTHAM JOURNAL
02 MARCH 1878
Melton & Nottingham railway
Last Wednesday evening, there was given at Grimstone Tunnel a musical and dramatic entertainment, which, in spite of bad weather, attracted several of the neighbourhood gentry and a large number of people employed on the works…’.
GRANTHAM JOURNAL
12 OCOBER 1895
Harvest thanks giving service
Held in the Parish Church on Thursday evening, October 4th. The sacred edifice was very tastefully decorated for the occasion by willing workers... The prayers were said by the Revd. Elgar Hicks...’.
GRANTHAM JOURNAL
21 SEPTEMBER 1878
Scene at a funeral
On the 8th inst., Ann, the wife of Joseph Frieston, labourer, of Grimstone, and a member of the Wesleyan communion, died. She was buried on the 11th, and when the coffin was taken to the Church, the Revd. Baker, vicar of Grimstone and Wartnaby, refused to admit it into the building. He also refused the use of the pall. A strong feeling has been aroused in the village by this course of action, and on Sunday only three adults and a few children attended service at the Church; but a large number of villagers assembled outside and accompanied the vicar through the village, making loud demonstrations of displeasure, by beating tin pans, &c’.
GRANTHAM JOURNAL
04 JUNE 1898
Church Restoration
On Whit Monday, a sale of fancy work was held in the grounds of Archdeacon Richardson (by his kind permission). At about 2.30, Mrs. Reckitt, accompanied by Mr. Wright and party, arrived on the grounds, and were escorted to the raised dais by the Vicar, the Revd. Elgar Hicks. The Vicar, in a suitable speech, introduced Mrs. Reckitt, who had kindly come from London to open the bazaar, and also spoke of the great necessity for the restoration of the Church – a building well worthy of any village….’.
GRANTHAM JOURNAL
16 JANUARY 1926
Melton’s Royal Visitors
The Prince of Wales, The Duke of York and Prince Henry had another weekend spell of hunting from Melton Mowbray... The Prince of Wales spent Sunday at Grimston, where he was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Seeley, who are hunting from there, and in the evening he was present at a service in Grimston church, conducted by the Rector, the Revd. Elgar Hicks... There was not a large congregation, but the presence of his Royal Highness became known in the village before the service terminated, with the result that a considerable number of the parishioners assembled to witness the departure of the Prince with his host and hostess...’.