Rempstone
St Peter in the Rushes

Archaeology

The remains of the church were investigated during the 1914-18 war by Dorothy Hartley, the daughter of the rector, and a well known writer. A plan of the church was made by the rector. It consisted of a nave, chancel, north and south aisles and a tower. At that time some stones were still visible.

During 1960-62 the remains of the ‘lost’ church and an ancient moated manor house were excavated at Rempstone near Loughborough by Workers Education Association students led by Mr Brian Williams, art master at an East Leake school. The discovery was made half a mile from Rempstone village and probably marks the spot of the ancient settlement.

“Nobody knew exactly the site of the lost church of St Peter in the Rushes” said Mr Williams. “We have found a Norman tower and walls [3ft] thick. We also found fragments of stained glass and medieval tiles. We found the church’s Norman font in a swamp. The church was pulled down in 1781 and stones from it were used to build the present church three quarters of a mile away.”

Near to the site to the old church remains of the moated site of a manor house were found thought to be early medieval.