 Granby
All Saints
History
Granby has two entries in Domesday Book, both of which mention that there was a church and a priest in the village at the time; the village was divided between Walter d'Aincourt and Osbern, son of Richard and, although their holdings are clearly separate, the two entries in Domesday evidently have some overlap and it unlikely that there was more than one church or priest.
When Thurgarton Priory was founded in 1140, Ralph Deyncourt endowed it with all of his churches including Granby. During this period it is also noted that Ralph de Rodes gave 2s a year to the priory to be quit of paying small tithes to Granby church. A cost on the church was the Pentecostal offering to Southwell Minster of 1s 6d per year which was given from 1171 until the close of the 18th Century.
A 12th century charter records that Robert, son of Ivo, gave 20 selions of land in the parish to Belvoir Priory which was witnessed by William chaplain of Granby.
In 1253 Archbishop Walter Gray instituted William Punch, chaplain, to the vicarage of Granby at the presentation of the prior and convent of Thurgarton. He stated that the vicar was to have the alterage and a manse fit for erecting buildings thereon, and he to serve the church and bear the episcopal and archidiaconal burdens. The prior and convent were to have the residue, unless it should appear afterwards that an augmentation was needed.
On 23 September 1268 the vicar of Granby, Master H de Thurgarton, was given leave to study theology for one year.
In the 1291-92 taxatio returns the church was shown as being worth £16 13s 4d, and the vicarage £6 13s 4d. Of these sums £5 6s 8d was paid as a portion to the abbot of St Mary's Abbey, York. There is no mention of the church in the 1341 Nonae Rolls, despite its modest value in 1291, however in the 1428 subsidy of Henry VI it was taxed, before calculation of the share to St Mary's York, at 33s 4d, making it the same value as in 1291 - £16 13s 4d.
In 1307 there was trouble. Archbishop Greenfield issued a mandate on 4 October that year to the dean of Bingham to sequestrate the fruits of the church. Four days later the archbishop confirmed to the prior of Thurgarton that, due to clear disobedience to judical order, he was sequestrating the fruits of both Granby and Tithby churches: evidently a sum of ten pounds was owing that had not been paid. By 1311 all was in order again as the archbishop confirmed that the prior and convent of Thurgarton could hold Granby church 'in proprios usus'. However, in 1324 there was trouble once more as Archbishop Melton ordered a commission in January that year to correct and punish excesses and defects and to proceed against the rector of Granby, and others; the outcome is unknown.
In December 1402 archbishop Richard Scrope, following examination of title, confirmed the appropriation of Granby, along with other churches, to Thurgarton Priory.
In 1575 the rectory was given to Roger Manners on 27th April by Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1587 the churchwardens returned that 'the chancel is clean fallen down'. Two years later they stated that 'our chancel is in decay', and in 1596 they were again reporting that 'the chancel is down'. Repairs had to wait until 1601 when the returns state: 'our chancel [is in decay] but timber [has been] bought to build it', and in the following year 'our chancel is not yet finished for it is newly built'.
In 1603 the population of the village was 341.
In the reign of Charles II the living at Granby, which was estimated to be £6 13s 4d, was not thought to be enough to sustain a married priest. The cleric in 1676 returned that there were 136 inhabitants of an age to take the Sacrament: that there were no recusants nor any Puritans, Quakers or others who wholly absented themselves on those occasions when required by law to communicate. By 1688 the incumbent was finding himself in difficulty over the arrears of tithes owed to the crown. As by this time the living was valued at less than £30 p.a. and the arrears were due to the failure of the previous incumbent to pay the tithes he was owing £15 8s 9d covering 25 years of missed payments.
At the time of Archbishop Herring’s Visitation in 1743, there were 47 families in the village with no dissenters; there was also no meeting house or endowed charity school. The vicar lived in Peterborough and was a precentor at the cathedral there. The licensed curate lived in the vicarage on an allowance of £28. There were no persons reported as being either unbaptized or unconfirmed in the village at the time. The church services were carried out once every Sunday. At Lent all of the children were catechised. The Sacrament was administered three times a year and of the 100 people entitled to take it about 30 attended.
In 1764 the population had increased as there were now 64 or 65 families in both Granby and Sutton which was a hamlet within the parish. There was no meeting house in the parish and although the school was not endowed the Duke of Rutland allowed £4 a year towards the support of a school master this was only during pleasure. The families paid by the week.
There were no hospitals or alms houses. The only charitable donation was £5 which was paid to poor widows. The capital sum had been left nearly 40 years previously by Richard Faulks.
The vicar lived about two miles away, with the Archbishop of York’s permission, but there was a residing curate, the Reverend Mr Breton who lived in the parsonage and received about £15 annually. He performed no services but occasionally assisted a neighbouring clergyman and then only once on a Sunday.
There were none who attend church who were not baptised. The catechism was taught all through Lent. The Sacrament was administered three times a year at Easter, Whitsunday, and Christmas. There were no chapels in the parish and no penances were performed.
In 1776 the churchwardens obtained permission to pull down the north aisle.
Between 1789 and 1793 there were 63 births and 28 burials.
From 1808 until 1812 the vicar had a license to live away from the village ‘due to the unfitness of the vicarage’.
From 1813 until after 1818 his successor also lived away as he was the Master of the endowed school at Heighington. This is a pattern which seemed to continue as in 1827 John Hutton also lived away claiming the vicarage was not fit to live in.
By 1850 the church was reported to have its own orchestra, probably a west gallery choir band or similar.
A Roman altar was dug up out of the churchyard in 1812; it had been buried 3ft deep. The altar is described as 10” high and 5” square, it has rude columns worked on the corners, is smooth on the bottom and has never been in any building. The top is hollow and shaped like a pint basin. On one side is a figure in bold relief, with a helmet on, and a robe flowing behind from his shoulders and pinned on his breast. His right arm is extended and his finger is pointing out and he looks in the same direction. In his left hand is a sword upright and he appears to be in the act of advising. On each side of the stone or altar are hieroglyphics well cut in bold relief, they are the head of a lamb, with the body wings and tail of a dragon. On the back of this stone is a finely cut vegetable figure. This demonstrates that the area of the church might have been used for worship as early as the Roman period and possibly even before that.
In 1888 restoration work was carried out on the church which cost £1,500; this was mainly spent on interior fittings. The work is described as new roofs on the chancel and the nave, a new font and the floor re-laid.
In 1911 the parish was worth £190 with a resident vicar, the Rev C.R. Storr. The population was 323 people which showed a decrease from 1901 when the population was 338. There was seating in the church for 250 people. There was no church sponsored day school and only 7 children attended Sunday School. There were 2 Baptisms and no confirmations in the year ending 30th September 1912.
In 1931 the population was 280 which showed a decrease in population from 1851 when the population was 363.
In 1945 further restoration was carried out to the church, in which amongst other things the bell frame and its supporting beams were replaced. In 1950 the whole tower was renovated and in 1953 the bells were rehung on a steel frame and lighting conductors were fitted.
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