Geograph - photograph every grid square

St Peter’s church is one of the few remaining thatched churches in the country (another is Brockhampton, Herefordshire SO5932 : All Saints' church, Brockhampton from NW) and the only one in Lincolnshire.
The church bears evidence of being built of the remains of the former Markby Priory which is no longer in existence but originally stood close to the site of St Peter’s church. The dog-tooth ornament of the chancel arch, which fixes the date of the original church, and the fragments of window tracery are interesting points.
After the founding of the priory in 1160, the local people were encouraged by the Canons to use the Priory Church. On the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII they obtained permission, first to use a corner of the old priory and then in 1611 to build the present church.
The beams in the church were supplied from the breaking up of an old stout ship in the area.
The deal box pews are about 200 years old with the altar and pulpit being added later. The font is from the original church and the bell is thought to be the original refectory bell from the Priory and an ancestor of “Great Tom” of Lincoln Cathedral.
The original roof was tiled, the thatch was first introduced in 1672 by church warden, Richard White, who took the tiles for his trouble. The small “Rose” stone is thought to be from the doorway of the original Priory and is now preserved on the wall of the current church.

By the late 19th Century St. Peter's was in a sorry state and incapable of being used regularly so a new corrugated iron church, "Christ Church", was erected close by - the old church being retained for funerals and the occasional wedding. However by 1962 this “tin church” was rusting and irreparable so it was decided to renovate old St. Peter’s.

The thatched roof was replaced in 2008.