St. Wilfrid's Church, North Muskham is a parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 in North Muskham

North Muskham

North Muskham is a village located between the River Trent and the A1 road near Newark-upon-Trent, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is close to the border with Lincolnshire.The village appears in the Domesday Book as Muscham...

, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

.

The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest.

History

The church is medieval and was restored in 1906 and 1907.

It is recorded by Dr. Thoroton that a flood which occurred about 1600 the River Trent

River Trent

The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

 changed its course, and separated the parish of North Muskham from the hamlet of Holme. At about the same time, Sir Thomas Barton, the descendent of a wealthy merchant, owned a large house and a great amount of property at Holme

Holme, Nottinghamshire

Holme is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located on the east of the River Trent, less than half a mile from the riverside and 4 miles north of Newark-on-Trent. Holme is part of the civil parish of Langford...

, and North Muskham Church benefited from his wealth.

The Barton family coat of arms with impalements and rebus

Rebus

A rebus is an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. It was a favourite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames, for example in its basic form 3 salmon fish to denote the name "Salmon"...

 (a bear and a tun), is displayed in various places in the church.

Description

The oldest parts of the church are the lower part of the tower and the north arcade, the piers of which are octagonal and may be the earliest of this type in the county. The piers of the south arcade are Perpendicular and are similar to those of St Mary's, Nottingham. The nave has a clerestory and is covered by a contemporary timber roof. The chancel is impressive and has a five light east window. The pulpit is probably late 17th century and may be contemporary with the altar rails; Nikolaus Pevsner describes the screen as "exceptionally fully cusped".

Parish structure

St. Wilfrid's Church, North Muskham is part of a joint parish which includes the churches of

• Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Averham
  Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Averham
  The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Averham is a parish church in the Church of England in Averham, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest.-Parish structure:The Church of St....
  
  
• St. Wilfrid's Church, Kelham
  St. Wilfrid's Church, Kelham
  St. Wilfrid's Church, Kelham is a parish church in the Church of England in Kelham, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest.-History:...
  
  
• St. Wilfrid's Church, South Muskham
  St. Wilfrid's Church, South Muskham
  St. Wilfrid's Church, South Muskham is a parish church in the Church of England in South Muskham, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest....
  
  

Source

• The Buildings of England, Nottinghamshire. Nikolaus Pevsner
  Nikolaus Pevsner
  Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...