St Wulfram's Church, Grantham

St Wulfram's Church, Grantham, is the Anglican parish church of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England. The church is a Grade I listed building and has the second tallest spire in Lincolnshire after St James' Church, Louth. Vicars The Reverend William Glaister was the curate and later vicar of the church in 1876. His sister Elizabeth Glaister was a novelist with an interest in embroidery. She created ecclesiastical embroideries for the church. The spire In his book England's Thousand Best Churches, Simon Jenkins begins his description of St Wulfram's: "Here is the finest steeple in England", and in 2020 an online contest run by poet Jay Hulme named it as the finest non-cathedral English church. The spire, at 274 feet (84 m), is the sixth highest in the country (Salisbury, Norwich and Old Coventry Cathedrals' are higher), and third highest of any parish church, after the Church of St Walburge, Preston, and St James' Church, Louth. It is the second highest of any Anglican parish church in the UK, after St James', and second highest in Lincolnshire, after St James'. In 2013 an appeal was launched to save the spire. Stained glass St Wulfram's is home to four modern stained glass windows dating to the second half of the 20th century, two designed and made by John Hayward and one each by Harry Harvey and Leonard Evetts. Harvey's 1962 window was the first to be installed, given in memory of the Caitlin family. It depicts the War in Heaven as St Michael defeats the Devil. Evetts' 1969 window, given in memory of Jessie Maria Porter, shows the Nativity of Jesus. Hayward's two windows were installed in 1970 and 1974. The first, given in memory of Minnie Hall, shows Jesus walking on water to rescue St Peter. His second, remembering Lily Pinchbeck, depicts the seven Christian sacraments. Music The present organ by John Harris and John Byfield dates from 1735. It was rebuilt by George Pike England in 1809 and 1833, by Forster and Andrews between 1845 and 1868, by Norman and Beard in 1906 (producing the organ that may be heard today), by Rushworth and Dreaper in 1952, by Cousans of Lincoln in 1972, and by Phillip Wood and Sons of Huddersfield in 1993–94 when a fourth manual was added. The case designed by Sir Walter Tapper RA took eight years to complete. The old organ case now encloses the choir vestry in the north west corner of the church. The specification for the organ, regarded as one of the finest in Lincolnshire, can be found at the National Pipe Organ Register. Organists Clock The chimes were repaired and a new clock installed by Gillett and Bland of Croydon in December 1876. The costs of this work were £280 (equivalent to £28,222 in 2025). The clock was set going on 17 February 1877. On 5 November 1877 the new clock was inspected by Sir Edmund Beckett, who assessed that it was one of the best turned out by Gillett and Bland. Gallery See also Bishop of Grantham References Sources Jenkins, Simon (1999), England's Thousand Best Churches, London, Pengin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-103930-5 Pevsner, Nikolaus; Harris, John; The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, Penguin (1964), revised by Nicholas Antram (1989), Yale University Press. ISBN 0300096208 External links Media related to St Wulfram's, Grantham at Wikimedia Commons St Wulfram's official website