On the
Belton House grounds is the local
parish church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The church dates back to the time of the
Domesday Book (
William the Conqueror's survey of England in the mid 1080s). The church has been rebuilt and restored several times, so it shows influences from the Norman period all the way through the Victorian era.
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St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Belton |
The octagonal baptismal font dates back to the Norman period (1200s).
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Norman font |
The nave of the church has been restored a few times, the last being the Victorian work, including the addition of pews, by the third
Earl Brownlow. The pulpit and communion rails are from the Jacobean period.
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Nave |
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Main altar |
The most striking thing in the church is the wide variety of memorials, mostly to the Brownlow and Cust families, who were the owners of Belton House.
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William Brownlow (1699-1726) Memorial |
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Dame Alice Brownlow (1659-1721) Memorial |
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Sir John Brownlow (1690-1754) |
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Old Sir John Brownlow and his wife Alice |
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Detail of John and Alice |
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Richard Brownlow (1553-1638) |
Richard is the Brownlow who built the family fortune as a prominent Elizabethan-era lawyer.
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John Cust (1779-1853), with his first wife Sophia in the back |
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Henry John Cockayne Cust (1816-1917) |
Harry Cust, as he was known, would have been the fourth earl of Belton if he hadn't died before his cousin. His wife Nina carved this tomb as well as a bust of Harry in the main house.
The church is very much a family tomb as it is the local parish.
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