Keal Cotes - Religious Sites

Religious Sites

The Anglican church in West Keal is dedicated to St Helen. The original church was consecrated in 1186, though little Norman work remains. The current church was built of Spilsby green sandstone and brick on a rise above the village in 1623 in the Early English and Perpendicular style, with buttresses and corners faced with Ancaster stone. The nave, with north and south aisles and clerestory, has five-bay arcades with double chamfered arches supported on hexagonal pillars. The tall tower, with battlements, pinnacles and grotesques, carries a peal of six bells.

Part of the church was rebuilt in 1866 due to the porous nature of the green sandstone that had deteriorated over two hundred years. The church tower fell down on 18 Sep 1881, but was quickly rebuilt and completed in 1884. The church clock stopped working in the 1980s and several early attempts to repair it proved to be failures. The clock was finally returned to working order just after 2001. It has been noted that if you stand on the church tower and look due East, there is nothing higher than you until you reach the Ural Mountains in Western Russia.

The former Wesleyan Chapel in the village is deconsecrated and closed.