The parish church of All Saints Adlingfleet is a Grade I listed building that was built during the 13th century. It has a cruciform (cross-shaped) plan with a nave, chancel, south aisle, north and south transepts, and a square tower. (HE, Nd)
“The finest medieval church in the Marshland region of the lower Trent and Ouse valleys” (Pevsner 1959)
Get involved in our Project
Site Context & Brief History
Situated on former marshland by the River Don, Adlingfleet’s history spans more than a thousand years, encompassing periods of great ecclesiastical wealth, strategic significance, and evolving agricultural practices. The current village sits on the north bank of the original course of the Don, before it was diverted by Cornelius Vermuyden in the 17th century, and just over 1km from the point where it fed into the Trent. A 16th Century visitor describes “Ethelinglfete” as “but an uplandeisch town” (GOTW cites Lunn 1990) rising above the surrounding marshy land and ‘raised up as the waters rise’ (Willmott, 2022 cites Richardson, (1979). William Camden described the settlement’s eastern boundary as defined by the old River Don with the remainder surrounded by a D-shaped enclosure, the northern boundary of which is the line of Manor Road, which curves around the raised platform of the later medieval church. The boundary then continues as an earthwork feature through the garden to the south, curving southeast before re-joining the old course of the Don, and enclosing a total area of just under one hectare (Willmott, 2022).
Early Settlement of Adlingfleet
Adlingfleet’s geographical setting, on the north bank of the original course of the River Don, provided natural boundaries and resources made it an attractive location for early Saxon and Danish settlers. The village’s position was ideal for agriculture as the arable fields provided grain for bread and animal feed, animals could be grazed in the pasture and marshland and the river allowed fishing and trade and finally the marshland was a source of peat which was increasingly relied upon during the Middle ages as woodland was cleared for agriculture. Archaeological evidence suggests that Adlingfleet’s history began with Anglo-Saxon settlements, with remnants of Maxey-type pottery from the 7th or 8th centuries and Torksey-ware from the 9th and 10th centuries found in the area (GOTW cites Lunn 1990). Furthermore, during the course of digging graves at the end of the 19th century, it was reported that substantial masonry footings were encountered up to 30m from the east end of the present church, indicating that an earlier church may have originally stood there (Richardson, 1979, 9) Willmott (2022). The Kingdom of Lindsey is traditionally defined by the River Humber to the north, the North Sea coast to the east, the Foss Dyke and River Witham to the south, and the River Trent to the west, although some lands west of the Trent were also included within it. It has been argued that the original kingdom of Linsissi occupied the far larger area previously controlled by the Roman provincial capital of Lindum (Lincoln), and that Lindsey was just a surviving rump of this larger polity, created following Mercian annexation of the region in the late 7th century. Willmott (2022 cites Green (2019).
The village’s name, Adlingfleet, may have been derived from the Old English terms “Aetheling” (meaning prince) and “fleet” (meaning inlet or estuary), suggesting it may have been associated with a royal estate or religious site. (GOTW cites Lunn 1990). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions a minster at Ælfetee (swan island) near the mouth of the River Don, where Pehtwine was consecrated Bishop of Whithorn (Foot, 2007, 136). Monastic isolation from the secular world was an important concept and use of islands facilitated this . Willmott (2022 cites Stocker, 1993). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that in AD 794 the Danish plundered Ecgfrith’s minster at Donæmuthan, or ‘Don mouth.’ Alftham and Ælfetee are of sufficiently close derivation and meaning to be the same place, although no geographical indications are given in the Chronicle as to where Ælfetee might have been been located. Richardson (1985, 17-20) has argued that Ælfetee lay in the Humber region and places it at Adlingfleet, as this was a suitable location for the foundation of a Northumbrian monastery . While this argument has been generally accepted by other scholars (eg Foot, 2007, 136; Roffe, 2007, 138), there is no reason why Ælfetee might not have been situated just six kilometres to the east of Adlingfleet at West Halton; arguably a more strategic point on the Humber, and close to the crossing at Winteringham. Willmott (2022) Although there is ongoing debate, many believe that Adlingfleet could indeed have been a centre for early Christian influence in northern England, located as it is confluence of the rivers Ouse and Trent form the Humber, and all three rivers would have been key routes used by the Scandinavian raiders. There is also a growing amount of archaeological evidence for a pre-Conquest settlement of some status at Adlingfleet. Willmott (2022)
Despite the Danish invasion and settlement in the area in 1066, Adlingfleet is still a place of some importance with a major personage as its landowner. This is Siward the Nobleman (or Siwardbarn). He was a great nephew of King Edward the Confessor and plays some part too in the history of Sheffield. He submitted to William the Conqueror but then joined in a Danish invasion in 1069 and thereafter fled to join the “resistance movement” of Hereward the Wake on the Isle of Ely. He was captured in 1071, lost all his lands, and remained in prison until he was released “as an act of clemency” in 1087(GOTW cites Lunn 1990). Adlingfleet was a settlement in Domesday Book, in the hundred of Staincross and the county of Yorkshire. At this time it had a recorded population of 15 households in 108 (Palmer et al, 2011).
Entry for Adlingfleet ((Palmer et al, 2011).
William the Conqueror was determined to make Lincoln the See City of the Midland’s Bishopric which stretched from the Humber to the Thames throughout the Middle Ages. The Archbishop was forced to give up his claims to Lindsey in 1071. Lindsey and Lincolnshire moved into the province of Canterbury and Lindsey-Adlingfleet became a sort of frontier town left on the wrong side of the frontier. Adlingfleet’s links, through the ferries across the Don and the Trent, remained with the Lindsey Saxon Culture and communications system (GOTW cites Lunn 1990).
The Medieval Period
Adlingfleet’s religious and economic significance persisted into the medieval period. Records show that by the 13th century, Adlingfleet was one of the wealthiest parishes in England, ranked third after Lindisfarne and Bamburgh. The wealth of those two churches was likely based on generous Royal endowments. Perhaps the wealth of the medeval church at Adlingfleet was due to the sites history as a Royal Saxon centre of some ecclesiastical importance. The Admiralty Courts exercised a jurisdiction to ensure that the rivers were open for traffic and free of pirates. In 1307 the Rectory was appropriated to Selby Abbey and, thereafter, the Abbey appointed stipendiary priests (or chaplains) to care for the parish. The fabled wealth of the benefice went to Selby Abbey and after 1307, Vicars of Adlingfleet were not significantly better off than other incumbents. Their stipend was £9. In 1310, Edward II (who showed a great deal of interest in Marshland spending time at both Adlingfleet and Cowick), appointed two men to look after the Salmon in the waters of Humber, Ouse, Trent, Don, etc, and to ensure that there was a close season for catching Salmon. Whitgift’s first historical mention comes with the gift of the fishery there to Selby Abbey which, it was claimed, took place in 1070 (GOTW cites Lunn 1990).
In 1247 (in some sources, 1245) John the Frenchman became rector of Adlingfleet at both thr Pope and the Kin’s behest. Despite his name he was most probably from the north of England, and possibly a Yorkshireman. He became a Franciscan Friar and won the favour of Pope Innocent IV. The pope was in conflict with the Emperor and John was sent to England to raise funds for the Papal wars. John set about building a great new church at Adlingfleet in the newest style of architecture. The nave of this church survives but the chancel, which was twice the size of the nave was demolished in 1794. There is no evidence that there was any plan for the creation of a collegiate church here, so the most likely reason for the size of the chancel was to provide a fitting setting for Adlingfleet’s treasured fragment of the True Cross with space for pilgrim worshippers and the large “Trunc” or “Almsbox” into which generous offerings were made. A Royal Charter of 1261 recognised an Annual Fair of eight days at Adlingfleet beginning on the Eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This new church was to be for the towns of Ousefleet, Whiitgift, Eastoft, Reedness, Swinefleet, Fockerby and Haldenby. (GOTW cites Lunn 1990
Adlingfleet’s gains were eroded after John’s death. In 1304 Whitgift Church was rebuilt and Henry de Lacy, Count of Lincoln granted much of the church’s former lands to Selby Abbey. In the early years of the 14th Century Edward’s first attempt to control and conquer Scotland made necessary the transport of great armies and the supplies needed to keep them armed and fed. This brought great fleets to Adlingfleet. Edward II’s defeat at Bannockburn brought the Scots into England and Parliaments met at York and Lincoln. Edward II stayed frequently on his Manor at Cowick and seems to have passed through Adlingfleet more than once. War between the king and Thomas of Lancaster caused turmoil in the marshlands leading to the Adlingfleet Churchyard being reconsecrated twice because blood had been shed in it. After Edward II’s death, there was peace with Scotland and Royal visits to the north became much more of a rarity (GOTW cites Lunn 1990).
Adlingfleet church by the end of the Middle Ages was a very fine building indeed with the current nave and tower and with a chancel that was said to be twice as long as the present nave. The repair and maintenance of that chancel was the responsibility of the “Rector”. Up to the Dissolution of the Abbey in 1539, the Abbots of Selby continued to appoint a succession of Vicars of Adlingfleet. At the Dissolution the advowson went to the Crown and, rather unusually, remained in Royal hands.(GOTW cites Lunn 1990). The Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century led to changes in land ownership and church patronage across England. Adlingfleet’s advowson (the right to appoint the parish priest) was transferred to the Crown, further diminishing the church’s independent income and influence. Over time, the village became more isolated as trade routes evolved and neighboring ports like Selby and Goole expanded. After 1539 the chancel fell slowly into disrepair and was demolished in 1794 and the current small chancel built. It is not clear during this period where the Rectoral tithes from Adlingfleet were diverted (GOTW cites Lunn 1990).
Following the restoration of Charles II in 1660 there was a brief period of new prosperity. 1663 and 1697 had seen new bells in the church. The 1663 bell had the significant inscription “soli Deo Gloria. Pax Hominibus” and this must refer to the almost miraculous restoration of both King and Church and the hope of an end to Civil Wars. The links between Adlingfleet and Catherine’s hall were made at this time and while St. Catherine’s College long ago sold its Adlingfleet estates this is recalled in the monument to Mrs Ramsden (died 1745) marking her significant bequethal to Catherine Hall in Cambridge (GOTW cites Lunn 1990).
The Post-Medieval Era
Adlingfleet was a marshland that was around 5,000 acres before it became a village. The marshlands around Adlingfleet, though challenging to manage, were a valuable resource. The village relied on multiple livelihood sources: arable farming in open fields, grazing rights in common pastures, fishing in the rivers, and peat extraction. In 1766, the Enclosure Act restructured the village’s agricultural lands, ending the open-strip system that had been in place since medieval times. As a port Adlingfleet seemed to have sunk into obscurity long before the cutting off of the southern Don made it a landlocked village (GOTW cites Lunn 1990). In the 1760s, a drainage scheme designed by engineer John Smeaton transformed the village’s marshland by improving flood control. Work for the scheme began in August 1767, after the plans had been approved. The work cost around £7,000, which is roughly £1,268,070.26 as of 2022. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the practice of “warping” revolutionized local agriculture. This method, which involved flooding fields with river water to deposit nutrient-rich silt, improved soil fertility significantly. The Vicar of Adlingfleet in 1795 wrote “The land in general, being what is called warp land (i.e., land made by the overflowing of the tides), is extremely fertile and produces great quantities of grass and hay. Not much corn is sown here, the land being for the most part applied to grazing of cattle for the market. A good part of the grounds being suitable for the growth of flax great quantities of that article are sometimes produced within the parish”. Rather gloomily, he adds that the parish is “low and unhealthy, the inhabitants being very generally afflicted with agues and other complaints owing to the great stagnation of waters in the several neighbourhoods” (GOTW cites Lunn 1990). Although this drainage scheme has been effective for many years, by the 1920s flooding was becoming a problem which was happening often. As a result, the drainage was upgraded by being made wider and deeper.
The historic fabric
| Date | Feature |
| C12 | The fine inner door was probably originally round and reset as pointed in C13. |
| C12 | North and south doors (these have been reset into the later structure) |
| C12 | North aisle has roll-moulded north doorway (now to vestry) originally round-arched and later reset as pointed. Plain moulded imposts and the hoodmould continues as a string course containing studded C15-C16 oak door. |
| mid C13 | The parish church is largely of this period |
| C13 | pointed 3- light intersecting traceried window, partly-restored C13 pointed 2-light geometric-traceried window with pierced quatrefoil above trefoiled lights. |
| C13 | piscina with pointed filleted arch and projecting moulded bowl in chancel |
| late C13 | Fine pointed 2-light geometric-traceried window to east of vestry has rounded- trefoiled lights beneath a large unfoiled circle surrounded by 3 trefoiled circles, filleted tracery and ornate reveal with 4 clustered filleted shafts with foliate capitals (that to left missing). |
| C15 | south aisle, clerestory and tower |
| C15 | Tall pointed 4-light west window with Perpendicular tracery, hoodmould; single slit lights above to west, north and south sides. |
| C15 | 3 relief panels above representing the Annunciation, Coronation of the Virgin, and the Assumption |
| C15 | inner door with blind Perpendicular-traceried panels and restored ribs. |
| C15 | octagonal font (wooden font cover is C19) |
| 1792-4 | Chancel shortened and partially rebuilt in reusing C13 materials. |
| C18 | boarded rafter roof to chancel with staggered butt purlins. |
| 1828 | Restorations included re-roofing, reseating. |
| C19 | tall wooden font cover (on C15 octagonal font) |
| C18 & C19 | box pews throughout, those in transepts with iron candle brackets. |
| C19 | north vestry. |
| 1955-7 | Restorations by G G Pace included reroofing, repairs to tower, south aisle and windows. |
| C20 | Ceiling to nave; hollow-chamfered rafters and single purlins to chapels, |
Some of the Monuments
| C14 effigy of a Lady | Beneath segmental-arched recess in chancel south wall, angels flanking the head and a mutilated griffon at the feet, on a chest with 4 carved shields in quatrefoils bearing arms of Bohun, Slapleton, Dayville and Wigton.
The C14 lady effigy (and chest?) was excavated in the C17 from the south side of the church, and is reputed to be Margaret, wife of Thomas de Egmonton, d1370. |
| C16 monument to a member of the Haldenby family | To west of chancel arch. Probably Francis Haldenby, d 1596: knight effigy with shield bearing chalices carved in high relief, and head pillowed on helmet with coronet and crest, on partly restored chest with carved arms to west side, and relief panel to north side bearing carved border and 15 family figures, (11 male, 4 female) kneeling on a scroll inscribed in Latin with a series of homilies attributed to each figure. |
| damaged C13-C14 tombstone | with incised cross and fragmentary Gothic inscription to a lady Berengia |
| Painted Royal Arms of 1856 | Painted Royal Arms of 1856 in tower. |
| John le Franceys, Rector of Adlingfleet from 1247-55 | (at that time one of the richest livings in the country), rebuilt Adlingfleet church and pulled down the neighbouring church at Whitgift. |
| Mary Ramsden, widow of William Ramsden of Norton, Yorkshire, bequeathed her estate (including Adlingfleet) to St Catherine’s College, Cambridge, and her monument was evidently intended for erection there. |
LIST OF REFERENCES:
GOTW (2006) Goole on the Web Adlingfleet [online] available from https://www.goole-on-the-web.org.uk/vol3/adlingfleet.html
Historic England (nd) Official list entry Church of All Saints Adlingfleet https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1083144?section=official-list-entry
Palmer, JJN Thorn F, Thorn C. & Hodgson, N (2011) Open Domesday by Ann Powell-Smith. The Yorkshire folio. Online copy of the Domesday book using additional resource from George Slater. Opendomesday.org (https://opendomesday.org/place/SE8421/adlingfleet/) CC-BY-SA licence
Willmott, H. orcid.org/0000-0002-7945-7796 (2022) Re-evaluating the landscape of early ecclesiastical foundation in the Kingdom of Lindsey. Church Archaeology, 21. pp. 29-48. ISSN 1366-8129
Yorkshire Review (2019) A medieval rectory at Adlingfleet. [online} https://theyorkshirejournal.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/yorkshirereview2019-2.pdf
Further reading
Gunnis, R, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, (1953), 261
Holmes, R, The Wapentake of Osgoldcross, (1894), 70-1
Parishes, Adlingfleet and Whitgift, 1981, pp 1-85.
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Yorkshire – The West Riding, (1959), 72-3
Richardson, W , Some Useful Consumers of Waste History in two Marshland Parishes Adlingfleet and Whitgift, (1981), 1-85
Lunn 1990 “Rivers, Rectors and Abbots”, David Lunn – Bishop of Sheffield, 1990