St. Thomas' Church, Aslockton
Aslockton was the birthplace of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury in the time of Henry VIII and principal author of the Book of Common Prayer. However in Cranmer’s time there was no church in the village.
Aslockton lay in the parish of Whatton. The church of St Thomas was built in 1891-2 from designs by Sir Arthur Blomfield & Son, in Ancaster stone with red brick interior. It consists of a chancel, nave, south aisle, porch and vestries.
The church was erected in memory of the Rev Thomas K Hall, former vicar of Whatton, who drowned in February 1890 as RMS Quetta was wrecked off Queensland on her way to Thursday Island. His mother, Mrs Sophia E Hall, paid for the church. The Quetta window on the north wall depicts the story of the shipwreck; it was designed by Michael Stokes of MDS Stained Glass in 2002.
The tragedy actually resulted in two churches being built: St Thomas’ in Aslockton and the Quetta Memorial Cathedral on Thursday Island.
The east window, again by Stokes, is dedicated to Thomas Cranmer. It depicts Jesus showing his hands to Doubting Thomas. The square font shows fishes behind a net.
The organ by Brindley and Foster of Sheffield, was rebuilt in 1992. The new Thomas Cranmer Centre, a large extension on the north side of the church, was dedicated in 2010.
CRANMERS MOUND
The information board for this area is 0 metres from the cache. Cranmers Mound is a Norman earthwork motte and bailey fortress, with a later reference to Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. The low motte and the two rectangular courts were all enclosed by wet ditches, which is part of later water management. During the post-medieval period, the motte was used as a prospect mound and the moated platforms to the east of the mound, are presumably the site of the original bailey.
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