St Winifred's Church


St Winifred's church, Kingston on Soar, is part of a group which includes St George's Barton in Fabis, All Saints Thrumpton, Holy Trinity Ratcliffe on Soar and Gotham church.  Rev. Steve Osman is the Priest-in-Charge.


Services are as follows:

1st Sunday
6.00 pm
Evening Prayer
2nd Sunday 10.30 am Children's Service
2nd Sunday
11.00 am
Holy Communion
3rd Sunday
9.30 am
Morning Prayer
4th Sunday
11.00 am
Holy Communion
5th Sunday

Cluster Service (venue varies)



A short history and guide to the church has been compiled by the Rev. Brendan Church HistoryMagill; copies are available inside the church.  The following information has been abstracted from Rev. Magill's guide:

Although Kingston (Chinestan) is mentioned in the Domesday Book, there is no reference to a church.  Kingston was, however, within the parish of Ratcliffe, which did have one.  From 1171, Kingston is recorded as making an annual donation to Southwell Minster, which may indicate that the parish had a separate place of worship by that time.

Unlike many Parish churches, the church at Kingston has been through a number of radical alterations, not least its name - the church was originally dedicated to St Wilfred.  Little remains now of the church completed in 1538 by the Babington family; only the chancel, the Chantry Chapel and the Babington Monument.  A nave, a small tower and a spire were erected in 1832, and unusually the congregation faced north.  When William, eldest son of Henry, 2nd Baron Belper, died in1898, his father rebuilt the church in his memory.  The nave and tower were replaced and the Tudor sections of the building restored. The church was reopened in 1900 as St Winifred's.


For those interested, the earliest Parish registers record burials from 1657, baptisms from1688 and marriages from 1754.



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