Holy Trinity Church

We host a traditional church service once a term at the Holy Trinity Church in Shenington and the church incumbent regularly visits us at school to lead collective worship.

Holy Trinity Church (Church of England denomination) is dedicated to the Holy Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Situated on The Green in Shenington, the church looks across to its sister church, St Michael and All Angels in Alkerton.

Built mainly during the 12th to 15th centuries, Holy Trinity Church has been added to, altered and restored over the centuries. The earliest part of the church, the original Norman chancel arch, now frames the organ pipes.

Holy Trinity Church is thought to be the only church in the UK to mark the old tradition of grass strewing where freshly cut grass is laid down in the aisles prior to Whit Sunday and remains in place for three Sundays after Whit Sunday. Whit Sunday (also known as Pentecost) is the festival of the Holy Trinity and is celebrated on the Sunday 50 days after Easter. The grass strewing tradition probably dates back to the Middle Ages when earthen floors were covered with rushes which were changed every Spring.

Holy Trinity in Shenington and All Saints in Wroxton are the only churches in England to have a complete ring of bells (set of bells) by Henry Bagley I, who founded the renowned Chacombe foundry in 1631 at the age of 23. The five bells were hung in 1678. The treble carries one of Bagley's favourite inscriptions “Cantate Domino Canticum Novum” ("Sing to the Lord a new song" - Psalm 98), the second “Ann Dochen” (possibly a donor), the third “Henricus Bagley me fecit”, the fourth “Prayse ye the Lord” and the tenor “Francis Robins” and “John Orten” (churchwardens).

On the external South wall of the church there is a fascinating medieval sculpture of a man and an ox and the early English arcade is adorned in carved faces, flowers and foliage.

Remains of two Scratch Dials can be seen on the East buttress of the porch. Scratch dials are medieval sun dials which were carved into exterior walls of churches and used to tell the time of church services. At the centre of the dial was a hole where a small peg was inserted as a sundial marker.

More information about Holy Trinity Church, including service times, can be found on the Shenington with Alkerton Parish.