Bulwick with Blatherwycke

We are a welcoming and inclusive community, open to all. St Nicholas’ Church is open daily during daylight hours and sits in the middle of the village, in the conservation area, opposite the Pickled Village shop and the Queen’s Head pub. The tower is surmounted by a slender spire which rises to 115ft above ground level, above the picturesque stone cottages surrounding. The church is built in the early English and decorated in perpendicular styles of architecture.

Inside the church, the north arcade nave dates from around 1200, the south arcade 100 years later. The font is medieval, near the organ are ancient steps which led to the Rood Loft. In the chancel, there is a sedilia with three seats, and a piscina with trefoil head. The organ, a gift of LT.-Col. Tryon in 1874, is a Holdich & Co organ, as are those in Easton-on-the-Hill and Laxton. Educated locally at Uppingham School, George Holdich was the brother of rector Rev. John Holdich, who was the Rector of St Nicholas for over 30 years.

The bell tower has six bells this enables us to use it as a training tower for bell ringers., we also have many requests for other bell ringers to visit and ring.
There are many splendid memorials inside the church, one of which is a marble bust monument commemorates vice-admiral Sir George Tryon who died with 300 men when HMS Victoria collided with HMS Camperdown and sank in the Mediterranean in 1893.

The stained-glass windows are in good condition. The English oak pews have carvings at the end of each row, most of which were carved by Revd J Holdich. Revd Holdich left a very succinct diary of his tenure in Bulwick, a copy of which is held by the church.

Our church services are quite informal to make all welcome to attend and be part of the service. We have an annual Patronal St Nicholas Service with Christingle, plus all the festival services throughout the year which are well attended. The music for services is supported by a visiting organist.

The PCC of Bulwick with Blatherwycke is responsible for two other church buildings: the Memorial Hall, now leased as a nursery called Simba’s Den, and Bulwick Village Centre, which is the old school. This now serves as a community venue with toilet and kitchen facilities that can be used for social events. Further to this, the PCC cares for two churchyards, one at each church, both of which are open.

The Villages
Both Bulwick and Blatherwycke are estate villages, but there is home- ownership in older properties and new housing. The Estates rental properties can make for quite a transient population. That said, there is still a keen sense of community within both villages. Bulwick has three working farms, Blatherwycke has two.

On the edge of the village New Lodge Farm is owned by the Singlehurst family; it has a farm shop and bistro plus caravan and camping facilities which is extremely popular and a great venue. Harvest suppers and other events have been held there.
Plenty of footpaths in both villages are in good order and are well used. The village of Bulwick has been by-passed which has made the surroundings very tranquil. The village is pleasantly situated between Stamford and Corby, the lower part on the west side of the Willow Brook was known as Henwick. It is not mentioned in the Domesday book but in the reign of Henry 11 (1154-1189) there were “two hides of land in Bolewyk and one in Henewyk in the hands of Bitalis Lovet”.

Bulwick Hall, grade 2 listed, has been the home of the same family of Tryons and Conants since it was built in 1676. The Conant family are the Patrons of the Living. Blatherwycke Estates renovated the walled gardens from the former Blatherwycke Hall, this is a stunning area and is open each year under the National Gardens Scheme raising funds for charity and well worth a visit.

Activities in Bulwick
Covid has restricted much of the events going ahead although some still were able to go ahead, The Good Pumpkin Event, Decorated Egg Competition, coffee morning, crafts sales, the hope is in 2022 to re-start Annual Horticultural Show staged in the church with six villages taking part, and other fundraising events, in the church and village centre. The Horticultural Show attracts visitors from beyond Bulwick, raising funds through associated raffle and refreshments sale.

In 2017, Ecclesiastical Insurance organised a Great Community Mural competition for its customers across the country to create a piece of artwork that depicts the role your church plays within the fabric of the community. Bulwick was delighted to be the runner-up, with local watercolourist Adrian Duffin’s artwork putting St Nicholas “on the map”. We had postcards and tea towels made up to raise extra funds
Bulwick also hosts workshops to support the “Dress A Girl Around The World” project. This attracts knitters, crocheters and sewists from across the benefice producing items of clothing for those in need.

We undertake a variety of charity collections alongside church fundraising. This includes collections for charities such as Christian Aid, The Children’s Society, Christmas collection for Northamptonshire Eve Family Refuge, King’s Cliffe food bank, used postage stamps for Air Ambulance, and local hospice