Email: administrator@thistletonchurch.org
Thistleton Church
Church - Community - Heritage
All in one place
St Nicholas Church is the former parish church of the tiny Rutland village of Thistleton. The local community united to save it from closure in 2017 and the church gained a new lease of life as a multi purpose building.
Reclassified as a chapel of ease, the church remains fully licensed for services, weddings, baptisms and funerals.
The building is the centre of the community - one reason we tend to refer to it as Thistleton Church. The other is to differentiate it from St Nicholas in neighbouring Cottesmore. We host a range of community activities including a Saturday Cafe, social events, concerts and fayres.
In 2020 the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded a grant to enable essential repairs to the building and to fund a project to promote interest in the history and heritage of the church and of Thistleton and the surrounding area. We are grateful for the support of the NLHF and other funding bodies. They are listed on the Acknowledgements page
We welcome enquiries from people who would like to visit, take part in activities, volunteer to assist with the heritage project or to find out more about what being a chapel of ease means.
What we do
St Nicholas Church dates back to the 14th century although most of the church was rebuilt in 1879 and is a lovely example of a small rural Victorian church. The village of Thistleton has a long history; remains of Roman and Iron Age settlements have been discovered nearby and Thistleton was mentioned in the Domesday Book.
In 2020 the National Lottery Heritage Fund funded a three year project to promote public interest in the heritage and history of the church and surrounding area. More information about the project by clicking the link: Nurturing the Old and the New - St Nicholas Thistleton Community Hub
Community Hub
The church is the only public space and is the centre of the community. Indoor and outdoor events events are planned throughout the year.
Saturday Cafe
Open 10.30am to 1.00pm every Saturday from March to November. Hot and cold drinks and home made cakes. We also serve home made soup in the colder months and a savoury dish in the summer.
Church Services
Services are held to celebrate the major festivals of Easter, Christmas and Harvest and local events such as St Nicholas Day.
Everyone is welcome.
Visit the church
We love having groups visit our lovely church and telling them about our history and what we do.
The church is usually open daily 11.00am to 4.00pm. If you are in the area and would like to visit outside of these times please contact 01572 767341 and we will try to accommodate your visit.
Music at Thistleton Church
The acoustics at Thistleton Church make it an ideal venue for concerts. The first Thistleton Music Festival took place in May 2022; the 2023 Festival will take place May 11th - 20th.
For more information please visit the dedicated website: www.thistleton-music.org
Talks and Displays
From April to September we arrange talks on a wide range of heritage topics. Visit the News and Events page for details of future talks.
We also have a rolling programmme of information from the Thistleton Heritage Project on display.
Thistleton Church heritage project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund