A stunning Tudor chapel with windows fit for a king

This delightful early sixteenth-century chapel stands in wooded countryside near a Georgian manor. A towerless, pinnacled box made from pale gold ironstone, it looks like a miniature King's College Chapel, Cambridge.

The impressive interior was refurbished around 1744 and has changed little since. The walls are wood-panelled and the pews elegantly carved. But its most spectacular treasure is its stained glass, thought to be by Gaylon Hone, Henry VIII's glazier.

Withcote lies around 13 miles east from Leicester by the crow and is 4 miles south-west of Oakham very near to the county line with Rutland. The name probably derives from the Old English meaning of ‘clump of willows.

This delightful little church lies in a valley with small hills either side and a lake to the south east.

The chapel is Early Tudor probably finished around the 1530’s by Katherine and Roger Ratcliffe, at the time Lady and Lord of Withcote manor. Roger was a courtier, who had served Catharine of Aragon, attended the Field of the Cloth of Gold and been an usher of the privy chamber to Henry VIII. He was Katherine Smith’s second husband. Her first husband William Smith had started the chapel but died in 1506. It was originally built to the side of their Hall as a private chapel but became the parish church.

There were originally two manors at Withcote but by the close of the 15th century these had become one manor under William Smith. There was also a parish church at Withcote in the 13th century but at some stage this disappeared and the chapel became the centre of worship for the parish. The population of Withcote may have been ‘reduced’ by enclosures and that could be why the original church fell into disuse as there were not enough parishioners to support the church – the chapel then became the parish church, this is similar to the to history of Noseley Hall and chapel. 

The chapel is a single-cell building that features a Georgian crenellated top and elegant pinnacles at the corners. The interior was remodelled in the 18th century and now presents a fascinating mix of Tudor and Georgian styles.

The exterior is made of golden ironstone with north and south doorways with a blocked door at the west end. The chapel underwent restoration and refitting in 1744 which added the battlements, ornate corner pinnacles and parapet. The interior was also altered with wooden panelling around the walls and a painted altar piece with monuments either side to Geoffrey Johnson (d. 1742) and his father Matthew (d.1723), who built the house. In 1865 the chapel was reseated and a new over large font installed.

The chapel is best known for it’s exceptional stained glass dating from the 16th century, probably around 1530 attributed to Galyon Hone who was the King’s Glazier in 1517 and did extensive work at Eton college, Westminster, Windsor Castle and elsewhere.

Withcote Hall next to the chapel was built by Matthew Johnson in 1723, Clerk of the Parliament, who married a Palmer (from Carlton Curlieu), it is a grand house now in private hands and undergoing restoration.

The chapel is definitely worth a visit. You might initially have trouble finding it, but if you find the turn for Withcote Hall, follow the track to the electric gate (push the button to open), and then bear right where the track forks and park in front of the Hall, the chapel is behind some large firs but can just be seen. Access for wheelchair users will be difficult due to no path and overgrown vegetation. There are no facilities in Withcote, probably Tilton-on-the-Hill is the nearest place with a public house.

A donation can be made towards the conservation of this church by texting WCE to 70970 to donate £5, or 70191 to donate £10. Thank you for your support