Stow Longa

St Botolph’s, Stow Longa is open throughout the day and is ideal for a quiet visit for contemplation and peace.

If you want to visit the church and find it is locked, please call 07799 840768. The church wardens are Christine Hayes and Richard Whidborne.

There is ample parking on the roads near the church (Church Lane and Church Walk) in the village.

We also have a compost loo on the north side of the church. If you wish to use it, please speak to one of the team and ask for the combination lock number.

Our History

There has been a stone church here since the 12th century. The current church was rebuilt during the 13th century. The ‘Mermaid Door’, for which the church is famous, is a Romanesque door dating from the 12th century, the carved tympanum being an altar with a mermaid accompanied by two grotesque creatures, and an arch with chevron ornament. Around 1330 the eastern end of the south aisle was widened forming a chapel with new windows. In the 15th century, the south arcade was rebuilt and the clerestory added. The tower was built with the western responds to the nave arcades rebuilt around 1500. The chancel and chancel arch were largely rebuilt in 1880. The rest of the church was restored around 1890, the south chapel and east wall of the north aisle being largely rebuilt. In 1901 the upper part of the clerestory was rebuilt and re-roofed, the aisles repaired and re-roofed and main door reset. The north-west corner of the north aisle was partly rebuilt in 1906 and the north wall repaired near the end of the century.

Grants and donations are being sought to enable the leaded light windows which are now over a 100 years old to be restored in 2025.