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Gainsborough and its surrounding villages
The John Robinson Memorial United Reform Church in Gainsborough was dedicated just over a century ago.
John Robinson, born in Sturton-le-Steeple, studied at Cambridge where he became a fellow and then dean of Corpus Christi College.
Later, in Norwich, he was dismissed from his position as an Anglican minister. Returning to Scrooby he became Richard Clyfton's assistant and a friend of John Smyth.
Robinson led the Pilgrim congregation in Leiden and continued to inspire them in their emigration to Plymouth in New England.
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Robinson's independent Pilgrim congregation is seen by many as the origin of Congregationalism and, as such, a direct ancestor of the United Reformed Churches in England and the United Church of Christ in the United States.
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All Saints' Church in Gainsborough retains a medieval tower although the present church was built in 1734 -1744 to designs by Francis Smith of Warwick, who was inspired by the church of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields in London, which was completed in 1726.
James Gibbs' London church also inspired New England architects, a circumstance that could account for the familiar feel the Gainsborough church will have for visitors from New England.
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The interior of All Saints', Gainsborough, is a light and spacious alternative to medieval darkness, emphasizing the enlightenment of a new age. At the west end by the tower, teas are served in rooms just off the sanctuary
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John Robinson grew up in Sturton-le-Steeple and attended the church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The tall tower is as Robinson knew it, but the church burned in 1901.
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Sturton-le-Steeple church's interior has been rebuilt after the fire that destroyed a choir screen and other furniture from the 15th century.
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The East window contains attractive stained glass by C.E. Kempe and Co. (designed by John Lisle, 1925). A 13th century sculptured tomb slab of Lady Olivia (d. ca. 1236), daughter of Alan Fitz Jordan, is at the west end, under the tower
In May the hawthorne hedges bloom - the May flowers that gave their name to the Pilgrim's ship in 1620
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