[citation needed] The Anglican parish church of St Nicholas dates to the 13th century, with later additions and alterations.

History The village and surrounding area, like much of East Anglia, was a hotbed of Puritan sentiment during much of the 16th and 17th centuries.

In 1634, a local wheelwright, Richard Kimball led a relatively large company from Rattlesden to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the wave of emigration that occurred during the Great Migration.

John Pretyman (1753/1754–1817), the Anglican priest who served as Archdeacon of Lincoln from 1793 to 1817, was a curate of the parish.

[citation needed] In 1975 the historic core of the village became a conservation area under the auspices of the district council and the guidelines of English Heritage.