The ancient church of St Chad in the village of Harpswell, about 12 miles north of the city of Lincoln, was established c.1042 and has one of the few complete Anglo-Saxon towers remaining in England.

[2] There are a number of historical monuments in St Chad's Church, two of the most notable are located in the south aisle and are dedicated to former priests.

There is also a large stone slab bearing the figure of a fully vested Norman priest of "Harpperswelle" called John Gere, who died around 1300.

On the north wall of the chancel is a fifteenth-century brass of John Whichcote in armour and his wife, Elizabeth Tyrwhit, in a complex butterfly headdress.

Thomas was also father of Frances Maria Whichcote,[5] who married Rev John Fountayne, the longest serving Dean of York.