Saltum church/ Saltum kirke, Hvetbo herred, Hjørring amt.

Saltum church, ab.25 km south of Hjørring.

Saltum parish, Hvetbo herred, Hjørring amt. 

The large high placed church in Saltum - inaugurated to Sct. John the Baptist and Sct Nicolaus -  has now a longhouse with a tower to the west and a porch to the south. The nave is Romanesque and built in granite ashlars upon a profiled plinth. To the west it was equipped with a tower, which vaulted tower room with large niches to the south and north was connected to the nave in an arcade arch. A simlar arch is seen in the present west wall of the nave. The tower, which possibly reminded about the tower in Hee church, was in 1950 examined by National Museum. In the late Middle Ages the Romanresque choir and apse were broken down, the choir was rebuilt in the same broadth as the nave, but without apse. The curved plinth-stones from the apse were re-used as plinth-stones in the north and east wall of the choir. The walls of the nave were partly rebuilt and enheightened with bricks, and vaults were built in. The original south door is still used, the north door is bricked-up. Some original windows are kept. The Romanesque tower was replaced by a Gothic tower, which was added west of the old tower - and at the same time the Romanesque tower room was incorporated in the nave. The Gothic tower is built in granite ashlars at the bottom, in the upper section in monk bricks, and it has glare-decorated gables west-east. The vaulted tower room, which is separated from the nave, is now used as a burial chapel. Entrance to the upper storey from a stair-house on the west wall. The rebuilt choir is vaulted with a rib vault, the rest of the longhouse is covered in 4 vaults. The nave is lead roofed, the porch and tower are tiled. The church was restored 1959-60.

Frescoes:
The vault of the choir and the north wall are covered with late Gothic frescoes, which were restored in 1911 and 1960. Upon the north wall the Family tree of Christ ("Jesse rod"). In the vault-"caps", which were never white washed, is foliage with flowers and with little jester-pictures (called: "drölerier"), humans, birds etc. Some are rather indecent.

Interior:
A bricked altar ,upon which a large late Gothic crucifix group, restored 1912 with a life-size Christ-figure and lesser figures of Maria and John (Johannes). Upon an earlier chalice from 1685 was an inscription "burned with the vicarage 15/5 1677", a similar inscription upon the dish. Both burned later in 1887 with the vicarage. A Romanesque granite font, the foot is new. A richly carved font-sounding board in Renaissance from ab. 1600. A South German baptismal dish from ab. 1600. A pulpit in oak in Renaissance from the late 1500s with carved reliefs in the fields and with Otto Banner's and Ingeborg Skeel's coat of arms, the priest Niels Nielsen and wife's names and herredsfoged (bailiff) Peder Segelsen's trademark. A contemporary sounding board in pine. The doors of the pews on the women's side are Renaissance work, they are contemporary with the sounding board of the font and likewise made in Aalborg. Upon the north wall of the nave in a new cupboard is placed a late Gothic triptychon. Behind the organ a late Gothic bishop-figure. Bell from 1663, cast by Baltzer Melchior, recast in 1936.

NEWS: The late Gothic triptychon in the cupboard has later been moved to the altar - and the altar crucifix and figures hang on the wall.

Gravestones:
In the choir wall a Romanesque tombstone from ab. 1200 with inscription "Thurgeif pater rvr (= reverendus) iacet sub petra" . In the choir also a gravestone for 1) priest Just Valentinsen Fulda ,+ 1689; 2) priest Jacob Lauridsen Holm (+ 1717) and wife, 3) the same priest's three children. In the choir-floor gravestone for priest Christen Jensen Krabbe, + 1581. At the porch fragments of gravestone for priest Thøger Poulsen, + 1636.


Vestrupgård was originally a peasant farm, which in 1631 belonged to Jørgen Arenfeldt of Rugård and Voergård (+ 1658), but soon after him came Falk Gøye of Bratskov (+ 1643), who 1633 gave Niels Pallesen Friis of Vadskærgård a life's letter of V., where he lived from 1634 until his death 1657, also after Falk Gøye deeded it in 1642 to Knud Enevoldsen Seefeld of Bjørnkær and Lundergård (+ latest 1683). In 1663 he sold the farm -  maybe only formally - to his bailiff Søren Nielsen, whose widow Maren Pedersdatter took it over after his death 1667; but in 1668 two of Knud Seefeld's creditors, dr. med. Niels Benzon in Aalborg (+ 1674) and fru Dorte Daa of Kolbygård etc. (+ 1675), widow after governor in Norway, rigsråd Gregers Krabbe (of Østergård) of Torstedlund etc. (+ 1655), importation in V., who in 1670 was shared between two tenants, one was fru Karen Friis (of Haraldskær), married to above mentioned Knud Seefeld, she had in 1672 to move from her part of the farm. Fru Dorte's daughter Ingeborg Krabbe (of Østergård), married to oberst Holger Trolle of Rygård (+ 1686) sold 1698 his part of V. to herredsskriver Anders Sørensen (+ 1706), who also bought the part owned by Niels Benzon's heirs. He deeded the farm in 1705 to the priest in Saltum Jakob Lauridsen Holm, after whose death 1717 his widow Anne Marie Christensdatter lived at V. until this farm on auction in 1718 was sold to Søren Andersen Westrup in Saltum, a son of above mentioned Anders Sørensen. At his death in 1724 his heirs sold the same year V. with mill and two houses to his sister-in-law Margrethe Kjeldsdatter, who next year married Peder Nielsen of Bolskifte.

Later owners: Jens Svendsen Bondrup; Niels Rasmussen Lund; Conrad Hachild; Jens Andersen Gleerup; Jesper Chr. Østergaard; Johanne Brøndlund; Laurs Svendsen Hviid; Claus Holmer Green; Mads Hastrup and Jens Gleerup; Bartholomæus Hasselbalch; Hans Thorlund Hasselbalch; Niels Chr. Christensen Rendbeck; Niels Rendbeck in 1960.


Saltumgård (in present time also called Storgård) in Sønder Saltum belonged from the late 1400s members of the families Mørk from Saltum and Kjærulf, of whom several were herredsfogeder (bailiffs):  Laurs Mørk (+ latest 1534); Vogn Hansen Mørk (+ 1606), Peder Selgersen (Sørensen) Kjærulf (+ 1631); m. to Inger Mørk. About 1695 1/2 of S. was sold to Valentin Valentinsen de Fulda. In the middle of the 1700s the farm was owned by skudehandler (ships trading)  in Blokhus Jens Svendsen Bondrup, who bought some peasant estate, which made S. into a main farm. He deeded in 1752 farm and estate to his son, ship-trader in Løkken Søren Jensen Bondrup, who in 1756 resided here and died at the farm 1765.
Later owners: Jens Andersen Gleerup; Jesper Chr. Østergaard; Ove Nikolaj Møller; Christen Nielsen Møller; Andreas Agerbech Koefoed; Karen Johanne Kruse; Julius Martinus Nors. (1847) 

Tinghøj, north of Saltum church

At the Tinghøjene on Over Jonstrup Mark (a field) a little north of Saltum kirke was from the end of the Middle Ages until 1688 held a Thing: Hvetbo herredsting, sometimes in bad weather it was held in the church , in the porch (which was forbidden in 1631). Only one hill is kept, the other was demolished 1858 during road work. There is a memorial at the thing place, raised in 1935.





Listed prehistorics: 5 hills, of which the large Tinghøj (1638 Tinghøjene) north of Saltum church and the two Galgehøje southwest of the church.
Demolished or destroyed: 52 hills and a longhill; especially around the church and at Ejersted were many hills. At Vestrupgård was found a stone grave from early Roman period.

Names from the Middle Ages and 1600s: Saltum (1264 Saltum); Nr. Saltum (1452 Nørre Saltum); Sdr. Saltum (1396 Sønder Saltum); Østrup (1464 Østrup); Fårup (1460 Fardrup); Torpe (1456 Thorp, Thorpet); Over Jonstrup (1582 Jonstruppe); Ejersted (1340 Egerstad, 1350 Eyerstet); Bunken (1662 Østrup Buncker); Vestrupgård (1471 Westrup, 1487 Westergaardtt); Drustrup (1610 Druestrup); Villerupgård (1688 Willerup Gård).

   
Source: Trap Danmark, Hjørring amt, 1960.

photo: borrowed from Google earth, 2013, gb.