Vidstrup church/ Vidstrup kirke, Vennebjerg herred, Hjørring amt.

Vidstrup church,  ab. 5 km northwest of Hjørring.

The church in Vidstrup has a Romanesque choir and nave and a late Gothic porch to the north. The Romanesque building, the choir and nave, is built in granite ashlars upon a bevelled plinth, in some places a hollow plinth. The straight-edged north door is in use, while the south door, which does not break the plinth, is traceable. The church inside, upon the east wall of the choir, has a large bricked-up round arched window, while all other windows are remade in present time, like the gable point of the west wall which is re-bricked with little bricks. Inside is the round choir arch kept with profiled kragsten, but without any visible plinth. The nave and choir have beamed ceilings,  and the flat round arched windows are probably from the 1800s. The porch is a pretty late Gothic building from the reformation period. Its flat curved door is framed by a high glare with twin round arches in the stepped gable.

Vidstrup church, wikipedia.

A part of the granite plate from a Romanesque communion table with a reliquary is inserted inside the west wall of the porch. The altarpiece is basically a Lutheranian triptychon, but now without original details. In the last second half of the 1700s was added a top piece in rural Rococo, and in 1913 was inserted in the middle field a copy of a biblical painting by C. Bloch. The earlier altar painting from the 1700s (the Crucifixion)  hangs in the church.  A Romanesque granite font, semicircular shaped upon a cubic capital. A smooth dish, probably from the 1700s. The pulpit from 1696 is a rich carving in late Renaissance. An early Romanesque bell, before in a ball frame at the west gable, now in a new freestanding frame north of the church . In the east wall of the porch is inserted a granite stone with a rope-winding and engraved decoration, probably a piece of a Romanesque gravestone.


Dalsgård was in the 1400s - when it was also called Vidstrupgård - a noble farm, belonging to rigsråd hr. Axel Lagesen (Brock)'s  (+ 1498) parents, but by them pawned to bailiff at Kokkedal, Thord Thomsen (Vognsen of Hørbylund), who in 1459-86 wrote himself of D; in 1499 is mentioned a Niels Nol in D., probably a tenant-peasant, since the above mentioned Axel Lagesen (Brock) in 1485 and 1490 had released D. from Knud Thomsen (Vognsen of Hørbylund) (+ 1484) 's widow, Sofie Mortensdatter (Seefeld) (+ earliest 1502) and their son Thomas Thordsen (Vognsen of Hørbylund)(+ earliest 1494), who furthermore in 1485 - 88 wrote himself of D., and the priest in Aggersborg Peder Thomsen (Vognsen of Hørbylund)( + earliest 1502). Later D. was a peasant farm under Kærsgård, but it was in 1667 laid out from Enevold Kruse to Ebbe Gyldenstierne. In 1688 D was a tenant farm.

In Tofte is in 1427 mentioned a Maren Pedersdatter, probably a widow after Nisse Thomsen (Sehested)( + earliest 1418). His son's son væbner Thomas Jensen (Sehested) wrote himself in T. in 1481-1501, but also of Vellingshøj. A nobleman Høvd Henriksen who had a socalled marekors (pentagram)  in his coat of arms, is mentioned in 1467-70.  T. was in 1662 a peasant farm under Asdal, where it still was in 1794, but it was divided into 4 farms at that time.
 
Listed prehistorics: At Tofte an 85 long longdolmen which to the east ends in a round hill; 5 big holes are probably from removed chambers. At Tofte are also two hills, of which one is rather large.
Demolished or destroyed: 6 hills.

In a moor was found a collection of 12 flint planks.

Names from the Middle Ages:  Vidstrup (1416 Wibestrop, 1419 Wigelstorp, 1459 Viistrop); Tofte (1467 Thoftæ, Toffthe); Dalsgårde (1452 Dall, 1459 Dalsgard, 1490 Wistrup Dall).


See:
photo-collection of Vidstrup church 
 


Source: Trap Danmark, Hjørring amt, 1960. 
photo: Google earth and wikipedia.