# A History of Horncastle from the Earliest Period to the Present Time/Appendix

APPENDIX.
THIMBLEBY.
HIS parish is contiguous to Horncastle, but the village and church are distant about 11 miles from the town, in a north-westerly direction. Letters arrive at 8.30 a.m., from Horncastle, where are the nearest money order and telegraph office and railway station.
As to the name Thimbleby, given in Domesday Book as Stimbelbi, it doubtless meant originally the Bye (scotice "Byre"), or farmstead, of a thane, or owner, in pre-Norman times named stimel. In the survey made by the Conqueror, A.D. 1085, there are two mentions of this parish. (1) It is included among the 1,442 lordships, or manors, of which King William took possession on his own behalf, ejecting the previous owners; none of whom, in this instance, are named. Under him it was occupied by 22 soc-men, or free tenants, and 18 villeins, or bondsmen, who cultivated 4½ carucates (540 acres), with 240 acres of meadow. This, however, did not comprise the whole parish, for (2) another mention gives Thimbleby among the lands granted by the Conqueror to Odo, Bishop of Baieux, who was half brother to King William, on his mother's side, and was created by him Earl of Kent. His brother was Earl of Moretaine, and his sister Adeliza was Countess of Albermarle. He had been consecrated Bishop of Baieux before William's conquest of England, in 1049. He was subsequently made Count Palatine and Justiciary of England. The old historian, Ordericus Vitalis, says "he was reputed to be the wisest man in England, and 'totius Angliæ Vice-comes sub Rege, et ... Regi secundus'"; and this ​was hardly an exaggeration, since he was granted by William 76 manors in Lincolnshire, besides 363 in other counties. But we have observed in several other instances how insecure was the tenure of property in those unsettled times, when might was deemed right, and this ambitious Prelate was no exception. He aspired to the Papacy, the highest ecclesiastical office in Christendom, and was about to start for Rome, with the view of securing it through his wealth, when he was arrested and imprisoned by his royal kinsman, and his estates confiscated.
The portion of Thimbleby granted to this Odo comprised 250 acres of cultivated land, with 12 acres of meadow and 30 acres of underwood. This was worked for him by three free tenants and five bondmen. On the attainder of Odo, this land passed again into the King's hands, to be bestowed doubtless upon some other favourite follower. Accordingly we find that, shortly after this, the powerful Flemish noble, Drogo de Bevere, who had distinguished himself greatly at the battle of Hastings, along with many other manors in Lincolnshire, held that of Thimbleby. He was, by Royal Charter, Lord of all Holderness, and took his title de Bevere from Beverley, the chief town in that division. As is also related elsewhere, the Conqueror gave him his niece in marriage; but, being of a violent temperament, Drogo got rid of her by poison, and then, having thus incurred the anger of William, he fled the country. His estates, in turn, were probably confiscated, for we find that a few years later Stephen, Earl of Ambemarle, had five carucates (i.e. 600 acres) of land between Thimbleby, Langton and Coningsby.
This noble was distinguished for his piety, as well as his other great qualities. The chronicler describes him as "præclarus comes, et eximius monasteriorum fundator," an illustrious earl and distinguished founder of monasteries. Among other such institutions he founded, on the feast of St. Hilary, A.D. 1139, the Priory of Thornton, in North Lincolnshire. This Stephen also received the lordship of Holderness, which had been held by Drogo. He was succeeded by his son William, who was surnamed Crassus, or "The Gross," from his unwieldy frame. His great-granddaughter, Avelin, succeeding to the property in her turn, married Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, surnamed Gibbosus, or humpback. But they had no issue, and so, as the "Book of Meux Abbey" says, "for want of heirs the Earldom of Albemarle and the Honour of Holderness were seized (once again) into the King's hands." What became of the demesne of Thimbleby is not specified; but we find from the survey, already quoted, that in the same century Walter de Gaunt, son of Gilbert de Gaunt, held Thimbleby and other neighbouring parishes 24 carucates, or in all 2,880 acres of land. We have traced elsewhere the descent of ​the Willoughby family from the Gaunts, and about 100 years later (circa 1213, Survey, as before) William de Willoughby succeeded to these estates, including the demesne of Thimbleby. He was ancestor of the present Earl of Ancaster, and Lord Willoughby de Eresby, who now represents this division in Parliament. How long the estates, in whole or in part, remained with the Willoughbys is not clear; but we have evidence of their connection with Thimbleby nearly 100 years later, in a document dated 1302, concerning a dispute as to lands in Thimbleby, Langton, Woodhall, and several other parishes, between John de Bec and Robert Wylgherby, the two families being related; in which the said Robert surrenders to the said John all property in dispute, for his lifetime, on condition that, after his decease, the whole shall revert to the said John Willoughby, and his heirs, for ever.
From this time we find other names connected with the parish. Indeed prior to this, in a charter of Bardney Abbey, dated "at the Chapter of the Convent, on Sunday next after the Ascension of our Lord" (22nd May) 1281; we have among the witnesses, along with others belonging to Edlington, Wispington, and Baumber, "Master Bartholomew of Thimbleby," and John Crayck of the same, the former being probably the Rector. This charter refers to certain lands and tenements, the gift to the abbey of "Walter, son of Gilbert, de Bolingbrog," i.e. Walter, the son of Gilbert de Gaunt, already named. In another Bardney charter, dated four years later (30th Sept., 1285), we find again the same Thimbleby witnesses, with Alured of Woodhall, and others.
Three years later than this, in an official inquiry, held at Lincoln, as to certain knights' fees, which belonged to Elyas de Rabayn and his wife Matilda (12th Nov., 1288), the jurors declare that "Robert de Rothwell holds in Thymelby and Horncastre," certain "rents of assize, to be paid at the Feast of St. Michael, the Nativity of the Lord, Easter, and St. Botulph" (June 17), amounting to 12s.
A more interesting record is the following. We may premise that the Norman noble, St. Quintin (so named from a town of France, in the department of Aisne, the Augusta Veromanduorum of the Romans), came over among the followers of William the Conqueror, and his name appears in the famous "Battle Roll" of 1066. A Final Concord, of date A.D. 1293, states that on the Quindene of the purification of the Blessed Mary (i.e. the 5th day after), a dispute having arisen between Herbert de St. Quintin on the one part, and Ascelina de Waterville and Matilda de Diva on the other part, the two latter being tenants of 3½ carucates of land (i.e. 420 acres) in Thymeleby; it was settled that the said Ascelina and Matilda should acknowledge the said land to be the right of Herbert; and for this Herbert granted them, as his tenants, all the said lands, except six oxgangs (i.e. 90 acres) which were occupied in separate parcels, by Baldrick, Hogge, Alfsi, Godric, Walfric, and others; and for this the said Ascelina and Matilda gave him, in acknowledgment, 40 marks.
A few years after this date it would appear that the Bishop of Carlisle exercised a kind of ecclesiastical lordship over this parish. Thimbleby was in the soke of Horncastle, and Ralph de Rhodes, the former Lord of the demesne ​of Horncastle, with its appurtenances, West Ashby, High Toynton, &c., had granted these (by charter confirmed by Henry III., A.D. 1230) to Walter Mauclerk, Bishop of Carlisle, and his successors.
Accordingly in an old document of the early 14th century, we find that John de Halghton, Bishop of Carlisle, gave consent for William de Foletby to convey certain lands in Thimelby, Langton, and Horncastle, to the Abbot and Convent of Kirkstead, to provide two monks, to celebrate daily services for the souls of the faithful deceased. The witnesses were Richard de Wodehall, William de Polam (Poolham), and others. "Dated at Horncastre, on this day of St. Barnabas, 5 Ed. II., 11 June, A.D. 1312" This shows a connection with the monastery of Kirkstead, to which we shall refer hereafter.
We next come to a record of special interest, of rather later date. The family of Thimbleby, Thymelby, Thimoldby, &c., doubtless took their name from this parish, at a period lost in hoar antiquity. They acquired in course of time extensive property in various parts of the county. The chief branch of the family resided at Irnham Park, near Grantham, which was acquired (about 1510) by Richard Thimbleby, through his marriage with the heiress of Godfrey Hilton, whose ancestor, Sir Geoffrey Hilton, Knight, had obtained it by marriage with the heiress of the Luterels, a very ancient family, several members of which were summoned to Parliament as Barons, in the 12th century.
The earlier members of the Thimbleby family are called, expressly, Thomas de Thymelby, Nicholas de Thymbylby, and so forth, shewing their connection with this parish. The family name of Thimelby still survives in the neighbourhood of Spilsby.
The first mention of a Thimbleby, as an owner in Thimbleby, occurs in a Post Mortem Inquisition, held at Holtham (Haltham), on Friday next after the Feast of St. Matthew (Sept. 21), A.D. 1333; where the jurors say that Nicholas de Thymelby held, with certain other lands in the neighbourhood, two messuages and four acres of land in Thymelby, of the Bishop of Carlisle, and that the said Nicholas died on the Feast of the Purification (Feb. 2nd); and that his son Thomas, aged 19, was heir.
Then follow a grant of land and other privileges, by the Bishop of Carlisle, in Horncastle and Upper Toynton, to Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby. Thomas presented to the Benefice of Ruckland in 1381. His son John married Joan, daughter of Sir Walter Taillebois; whose mother was daughter and heir of Gilbert Burdon (or Barradon), whose wife was sister and heir of Gilbert Umfraville, Earl of Angus. Thus the family kept growing in importance.
Our last mention of this family, in connection with Thimbleby, shows a still greater expansion. An Inquisition taken 12th August, 4 Ed. VI. (1550), after the death of Matthew Thimbleby, of Polam, Esq., shows that he married Anne, daughter of Sir John Hussey, and that he was seised of six manors besides that of Thimelby; also of lands in eight other parishes, with the advowsons of the churches of Tetforde, Farrafford, Ruckland, and Somersby. His widow married Sir Robert Savile, Knt.
Soon after the first mention of a Thymelby of Thimbleby, we find another family of some note connected with this parish. In an agreement made at ​"Langton near Horncaster, 8 August, A.D. 1370, Peter Skynner of Ely, and Alice his wife, for some consideration not named, surrender to William de Atherby and his heirs, all their rights in certain lands and tenements in Woodhall, Langton, Thymelby, Horncastre, Thornton," &c. These lands had evidently been held by the said Peter Skynner and his wife.
The Skynners were a family of wealth and position. In 1315 Robert and Richard Skynner held the manor of Pinchbeck, near Spalding They were also land owners in Hareby and Bolingbroke. Henry Skynner, by will, dated 29th May, 1612, leaves to his daughter Judith, all his copyhold in Harebie, to his brother, Sir Vincent Skynner, Knight, lands in Hareby and other places, with the advowson of the Benefice. Sir Vincent Skynner was Lord of the Manor of Thornton Curtis; he was in 1604 appointed by the crown Keeper of East Kirkby Park, as part of the Royal manor, or "Honour," of Bolingbroke. His son William married a daughter of Sir Edward Coke, Knight, and was buried at Thornton Curtis, August 17th, A.D. 1626.
We find mention of another owner of land in Thimbleby, in the 15th century, whose apparent love of pelf would seem to have tempted him to defraud the king of his dues. A certain Thomas Knyght, of the City of Lincoln, Esquire, died in the 10th year of the reign of Henry VII. (A D 1495), seized of lands and tenements "in Thembleby," and other places. At the Inquisition then held, the jurors found that he had alienated certain parts of the property, "the Royal license therefor not being obtained, to the prejudice and deception of the lord the King," and the property passed to his son and heir William, who took possession, with "a like evasion of dues, to the King's prejudice." What penalty was imposed is not stated; but it was a somewhat remarkable coincidence, that, as shewn in another Inquisition made the following year (A.D. 1496), certain witnesses deposed that on the 20th day of June, A.D. 1476 (i.e. 19 years before his decease), the said Thomas Knyght, and his servants, about the middle of the night "broke and dug the soil of the parlour of his house, and found £1,000, and more, of the coinage of the Treasury . . there placed and hidden," which as "tresour-trove, by reason of the prerogative of the lord the King, ought to come to his use, &c." This has all a very suspicious look, Knyght would not have ordered this search for the money if he had not himself known of its being there. It looks like a previous attempt at concealment, in some way to defraud the revenue, which Knyght himself afterwards felt was a failure, and that it was safer to exhume the hoard himself, rather than that public officials should do it. Altogether it would seem that "Thomas Knyght, of the City of Lincoln, Esquire," was somewhat of a sordid character, and not a proprietor for Thimbleby to be proud of.
We now proceed to records more ecclesiastical. We have already noted that, with the consent of the Bishop of Carlisle, William de Foletby, in the 14th century conveyed lands in Thimbleby to the Abbot of Kirkstead. This would seem to imply a previous connection of this parish with that monastery, to attract the Thimbleby proprietor to it. Accordingly we find that, among the various properties of the Abbey, granted by Hugh Brito, its founder (A.D. 1139), and other benefactors, were 90 acres of land in Thimbleby, with the advowson of the Benefice. In those days there was only a very limited number ​of resident clergy in the country parishes, the churches being served largely by the monks of the monasteries. In some cases these were "itinerant clerks," in other cases there was a "grange," or dependency, of the monastery in the parish, having a "cell," or "hermitage," for a priest.
Thimbleby was not among the number of parishes which had a church before the conquest, as Edlington and several other neighbouring parishes had; but there is no doubt that a church was erected here soon after that period, which, like the neighbouring Woodhall, was connected with Kirkstead, and here, as at Woodhall, there are traces of a moated enclosure eastward of the church, which doubtless was the site of the grange.
The Abbot of Kirkstead exercised the powers of a superior lord here in a somewhat arbitrary fashion; it being complained against him before Royal Commissioners as early as the reign of Edward I., that he had erected here "furcœ," or a gallows, on which various criminals had been executed; and that he had appropriated to himself the assize of bread and beer here, and at Horncastle. But "blessed are the peacemakers," and the abbots, with wholesome influence, were able, when occasion served, to produce harmony out of discordant elements; as the following records show (quoted from Final Concords): "In three weeks from the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary, 10 Henry III. (28th Sept., A.D. 1226)," a dispute arising between Reginald, Rector of Thymelby, and Peter, son of John, tenant of a certain messuage and toft in Thymelby. Peter was induced to give up his claim, in favour of Reginald and his successors; and for this the said Reginald gave him one mark, in recognition of the concession. Which agreement was made in the presence of Henry, Abbot of Kirkstead, who himself gave to the church of Thymelby all right which he had in rent, which he was wont to receive; not however without an equivalent, which—being wise in his generation—he was careful to secure; for Reginald, in return, gave him a certain sum "to buy a rent in another place."
The worldly wisdom of the same abbot appears again in the following Concord: On the morrow of St. Michael, 10 Henry III. (30th Sept. A.D. 1226); a dispute between Sarah, the wife of Alan de Tymelby, and Henry, Abbot of Kirkstead, about a certain meadow in Tymelby, was happily settled (it being to the soul's peril to incur an abbot's anathema!) by the said Sarah giving up all claim to the meadow in favour of the said Abbot, and his successors; in recognition of which he gave her one mark.
A gap now occurs in our history, which can only be filled in, for a time, by conjecture. On the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII., the possessions of Kirkstead Abbey were granted by him to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk; on whose death without issue, they reverted to the sovereign, and were re-granted to the Earl of Lincoln, of the Fiennes Clinton family, subsequently Dukes of Newcastle. The Abbey lands in Thimbleby are not, so far as we know, specially named in this grant, and therefore we are unable to say positively whether that family acquired property in Thimbleby or not; but they had undoubtedly property in Horncastle and neighbourhood. For instance the manor of Baumber remained in their hands, and Baumber Church continued to be the family burial place, until the 3rd Duke of Newcastle, late in the 18th century, sold that estate to T. Livesey, Esq.
​A few years later, however, we have official evidence that the manor and advowson of Thimbleby were vested in the sovereign. By a deed (a copy of which is in the Rector's possession) dated 10th April, 7 Edward VI. (A.D. 1553), of the Court of Augmentations, a toft and messuage in Thimbleby were granted by the King to John Welcome; also "the lordship and manor of Thimblebye, with all its rights, &c., lately belonging to the monastery of Kirkstead;" also "the advowson and right of patronage of the Rectory and Church of Thymmelbie, aforesaid." in the next reign, of Mary, the benefice was presented, by the Queen herself, to William Brantinghame, being admitted on her nomination 19th Sept., 1554.
A deed of that reign, dated 6th Feb., 1 and 2 Philip and Mary (1554), grants certain lands belonging to the manor of Thimblebie, to Anthony Kyme, for 21 years, at 10s. per annum.
St. Margaret's Church, Thimbleby.
Next, in the reign of Elizabeth, a deed dated 9th March, 4 Elizabeth (1562), grants certain tofts and lands to John Porter, for 21 years, at a rent of 18s. per annum; and finally, by deed dated June 30th, 1564, Elizabeth in consideration of the sum of £609 5s. 2d., confirms the above grants and leases to William Conyers and William Haber, both of the Middle Temple, the patronage of the Rectory, "to be held with the manor of Est Grenwich, in the countie of Kent, free of all duty or military service."
After a further hiatus in the parish history, we find another link in the records. The former property of the Thimblebys, of Poolham, and elsewhere, had been sold to a member of the Bolles family, in 1600; and Mr. Weir tells us that in the reign of Charles II. the manor of Thimbleby belonged to Sir ​Robert Bolles, of Scampton. From Liber Regis we find that Sir John Bolles presented to the benefice of Thimbleby in 1697, and doubtless was Lord of the Manor. This Sir John sold his property, and according to the antiquarian, Browne Willis (Ecton's Thesaurus), in the reign of Queen Anne, the patronage of the benefice belonged to "Mr. Kercheval"
In 1719 and 1725 John Hockin, Clerk, presented.
In 1720 the manor and advowson were bought by John Hotchkin, Esq., of Tixover; and a Thimbleby record, preserved with the registers, shows that the Hotchkins have presented from about that time till recently. In 1767 (Sept. 10th), Allen Corrance was admitted on the cession of John Kercheval, by Thomas Hotchkin, Esq., of Alexton, Co. Leicester. In 1778 William Holmes, M.A., was admitted to the rectory by John Hotchkin, Esq., of South Luffenham, on the death of Allen Corrance. In 1831 (Sept. 21st) Robert Charles Herbert Hotchkin, B.A., was instituted at the rectory, on the death of William Holmes, on the nomination of Thomas Hotchkin, Esq., of Tixover. The late T. J. Stafford Hotchkin, Esq., of Woodhall Manor, sold his property in Thimbleby and some other parishes in 1872; and the advowson of this benefice, then in his gift, was subsequently sold to the father of the present Rector, the Rev. C. A. Potter.
There is another name on record, connected with Thimbleby, which we have not yet mentioned. Among a list of the gentry of Lincolnshire, made on the Royal Herald's Visitation of the County, in 1634, which is still preserved at the Heralds' office, is the name of "Robert Frieston, of Thimbleby." What position he held, or whether he was a land owner, in the parish, is not stated, but he ranked with Thomas Cressy (of a very old family), of Kirkby-on-Bain; the Dymokes of Scrivelsby, Haltham, and Kime; Heneage of Hainton, &c.
There is a smaller manor in this parish called the Hall-garth, the residence attached to which is a picturesque old thatched mansion, with an old-time garden, enclosed within high and thick hedges of yew, trimmed in Dutch fashion. It has also a large "stew," or fish-pond, from which, doubtless, in Roman Catholic times, the owners drew their supply of carp and tench, for the numerous fast-days then observed. Old title deeds show that this was at one time crown property. At a later date it was owned by a family named Boulton, who also held land in Stixwould, where there is still the slab of a Boulton tomb in the pavement of the aisle of the church.
A slab, on the south side of Thimbleby Church, bears the inscription: "Here lyeth the body of Michael, the son of Mr. Michael and Elizabeth Boulton, buried the 7th of Septem$^r$, 1692, ætatis suæ 7. His mother the 28th of May, Anno Dom. 1725, ætat suæ 61." The Register has the following entries. "1725, Mrs. Boulton, ye wife of Mr. Mich. Boulton, buried May 28th." "1738, Michael Boulton buried May 8th." The last entry connected with this family is that of "Michael, son of Michael and Mary Boulton," who was baptized in 1726 and buried in 1767.
These were the ancestors of the late Mr. Henry Boulton, of St. Mary's Square, Horncastle. Michael Boulton, in 1719, left 40s. a year, from the Hall estate, at Bransby near Stow, for the education of poor children at Thimbleby; leaving also a bequest for the poor at Bransby.
​At the beginning of the 19th century this manor was held jointly by Richard Elmhirst, Esq., of Usselby, and Mr. Thomas Kemp, the latter of whom resided at the Old Hall. There is a field at the west end of the village, now the property of H. N. Coates, Esq., traversed by mounds and ditches, which was formerly divided into three separate plots, belonging to Elmhirst, Kemp, and Hotchkin. The Kemps were of an old stock. In the Thimbleby Registers the first mention of them is in 1723, but their name implies a much greater antiquity. One theory has been that they were a Huguenot family, who came over to England at the time of the French massacre of Protestants, on St. Bartholomew's day, 1572. Those refugees, in their enforced poverty, prosecuted various kinds of useful industries; and the Kemps, it is suggested, acquired their name from being kempsters, or comb makers.
But it is probable that the name had a much earlier origin. Kemp (Saxon Cempa) meant a soldier being connected with the Norman-French and modern English "Champion;" and although we might look back with pride to forefathers who suffered for their religion, it is pleasanter, if only in imagination, to regard them as having been a race of doughty warriors, sufficiently distinguished to win a name by their deeds.
Mr. Thomas Kemp, in the first half of the 19th century, was a wealthy bachelor, and added to the Hall-garth estate by the purchase, from time to time, of adjacent property. He lived in some style, with two maiden sisters to keep house for him. By his will the land at Thimbleby passed into the possession of his great nephew, Robert Edwin Kemp; another nephew, Samuel Harrison Kemp, inheriting most of the personal estate. But alas! liveried servants, crests and arms, and other emblems of wealth have become things of the past; for when this Robert died the property passed to his son, Thomas Kemp, in whose hands the patrimony speedily evaporated; and other members of the family are now dispersed, "their places knowing them no more," save as a lingering memory, which will soon be gone.
The interesting old hall and the manor were then bought by Reuben Roberts, Esq., of Linden House, Horncastle, who resides there in the summer. He also owns other land in the parish. Other owners are E. Hassard, ​Esq., of Edlington Park; H. N. Coates, Esq., of Langton Manor; the trustees of the late Mr. Samuel Goe, and several smaller proprietors. Mrs. Tebbutt, of Horncastle, a relict of an old Thimbleby family, whose name appears frequently in the parish books, is now Lady of the Manor.
Some 200 yards east of the church and on the south side of the main road is a large field, the property of Mr. Henry N. Coates of Langton, which is known as "The Butts." It has some fine trees, apparently the remains of an extensive avenue, which have been more numerous even within living memory. It has been sometimes called "The Park Close," but the title "The Butts" is interesting, as probably indicating that it was formerly the site on which (in the words of a rhymer, it may be said):
England's archers of old, Village wights true and bold, Unerring in hand and in eye, Learned skill in their craft With yew-bow and shaft, Wand to splinter, or pierce the bull's-eye.
And while the youth gay, Rough rivals, essay To rive and riddle each butt, Sage sires stand by, And coy maidens cry, To welcome the winning shot.
Full many such scene Has been witnessed, I ween, In that whilome time-honoured spot, 'Neath the wide-spreading shade Of the green wood glade, Which is still named the "Thimbleby Butt."
In this "Butts" field rises a spring, which is the source of a small runnel, called "Daubeny's Beck." This bearing westward, for some distance forms the boundary between the parishes of Thimbleby and Langton, then flowing through Woodhall falls into the "Monk's Beck," at Poolham. The name "Daubeny" is doubtless a corruption of D' Albini. The D' Albinis held the Barony, and built the castle of Belvoir, and had other large possessions in this county and elsewhere; the name is not uncommon as a field name, &c. There is a field in Langton called "Daubeny's (i.e, D' Albini's) Walk."
In the grounds of Mr. W. A. Crowder, further to the east, near the Lincoln "Ramper," as the highway is locally called, there was found, a few years ago, a so-called "Roman" tomb, somewhat rudely constructed of blocks of Spilsby sandstone. Within it was a human skeleton, with bones of a dog, a sword, and the head of a spear. In connection with this, we may also mention, that in the Rectory grounds there is an ancient well, of great depth, lined also with Spilsby sandstone, and said to be Roman; which, in the immediate proximity of the Cornucastrum, or Roman fort of Banovallum, would not seem to be at all improbable.
An old parish book of Thimbleby, recently shown to the writer, proves the care which was taken by the parish officials, before the present poor law system was established, to secure the comfort and maintenance of poorer parishioners.
At a parish meeting, Nov. 1st, 1819, Thomas Kemp, Churchwarden, in the chair, it was ordered that John Sharp's daughter was to have a gown and pettycoat, worsted for two pairs of stockings, and one blue apron. Four boys ​were to have two smocks each, and eight old people a strike of coals each per week. At another meeting Margaret Day was to have worsted for two pairs of socks for her two boys, herself to spin it; and one pair of shoes for her daughter. Robert Kemp, and his son Richard, in order to find them work were to be paid 2s. per day, to "gether" stones for the parish.
Again, Maria Day's shoes were to be mended; Mary Atkin to have a pair of blankets, and her chamber window put in and thatched. Benj. Benton one pair of shoes, Willm. Adkin a waistcoat. Mary King's family four shirts, two pairs of shoes, three frocks, three petticoats, and three dabs (i.e. pinafores). A pair of breeches for George Skipworth; Willm. Skipworth to have a spade.
Again, Mr. Thos. Kemp was "to be allowed £20 for the use of the poorhouse, to be insured for £200 by the parish, and, when given up to be left in the same state."
At a meeting on 7th August, 1820, Robert Dixon in the chair, it was ordered that all paupers receiving assistance should regularly attend Divine Service, and on their non-attendance the assistance should be stopped. Mary Todd was to receive her money (which had been stopped) having given satisfaction to the vestry for not attending the church. Mary Hobbins' boy to be put to school. "To get the Lord's Prayer, and the 'I believe,' put in the church at the parish expense."
At a meeting held 27th August, 1830, Thomas Kemp in the chair, it was agreed that £75 be borrowed of Mr. Thos. Kemp, to pay Mrs. Farmer's expenses to America, to be repaid by the parish, 30s. weekly, with legal interest. Church rates are now among the "has beens," but in 1843 a rate was passed of "1d. in the pound for the support of the church, and 10d. in the pound for the highway repairs."
In the churchyard, along the south side of the church, are a group of gravestones of the Kemp family. Eastward are several of the Marshall family, formerly numerous here, and in the neighbourhood, holding a respectable position, but now extinct. There are also a number of tombs of the Todd family, respectable small farmers, resident in the parish, from the first notice of a burial, June 24th, 1738, down to recent years. The Tebbuts and Dixons were also resident, as tenants or small owners, for many years.
Among the marriage registers, which date from 1695, is the following note: "March 23, 1779, a marriage was attempted to be solemnized; but the intended bridegroom, to the great surprise of the congregation assembled, remaining away, the ceremony, &c. ..." The rest is illegible.
We have now to speak of the church. The present edifice stands on the site of a former 14th century church, which, judging by the remains that have been found, must have been of much larger dimensions, and consisted of nave, two aisles, chancel, and bell tower; the total breadth having been 52-ft. Several fragments of stained glass have, at various times, been found in digging graves, showing that this early church, like several others in the neighbourhood, had good coloured windows. This was taken down in 1744, and from the materials remaining a small fabric was erected in its place, consisting of nave and apsed chancel, with no pretensions whatever to architectural beauty. This (as has been generally the case with badly constructed edifices of that period) became also, in turn, so decayed that the present Rector, on entering ​on the benefice, decided to rebuild the church once more; and in 1879 the present structure was completed at a cost of over £1,000, in the best early Decorated style.
It consists of nave, chancel, organ chamber on the south, and an octagonal bell turret, designed by the late Mr. James Fowler, the Architect, and containing one small modern bell, graven with the date and initials of W. Carey, Churchwarden in 1744, who demolished the old church The nave has three two-light windows, of the decorated style, in the north and south walls; there is a square-headed two-light window in the organ chamber; the chancel has a single-light window in the north and south walls, with a good east window of three lights, trefoiled, and with a triangle of trefoils above. In the north wall is a credence recess, and in the south wall are two stone sedilia. The tiles within the chancel rails are copied from ancient tiles, which were found some years ago, at Revesby Abbey. In the west front, over the door, is a large two-light window, and above it a clock, the only village church clock in the neighbourhood, by Smith of Derby. Within the west doorway, let into the north wall of the tower basement, is a fragment of an old battlement, having a shield in the centre, probably a relic from the original church. The font is modern, having a plain octagonal bowl, shaft, and pediment. The roof is of pitch pine, the timbers being supported by plain corbels. The lectern, chancel stalls, and communion table are of good modern oak
Used as a stile in the south fence of the churchyard is a large slab, on which, above ground, is the matrix of a former brass, representing one figure, with a broad transverse bar for an inscription, and connecting it with other figures, which are now below the ground.
The church plate includes an interesting paten, presented to the church in 1837, by the mother of the late Rector, but bearing hall-marks of 1727-8, with the letter M and a five-pointed star below. The chalice is still more interesting, as it bears an old Lincoln hall-mark, of date about 1570; there are only eight other known examples of this period in the county.
The rectory is a commodious house, built in 1839, doubtless on the site of the former monastic grange; it stands in an extensive garden, embowered among trees of goodly growth. A fine oil painting at the present time adorns the entrance hall. It is reputed to be by Spagnoletto, and was formerly in the monastery of St. Jerome, in Lisbon. Its size is 5-ft. by 4-ft., the subject being St. Jerome translating the Vulgate scriptures.
WEST ASHBY.
This parish, like High Toynton, Mareham-on-the-Hill and Wood Enderby, was formerly a hamlet of Horncastle, of which it adjoins the northern boundary. We find them all coupled together in an extract from the Testa de Nevill ​[folio 348 (556), quoted Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, p. 215] as follows: "The church of Horncastre, and of Askeby, and of Upper Thinton, and of Meringes, and of Hinderby, are of the gift of the Lord," i.e. the Lord of the Manor. In Domesday Book it is called Aschebi. Queen Editha, wife of Edward the Confessor, who owned various lands in this neighbourhood, was Lady of this Manor, as well as that of Horncastle. She held here six carucates of land (or about 720 acres), besides which there were 45 soc-men, 5 villeins, and 13 bordars, with eight carucates (or about 960 acres), and 500 acres of meadow and pasture. (Domesday, "Soke of Horncastle.")
Domesday also mentions that the Saxon thane, Chetelburn, who had property in Coningsby, Keal, Candlesby, Friskney, and other places in the county, had at Ashby "a mill worth 12s. yearly," a very considerable sum in
The Manor House, West Ashby.
those days. The manor was afterwards held by the Conqueror himself (Domesday, "Property of the King"); and it would seem, although there is no direct evidence of it, that he bestowed the manor on one of his chief favourites, Ranulph de Paganall, who received from his sovereign extensive grants in the counties of Somerset, Devon, York, Northampton, and Lincoln, including all the lands formerly held by the Saxon Merleswain, in this county and elsewhere. Ranulph Paganall founded (A.D. 1089) the Priory of the Holy Trinity in York, said to have been built on the site of a former Roman heathen temple; one of his family, Helias Pagnall, being subsequently Prior of this institution, and Canon of Selby. When the present Church of the Holy ​Trinity was restored in 1904, among other ancient monuments, was found the slab of the tomb of Ralph Ranulph, which is still preserved in the church, along with sculptures commemorative of St. Benedict, St. Martin of Tours, Prior Helias, and others.
Ranulph, by charter of that date, endowed the abbey with two-thirds of the tithes of Ashby; which was further confirmed by charters of 1100, 1125, and 1179. This Ranulph Paganall was Sheriff of Yorkshire. The last known representative of his family was William Paganall, summoned to Parliament as a Baron in the reign of Edward III. Dugdale states that the Priory of the Holy Trinity was made, by its founder, a dependency or cell of the greater monastery (marmonstier) of the above, St. Martin in Touraine; and by the Inquisition, taken at York, 34 Ed. I., it was found that he claimed no portion of the temporalities of the Priory, beyond the right to place an official there, during the vacancy of the priorate, as temporary custodian. The name Paganall became in later times softened into Paynell; they were at one time Lords of Bampton.
At a later period the manor of Ashby, probably with that of Horncastle, belonged to Gerard de Rhodes and his descendant, Ralph; since in a Charter Roll of 14 Henry III. (pt. i, M. 12), we find that King's confirmation of a grant, made by the said Ralph, to Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, of "the manor of Horncastle, with the soke, and the advowsons of the churches, and all other things pertaining to the same in all places," evidently including the churches of the hamlets as well as that of the town. Among the witnesses to this are Gervase, Archdeacon of Carlisle; and Henry de Capella; the latter name being noticeable because, as will be seen below, Ashby was called "Capella."
The Abbey of Kirkstead had a grange in Ashby, which after the dissolution of the monasteries, was granted in the 5th year of Edward VI., to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Lord High Treasurer of England; this is now part of the Ashby Thorpe estate. In 1820 this was the property of Mr. Joseph Rinder. It is now partly owned by the Booth family, and partly by the Smedley trustees.
The parish is still divided into Far Thorpe, Church Thorpe, and Middle Thorpe. Far Thorpe included the farms held by the late Mr. Griffin and Mr. Addison. Mr. Wattam's house, which is moated, was the old Midthorpe Hall. As being a hamlet of Horncastle, the benefice was formerly called Ashby "Capella," or the Ashby Chapelry; and like Horncastle, Wood Enderby, High Toynton, and Mareham is given in "Liber Regis" as in the patronage of the Bishop of Carlisle. Until recently it was a perpetual curacy, in value about £50 a year; but about 30 years ago, on the enfranchisement of certain episcopal lands, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners endowed it to the extent of £300 a year, and built a substantial vicarage. The patronage is now with the Lord Chancellor by exchange with Kirk Oswald, Cumberland.
The church, All Saints, is of considerable size, being one of the largest village churches in the neighbourhood, mainly in the Perpendicular style, and substantially built, consisting of tower, nave, and chancel, the two latter of the same elevation throughout. The tower has three old bells, and a peal of eight tubular bells. Gervase Holles gives the inscriptions on the bells as being:
1. Sit nomen Domini benedictum. 2. Intonat e cælis vox campana Michaelis. 3. Sum rosa pulsata Mundi Maria vocata.
One of these was, some years ago, re-cast; and now bears the inscription "voco ad templum, date 1759."
The main features of the church are as follows: the porch arch is semi-circular, Norman, the west window in the tower is unusually high, 12-ft. by 4-ft. in width, of three lights. The north aisle has four bays. The nave, in the south wall, has two three-light windows, the western one perpendicular and having pointed arch, the eastern square headed. In the north wall there is a three-light debased decorated window. In the west wall of the north aisle is a two-light window of coloured glass, in memory of Augustus Elmhirst; and in its eastern wall is a three-light memorial window to his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Ruck Keene. In the south wall of the chancel are two late four-centre
All Saints' Church, West Ashby.
two-light windows; and in the north wall a three-light flamboyant window. Gervase Holles mentions a north chancel window having "sa. a crosse between 4 cinquefoyles arg. ...," but this has disappeared. The east window is modern, with three lights. A new window was erected, in 1907, in the north aisle (corresponding to a window inserted in 1905, in memory of General and Mrs. Elmhirst), by Mr. H. R. Elmhirst, to the memory of his late wife, Lilian Frances, nee Hatfeild; the artists were Powell and Sons; the subject Faith, Hope and Love represented by three figures.
The communion table has a very handsome cover, with red frontal, elaborately embroidered with old Roman work. A carved wooden reredos has recently been presented by Col. and Mrs. Stack. On a tablet on the north wall ​is an elaborate inscription, in memory of Lieutenant Richard Calthrop, who was killed at the siege of Algiers; erected by his mother and 10 surviving brothers and sisters; who are said to have lived to the remarkable average age of 85 years. There are various tablets commemorative of the families of Rockliffe, Drewry, Pierce and Elmhirst. There is a north door, as well as south, to the nave. The font is a plain octagonal one, perpendicular in style.
The church was restored and reseated in 1873; the tower being renovated in memory of Mrs. Barnard, otherwise known as "Claribel," a well-known musical composer, connected with the Elmhirst family. It is lofty and massive, surmounted by four high pinnacles and large gurgoyles at the angles.
The register dates from 1561. The communion plate consists of a cup, with inscription "Ashby Chappell, 1758;" a paten presented by "Elizabeth Pierce, Christmas Day, 1841," and flagon, given by the same, in 1859. She was the wife of the Vicar of that day, the Rev. W. M. Pierce, and an authoress. In the churchyard are the tombstones of John Thistlewood and his wife; he was brother of the Cato Street conspirator, and died at Louth, having formerly resided at Ashby and Wispington.
The late William Elmhirst, Esq., bought the lands here formerly belonging to the Bishops of Carlisle, and erected a handsome and substantial residence, in well-wooded grounds; which in later years passed by purchase to the Booth family, by whom it, and the estates attached, are now owned. It is at present occupied by Dr. and Mrs. Newstead. The Elmhirsts are at present represented by H. R. Elmhirst, Esq., son of the late General Charles Elmhirst, C.B., who resides at The Grove.
HIGH TOYNTON.
High Toynton is situated about 1½ miles from Horncastle, in an easterly direction, on the road to Partney and Spilsby. It would seem to have been formerly, like West Ashby, an appendage to the Manor of Horncastle. The old record says (as already quoted under West Ashby) "The church of Horncastre, and of Askeby, and of Upper Thinton, and of Maringes (Mareham), and of Hinderby, are of the gift of the lord," i.e. the Lord of the Manor. As thus not being a separate manor, it is barely more than mentioned in Domesday Book, where it is called Todintune, and Tedingtone. Queen Editha, wife of Edward the Confessor, would be Lady of the Manor; but William the Conqueror took possession and held lands here, in demesne, with tenants and dependants.
That the manor afterwards, along with that of Horncastle, became the property of Gerard de Rhodes, is shewn by the following peculiar circumstances. In a Feet of Fines, at Lincoln, 9 Henry III., No. 52, it is recorded that an agreement was arranged in the King's Court at Westminster, (3 Feb., A.D. 1224-5), between Henry del Ortiay and Sabina his wife, plaintiffs, and Ralph de Rhodes, a descendant of Gerard, defendant, whereby certain lands in Upper Tynton, Mareham, and other places, were recognized by the plaintiffs as the property of Ralph de Rhodes; they receiving, in lieu thereof, 100½ acres of land, and 11 acres of meadow, with appurtenances, all in Upper Tynton. These lands are further specified by name, as 24 acres next Graham (i.e, ​Greetham), 12 acres in culture called "Hethoten acre" (i.e. Heath of ten acres), 9 acres of land in "Pesewang" (i.e. Peas-field), 5½ acres in "Sex acre," 7 acres in Leir-mewang (or low mead-field), 4 acres in culture of Lange landes, 6 acres in Whetewang (i e. wheat-field), and 10 acres in Kruncewang (qy. crown's-field?); and further plots not specially named. The peculiar feature however of their tenure was, that they and their heirs were "to have and to hold the said lands for ever ... rendering therefor by the year one pair of gilt spurs, or 6d., at Easter, for all service and exaction."
A Pipe Roll (14 Henry III., Lincoln) states that "Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, holds certain lands hereditarily of the aforesaid Ralph de Rhodes;" and in a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 34 Edward III., 2nd Nrs., No. 29
St. John the Baptist's Church, High Toynton.
(1360), mention is made of "Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby, and John his younger brother, and their heirs," as tenants of the Manor of Horncastle, "and of lands in Over Tynton," which they "hold of the said Bishop." These were scions of the wealthy family of the Thimblebyies, Lords of Poolham, and other estates. One of them married a daughter and co-heir of Sir William Fflete, Knt.; another married a daughter of Sir Walter Tailboys; this Sir Walter being the son of Henry Tailboys and his wife, Alianora, daughter and heir of Gilbert Burdon and his wife, Elizabeth, sister and heir of Gilbert Umfraville, Earl of Angus.
​By a Close Roll, 20 Henry VII. (part 2 [No. 367] No. 33), it appears that Sir Thomas Dymmok, Knight, had recently purchased lands in Over Tynton, Nether Tynton, Maring next Horncastle, and other parishes; which he granted to his son Leo, and his heirs for ever.
Further, by a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 24 Henry VII., No. 61, it is found that Humphrey Conyngesby, Sergeant at Law, and others instituted a suit on behalf of William Stavely, and others, by which he recovered to them the Manor of (apparently Upper) Taunton, the advowson of the church of Nether Taunton, about 2,700 acres of various land, and the rent of 4½ quarters of salt in Over Taunton, Nether Taunton, Tetford, and other parishes.
The Manor, with that of Horncastle, continued for a long period in the hands of the Bishops of Carlisle; who were patrons of the benefice until the creation of a bishopric of Manchester, in 1848, when their patronage in this neighbourhood was transferred to that See. The Manor, however, with that of Horncastle, had previously passed to Sir Joseph Banks, and came eventually to his successors, the Stanhopes. The benefice, until late years, was a very poor one, being a perpetual curacy, annexed to Mareham-on-the-Hill; their joint annual value being £160, without a residence. But when the episcopal property (the Bishop being Rector) was transferred to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, they, with the aid of Queen Anne's Bounty, raised the joint benefices to £300 a year; and in 1869 erected a good residence at Toynton, now occupied by the Vicar, the Rev. W. Shaw.
The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was formerly a very mean structure, dating from the 18th century (1772), in the worst of styles, with wooden-framed windows, of large square panes of glass, and having a flat whitewashed ceiling. The timbers of this had become so decayed that a former curate-in-charge, mounting to the false roof, to examine them, fell through, among the square pews below. This incident led, not too soon, to the rebuilding of the fabric, at a cost of more than £1,200 in 1872, on the site of the previous building, as also of an original 13th century edifice. The present church is a substantial and neat structure in the early English style, thoroughly well kept, and with several pleasing features. It consists of nave, chancel, and porch, with tower and low spire. The nave has, in the north wall, two single-light narrow pointed windows, and at its eastern end a two-light window, having a quatrefoil above. In the south wall there is one single-light and one two-light window, corresponding to the above; the porch, taking place of a window at its western end.
The two-light window in the north wall has coloured glass, with various devices, one being a small copy of the famous Descent from the Cross, by Rubens, in Antwerp Cathedral; another the Royal Arms, with the initials V.R. below, and date 1848. The corresponding two-light window in the south wall has coloured glass "In memory of Eliza, wife of the Rev. T. Snead Hughes, late Vicar, she died March 9, 1872, aged 57." The subjects in the two lights are the Ascension of our Lord, and the three women at the sepulchre, with an angel pointing upward. In the west wall of the nave are two pointed windows beneath a cusped circlet, all filled with coloured glass; the lower subjects being John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, and the baptism of our Lord by John in the Jordan; the upper subject is the angel appearing to Zachariah; all three having reference to the patron saint of the church. An inscription states that these are a memorial to the late Mark Harrison and his wife Ann, erected by their family.
​The font is of stone, octagonal, having four different kinds of crosses on the alternate faces, a circular shaft ending in octagon, and on octagonal pediment. Within the south porch, over the outer and inner doorways are old fragments of massive zigzag pattern, all that remains of a whilom Norman structure. The modern doorway arch, externally, has a dog-tooth moulding, with floriated finials. The tower, over the porch, is square below, octagonal above, with small lancet windows in each face, and is surmounted by a low spire; it contains one bell. The roof and sittings are of pitchpine.
The chancel arch is of massive stone, plain, and of wide span. In the east wall of the chancel are three narrow windows, the central higher than the other two; they have good coloured glass by Clayton and Bell. Beneath is a handsome reredos of Caen stone, erected in memory of the late Mr. Thomas Terrot Taylor. It has one large central device, the Agnus Dei within a circle, and on each side four divisions, containing a dove with olive leaf, Fleur de Lys, ears of corn, a passion flower, vine leaves and grapes, a crown, a rose, and a conventional flower. On each side are memorial tablets of the Ball family. In the south wall is a brass tablet in memory of Mr. Taylor, and a small pointed window. In the north wall is a doorway leading to the vestry. Within the vestry, lighted by a similar small pointed window, are three more Ball tablets, and a priest's door. In the centre of the nave floor, close to the chancel step, is a large slab "In memory of the Rev. William Robinson, 22 years Incumbent, who died May 8, 1830, aged 56." The register only dates from 1715, and contains no entries of special interest.
In a List of Institutions to Benefices, preserved at Lincoln, it is shewn that in 1562, on the resignation of the then Vicar, one John Howsone, Michael West, Clerk, was appointed to this vicarage, along with that of Nether Toynton, by Richard Bertie, Esq, the ancestor of the present Earl of Ancaster. This was probably by some private arrangement with the Bishop of Carlisle, as the Berties (as the Willoughbys are now) were patrons of Low Toynton, but not of Upper, or High, Toynton. He was instituted to the two benefices on July 9th of that year.
MAREHAM-ON-THE-HILL.
Of this parish, ecclesiastically annexed to High Toynton, little can be said. The name was anciently written Maringes, or Marun; the former probably from the low "marish," or marsh, "ings," i.e. meadows, the suffix being the Saxon "ham," a homestead. It lies about two miles south-east from Horncastle, connected with High Toynton by footpath, and bridle road, across the fields barely a mile in length, but for carriages a detour of more than double that distance has to be made.
This parish, like High Toynton and West Ashby, is in the soke of Horncastle. In Domesday Book it is stated that the manor comprised 3 carucates, or about 360 acres of land, with 21 soc-men and 11 bordars, who had four ​carucates, or about 480 acres; there were further 60 acres of meadow, and, what no longer exists, 300 acres of underwood; which was a very large proportion, considering that in Scrivelsby, now a well wooded estate, closely adjoining, there were at that time only six acres of underwood.
Sir Lionel Dymoke, a scion of the Scrivelsby family, once resided in this parish. His will, dated 15th April, 1512, is a good specimen of the orthography of the period. The following are portions of it: "I leon Dymoke of maryng of the hill in the Countie of lincolne knyght being of good and hoole mynde make and ordigne my testament and Last will in fo$^r$me following | First I bequeathe my soule to almyghty god and to the blessid virgine his mother seint Mary and to all the holy Company of heven | And forasmoch as no man is certeine of the houre of dethe nor what place he shall die in and nothyng so certeine as dethe | and for as moch as I by the kyngℓ pleasure shall goo in hys warrys in the parties by yonde the see | Therefore my body to be buryed where it shall please almyghty god | Also that I will that my Executours for the helth of my soule in as hasty tyme as they may after my deceas paye or do to be paid all and singler my detts ... Also I bequethe and gyve to the Church warke of Maryng of al halowes vj$^s$ viij$^d$ and to the highe aulter there for tythes and oblacions forgoten xx$^d$ and to seint Jamys gild of maryng xx$^d$ ... Also I gyve and bequethe to the Convent of the black Freris of Boston for a trentall to be song for me and all Christen Soules x$^s$," &c., &c. On 17th August, 1519 (when he was apparently on his death bed), witnesses certify that he added a codicil to be annexed, "saying these words in his mother tongue. I will that S$^r$ John Heron knyght have my landes in nethertynton whether I lyve or dye ... and if my wif or myne executōs thynk there be any thyng expressed in my wille oute of goode ordre I will it be refo$^r$med by Anne my wif as she and they thynke most pleasure to god profytt for my soule."
As to the owners of the demesne nothing further is told us; but since in Testa de Nevill, already quoted, it is stated that "the churches of Horncastre, Askeby, Upper Thinton, Maringes, &c., are of the gift of the Lord." Gerard de Rhodes was, doubtless, at one time, the common Lord of all those manors, as well as his descendant Ralph de Rhodes. Mr. Weir states that the manor at a later period belonged to Edward Marsh, Esquire, of Hundle House, in the county of Lincoln; by a descendant of whom it was sold to William Hudson, Esquire, of Gray's Inn. In 1659 it was sold to one Duncombe, of whom it was purchased in 1688 by Sir Edmund Turnor, of Stoke Rochford, Knight; in whose family it still continues. Other proprietors are Richard Ward, Esq., and Dr. Parkinson.
In Domesday Book there is mention of "a church and priest," the latter, therefore, being doubtless resident in the parish; although for many years there has been no residence for an incumbent. In 1830 the benefice was held, with High Toynton, by the Rev. E. R. H. G. Palmer, a relative of Viscount Halifax, who resided in Horncastle; in 1863 by the Rev. Isaac Hall, who did the same; and it was not till 1869 that a residence was erected at High Toynton for the united benefices.
​Of the church, All Saints, we can only say that it stands in a good position, on high ground; that its walls are substantial, but that its style is of the meanest; it having been rebuilt in the early part of the 19th century (1813); and beyond a piscina, now in the north wall, it has no features of interest; having wooden-framed windows, square painted pews, walls whitewashed within and without, and a flat ceiling. It greatly needs renovation, being now almost a solitary representative, in the neighbourhood, of that very worst period of architectural decadence. With fairly good sandstone in the present walls, and probably more in the foundations of an earlier church, to be exhumed, and an abundance in situ not far away, restoration, or even re-erection, might be effected, at a moderate outlay.
The one bell hangs in a shabby bell turret. While repairs were being carried out in 1813 two nobles of Edward IV., two angels of Henry VII., and several silver coins of different reigns, contained in a leathern purse, were found concealed in the wall.
LOW TOYNTON.
Low Toynton lies about a mile from Horncastle to the north-east. It is approached through rich meadows, watered by the river Waring. The Rector is the Rev. J. W. Bayldon, M.A., of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Overseers, G. E. Read and W. Scholey. Letters via Horncastle arrive at 8.30.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small structure with no pretention to architectural beauty, and almost entirely covered with ivy. It was rebuilt in 1811, a period when architectural taste was at its lowest ebb, and barbarisms in stone, brick, and mortar were very generally perpetrated. It was reseated in 1863, during the incumbency of the Rev. E. M. Chapman. It consists of chancel, nave, vestry, and open belfry containing one bell. The chancel arch is the only remnant of a former Norman structure. The font is apparently a 14th century one, almost a replica of that in Huttoft Church, which is engraved in Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, p. 225. The bowl is octagonal, its faces filled with figures representing the Holy Trinity, the virgin and child, and the 12 apostles. The bowl is joined to the shaft by angelic figures round the lower part of it. The octagonal shaft has figures of St. Paul, Mary Magdalen, a bishop with chalice, another with scourge, and other subjects much mutilated, at the base are the winged lion, ox, man, and eagle, emblematical of the evangelists. The walls of the church are relieved by some coloured designs, and borders of ecclesiastical patterns, running round the windows, &c., origanlly executed by that genuine artist the late Rev. C. P. Terrot, Vicar of Wispington. These decorations have been recently (1898) renewed by Mr. C. Hensman, of Horncastle, when the church was thoroughly repaired, both inside and out; new panelling placed in the nave, and a new window in the vestry; and in the following year (1899) a new harmonium was purchased from Messrs. Chappell and Co., London.
The east window is filled with modern coloured glass, the subjects being the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, and the Ascension. On the sill of the east window are placed, over the communion table, two handsomely carved ​old oak candlesticks, presented by the Rev. C. P. Terrot. On the north wall of the nave there is a small oval brass tablet, which was found in 1888, face downwards in the vestry floor. It bears the following inscription: "Here lyeth the body of Edward Rolleston, Esquir, who departed this life the 23rd of July, in the thirtey-fourth year of his age; interr'd underneath this place the 4th of August, A.D. 1687." As 12 days elapsed between death and burial it is probable that he died abroad. The manor and whole parish, except the glebe, still belongs to the Rolleston family; the benefice being in the patronage of the Earl of Ancaster.
In the floor of the chancel are two memorial slabs, one of the Rev. R. Spranger, D.C.L., late Rector of Low Toynton and Creeton, who enlarged the rectory house, and was a munificent benefactor to the neighbourhood. Among other good deeds he built the bridge over the river Waring, on the road from Low Toynton to Horncastle. He was a member of a family of some distinction; had a residence in London, as well as his rectory here; he was popularly said to drive the handsomest pair of horses in London; and there exists a portrait in oil of an ancestor, Chancellor Spranger, in one of the great galleries in Florence. Dr. Spranger was an intimate friend of J. Keble, the author of The Christian Year, and his son the Rev. Robert J. Spranger, Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, spent the greater part of his life in Mr. Keble's parish, Hursley, Hants, as a voluntary assistant in his clerical work.
The companion slab marks the last resting place of another rector, the Rev. J. Hutchinson, who died in 1788. His history is singular. Although well educated, he enlisted as a private in the army for foreign service; a commission however was subsequently obtained for him by his friends. He presently became attached to a lady who refused to marry a soldier. He then determined to take holy orders. Chance threw him in the way of a party of gentlemen at Manchester, one of them being the agent of Lord Willoughby. The latter stated that he had it in power, at that moment, to bestow a benefice, and that he would give it to anyone who could solve for him a particular problem. Mr. Hutchinson succeeded in doing this, and was eventually appointed Rector of Low Toynton. He held it, however, only 18 months, dying at an early age. Whether he married the lady is not stated.
In the List of Institutions to Benefices, preserved at Lincoln, it is recorded that in 1562 Michael West, Clerk, was appointed Rector of Nether Toynton and Vicar of Upper Toynton, by Richard Bertie, Esq., ancestor of the Earl of Ancaster. This must have been by some private arrangement with the Bishop of Carlisle, who was patron of High Toynton; the Berties (as the Willoughbies are now) being only patrons of Low Toynton. From Liber Regis we learn that the Earl of Lindsey appointed to the benefice in 1692, the Duke of Ancaster in 1778, Sir Peter Burrell and Lady Willoughby d' Eresby in 1783.
The register dates from 1585. Under date 1717, Feb. 2nd, occurs the following entry: "Robert Willy, of Upper Toynton, did penance in the parish church of Lower Toynton, for the heinous and great sin of adultery." A note in the baptismal register states that on July 18th, 1818, Bishop George (Tomline) confirmed at Horncastle 683 candidates, among them being five from Low Toynton. Confirmations were not held so frequently then as they now are. In this parish Mr. Thomas Gibson, Vicar of Horncastle, when turned out of his preferment by the Puritans, lived for some "two years but poorly, teaching a few pupils."
​Little is known of the early history of this parish or of its proprietors. In a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 11 Henry VII., No. 123, taken at Partney, after the death of Isabella, wife of Richard Sapcote, Knight, the said Isabella is declared by the jurors to have died seized of the Manor of Nether Toynton, and of the advowson; and Joan, wife of William Nevill, of Rolleston, Notts., and others are declared to be daughters and heirs of the said Isabella; she herself being kinswoman and heir of William Plesington, son of Henry Plesington, Knight.
In a list of Lincolnshire names contained in the visitation of 1665-6, by William Dugdale, Esq., are Agnes Goodrick, daughter of Robert Goodrick, of Toynton, and Bridget and Elizabeth Rolston, daughters of Edward Rolston, of Toynton.
St. Peter's Church, Low Toynton.
By a Chancery Inquisition of 38 Henry VIII. (1546), it was found that Thomas Dymoke, Esq., was seized of land in Over Toynton, Nether Toynton, Maring upon-the-Hill, and other parishes; and by an Inquisition of 36 Elizabeth, it was found that Robert Dymock, Esq., was seized of the Manors of ffuletby and Belchforde, and lands in Horncastle, Nether Tointon and Upper Tointon, and several other parishes. He died without issue 13th Sept., 1594, and his only sister, Anne, widow of Charles Bolle, of Haugh, succeeded to his property in Nether Toynton and elsewhere; and thus the connection of the Dymokes with Low Toynton ceased.
There is rather a curious feature in the following record. By a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 24 Henry VII., No. 61, it is found that Humphrey ​Conyngsby, Sergeant at Law, and others, instituted a suit on behalf of William Stavely, and others, by which he recovered to them, among other properties, "the advowson of Nether Taunton, and the rent of 4½ quarters of salt, in Nether Taunton, Over Taunton, and other parishes."
We now find another ancient name connected with this parish. The Newcomens (originally Le Newcomen, or the newcomer) of Saltfleetby, were one of our oldest Lincolnshire families. They are named in Yorke's "Union of Honour," and their pedigrees given in four Lincolnshire Visitations. The number of branches into which the race spread is remarkable. Andrew Newcomen lived in the time of Richard I., resident at Saltfleetby, where the headquarters of the family continued for many generations. Robert Newcomen (1304) married Alice, daughter of Sir William Somercotes, Knight. His son, also Robert, married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Hardingshall, Knight. Another Robert (1452) married Joane, daughter of Robert Craycroft, of Craycroft Hall. A daughter Katharine, of Brian Newcomen, married (1559) George Bolle, of Haugh, a family already mentioned as, a few years later, connected with Low Toynton. In 1540 we find Richard Newcomen residing at Nether Toynton. By his will, dated 3rd Sept., 1540, he requests that he may be buried in the church of St. Peter, Nether Toynton. He appoints the right worshipful Edward Dymoke, supervisor. His grandson, Samuel Newcomen, of Nether Toynton, married Frances, daughter of Thomas Massingberd, of Braytoft Hall, M.P. for Calais (1552). This branch of the family seems to have died out in the person of Thomas Newcomen (1592); but other branches spread over the neighbourhood, and were established at Bag Enderby, East Kirkby, Withern, and other places, and flourished throughout the 17th century. Another Newcomen early in the 18th century married a daughter of Sir Robert Barkham, Bart.
A renewal of connection with Low Toynton was made when the widow of Nicholas-Newcomen married, circa 1700, the Honble. Charles Bertie, son of Robert, 4th Earl of Lindsey, patron of the benefice of Nether Toynton. Arthur Bocher, Esq., of Low Toynton, was in the Lincolnshire Rebellion of 1536, being brother-in-law of Thomas Moygne, one of the leaders in the movement.
Thus the parish of Low Toynton has had residents, proprietors, and rectors, to whom its present inhabitants may look back with some degree of pride and pleasure, although "their place now knoweth them no more."
ROUGHTON.
This village stands on the west bank of the river Bain, about 4 miles to the south of Horncastle. It is bounded on the north by Thornton and Martin, on the east by Haltham and Dalderby, on the south by Kirkby-on-Bain, and on the west by Kirkstead, Kirkby, and Woodhall. The area is 1020 acres, rateable value £945, population 137, entirely agricultural. The soil is loam, on kimeridge clay, with "Bain terrace" gravel deposits.
The nearest railway stations are at Horncastle and Woodhall Spa, each about four miles distant. There is an award and map of Haltham and Roughton in the parish, and a copy at the County Council office, Lincoln. Three ​roads meet in the middle of the village, one from Horncastle, one to Woodhall Spa and Kirkstead, one to Kirkby-on-Bain, Coningsby and Tattershall.
Sir Henry Hawley, Bart., of Tumby Lawn, in the adjoining parish of Kirkby, is Lord of the Manor, but Lady Hartwell (daughter of the late Sir Henry Dymoke, the King's Champion), and the executors of the Clinton family (now Clinton Baker) and the Rector own most of the soil; there being a few small proprietors. Roughton Hall, the property of Lady Hartwell, is occupied by F. G. Hayward, Esq.
The register dates from 1564. Peculiar entries are those of 43 burials for the years 1631-2, including those of the Rector and his two daughters, who died within a few days of each other; this was from the visitation called "The Plague," or the "Black Death." For some years before 1657 only civil marriages were valid in law, and Judge Filkin is named in the register as marrying the Rector of Roughton, John Barcroft, to Ann Coulen. In 1707 Mary Would is named as overseer of the parish, it being very unusual at that period for women to hold office. Another entry, in the overseer's book, needs an explanation. "Simon Grant, for 1 day's work of bages, 2s. 6d.;" and again, "Simon flint, for 1 day's work of bages, 2s. 6d." "Bage" was the turf, cut for burning; in this case being cut from the "church moor," for the church fire. It was severe labour, often producing rupture of the labourer's body, hence the high pay.
There is a charity named the "Chamerlayne Dole," of 10s., given yearly to the poor, left by Martha Chamerlayn in 1702. It is a charge upon a cottage and garden owned by Mr. T. Jackson, of Horncastle.
The National School was established about 1860, in a building erected in 1834 as a Wesleyan Chapel. It was enlarged in 1872 and 1879. It is supported by a voluntary rate.
The Church, St. Margaret's, is of no architectural beauty, being built of brick and sandstone, It consists of nave and chancel, with castellated tower, having one bell, also castellated parapets at the north and south corners of the east chancel wall. The font is Norman, circular, with circular pediment, having an old oak octagonal cover, cupola shaped, plain except slight carving round the rim. The fabric was newly roofed in 1870, when it was fitted with good open benches, the chancel paved with encaustic tiles, and the windows partly filled with stained glass; there are fragments of a former carved rood screen, the pulpit being of plain old oak.
In the chancel is a lengthy inscription, commemorative of Norreys Fynes, Esq., of Whitehall, in the adjoining parish of Martin. He was grandson of Sir Henry Clinton, eldest son of Henry, Earl of Lincoln, by his second wife, daughter of Sir Richard Morrison, and mother of Francis, Lord Norreys, afterwards Earl of Berkshire. He was a non-juror. He died January 10th, 1735-6 aged 74. There is a murial tablet to the memory of the Rev. Arthur Rockliffe, who died in 1798; another to Charles Pilkington, Esq., who died in 1798, and Abigail, his wife, who died in 1817.
The benefice is a discharged rectory, united to that of Haltham in 1741, and now held by the Rev. H. Spurrier, the patron being his son the Rev. H. C. M. Spurrier. The two benefices together are valued at £450 a year. There is a good rectory house. The church plate is modern. The village feast was discontinued about 50 years ago.
Peculiar field names are the Low Ings, Bottom Slabs, Carr Bottom, ​Church Moor, Honey Hole, Wong, Well-syke, Long Sand, Madam Clay, Sewer Close.
As to the early history of Roughton, Domesday Book gives it among the possessions of William the Conqueror, and also as belonging to Robert Despenser, his powerful steward, who probably held it under the king. A Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 22 Richard II., No. 13, A.D. 1399, shows that Ralph de Cromwell, jointly with his wife Matilda, held the adjoining Manor of Tumby, with appurtenances in Roughton and elsewhere. While another Inquisition of 13 Henry VII., No. 34, shows that the said Matilda died, "seised in fee tail of the same lands."
In the reign of Elizabeth a family of Eastwoods resided here, since the name of Andrew Eastwood, of Roughton, appears in the list (published by T. C. Noble) of those gentry who contributed £25 to the Armada Fund. Other documents shew that at different periods the hall has been occupied by members of various county families, as Fynes (already named), Wichcote, Heneage, Dymoke, Pilkington, and Beaumont.
The register has the following entries, probably written by an illiterate parish clerk, "An the wife of Will. Hennag, was buered ye 9 of Feberery, 1729." "Madame Elizabeth fines was buered May ye 29, 1730."
Gervase Holles gives the following arms as existing in the church in his day.
Fenestra Australis Cancelli.
| G. 3 lyons passant gardant, or | England |
| Verry a fesse G. fretty, or | Marmyon |
| Argent, a plaine crosse B. | |
| Or, a lyon rampant purpure | Lacy |
| Chequy or and G., a chiefe ermyne | Tateshall |
In Campanili.
* Arg. a sword sheathed proper, a buckler appt., with girdle wrapped, hilte pomel, and neuf or.
HALTHAM.
This village is distant from Horncastle between four and five miles in a southerly direction, lying on the east side of the river Bain. It is bounded on the north by Dalderby and Scrivelsby, on the south by Kirkby and its hamlet of Fulsby, on the east by Scrivelsby, Wood Enderby and Wilksby, and on the west by Roughton. The area is 2380 acres, rateable value £1198 The soil is loam, with kimeridge clay below, and gravel deposits. Population 121, mainly agricultural.
The main roads lead to Dalderby, Scrivelsby, and Horncastle, to Kirkby, Mareham-le-Fen, Coningsby, and Tattershall, and to Wood Enderby, Wilksby, and Revesby. The nearest railway station is at Horncastle.
The Lord of the Manor was formerly the Champion Dymoke of Scrivelsby Court, but the late Rev. John Dymoke sold his estate in this parish, and the ​manor is now the property of Sir H. M. Hawley, Bart., of Tumby Lawn, in the adjoining parish of Kirkby; W. H. Trafford, Esq., owning the remainder, except 150 acres of glebe.
The benefice was united to that of Roughton in 1741, the two being now of the yearly value of £450, and held by the Rev. H. Spurrier. The patron is the rector's eldest son, the Rev. H. C. M. Spurrier. There is an award and map of Haltham and Roughton, of date 1775 A village feast is held on St. Benedict's Day (March 21), he being the patron saint of the church.
There are some peculiar field names; as the Far, Middle, and Near Redlands, arable; the Top and Lower Brock-holes (brock meaning a badger), arable; the Black Sands, pasture; the Top and Low Malingars, arable; the East, West, and South High Rimes, arable; the Pingle, meadow; the Croft, pasture; the Oaks, pasture; Wood Close Meadow, the Old Cow Pasture.
The register dates from 1561, and contains an entry for the year 1684: "This yeare plague in Haltham." There is a charity, the interest of £5, left by John Dymoke, Esq., of Haltham, who in 1634 is named among the Heralds' List of Gentry, for yearly distribution by the overseers among the poor. The children attend the school at Roughton.
The church is one of the most interesting in the neighbourhood. The chancel was restored and an open roof put up in 1881, at a cost of £250. The nave was restored in 1891, at a cost of £300. The sanctuary was paved with Minton tiles by the late Lady Dymoke. The most remarkable feature is a semi-circular tympanum over the door in the south porch, which is of early Norman, or possibly Saxon date. It has sculptured on it in somewhat rude fashion a Maltese cross within a circle, a second circle running through the limbs of the cross, a square with three-quarter, circles at its corners, and semi-circles midway of each side, which form the extremities of another cross, and between the limbs are roundels. Below is a figure resembling a fish, also four rows of triangles, and other complicated devices. The east window is a very fine flamboyant one, of date about 1350. Some of the sittings have very old rudely-carved poppy heads of oak, There are very fine carved oak canopies over two long pews in the north aisle, for the Champion Dymokes and their servants. There is a piscina with two fronts in the south wall of the chancel, and a series of three stone sedilia, in the north wall is an aumbrey. There is an incised slab to one of the Dymokes. The tower has three bells, and the bell chamber is closed by ancient boarding, on which are the ten commandments in old characters, and very curious Royal Arms of Charles I. The church plate consists of pewter paten, silver flagon and chalice, with date 1764, given by Mr. John Dickinson.
In the village there is an old hostel, partly of the Tudor style, with pointed gable ends, projecting upper storey, and constructed externally of brick and woodwork.
As to the early history of this parish little is definitely known. According to Domesday Book it was among the possessions of the Conqueror, and his steward, Robert Dispenser, held it under him. Probably like other parishes in the soke of Horncastle, the manor was held by Gerbald d' Escald, his grandson Gerard de Rhodes, his son Ralph de Rhodes, sold by him to the Bishop of Carlisle, &c. Of the ownership of Ralph de Rhodes we have evidence in a Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 9 Henry III., No. 52, containing an agreement between ​Henry del Ortiary and Sabina his wife, on the one hand, and Ralph de Rhodes, on the other hand, in which the former parties recognise the right of the said Ralph to certain lands in Haltham, Wood Enderby, Moorby, and other parishes in the soke.
Of other families of distinction once connected with this parish we have indications in the arms which Gervase Holles found in the church windows in his time (circa 1630, temp. Chas. I.), which we give here.
In Fenestris Cancelli.
| Verry a fesse G. fretty, d'or | Marmyon |
| G. a cross sarcely, arg. | Beke |
| Sa. 2 lyons passant, arg crowned, or | Dymoke |
| Or, a lyon rampant, double queue, sa | Welles |
| Sa. 3 flowres de lize betw. 6 crosse crosslets, fitchy, arg. |
| G. 3 bars ermyne | Kirketon |
| Barry of 6, or and sa. |
Fenestræ Boreales.
| B. a lyon's head erased betw. 6 crosses, botony, arg. | Touthby |
| Arg. 2 bars G. a border, sa. |
| Dymoke, each lyon charged sur l' espale with an annulet | Dymoke |
| Ermyne on a bend G. a cinquefoil, or |
| G. crosse crucilly fitchy, a lyon rampant, arg. | La Warre |
| Or, a lyon rampant, double queue, sa. | Welles |
Fenestræ Australes.
| G. 3 water-bougets, arg. | Ros |
| Or on fesse G. 3 plates | Huntingfield |
| Quarterly or and G. a border sa. bezanty | Rochfort |
| Rochfort with a garbe in the 2nd quarter, arg. | Rochfort |
| Rochfort with an annulet in the 2nd quarter, arg | Rochfort |
| Or, a manche G. | Hastings |
| G. a bend ermyne | Ry |
| Rochfort with an eagle displayed in the 2nd quarter, arg | Rochfort |
| Arg. fretty of 6 pieces G. a canton ermyne |
In Fenestra Borealis Navis.
| G. crosse crucilly fitchy, a lyon rampant, arg. | La Warre |
| Arg. on a bend, G. 3 gryphons heads erased, or |
In Campanili.
MAREHAM-LE-FEN.
Mareham-le-Fen lies about six miles south from Horncastle, and five miles eastward of Tattershall station, with a population of more than 800. Letters via Boston arrive by mail cart at 7.30 a.m. This is the seat of a considerable industry, carried on by Mr. Titus Kime, as a grower of greatly improved varities of potatoes, agricultural seed, and, latterly on a large scale, of bulbs of different kinds, in which he seems likely to compete with the Dutch trade.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Helen, is a fine structure of oolite stone, probably one of the largest in the neighbourhood, except the collegiate church of Tattershall. It consists of tower, nave, north and south aisles, south porch and chancel. The body of the church was restored in 1873, and re-opened on June 13th of that year, at a cost of more than £2,000, by J. Banks Stanhope, Esq., Lord of the Manor; the then rector, the Rev. W. Sharpe, restoring the chancel, and the parishioners and other friends the tower. The latter consists of three tiers, having a small square window in the south ​and north walls below, with a two-light floriated window on the west. In the tier above are two-light windows on all four faces. At the summit it has battlements and four tall pinnacles. There are three bells, the date of the largest being 1627. The body of the church is also battlemented, and has pinnacles, the westernmost of these having the figures, within a niche, of St. George and the dragon.
The south porch has an early English doorway within, the outer one being modern. In the moulding above the inner doorway is a curiously crowned head, probably representing the Empress Helena, the patron saint; other curious devices running down the moulding on each side. To the right of the inner doorway are initials M.S., date 1681. The font has a large octagonal bowl, with heads at the angles, and elaborate trefoil devices on the faces; the shaft is plain, octagonal, the pediment a stone cross.
St. Helen's Church, Mareham-le-Fen.
Both aisles have four lofty bays, with early English columns. In the north aisle is one three-light perpendicular trefoiled window, in its western wall; in the north wall, on each side of the north door, is a three-light perpendicular window, with mullions interlacing; and to the east a four-light round-headed trefoiled window. Over the north door is a tablet, with a Latin inscription, commemorative of the Rev. H. Sheppard, a former rector, who died 24th Jan., 1764, aged 62. Beneath it is a cherub with outspread wings. In the wall, east of the north door, is a tablet bearing the inscription: "This church was relighted in memory of Francis Thorpe, who lost his life, by an accident, while working in the church near this spot, 22nd Sept., 1892." The south aisle, at the west end, has a three-light broad interlaced window. In the south wall, west of the porch, is a low doorway, now filled in, with step at its base, probably formerly leading to a parvis, or priest's chamber. East of the ​porch are two round-headed three-light trefoiled perpendicular windows. In the chancel the east window, of coloured glass, is lofty, with three lights, and six trefoils above. The subjects are divided into upper and lower rows; the upper are the Ascension in the centre, with the Resurrection to the left, and to the right the disciples grouped round the virgin; the lower are the Crucifixion in the centre, Christ bearing His cross to the left, and the entombment to the right. This window was by Lavers, Barrand and Westlake; it was given in memory of the late Mr. Joseph Corbett, by his son, C. J. Corbett, Architect, of Imber Court, Surrey.
The reredos has three compartments; the central device is a cross, with rays of glory, and the monogram I.H.S.; on the right and left are doubly pointed, crocheted, arches; the device in the northernmost being a crown of thorns, with the three nails, surrounded by a circle; next to it three interlaced circles; on the south side interlaced triangles, and a plain cross. The east wall, up to the height of the reredos, is faced with alabaster.
In the south wall of the chancel is a wide stone seat, and above it a two-light trefoiled window. In the north chancel wall is a trefoiled credence table. There is a tablet to the memory of William Goodenough, formerly rector, Archdeacon of Carlisle (the benefice formerly being in the patronage of the Bishops of Carlisle), who died 13th Dec, 1854; and commemorating his wife Mary Anne, daughter of Dr. Samuel Goodenough, Bishop of Carlisle; she dying 3rd Jan., 1847, aged 75. The memorial was erected by their only surviving child, Mrs. Hawkins.
The choir sittings are of carved modern oak; the pulpit is also of the same, on a stone base, and the lectern. The chancel arch is lofty, the modern side columns having richly carved capitals. Some of the stones of the original arch were found built into the chimney of a cottage near at hand. The sittings in the nave, and the roof timbers, are of pitch pine. The base of the tower forms a roomy vestry.
In the churchyard is the lower part of the shaft of a cross, standing on an octagonal base. Opposite the east end of the south aisle is a tombstone in memory of James Roberts, "who sailed round the world in company with Sir Joseph Banks, in the years 1768-71, on board H.M S. the Endeavour, Lieut. James Cook, Commander," attending him "also on other voyages." The tomb of Archdeacon Goodenough is on the north-east side of the church. Within a few feet of the south buttress of the tower is a fragment of an old tombstone, shewing part of a foliated cross on both sides, and the monogram I.H.S., in old characters, probably Saxon; Mareham being one of the 222 parishes in the county which had a church in Saxon times
Gervase Holles (temp. Chas. I.) gives the following arms and inscriptions, as existing in the church in his time. In the east window:
| Empaled | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Arg. a crosse sa. |
| Empaled | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Arg. on a crosse G. a bezant. |
| Empaled | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Arg. a crosse sa. |
| Empaled | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | Quarterly arg. and G., on the 1st and 4th quarters a popinjay vert. membred and beked G. |
In the western window on the left of the tower:
Ora$^t$e pro a'ia Joh'is Tott, Agnet, et Helene, uxorum ejus, & specialiter pro Andrea Tott, Artium Baccalaureo, qui istam fenestram lapidari, necnon vitreari fecit.
​ Over the buttress, on the east side:
* Quarterly Ufford and Beke
* 3 crosses portate
* 2 chevrons between 3 roses
* A crosse
* A lyon passant
* "Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur, 1591."
The register dates from 1558. An entry records that on 22nd Nov., 1685, a "Briefe was read and published, for Saresden in Oxfordshire, for loss valued at £1,449. Granted June 14th, 1686." Another entry, under date 23rd Nov., 1685, is as follows: "Thomas Eresby of Revvesby maketh oath y$^t$ Theodosie, his daughter, who was buried in the churchyard upon Sunday last, was wound and wrapped up in woollen only, according to the late Act of Parliament, in y$^t$ case made." In explanation of this it may be stated that in 1677 British and Irish woollens were prohibited in France, which injured the woollen trade very much; and in the next year (1678) in order to encourage the trade at home, it was enacted by 29 Charles II., c. 3, that all persons, except those who died of the plague, should be buried in wool, under a penalty of £5. Another entry states that a collection was made, the amount not known, to afford relief, after the great fire in London, Sept., 1666.
The rectory, adjoining the church, stands in a large, well wooded garden. It is a good substantial residence, rebuilt by Archdeacon Goodenough in 1818-19, and much improved in 1855. In the entrance hall are two old prints of the church and rectory before their restoration, dated 1785. They were presented to the late rector, Rev. W. Sharpe, by Alfred Cobbett, Esq., and they are preserved as heirlooms by the rectors for the time being. The Rev. F. J. Williamson is the present rector, late of Lydgate. The Bishop of Manchester is patron of the benefice; the patronage of this, and several other benefices in this neighbourhood, formerly held by the Bishops of Carlisle, being transferred to the See of Manchester some years after its creation, in 1848.
The national school, built in 1840, is endowed with nearly an acre of land, given by Archdeacon Goodenough; it was considerably enlarged by J. Banks Stanhope, Esq., in 1877. Some of the inhabitants are entitled to the benefits of the almshouses at Revesby. There is a navigable drain from the Witham, passing near the village, affording communication with New Bolingbroke and Boston. A former part of the parish is now included in the district of Wildmoor Fen.
In Liber Regis this parish is named "Marrow, alias Marym, alias Mareham in le Fen." It is called in Domesday Book Meringe (or the sea-ing, i.e. sea-meadow. Another form was Marum; the Revesby Charters, Nos. 47 and 48, mention a piece of land, near the boundary of Marum, called "Mare Furlong," and the grass (Psamma arenaria) which now grows on the sea banks is commonly called Marrum grass. All these names probably refer to the marish (Latin, mariscum), or marsh, character of the locality, caused by its proximity to the sea (le mer), which then came much nearer than it does now, and frequently flooded the land.
The manor was given by the Conqueror to the powerful Norman, Robert Despenser, who, as his name implies, was the King's High Steward. He was the ancestor of the Despensers, Earls of Gloucester, and he held 15 manors in ​Lincolnshire alone, besides 17 in Leicestershire, and several in other counties. Much of the land of this parish was at a later period given to Revesby Abbey, and at the dissolution of the monasteries some of this was granted by Henry VIII, to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. In later times it became, by purchase, the property of Mr. Joseph Banks, M.P. for Grimsby, born in 1681, and eventually came to his distinguished descendant, Sir Joseph Banks; and on his death some of the Mareham land passed to the ancestors of the present Sir Henry M. Hawley. Other proprietors are now Major Gape, Messrs. J. R. Chapman, Joseph Lake, and other smaller owners.
Among the Lincolnshire gentry called upon (with the Massingberds, Heneages, and many others) to furnish "launces and light horse," in the 16th century, when the Spanish armada was expected, was one "John May of Mairing," who failed to present himself at the muster in 1584, but in 1586 supplied "one light horse."
In Notes on Low Toynton mention is made of the old family of Newcomen, originally "of Salaby," i.e. Saltfleetby, where many generations of them were buried, from the time of Richard I. They married into influential and titled families, in various parts of the county. Charles Newcomen lived at Hagnaby in 1634, and bought land in Revesby. A Newcomen lived in Mareham in the 17th century. They were connected, by marriage, with the family of Sir Joseph Banks, as Mr. Banks, grandfather of Sir Joseph, had a house in Lincoln, the adjoining one being occupied by Newcomen Wallis, Esq., and Mr. Banks married Catherine the widow of Mr. Wallis (see the Banks monument in Revesby church, north aisle), whose mother was daughter and co-heir of Nicholas Newcomen, Esq.
We here give a few old records in connection with this parish in the past. The Court Roll of Mareham-le-Fen (preserved among the documents of the Listers of Burwell) for 2 Elizabeth, shows that, at that date (A.D. 1559), Thomas Glenham, Esq. (variously written Glemham), had the Manor of Mareham. In the 23rd Elizabeth it is recorded that Charles Glenham, Esq., by his lawful attorney, Francis Colby, of Glenham Parva, Esq., granted leases for seven years to divers tenants in Mareham. Thomas owned also the Manors of Calceby, Belchford, Oxcomb, and Burwell; these he sold to Sir Matthew Lister, afterwards of Burwell. He married Amye, daughter of Sir Henry Parker.
In a suit, instituted 29th May, 1239, between William de Bavent, plaintiff, and Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, defendant, regarding the advowson of the church of "Merum," the said William "quit claimed" all his right to the said advowson, to the bishop and his heirs for ever; and in return for this the bishop gave him 10 marks. In the old record, Testa de Nevill, folio 556 (circa 1326), Walter de Bavent held certain lands in Marum, "by service of falconry," i.e., by providing yearly, in lieu of rent, one "gay goss-hawk," or more, for the use of the Lord of the Manor.
Robert de Weston, Rector of Marum, by his will, dated 3rd March, 1389, requested that he might be buried in Marum Church. He bequeathed to the Mendicant Friars of Boston 6s. 8d. "to remember me in their masses," to ​Lady Margaret Hawteyn, Nun of Ormsby, 10s.; to Trinity College, Cambridge, a book called "Johannes in Collectario," to every fellow there 2s., and every scholar 1s. Among other bequests are to Mgr. Eudo la Zouch "12 cocliaria nova de argento" (i.e. 12 new spoons of silver); to "John Geune my clerk a missal of the new use of sarum"; and "masses for souls of Walter ffelsted, William Stel, and James de Medringham. Executors, Eudo la Zouch, John ffoston my chaplin, &c., the residue of my goods to be sold, as quickly as possible, communi pretio, so that the purchasers may be bound to pray for my soul."
William Leych, parson of Mareham, by will dated 11th Aug., 1556, requests that he may be buried "in the quire of St. Helen." "To my brother
Wesleyan Chapel, Mareham-le-Fen.
Robert Leych 12 silver spoons, to Sir John Richardson 6 great books, containing the holle course of the bybyll, and a repetorii, and a concordance"; to Sir John Morland "Opera Chrisostomi & Sancti Thomas, & Haymo super epistolas sauli"; to Mr. Lancelot Sawkeld "Deane of Carlyle 20s., praying him to cause a dirige and masses to be said for me. .... I make Mr. Arthur Dymok and Mr. Robert Dymok supervisors."
Henry Ayscough, of Blyborough, by will dated 19 Oct., 1611, left lands in Mareham-le-Fen, and the Manor of Tumby, and other lands, to his grandsons.
​In connection with this we may mention that the late Sir Henry James Hawley married, as his first wife, Elizabeth Askew, a descendant of the same family. The Ayscoughs (or Askews) were a distinguished Lincolnshire and Yorkshire family, and have still numerous representatives.
Here is another record of the same family. By will, dated 15th April, 1612, Walter Ayscoughe, of Mareham-le-Fen, left to his wife Bridget £20 annuity, and other property, for her life; then to his sons Henry and Walter, and two daughters Margaret and Elizabeth; also 12d. to the same; and 5s. to Nicholas Cressey, gent, supervisor, witness Clynton Ayscoughe; proved at Horncastle, 2nd May, 1613. To this family belonged Anne Askew the martyr, who was the younger daughter of Sir William Ayscough, Bart, of Stallingborough. Their property eventually came to the late Ascoghe Boucherett, of South Willingham.
Next we find one of the old family of Newcomen, already referred to, "Edward Newcomen of Mareham-le-Fenne, by will, proved at Horncastle, 1st July, 1614," leaving to his daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, £10 each, the same to his son Robert, and the residue to his wife; the personality being £120 3s. 8d., a vastly larger sum in those days than now.
Another will is that of Annie Elie, widow, of Mareham-le-Fen, dated 13th July, 1616, in which she desires "to be buried in the church," so that she was probably some one of importance. She leaves everything to her son-in-law John Wymberley, and her daughter Susan Wymberley.
Among the deeds and charters of Revesby Abbey, privately printed by the Right Hon. E. Stanhope a few years ago, No. 24 gives, among the witnesses to a deed of gift, the name of Eda, wife of Richard, Priest of Mareham (temp. Henry II., or Richard I) Hence it is evident that celibacy was not strictly enforced on the clergy at that period. Among the witnesses to other deeds are Robert, Priest of Marum, and Richard, Priest of Marum, A.D. 1172. The deed of gift of certain lands to Revesby Abbey (No. 29), by a certain John, is stamped with a round seal, having an equestrian figure, and the legend Sigillum Johannis de Maringe. By another deed William, son of John of Maring, gives certain lands; the seal bearing a lion and dog, or fox "contourné regardant," the legend of this is Sigill. Will. de Marige.
With these records and associations with the past, the parish of Mareham may surely be said to have a history on which its people may well look back with interest and satisfaction.
MOORBY.
Moorby lies about 4½ miles from Horncastle, and about 1½ miles beyond Scrivelsby, in a south-easterly direction. Letters via Boston arrive at 9.30.
​The registers date from 1561, but contain no entries of any particular interest. The church, dedicated to All Saints, has undergone several transformations. This was one of the 222 parishes which possessed a church before the Norman conquest, and it still contains a fragment (to be noticed later on) which is apparently of Saxon origin. Both Weir in his History (1828), and Saunders (1834) agree in stating that in the early part of the 19th century the church was "totally destitute of interest." The Gazetteer of 1863 describes it vaguely as "a "Gothic structure." It was rebuilt in 1864, from designs by Mr. James Fowler, Architect, of Louth, at a cost of £1,100, defrayed by J. Banks Stanhope, Esq., Lord of the Manor; and was further repaired in 1891, by public subscription. It consists of nave, chancel, vestry, north porch, and small square tower at the north-west angle, with low spire containing one bell. It is built chiefly of brick with facings of Ancaster stone.
In the north wall of the nave are a couple of two-light windows, in the Perpendicular style; in the south wall are three two-light windows; all these having bands of red and black brick alternately. In the west wall are two single-light lancet windows, with an ox-eye window above. In the chancel there is a small lancet window in the north wall, and a square aumbrey. The east end has a three-light plain lancet window; beneath which is a stone reredos, having three compartments filled with encaustic tiles, having, as their designs, in the centre a cross in gilt, and Alpha and Omega, within ox-eyes, on either side. In the south wall in front of the vestry is a lancet-shaped doorway, and, west of it, an arcade of two lancet apertures, supported by four columns of serpentine. Within the vestry is a two-light lancet window; and let into the eastern wall is a small slab, having four grotesque figures, one blowing a kind of bagpipe, the others dancing. This is said to have been a portion of a "minstrel pillar," it is apparently Saxon, and is probably a relic from the original fabric. The chancel arch is of red and black bricks, in alternate bands, the capitals nicely carved in stone, supported by small seprentine columns. The pulpit is of Caen stone, having a cross within a circle on the front panel, and one serpentine column. The chancel choir stalls are of good modern oak; the sittings in the nave and the roof being of pitch pine.
The font is the most remarkable feature of the church. It has a large square bowl; the device on the east side is a skeleton being drawn from the tomb by two angels, doubtless emblematic of the "death unto sin and new birth unto righteousness," accomplished in baptism. On the north face is the virgin and child, with the sun and moon in the corners above. On the south side is a figure in long vestment, apparently sitting on an altar, much defaced. On the west are six figures, much defaced, in the attitude of prayer. At the four angles are quatrefoiled niches, having at their bases, alternately, a crowned head and a mitre. This may have been of the 14th century. The shaft is square and modern, with columns at the angles.
The communion plate is modern, except the paten, which bears the inscription "Matthew Sympson, M.A., instituted Rector of Moorby, Feb. 28, 1705, collated Prebendary of Lincoln, June 25, 1718, Rector of Wenington, May 29, 1728." The present Rector is the Rev. R. C. Oake, late Vicar of Broughton, Manchester. The rectory of Moorby is consolidated with the vicarage of Wood Enderby.
By deed dated Nov. 24th, 1855, the guardians of the poor, by consent of the ratepayers, gave certain land in Moorby for the site of a parish school to the minister, churchwardens, and overseers, and their successors; and more ​recently a school district has been formed for the parishes of Moorby, Wood Enderby, Claxby, and Wilksby; the school, which was built in 1855, being enlarged in 1872, to provide the accommodation required by this union.
Moorby was one of the "thousand four hundred and forty-two manors" which William the Conqueror took as his own portion, when he divided the lands of England among his Norman followers. Being in the Soke of Horncastle, it was doubtless granted, along with that manor, and those of West Ashby, High Toynton, and several others, to Adelias or Alice de Cundi, daughter of William de Cheney, Lord of Caenby ann Glentham, and wife of Roger de Cundi. As she took part against King Stephen, in favour of the Empress Maud, he took the property from her; but eventually restored it to her, on condition that she should demolish her castle at Horncastle; this however was only for life, the estates again reverting to the crown. Henry II. made a grant of them to Gerbald le Escald, a Fleming noble, who was succeeded by his grandson and heir, Gerard de Rhodes. His son, Ralph de Rhodes, in the reign of Henry III., sold the manors to Walter Mauclerke, Bishop of Carlisle, and until recently the patronage of Moorby benefice belonged to the Bishops of Carlisle. After the creation of the See of Manchester, the patronage, with that of High Toynton, Mareham-le-Fen, &c., was transferred to the Bishops of Manchester.
Domesday Book, describing the soke of the Manor of Horncastle, says "In Morebi there are 3 carucates of land (or about 360 acres). There are 6 soc-men, and 10 bordars, who have 4 carucates (or 480 acres). There is a church and a priest (evidently a resident; of whom, according to Sir Henry Ellis, there were only 130 in the country), and 240 acres of meadow and 6 acres of underwood." In the old record, Testa de Nevill (circa 1326-1328), the benefice of "Morby" is said to be "of the gift of the lord the king," i.e. Edward II. or III. The original charters of Henry III., granting these manors to the Bishops of Carlisle, were confirmed by Henry VI.; but in course of time they passed to the Brandons, and to various other proprietors, until the ancestor of Sir Joseph Banks became lessee of the Manor of Horncastle, and also acquired the Manor of Moorby: to which James Banks Stanhope, Esq., and the late Right Hon. Edward Stanhope succeeded; although T. Elsey, the Artindale family, and the trustees of Bardney school, own portions of the parish.
In the year 1554 (Aug. 6th) Thomas Bewley, Clerk, was admitted to this benefice by Robert, Bishop of Carlisle, it being "vacant by deprivation." This was the 2nd year of the reign of Queen Mary, of ill memory. Doubtless the offence of the ejected predecessor was that he was married, which was contrary to the papistic ideas, revived in that brief reign. Numbers of beneficed clergy were deprived at that time for this offence.
A few old records of some interest are preserved connected with Moorby, of which we give two or three samples here. First we have a family of the name of Moreby, of whom more than one mention is made. Roger Moreby, by will dated Saturday after the Feast of St. Botolph, 1394, commends his soul to St. Mary and all the saints; he requests that his body may be buried in Croyland parish church; he leaves 40s. to be given to the poor on the day of his burial, and money to provide torches and wax for the church, and the altars of St. Katharine, St. John the Baptist, and Holy Trinity; he bequeaths £10 of silver to his wife, and other items. Again, by will dated the Feast of St. Thomas the apostle, 1368, Gervase de Wylleford bequeaths 100s. to John Moreby his cousin.
​The family of Ayscough, formerly so widely represented in the county, were connected with Moorby. By will, dated 16th Nov., 1601, Henry Ascoughe, Gent., desires to be buried in the parish church of "Morebie," leaving to his sister "Elizabeth Aiscoughe (his) hereditaments in Morebie for life, then to go to his brother Matthew." His sister is also to have lands which he had leased to Sir Henry Glenham, Knight. He further leaves to her, as executrix, "£10 to be good and to my poor sister Margarette." To his brother Simon he bequeaths "the best apparrell of my bodie, with riding furniture, and my baie gelding, rapier, dagger, and pistol," and further bequests. The testator was son of Christopher Ayscough, of Bliborough, and married, apparently without issue, Margaret, daughter of Symon Battell, of Denham, Suffolk.
Like the not very distant Wildmore Fen, in which it now has a modern allotment of 14 acres of glebe land. The name of Moorby tells of its condition at the time when it acquired that designation, which means the "by," i.e. "byre," or farmstead on the moor. The moorland has now entirely disappeared under the plough, and only young plantations represent its former wild, woodland character.
WOOD ENDERBY.
Wood Enderby lies about four miles south by east from Horncastle. Letters via Boston arrive at 10.30 a.m.
The church, dedicated to St. Benedict, consists of nave, north aisle, and chancel, a low tower, with graceful broach spire, containing one bell, and small vestry. It is built of a warm-tinted green sandstone, with free stone dressings; the style of its architecture is a combination of the early English and Decorated periods. It was almost entirely rebuilt in 1860, at a cost of about £1,000. The south door, which is in the tower, has an Early English arch of five mouldings. There is a plain trefoiled window above in the tower; the lower part of the spire having two lancet windows, with a circle above them, and a small single-light window on each side, half way up. In the west wall of the tower is a three-light window, with two trefoils and a quatrefoil above. This is filled with coloured glass, having the texts "I am the way, the truth, and the life," "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them," and "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me." There are similar windows, but without coloured glass, in all four faces of the tower. At the north-west angle of the tower is a staircase turret. Within the south door, against the west wall, is an old stone coffin, with broken lid, ornamented with an incised floriated cross; this was discovered at the time of the restoration.
The arcade of the north aisle is of three bays, being part of the old church, in Early English style, with plain arches, supported on one octagonal pier and one shafted pier, with dog-tooth ornament, the former having foliage on the capital. In the north wall of the nave are three square-headed windows of three lights, with trefoils above, the glass being plain, except a border of red, purple, and yellow. In the south wall are three two-light windows, with trefoil and circle above; the glass being modern, with various coloured scripture texts.
​The sittings are of deal, with plain poppy-heads. The pulpit is of modern oak, of five panels, each panel being divided into two trefoiled arched partitions; the central panel having a trefoil above, and below it a square piece of carved old oak, representing Elijah blessing the cruse of oil for the widow of Zarephath. The vestry, at the east end of the north aisle, has one small trefoiled window. The tower and the spire were added at the restoration. The chancel has a decorated east window of three lights, with three quatrefoils above. It is filled with modern coloured glass, the subjects being, in the centre the Saviour risen from the tomb, on the left an angel seated at the tomb, and on the right the Magdalen. There is an inscription, "Jesus saith unto her. Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God. John xx, 17."
The north and south chancel walls have each one two-light trefoiled window, with quatrefoil above; plain glass, except the coloured band. In the south wall is a curious square projecting Norman piscina, with fluted basin, and fluted sides. In the north wall is an arched sepulchral recess. The chancel arch is plain Early English. The roof, like the sittings, is of pitch pine. The font has a plain octagonal large bowl of Barnack stone, its upper rim being modern, the shaft plain quadrilateral, with plain square columns at the angles; base and pediment octagonal.
The register dates from 1561. It begins with the note "The Register booke of Woodenderbye, containing herein ye names of all such as have been married, burried, and christened, from Michaelmas 1561, to Michaelmas 1562." The first five or six entries are illegible, and the others contain nothing of special interest. The benefice, a vicarage, is consolidated with the rectory of Moorby, and is now held by the Rev. R. C. Oake.
As the name of Moorby indicated the character of the locality in former times, when that name was first acquired, so Wood Enderby means the "bye," i.e. "byre," or farmstead "at the end of the wood," as it borders on what was once the forest tract of "Tumby Chase"; Haltham wood, near at hand, being a relic of that former wild region.
W. H. Trafford, Esq., is Lord of the Manor. The Hon. Mr. Stanhope owns a large part of the land; and portions belong to the Rev. G. Ward, and other smaller owners. The late Miss Trafford Southwell founded an infant school in the village; the older children attending the Moorby' school. The poor parishioners receive 6d. each at Christmas, left by an unknown donor, out of the farm now owned by Rev. G. Ward, of Mavis Enderby.
The ancient history of Wood Enderby is much the same as that of Moorby. It was one of the minor demesnes, within the Soke of Horncastle, and attached to that manor; as were also West Ashby, High Toynton, Mareham-on-the-Hill, and other parishes. It would thus also be among the estates of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and when his main line became extinct, and the property was divided among collateral branches. Wood Enderby, with Wilksby and Revesby, fell to the share of Mr. John Carsey, or Kersey; his wife, the daughter of Sir Thomas Lovell, Knight, being grand-daughter of Margaret, sister and co-heir of the Duke of Suffolk. He owned the property ​from 1552 to 1575, and he and his son Francis jointly sold it to Thomas Cecil, Lord Treasurer Burleigh. He held it from 1575 to 1598, when it passed in succession to the 1st and 2nd Earls of Exeter, and to Elizabeth, Lady Howard, wife of the Earl of Berkshire, in 1640, and so in 1658 to Henry Howard; in 1663 to his cousin Craven Howard, who built the former residence at Revesby; and, after his death, the property was sold by the daughters of Henry Howard to the Banks family; whence the manor has descended to the present proprietors of Revesby.
The manor, like that of Moorby and other parishes already named, would at one time belong to the Bishops of Carlisle, and they were till recently patrons of the benefice; the patronage, within late years, being transferred to the Bishops of Manchester, after the creation of that See in 1848.
At an earlier date, being an appendage to the Manor of Horncastle, this demesne would be owned at one period by Gerard and Ralph de Rhodes; and this is shewn by the following records among the Final Concords, date 3rd Feb., 1224-5, whereby an agreement was arrived at between Henry del Ortiay and Sabina his wife, on the one part, and Ralph de Rhodes on the other part, as to certain lands in Moorby, Enderby, Horncastle, and other parishes, that the said Henry and Sabina should recognise the said lands as belonging to the said Ralph; he, on his part, granting to them other lands there, specially designated, they rendering to him "therefor by the year, one pair of gilt spurs, at Easter, for all service and exaction." This agreement was settled "at the court of the Lord the King at Westminster on the morrow of the purification of the blessed Mary, in the 9th year of King Henry III.
In the old records, Testa de Nevill (circa 1326-28), it is stated that "the churches of Horncastre, Askeby (West Ashby), Upper Thinton (High Toynton), of Meringes (Mareham-on-the-Hill), and of Hinderby (Wood Enderby), are of the gift of the lord; and Osbert, the parson, holds them of King Richard."
In Domesday Book it is stated that at the time of the Conqueror, there were "400 acres of wood pasturage" in the parish, a sufficient reason for its designation. Like Moorby, it was among the manors seized by the Conqueror, for his portion of the plunder taken from our Saxon forefathers. In Saxon times the Thane, Siward, had land here; which was given by the Conqueror to his steward, Robert Despenser, brother of the Earl Montgomery.
CONINGSBY.
This is a large village, about 8 miles from Horncastle, in a southerly direction. It is bounded on the north by Tattershall Thorpe, on the west by Tattershall, on the south by Wildmore, and on the east by Tumby and Merham-le-Fen. Its area is 3,442 acres, including the hamlet of Hawthorn Hill; rateable value £5,160; population 1,192. Apart from a limited number of shops and three inns, the people are engaged mainly in agriculture. The soil is mostly a light sand, with a subsoil of gravel deposits and clay. The nearest railway station is at Tattershall, distant about 1½ miles.
​The owners of over 50 acres are Lord Willoughby de Eresby, M.P., Lord of the Manor; Sir H. M. Hawley, Bart., J.P.; F. Sherwin; J. Rodgers; J. Burcham Rogers, J.P.; Mrs. Evison; the rector, Rev. Canon A. Wright, M.A., J. P., Rural Dean and Canon of Lincoln. Smaller owners, about 50. The only gentleman's seat now existing is the hall, the residence of J. B. Rogers, Esq., J.P.
The old custom of ringing the pancake bell on Shrove Tuesday is still kept up. The annual feast is held in the week after St. Michael's Day, the patron saint. The "Ignitegium," or curfew, was rung within the last 35 years, but has been discontinued, the parish being now lighted by gas.
There are a few field names, indicating the former "woodland and waste" character of the locality. The Ings, or meadows, so common throughout the district; Oatlands; Scrub Hill, scrub being an old Lincolnshire word for a small wood; Reedham, referring to the morass; Toothill, probably a "look-out" over the waste; Langworth, probably a corruption of lang-wath, the long ford; Troy Wood, may be British, corresponding to the Welsh caertroi, a labyrinth or fort of mounds. The hamlets are Dogdyke, a corruption of Dock-dyke (the sea having once extended to these parts); Hawthorn Hill, Scrub Hill. There is an enclosure award in the possession of the clerk of the Parish Council.
The parish register dates from 1561. The church plate is modern, chalice and paten dated 1870; the flagon is older and more massive, but has no date. The Earl of Ancaster is patron of the benefice, a rectory, with good house, enlarged about 30 years ago, and 500 acres of glebe.
The National School was built by subscription and government grant in 1836, at a cost of about £230, exclusive of the site, which was given by the late Sir Gilbert Heathcote. It was enlarged in 1875 at a cost of £300. The master has £3 per annum, left by the Rev. R. Kelham in 1719, also the dividend of £100 3½ per cent. reduced consols, bought by the bequest of the Rev Mr. Boawre, Rector, in 1784.
The charities are Banks, viz. £2 a year from land in Haltham, for bread for the poor; Metham's, for poor widows, from houses and land in Wisbech, left by Geo. Metham in 1685; Lawrence's, for coats for poor men, from land in Leake, left by Robt. Lawrence in 1721.
The Horncastle canal traverses the parish, but is now a derelict.
There was formerly a castle in this parish, the residence of a family of the name of Coningsby, but no traces of it remain, unless it be in an ancient dovecote, placed among some fine trees to the east of the village.
The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a large, and originally a fine, church, consisting of nave, with north and south aisles, an apsidal modern chancel, and a massive western tower. This latter is of Perpendicular date, very plain, but of excellent ashlar work; it has a clock and six bells. The ground stage has open arches to the north and south, with a groined roof above, and a thoroughfare through it. In the eastern wall of the south porch is a stoup, which was formerly open, both within the porch and outside it. Over the porch is a parvis or priest's chamber. Outside the church, near the top of the wall of a cupola-shaped finial of the rood loft turret is an old sun dial. The interior of the nave has a massive heavy roof of beams somewhat rudely cut, with traces of former colouring.
The four western bays of the arcade are Early English, with low arches, ​the easternmost bay seems to have been added at a later date, the arch higher and wider. The moulding between two of the north arches terminates in a head, on each side of which an evil spirit is whispering. Another terminal is the head of a woman wearing the "branks," or "scold's bridle." On the south side of the chancel arch is a rood loft staircase turret, of which both the lower and upper door remain.
At the restoration in 1872 the clerestory windows were spoilt by being reduced in height; externally their original design remains. In the centre of the nave are two large sepulchral slabs, once bearing brasses, which are now gone, representing two civilians and their wives. The apsidal chancel is quite out of keeping with the rest of the fabric. There are some remains of the old carved oak screen, and south of the communion table is an Early English capital, with piscina behind it.
St. Michael's Church, Coningsby.
The Notes on Churches, by Gervase Holles, shew that in his time (circa 1630) the windows of this church abounded in coloured glass, of which not a vestige remains. He gives, among the devices, the arms of Marmyon, Dymoke, Hillary, Welles, Hattecliffe, Umfraville, Willoughby, Ros, Tateshale, Bernake, Crumwell, Huntingfield, Rochfort, Beke, Boucher, Waterton, Hebden, Deyncourt, France and England, &c.
Among the rectors of this parish have been two poets, one the laureate of his day (1718), the Rev. Laurence Eusden, who died 1730. The other, John Dyer, was born 1700, appointed to the benefice in 1752, by Sir John Heathcote, ​was the author of Grongar Hill, The Fleece, and The Ruins of Rome; he was honoured with a sonnet by Wordsworth.
A congregation of Baptists was formed here under the Commonwealth, with an endowment for a minister. The society still exists, their present chapel being erected in 1862; they have also a day school, built by Mr. John Overy in 1845. The Wesleyans have a chapel, built in 1825, and others at Hawthorn Hill, Haven Bank, Moorside, and Meer Booth. The Primitive Methodists have a chapel, built in 1854, others at Reedham Corner and Scrub Hill.
Of the early history of this parish we have scattered notices in various documents. In Domesday Book we find that Sortibrand, son of Ulf the Saxon, who was one of the lagmen of Lincoln, held a Berewick in Coningsby. Land here is mentioned among the Conqueror's possessions. The powerful favourite of the Conqueror, Robert Despenser, laid claim to a fishery and lands in Coningsby; and the juryman of the wapentake of Horncastle decided that his claim was good, because Achi, his Saxon predecessor, had held the same in the time of Edward the Confessor. From the same source we find that two other powerful Normans held land here, viz. Hugo d' Abrincis, surnamed "Lupus," or "The Wolf," from his fierce character; and Drogo de Bruere, who had the Conqueror's niece to wife.
As with other parishes in this soke, we find from a Feet of Fines, 9 Henry III., No. 52, that Ralph de Rhodes then held lands here. Subsequently the Marmyons, Dymokes, and Taillebois, all connected in the blazonry of the former memorial windows (as before mentioned), held property in the parish. By a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, taken 31st May, 10 Henry VII., No. 72 (A.D. 1495), it was found that Robert Taillebois, Knt., with John Gygour, Warden of the college of Tateshale, was seized of the manor; while, further, in a Feet of Fines, 19 Henry VII. (1503), John Mordaunt is acknowledged by Sir Edward Poynings, Sir Thomas Fynes, and others, to be the owner of lands in Coningsby, and elsewhere in the soke. He held at least four other manors, and lands in many other parishes. Also a Feet of Fines, 21 Henry VII. (1505), it was agreed before Humphrey Coningsby, Sergeant at Law, Sir Giles Daubeney, and others, that the Bishop of Winchester held certain property here.
The Dymokes were patrons of the benefice; Sir Charles Dymoke presenting in 1682, after which the patronage passed to the Heathcote family (Liber Regis and Ecton's Thesaurus). But an earlier connection with the Dymokes is shewn by a tombstone commemorative of "Anna, daughter of Thomas Dymoke, and his wife Margaret, que obijt ... A$^o$ D$^{ni}$ 1462."
In connection with the Humphrey Coningsby, named above, we have already mentioned that a castellated residence in this parish belonged to a family of that name. This Humphrey was Judge of the King's Bench, and bought Hampton Court, co. Hereford, of Sir Thomas Cornwall, about 1510; where was preserved a painting of the old mansion at Coningsby Thomas Coningsby was knighted by Elizabeth in 1591. Sir Fitz-William Coningsby was Sheriff of the county, 1627; and for his loyalty to Charles I. his estates were confiscated by the Puritans. His son was rewarded with a peerage by Charles II.; and saved the life of King William at the battle of the Boyne; ​but his two sons dying early, and he having no further issue, the title became extinct.
In the List of Gentry of Lincolnshire, made at the Herald's Visitation in 1634, we find the name of Clinton Whichcote, of Coningsby, a member of an old county family, still occupying a good position.
WILKSBY.
Wilksby lies about halfway between the parishes of Wood Enderby and Moorby, at a distance of about five miles from Horncastle, in a south-easterly direction. Letters from Boston via Revesby, arrive about 10.30 a.m.
The ancient history of this parish is much the same as that of the adjoining parish of Moorby on the east, and Wood Enderby on the west. It is called in Domesday Book Wilchesbi, and Wilgesbi. At the date of that survey (1086) there were four soc-men and five bordars, who had one carucate (or 120 acres) of land, and 20 acres of woodland; while the lord of the manor had one carucate in demesne, and five villeins, with two oxen in another carucate; with 20 acres of meadow and 40 acres of underwood; so that, like the neighbouring Moor-by and Wood Enderby, this parish also was largely of a forest character.
In this parish there was also "a Berewick of 1½ carucates" (or 180 acres); a Berewick meaning an outlying farm (from "bere" barley, and "wick" a village) belonging to another manor.
The parish was one of the estates taken by the Conqueror for himself, probably then forming part of the great Tumby Chase. He afterwards granted the manor to his steward, Robert Despenser, a powerful Norman noble, the ancestor of the Earls of Gloucester, brother of the Earl Montgomery, and of Urso de Abetot, hereditary sheriff of Worcestershire. He held 15 manors in Lincolnshire, and 17 in Leicestershire, beside others elsewhere.
Being in the Soke of Horncastle, it would be connected with that manor, as were so many other neighbouring parishes; and doubtless by a similar process, to the cases of Moorby and Wood Enderby, it belonged successively to the Brandons, Dukes of Suffolk; the Cecils, Earls of Exeter; the Howards, Earls of Berkshire; and finally, by purchase, passed to the Banks family, and through them to the Stanhopes.
Among the Assize Rolls (No. 319, m 9 d) is a plea, made at Hertford, 10th May, 1247, in which "Joan de Leweline (with another) offered herself against Silvester, Bishop of Karlisle," in a suit concerning "£20 of rent in Enderby, Moreby, Wilkesby and Cuningby, and the advowson of the church Moreby," in which the bishop failed to appear. But in a Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 32 Henry III., No. 131, an agreement was made (21st July, A.D. 1248) by which the said Joan de Lewelyn (and others) did homage to the bishop, for these lands in Enderby, "Welkeby," &c., and the advowson of "Moresby," the bishop in turn granting to them "the homage and whole service of Ivo, son of Odo de Tymelby"; and they holding the land, &c., "in chief of the aforesaid bishop; and doing therefor the fourth part of the service of one knight."
In another document, a Final Concord, dated 27th May, 1240, between Alan de Dauderby and Alice de Lysurs, it was agreed that Alice should ​"acquit him of the service which Robert de Theleby exacts ... of half a knight's fee, for which she is mesne." She further agrees that Alan and his heirs shall hold certain tenements of Alice and her heirs; to wit, 12 oxgangs and 80 acres of land, two messuages, with a rent of 12s. 8d., and two parts of a mill in Theleby, Wilkeby, Burton; and a meadow called Utemyng, for the service a fourth part of a knight's fee; and for this Alan gave her 10 marks.
The former of these records shews that, like the other parishes connected with the Manor of Horncastle, the Bishops of Carlisle were at one period patrons of the benefice (and probably owners of the manor) of Wilkesby; but, while in the case of several other parishes, this patronage continues (only transferred to the Bishops of Manchester) to the present day, the patronage of Wilksby passed to others. According to Liber Regis in 1711 and 1720 Lewis Dymoke presented to the benefice. In 1764, by some arrangement, George Willows, Gent., presented; but again, in 1833, it was in the patronage of the Hon. the Champion, H. Dymoke, who appointed to the rectory a relative, the Rev. J. Bradshaw Tyrwhitt, one of a very old, knightly, Lincolnshire family, the Tyrwhitts of Stainfield, Kettleby, &c. A tablet to his memory is erected in the church at Scrivelsby. The patronage was subsequently acquired by J. Banks Stanhope, Esq., and is annexed to the chaplaincy of Revesby, which has no permanent endowment.
Among the List of Gentry of Lincolnshire, made at the Herald's Visitation in 1634, and preserved at the Heralds' College, along with the Dymocks of Scrivelsby, Haltham, Kyme and Lincoln, is Paganell Hartgrave of Wilksby.
The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a mean structure, erected in the 18th century, of brick and Spilsby sandstone, standing on the site of an earlier church, of which nothing seems to remain except the font. It consists of nave and chancel, both on a very small scale, and a wooden bell-turret, with one small bell. The north and west walls are of sandstone, the former covered with a thick coating of tar to keep out the moisture; the east wall has alternate layers of brick and sandstone. Some improvements have been made in recent years, much needed to make it even a decent place of worship. The two two-light trefoiled windows in the south wall of the nave have been framed in stone instead of wood, and filled with green glass. The east window of the chancel has wooden mullions interlaced, and it has been adorned with paper representations of, in the centre the Ascension, to the left the Saviour holding an infant in his arms, to the right the child Jesus sitting among the doctors in the temple.
The roof of the chancel is apsidal, externally, as well as the nave, covered with modern house tiles. Internally the nave has a flat ceiling of deal boards. The pulpit and seats are painted wainscot; there is a small modern oak reading desk, and a lectern to match it. The chancel arch is a plain semicircle, but on its eastern side has a pointed Early English arch. The chancel rails are of modern oak, slightly carved; and there is a deal credence table. The 14th century font has a massive octagonal bowl, with large trefoils in each face, and grotesquely carved heads at the angles; the shaft being plain octagonal. The improvements were made in 1896, at the cost of the late Mrs. Stanhope.
​The register dates from 1562. In recent years the incumbency of Claxby Pluckacre, where the church had gone to ruins, has been annexed to the rectory of Wilksby, the joint value of the two being about £300 a year. They are held by the Rev. P. O. Ashby, Chaplain of Revesby.
LANGRIVILLE & THORNTON-LE-FEN.
These are modern accretions to the Soke of Horncastle, made in the early years of the 19th century. They are distant southward from Horncastle about 13 miles; situated in a tract of land called Wildmore Fen, lying about midway between Coningsby to the north, and Boston to the south. At various periods inundated by the sea, this continued, to the end of the 18th century, more or less a region of morass; available in the summer for grazing, but generally during the winter under water; when all cattle had to be removed for safety to the lands under cultivation at the homesteads of the farmers; and if by chance the farmer was behindhand in removing them, and the floods became frozen, it was a common thing for his cattle, while slipping about on the ice, to be split up, or, as it was locally termed, "screeved," and so become helpless, and fit only for slaughter.
An Act of Parliament was passed in 1787 or 1788, and commissioners were appointed, for the drainage of this and adjoining similar tracts; but little was done until 1800, when the able engineer, Mr. John Rennie, submitted his plans for the drainage to the commissioners. His first report, dated April 7th, 1800, estimated the cost of draining Wildmore Fen alone at £29,702; the total outlay, for that and adjoining fens, being put at nearly £215,000. By 1812 these operations were completed; and in that year an Act was passed making these lands parochial, and assigning the two portions above named to the Soke of Horncastle.
LANGRIVILLE.
Langriville, so called because it is near Langrick (or Long Creek) on the Witham, has an area of 2,514 acres, including Langrick Ferry; rateable value £3,300. The population is entirely engaged in agriculture. The nearest railway station is at Langrick, in the parish.
It consists of the southern portion of Wildmore Fen, which at the enclosure was allotted to the Earl of Stamford and Warrington, in lieu of his manorial rights over Armtree and Wildmore; with other lands sold by the Drainage Commissioners, early in the 19th century. The Earl's estates afterwards passed, by purchase, to the late J. Fretwell Bramley and others. The present Lord of the Manor is Lord Malcolm, of Poltallock; and he, the Rector of Coningsby, the executors of Lady Ingram Watkin, J. Linton, Esq., of Stirtcoe, Buckden, Herts., Harrison Hayter, Esq., W. Goodenough Hayter, Esq., Mr. Jonathan Fox, of Boston, E. Harrison, Esq., and Mr. William Pepper are the largest land owners.
A small brick church was erected in 1831, consisting of nave, chancel and ​bell turret; and repaired and improved in 1885, by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Bishop of Lincoln is patron; and the Rev. W. Fitz-Harry Curtis is the incumbent, who has here a residence, with an income of £320 a year.
The Wesleyans have a chapel at Langrick Ferry, also in Armtree Road. By an order in council, dated 26th August, 1881, Langriville and Thornton-le-Fen were united, under the title of "The Consolidated Chapelry of Wildmore." There is a church at each place. At the time of the enclosure fen allotments were assigned to various of the older parishes, and these are many of them now included in this modern district, comprising parts of Fishtoft Fen, of Coningsby, of Kirkstead, Scrivelsby, Woodhall, Dalderby, and Martin. The entire area is now 10,500 acres, and population 1,470.
The National School, erected in 1857, is at Gipsy Bridge, now under a School Board.
THORNTON-LE-FEN.
Thornton-le-Fen adjoins Langriville, lying to the east of it, about three miles from Langrick railway station. The area was originally about 1,425 acres, including Bunkers Hill, part of Gipsy Bridge, and other scattered farms, which were sold by the Drainage Commissioners early in the 19th century, when it was made, by Act of Parliament, a parochial township. Rateable value £1,979. It has its name from the former chief proprietors, the Thornton family; but the chief land owners now are Lord Malcolm of Poltalloch, the Pepper, Ireland, Creasey, Ward, and Wilcock families. The soil is clay, and very fertile.
The church, which was built on the Fen Chapel Estates in 1816, is a small brick building, containing 200 sittings; the benefice, valued at £100 a year, is in the gift of the Bishop of Lincoln, and by order in council, dated 26th August, 1881, was consolidated with the chapelry of Langriville; the two being of the united yearly value of £320, and held by the Rev. W. Fitz-Harry Curtis, who resides at the latter place.
A good school and master's house were erected in 1880, by the School Board of Wildmore Fen, at a cost of about £1,200, to accommodate 168 children. The Wesleyans have a chapel at New York and Bunkers' Hill. The Primitive Methodists have also a chapel.
The Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to whom the Fen Chapel Estates were transferred in 1876, pay £120 a year for a curate, who now is the Rev. Harold E. Curtis. The total area is now 10,500 acres, and population 1,470.
Note.—Other parishes have once been in the Soke of Horncastle, which no longer belong to it. Domesday Book gives Scrivelsby, "Langton and (its) Thorpe" (from which I write; "Thorpe" being doubtless the outlying district recently known as Langton St. Andrew), and also Edlington. How these became separated is not known. As suggested by the author of Scrivelsby the home of the Champions, Scrivelsby, as a barony of the Marmyon and Dymoke families, would probably be separated by payment of a fine; such powerful families preferring not to be sub-ordinated to another manor. Several Dymokes, however, were buried at Horncastle, where are their monuments.
* ↑ Mr Isaac Taylor in his Words and Places (p. 201, ed. 1873), says "I cannot discover any indication of the place where the Lincolnshire 'Thing' (the Saxon 'County Council') assembled, unless it was at Thimbleby or Legbourne." There are, however, several parishes containing the element "thing" in their field names; for instance there is one in Welton near Lincoln; there is a Candlesby Thyng, a Norcotes Thyng, and Ravenworth Thyng, named in a Chancery Inquisition, 20 Henry VII., No. 133, &c. (Architectural Society's Journal, 1895, p. 38.) These were probably the localities where smaller parish meetings were held.
* ↑ A superior tenant, holding under Bishop Odo, was a rather important man in the county, frequently mentioned in documents of the period, as Alan of Lincoln. He also held lands in Langton and other parishes in the neighbourhood. (Survey of Lindsey, Cotton MS., British Museum. Claudius, c. 5. A.D. 1114-1118.)
* ↑ Notices of Hagworthingham.
* ↑ Albemarle, or Aumarle, was a town in Normandy, now called Aumale, whence the Duc d'Aumale, of the Royal family of France, takes his title. Probably the Earl put in a claim for this demesne indirectly, because (as already slated) Adeliza, Countess of Albemarle, was sister of Bishop Odo, the former Lord of Thimbleby.
* ↑ The Gaunts took their name from Gande, now Ghent, in Flanders. Gilbert was the son of Baldwyn, Earl of Flanders, whose sister was married to William the Conqueror. He was thus nephew to the Conqueror's consort. He held 113 manors in Lincolnshire besides many others elsewhere. Both he and his son Walter largely endowed Bardney Abbey. The name of Gaunt still survives in our neighbourhood.
* ↑ Notes on Bolingbroke, &c.
* ↑ Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 31 Edward I.
* ↑ Architectural Society's Journal, 1897, p. 52.
* ↑ It may be nothing more than an accidental coincidence that the name of Bartholomew occurs in the Thimbleby Register in modern times.
* ↑ These charters belong to the Rev. J. A. Penny, Vicar of Wispington, by whom they were communicated to Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. v, No. 38, April, 1897.
* ↑ Harleian Charter, British Museum, 43 G, 52, B.M. Lincs. Notes & Queries, Oct., 1898, p. 244.
* ↑ Chancery Inquisition post mortem 6 Ed. III.
* ↑ Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 34 Ed. III., and notes thereon, Architectural Society's Journal, 1896, p. 257.
* ↑ Court of Wards Inquisition, 3, 4, 5 Ed. VI., vol. 5, p. 91.
* ↑ Harleian Charter, British Museum, 56 B, 49 B.M.
* ↑ Myntlyng MS. of Spalding Priory, folio 7 b.
* ↑ At the time of the Norman Conquest, according to Sir Henry Ellis, there were 222 parish churches in the county, and only 131 resident priests. Sharon Turner gives 226 churches, about half without a resident minister.
* ↑ Hundred Rolls, p. 299. Oliver's Religious Houses, p. 78.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, 1898, p. 135.
* ↑ History of Lincolnshire, p. 334.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. ii, p. 38.
* ↑ I have been informed of this by the Rev. Edwin Richard Kemp, of St Anne's Lodge, Lincoln, who is a scion of a collateral branch of the family, to be named next amongst the successive owners of the Hall garth.
* ↑ Weir's History of Lincolnshire, p. 334.
* ↑ Henry Kemp and "Elinor" Panton were married in 1723. They had a numerous family, including Michael, baptized May 2nd, 1731; Thomas, baptized 1737, married 1768; and Robert, baptized 1740 married 1766. Thomas and Robert were family names, which occurred in successive generations. There were other branches of the family, whose representatives still survive; including the Rev. Edwin R. Kemp, already referred to, whose grandfather was first cousin of the last Thomas Kemp residing at the Hall-garth. When the Kemp property was sold, a portion, at one time belonging to William Barker, was bought by the Rev. R. E. Kemp of Lincoln.
* ↑ N. Bailey's Dictionary, 1740.
* ↑ The Saxon word "cæmban" meant "to comb," whence our words "kempt" and "unkempt," applied to a tidy, neatly trimmed, or combed, person, and the reverse; or used of other things, as Spenser, in his Faery Queen, says: "I greatly lothe thy wordes, Uncourteous and unkempt."—Book III., canto x, stanza xxix. On the other hand, more than 100 years before the days of the Huguenots, there was a Cardinal John Kemp, afterwards consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, A.D. 1452, born at Wye, near Ashford in Kent. In the old Rhyming Chronicle "Lawëman's Brut," of date about A.D. 1205, we find "Kemp" used as a parallel to "Knight," or warrior; as "Three hundred cnihtes were also Kempes, The faireste men that evere come here." ("Hengist and Horsa," Cottonian MS., Brit. Mus, "Otho," c. xiii.) ("Morris's Specimens of early English," p. 65.) In Bedfordshire there is a village named Kempston, which, like Campton in the same county, is supposed to be derived from the Saxon "Kemp," meaning "battle." Taylor's Words and Places, p. 206.
* ↑ One of these Marshalls began life as the owner of property, hunting in "pink," &c., but ended his days as the clerk of a neighbouring parish. Another had a public-house and farm in another near parish; his descendant is a beneficed clergyman in the diocese of Exeter.
* ↑ There were six bells in the original church. These were sold by the said churchwarden, who would appear to have been a zealous iconoclast. According to one tradition they went to Billinghay, but as the church there has only three bells; this is probably an error. Another version is that they were transferred to Tetford church; had the removal occurred in the time of the Thimblebys, this might not have been improbable, as they were patrons of that benefice; but several other churches claim this distinction, and, further, there are only three bells in that church, so that this again is doubtless a mistake.
* ↑ Gervase Holles gives the following as the inscription existing in his time (circa 1640), "Hic jacet Gulielmus Brackenburg et Emmotta ejus uxor, qui quidem Gulielmus obiit 6 die Januarii, An'o D'ni 1476, quorum a'iabus p'pitietur Deus. Amen." There are, he adds, "figures of themselves upon the stone, and ten children, all in brasse." Harleian MS., Brit. Mus, No. 6,829, p. 177.
* ↑ In Magna Britannia it is stated that he held 15 manors in this county. In connection with the Paganell family it may here be noted that a daughter, Maud, of Gilbert de Gaunt, married a Norman, Ralph Fitzooth; their son William Fitzooth married the daughter of Beauchamp Paganell; from whom sprung Robert Fitz Ooth, commonly known as Robin Hood. Stukeley, Palæol Brit., vol. ii, p. 115.
* ↑ Guardian, Jan. 18th, 1905.
* ↑ Monasticon, vol. i, 564-565.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iv, pp. 16, 17.
* ↑ Weir's History of Lincolnshire, vol. i, p. 335. Ed. 1828.
* ↑ Harleian MSS., No. 6,829, p. 342.
* ↑ It contains several entries of baptisms during the Commonwealth, a period when, frequently, only births were allowed to be registered.
* ↑ Testa de Nevill, folio 248 (536).
* ↑ Testa de Nevill, fol. 348 (556).
* ↑ Domesday Book.
* ↑ Soc-men were small tenants who held their lands under the lord, on the terms of doing certain agricultural service for him Bordars, from the Saxon "bord" a cottage, were a lower class of smaller tenants, who had a cottage and small allotment, supplying to the lord more continuous labour, and also eggs and poultry. By statute of Queen Elizabeth (31 Eliz., c. 7), which probably only confirmed old usage, at that time liable to fall into abeyance, it was enacted that any proprietor erecting a new cottage should be compelled to attach thereto four acres of land. If something like this were done in these days we should probably hear less of the rural population migrating to the towns, to the increase of pauperage. There was a third still lower class of dependents, not here mentioned, named villeins, who performed the meanest labours; these were attached either to the land, or to the person of the owner, and could be transferred from one to another owner, like goods or chattels. Such a position of serfdom is unknown to the agricultural labourer of modern times; and their name, as having belonged to the lowest grade of society, now only survives as a synonym for a dishonest person, a scoundrel or villain.
* ↑ A "trentall" was thirty masses for the dead to be celebrated on thirty several days.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol iv, pp. 12-13.
* ↑ Weir's History, ed. 1828, p. 335.
* ↑ Mr. Taylor in his Words and Places, p. 130, says that "there is hardly a river named in England which is not celtic, i.e. British. The name Waring is British; garw, or gwarw, is welsh, i.e. British, and appears in other river names, as the Yarrow and Garry in Scotland, and the Garonne in France.
* ↑ This bridge was taken down and a wider and more substantial one erected in 1899.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol iii. p. 218.
* ↑ Ibid., pp. 87, 88.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iv. pp. 212, 213.
* ↑ Canon Maddison, Architectural Society's Journal, 1897, p. 162.
* ↑ In the old Register Book of Burials, &c., of the parish of "Toynton Inferior," is an entry of the burial of "—— Newcomen y$^e$ 17th November, 1592." The christian name is undecipherable.
* ↑ Sewer is a common local name for a drain, or even a clear running stream. Such a stream, called the Sewer, rises at Well-syke Wood in this parish, and runs into the Witham river, nearly four miles distant, perfectly limpid throughout its course. As to the name Well-syke, "sike" is an old term for a "beck," or small running stream. "Sykes and meres" are frequently mentioned in old documents connected with land. The word syke is doubtless connected with "soak," and this wood was so named because the "syke" welled up within a marshy part of it.
* ↑ Architectural Society's Journal, vol. xxiii pp. 122 and 132.
* ↑ Harleyan MS., No. 6829, p. 244.
* ↑ It was at Roughton in 1631.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, pp. 245-6.
* ↑ Harleyan MS., No. 6829, p. 245.
* ↑ Sir Jos. Banks was Lord of the Manor.
* ↑ Archdeacon Churton's English Church; Introd. Domesday Book, by C. Gowen Smith, p. xxxii.
* ↑ Harleyan MS., No. 6829, p. 218.
* ↑ Burn's Justice, vol. v, pp. 823-4.
* ↑ Revesby Deeds & Charters, published by Right Hon. E. Stanhope, No. 150.
* ↑ Architectural Society's Journal, 1894, p. 214.
* ↑ Architectural Society's Journal, 1891, p. 24, and 1897, pp. 145-163.
* ↑ Architectural Society's Journal, 1897, pp. 75, 79.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, p. 215.
* ↑ A pamphlet on The Ayscough family and their connections, by J. Conway Walter, 1896.
* ↑ Lincolnshire Wills, by Canon Maddison.
* ↑ At this early period, partly perhaps owing to laxity of morals, but partly because the papal supremacy was not fully recognised, celibacy of the clergy was not strictly enforced. On the accession of Queen Mary great numbers of them were found to be married She issued "Injunctions" to the bishops in 1553-4, ordering them to deprive all such of their benefices; although some of them, on doing public penance, were restored to their position. In the Lincoln Lists of Institutions to Benefices, at that period, many of the vacancies are stated to have occurred, owing to the deprivation of the previous incumbent; and in some cases, as at Knebworth, Herts., and at Haversham, Bucks. (both then in the Lincoln diocese), it is specified that the incumbent so deprived was married (sacerdos conjugatus). Lincs, Notes & Queries, vol. v, p. 174.
* ↑ One derivation of the name Revesby is from "reeve," a fox, or rover, and we still call the fox the little red rover."
* ↑ The Glenham family were at one time located at Miningsby; when the Revesby estates passed from the Duke of Suffolk, Thomas Glenham, Esq., with Sir Henry Sidney, and some others, succeeded to different portions.
* ↑ Words and Places, by J. Taylor.
* ↑ This tract of forest probably was very extensive. We know that in the north-west of the county, and extending to near Doncaster, there was the forest of Celidon; south of that was Sherwood forest. In Holland there was the forest of "Haut Huntre" (its Norman name); and there is a tradition, in our neighbourhood, of a church, not far from Old Bolingbroke, being called "St. Luke's in the Forest," now known as Stickney; this name itself probably meaning a "sticken," or staked, island; a kind of preserved oasis, or clearing, in a wilderness of wood and morass. Architctural Society's Journal, 1858, p. 231.
* ↑ This has also been quoted in the Notes on High Toynton; and another case of a similar tenure of land is mentioned in the Notes on Hameringham.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, pp. 245-6.
* ↑ Domesday Book, "Land of Robert Despenser."
* ↑ In Domesday Book the chief features are "the woodland" and "fisheries" no less than 10 of the latter are named as belonging to Robert Despenser.
* ↑ Harleyan MS., No. 6829, pp. 179-182, given in Weir's History of Horncastle, pp. 50-53.
* ↑ In the reign of Mary Sir Edward Dymoke married Anne, daughter of Sir G, Taillebois.
* ↑ Gentleman's Magazine, April, 1826.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. ii, p. 108.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iv, pp. 119-120.
* ↑ Mr. Tyrwhitt, like many other clergy in his day, was non-resident; the duty being performed by a curate, the Rev. W. Robinson, who held also the rectory of Moorby, but resided in Horncastle.
* ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. ii, p. 39.
* ↑ The writer of these notes in his youth used to visit a farmer, living in the fen, whose father was among the first to erect his farmstead in that locality. He had first to solidify the site of his dwelling by importing soil by boat; and, when that was effected, to import by boat all the materials for the buildings; the construction of roads followed; and thus in course of time a waste of morass became one of the most fertile tracts in the country.