Transcribed from the 1904 W. K. Morton edition, by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

Photograph of J. Conway Walter with his signature

Records,
HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN,
OF
Parishes Round Horncastle.

BY
J. CONWAY WALTER,

Author of “Records of Woodhall Spa,” “The Ayscoughs,”
“Literæ Laureatæ,” &c.

Ancient Chrismatory, see page 38.

Horncastle:
W. K. Morton, High Street,
1904.

PREFACE.

In perusing the following pages, readers, who may be specially interested in some one particular parish with which they are connected, may in certain cases be disappointed on not finding such parish here described, as they have previously seen it, along with the others, in the columns of the “Horncastle News,” where these ‘Records’ first appeared. This may arise from one of two causes:—

(1) The volume published in 1899, entitled “Records of Woodhall Spa and Neighbourhood” (which was very favourably received), contained accounts of parishes extending from Somersby and Harrington in the east of the district, to Horsington and Bucknall in the west, with others between; as being likely to interest visitors to that growing health resort. These, therefore, do not find a place in this volume.

(2) Further it is proposed that in the near future this volume shall be followed by a “History of Horncastle,” already approaching completion, and with it accounts of the fourteen parishes within its “soke.” These, again, are, consequently, not here given.

The Records of all these different parishes will be found in the volumes to which they respectively belong.

In again submitting a work of this character to the many friends whom his former volume has gained for him, the author wishes to say that he is himself fully alive to its imperfections; none could be more so. In not a few instances it has, almost perforce, come short of his own aim and aspirations; the material available in connection with some of the parishes described having proved meagre beyond expectation. In many chains links have been lost; there are gaps—in some cases a yawning hiatus—which it has been found impossible to fill.

Further, as the account of each parish was intended originally to be complete in itself, and several parishes have, at different periods, had the same owners, there will be found, of necessity, some cases of repetition as to individuals, their character, or incidents connected with them.

Anyone who reads the book will see that it has involved no small amount of labour; whether in visiting (always on foot) the many localities described (in all more than 70 parishes having been visited); or in the careful search and research, necessary in many directions, for the information required.

In both these respects, however, the task has been a congenial one, and of more or less engrossing interest, thus bringing its own reward.

It has been said by a thoughtful writer that no one can enjoy the country so thoroughly as the pedestrian who passes through it leisurely.

We all, instinctively (if not vitiated), have a love of the country. As Cowper has said:—

“’Tis born with all; the love of Nature’s works
Is an ingredient in the compound man,
Infused at the creation of his kind.”—(“The Task.”)

It is not, however, the cyclist, who rushes through our rural charms with head in the position of a battering ram, and frame quivering with the vibration engendered of his vehicle, who can dwell on these attractions with full appreciation. Nor is it his more reckless brother, the motorist, who crashes along our country roads, with powers of observation narrowed by hideous binocular vizor, and at a speed whose centrifugal force drives in terror every other wayfarer—chicken, child, woman, or man—to fly like sparks from anvil in all directions, if haply they may even so escape destruction. For him, we might suppose, the fascination must be to outstrip the thunderbolt, not to linger over mundane scenery. But to the man who walks deliberately, and with an observant eye for all about him, to him indeed nature unfolds her choicest treasures. Not only antiquities such as the British, Roman, or Danish camps on the hill sides above him have their special attractions; but the very hedge-rows and banks, with their wealth of flower and of insect life, the quarries with their different fossils, the ice-borne boulders scattered about, and even the local, and often quaint, human characters, whom he may meet and chat with. All these afford him sources of varied interest as well as instruction.

The process, again, of antiquarian investigation is absorbing and recuperative, alike to man and matter, bringing to life, as it were, habits and customs long buried in the “limbo” of the past, re-clothing dry bones with flesh, uniting those no longer articulate; like the kilted warriors springing to their feet, on all sides, from the heather, at the signal of some Rhoderick Dhu. Here also, albeit, the recording MSS and folios may be “fusty,” knights of old are summoned up, as by a long forgotten roll-call, to fight their battles over again; or high-born dames and “ladyes fayre,” may unfold anew unknown romances.

With our span-new Rural, Urban and County Councils, we are apt to fancy that only now, in this twentieth century, is our little world awakening to real activity; but the antiquary, as by a magician’s wand, can conjure up scenes dispelling such illusions; and anyone, who reads the following pages, may see that the humblest of our rural villages may have had a past of stirring incident, which must be little short of a revelation to most of its present occupants, “not dreamt of in their simple philosophy.”

Among the calls of other duties, to one whose occupations are by no means limited to this particular field of labour, the work had often, of necessity, to be suspended, and so its continuity was liable to be broken into a collection of disjecta corporis membra. Such, however, as they are, the author submits these ‘Records’ to future generous readers, in the confident hope that they will make due allowance for the varied difficulties with which he has had to contend.

He could wish the results attained were more worthy of their acceptance; but he has some satisfaction in the feeling that, in his humble degree, he has opened up, as it were, a new world (though still an old one) for their contemplation.

A popular writer has said: “To realise the charm and wealth of interest of a country side, even in one’s armchair, is an intellectual pleasure of no mean order.” If the old-time incidents found in the following pages enliven some of our modern “ingle neuks,” the author will, in some degree, have gained his reward.

J.C.W.

CORRIGENDA. [0]

Page 1, line 23, for moot-free read moot-tree.

„ 3, line 11, for Creœceur read Creveceur.

„ 8, line 24, for Sharford read Snarford.

„ 14, line 13, for resident read residence.

„ 18, line 20, for Ascham read Acham.

„ 19, line 9, for Anjon read Anjou.

„ 30, foot-note, for Anjon read Anjou.

„ 31, line 36, for Stukley read Stukeley.

„ 41, line 24, Richard, King, omit comma.

„ 44, line 28, Emperor of Constantine, omit of.

„ 45, line 18, for Improprietor read Impropriator.

„ 50, line 1, for Mabysshendery read Mabysshenderby.

„ 51, line 31, for Tessara read Tessera.

„ 56, line 41, for 1349 read 1846.

,, 67, line 23, for call read called.

„ 114, last line, for smalle read smaller.

„ 116, line 8, for Bernek read Bernak.

„ 119, line 9, for his misdeeds read their misdeeds.

„ 125, foot note, for one launcar read one lance.

„ 126, line 34, for 13th century read 18th century.

„ 128, line 35, for attatched read attached

„ 136, line 20, for a aumbrey read an aumbrey.

„ 136, line 42, for Canon Oldfield read Rev. G. R. Ekins.

„ 138, line 18, Asgarby Benefice is now held with Lusby, by Rev. C. E. Bolam.

„ 154, line 35, for right north read left north.

„ 169, line 29, for succumbuit read succubuit.

,, 170, line 16, for Almond read Salmond.

„ 171, line 22, for place read places.

„ 184, line 5, for sprays read splays.

„ 185, line 12, for similiar read similar.

„ 190, line 41, for Cladius read Claudius.

„ 194, line 3 5, for Creviceur read Creveceur.

NOTES ON PARISHES ROUND HORNCASTLE.

Ashby Puerorum

is situated about five miles from Horncastle in an eastern direction, lying between Somersby on the north-east, Greetham nearly west, and Hagworthingham almost south. It includes the hamlets of Stainsby and Holbeck. The register dates from 1627. Letters, via Horncastle, arrive at 10 a.m. At Tetford is the nearest money order and telegraph office, although there is in the village an office where postal orders and stamps can be obtained. The principal owners of land are Earl Manvers, the representatives of the late Mr. Pocklington Coltman, of Hagnaby Priory, and F. W. S. Heywood, Esq., of Holbeck Hall. The antiquity of the parish is implied in its name. “Ash” is the Danish “esshe” (the pronunciation still locally used), and “by” is Danish for “farmstead.” Indeed, the whole of the neighbourhood was overrun by the Danish Vikings, as is shewn by the termination “by,” which is almost universal, as in Stainsby, Somersby, three Enderbys, Spilsby, etc. The ash was probably the “moot” tree of the village, beneath whose spreading shade the elders sat in council. This tree was formerly held sacred. The “world-tree,” or “holy ash” of the Danish mythology (called by the Druids “Yggdrasil”) was supposed to have its top in heaven and its roots in hell [2a] (“Asgard and the Gods,” by Wagner). I am aware that another derivation has been suggested, viz., that “ash” represents the Norse “is,” “use,” “uisge” (compare river Ouse), all of which mean “water,” as in Ashbourne, where the latter syllable is only a later translation of the former, both meaning water. But I cannot see that water is so prominent a local feature as to give a name to this parish, nor to the other Ashbys in the neighbourhood. [2b]

The oldest official notice of the parish is in Domesday Book, where it is stated that “in Aschebi, Odincarle (Wodin’s churl) and Chilbert had 4 carucates (i.e., 480 acres) rateable” to the tax called “gelt,” their whole land being 5 carucates or 600 acres. This was in Saxon times. When William the Conqueror took possession these were deprived of their property, and he bestowed the manor on Odo, Bishop of Baieux, who was his half-brother on the mother’s side. On the bishop coming to England, William created him Earl of Kent, and also Count Palatine, and “Justitiarius Angliæ.” He was so powerful that historians of the day described him as “Totius Angliæ Vice-dominus sub rege,” second only to the King. He held, of the King’s gift, 76 manors in Lincolnshire, besides 463 in other parts. This greatness, however, was his ruin, for, from his pride and arrogancy, he incurred the Conqueror’s displeasure and was sent to prison in Normandy. On the Conqueror’s death, in 1084, King Rufus restored him to his honours, but, finding his power not so great as formerly, he headed a conspiracy against Rufus in favour of Robert, Duke of Normandy, and, failing in it, he fled to the Duke, who made him governor of that Province, where he died in 1097. Ashby Puerorum was thus again “in the market.”

The subsequent history of Ashby is more or less enveloped in the folding mists of antiquity. The clouds, however, do here and there lift a little, and we get a glimpse into the past which enables us to form a shrewd guess as to its early proprietors. Among the list of noble soldiers contained in the famous “Battle Roll” of the Conqueror, as coming over with him to England and fighting for him at Hastings, is the name of Creuquere, or Creveceur, Latinized as “De corde Crepito,” which some have rendered “of the craven heart,” not a very likely attribute of a brave soldier. We prefer another rendering, “of the tender heart,” and connect it with the legend of his rescuing a “ladye fayre” at the risk of his own life, who was kept “in durance vile” by a knight of ill repute, in his castle, situated in a lonesome forest. The name also took the alternative form of De Curcy. A de Curcy was seneschal, or High Steward, to Henry I., and it is a name which ranks high still. This Creveceur (we are not sure of his Christian name) was one of a doughty race. Giraldus Kambrensis tells us of one of them, who conquered the Irish kingdom of Ulster in 1177 (Hibernia Expugnata, lib. ii., c. 16, 17), and was created Earl of Ulster. He was of gigantic stature, and in a dispute between Kings Philip of France and John of England, the former sent one of his most redoubted knights to maintain his cause, but, the Creveceur being appointed champion for John, the Frenchman thought it best to show a clean pair of heels and shun the combat. In recognition of his valour this Knight was allowed by King John to wear his hat in the King’s presence, a privilege still enjoyed by Lord Kinsale, the present representative of the family. Lord Forester had the same privilege granted by Henry VIII.

Now the Creveceurs were lords of considerable territory in the neighbourhood of Ashby; for instance, at Bag Enderby, Somersby, Tetford, etc., and in the document “Testa de Nevill” (circa 1215) it is stated that Hugh Fitz Ralph is tenant, under the Barony of Cecilia de Creveceur, of lands in Ashby, Tetford, etc. Other documents lead us back a little further, as an “Assize Roll,” of date A.D. 1202, says that the property came from Matilda de Creveceur, who was the daughter and heir of Gislebert Fitz Gozelin, who held lands at Bag Enderby, etc., and this last is named as owner in Domesday Book.

Another name now appears. By an Assize Roll of 9 Edw. I. (A.D. 1280), Thomas de Houton claims of Robert de Kirketon, and Beatrix his wife, certain “rents and appurtenances in Ashby next Greetham (i.e., Ashby Puerorum), Stainsby,” etc.

The Kirketon family would seem eventually to have acquired a part of the manor of Ashby Puerorum, and from them it passed to Lord Cromwell of Tattershall. A Chancery Inquisition, held at Horncastle in 1453, shews that the College at Tattershall held the advowsons of Ashby Puerorum, Wood Enderby, Moorby, and several other benefices. By an Inquisition of the same date and place, the Jurors state that the Manors of Ashby Puerorum and certain other places belong to the Earl of Albemarle. After that, at the Dissolution of Religious Houses (Tattershall College being one), the King granted to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, most of their lands in the neighbourhood, including those in Ashby Puerorum. This brings us down to 1539. In course of time a general process of dissolution also took place in ownership of land. The lands owned in this parish by the Brandons, were sold (22 Elizabeth, i.e., in 1580) to James Prescott, gentleman, who married a daughter of Sir Richard Molineux, Knight. He had a son, John, whose widow married Lord Willoughby of Parham (Architect. S. Journal vol. xxiii., pp. 128, 9). By a Feet of Fines, held at Lincoln, of the same date, it is shewn that George Gedney, Esq., and his descendents, also had lands in this parish in 20 Henry VII. (A.D. 1504), etc. (Ibidem. p. 27.) All these lands ultimately passed to Tattershall College. But even before that date it would appear, by a Chancery Inquisition, held at Lincoln, A.D. 1504, that Joan Eland, [4] the widow of Thomas Gedney, held lands in Ashby Puerorum, Somersby, and other near places.

Another prominent family now appears as owning the manor of, or at least considerable lands in, Ashby Puerorum, viz., the Wentworths. A tradition remains that Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, in the reign of Charles I., and one of his Sovereign’s most faithful adherents, owned the manor of Greetham. I have not been able fully to verify this, but a lease of that parish was granted in 1685 (see my account of Greetham) to Sir William Wentworth, Knight, of Ashby Puerorum, who was son of Sir William Wentworth, who fell at the battle of Marston Moor, fighting for Charles I. The Parish Award shows that Thomas, Earl of Strafford, was Lord of the Manor in 1705. (“Architect. Soc. Journal,” 1891.)

The succession of the Wentworths to this property probably came about in this wise. We have seen that it passed from the Kirketons [5] to Lord Cromwell, and the Cromwells were succeeded, through a marriage on the female side, by the Fortescues; and Camden (“Britannia,” p. 266, ed. 1695) tells us that a daughter of Sir Adrian Fortescue (who was attainted) being heiress of her mother, married the first Baron Wentworth.

The Wentworths were a very ancient family. They are now represented by the Earls Fitzwilliam, one of whose names is Wentworth, and they own the princely residence of Wentworth Castle, near Rotherham. They trace their descent from Saxon Royalty, in the person of their ancestor, Sir William Fitz Godric, cousin to King Edward the Confessor. (“Beauties of England. Yorkshire,” p. 838.)

It is worthy of note that one of this family, accompanying William the Conqueror to England, fought so valiantly at the battle of Hastings that William gave him a scarf from his own arm (presumably), to stanch a wound. Drake, the historian, in his “Eboracensis,” gives plates of the Wentworth monuments in York Cathedral. The Barony of Wentworth still survives in the present Lord Wentworth, of Wentworth House, Chelsea, its creation dating from 1529.

We have now done with the Wentworths. Their property at Ashby descended, towards the end of the 18th century, to Mr. Stevens Dineley Totton, from whom it passed to Earl Manvers and the Coltman family.

We now take the hamlet of Stainsby, which lies to the north-east, distant about a mile, on the right of the road to Somersby. This was formerly the chief seat, in this neighbourhood, of the Littlebury family. We mention them in our Records of various other parishes. There are mural monuments of them in both Somersby Church and that of Ashby Puerorum; the former is a small brass, about 10in, broad by 14in. high, having a kneeling figure of George Littlebury, with the inscription, “Here lyeth George Littleburie of Somersbie, 7th sonne of Thomas Littleburie of Stainsbie, who died the 13th daye of October, in ye yeare of our Lord 1612, being about the age of 73 yeares.” The Littleburys were a very old family, coming originally from Littlebury Manor, near Saffron Walden, in the county of Essex, A.D. 1138. One of them was Chief Justice of England. Subsequently they had a fine residence at Holbeach Hurn, in South Lincolnshire, and large property in many other places. We have spoken already of the Kirketons, as connected with Ashby Puerorum and Sir Humphrey Littlebury, Knight, whose name appears in the Sheriffs List, in 1324, married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir John Kirkton (or Kirton), and so became Lord of Holbeach. Sir John Littlebury [6a] married a daughter of Thomas Meeres, an old and wealthy family, also of Kirton, [6b] and it would seem that it was through this marriage with the Kirtons of Kirton the Littleburys came to Stainsby. Sir Humphrey was buried in Holbeach Church, where there is a very fine tomb of him, now in the north aisle, but formerly “before the altar.” The effigy is that of a knight, encased in armour, the hands joined in prayer, the head resting on a woman’s head, which is enclosed in a net, the feet being supported by a lion. The sides are covered with roses, and there are four niches, with canopies, which probably held figures on a smaller scale. Two views of it are given by C. A. Stoddard, in his “Monumental Effigies of Great Britain” (London, 4to., 1817). The actual date of the Littleburys coming to Stainsby cannot be exactly ascertained, but they were there in the reign of Henry VIII.

A small proprietor in Stainsby is named in a Chancery Inquisition, 19 Henry VII., No. 20 (i.e., A.D. 1503), viz., John H. Etton, who, besides several other lands, held “one messuage and four cottages in Bag Enderby, Stanesby and Someresby,” which lands also passed to Tattershall College. (“Architect. Soc. Journal,” xxiii., p. 21.)

Stainsby (let not my readers be alarmed, for witches and warlocks are out of fashion in this unimaginative, or sceptical, age) has not been without its supernatural associations. I here give a colloquy held, not many months ago, with a quondam resident. (J. C. W. loquitur. F. C. respondet). “Well, C., did you ever hear of a ghost at Stainsby?” “Aye, that I did, mony a year sin’. When I were young, I lived i’ them parts, and I heard o’ one oftens.” “Did you ever see it yourself?” “Noa, I never seed it me-sen, but I knowed several as did.” “Where was it seen?” “Why, i’ mony places.” “Tell me one or two.” “Well, it were seen about Stayensby, haaf a mile afore ye come to Somersby, and it were seen about the esh-planting (notice the ‘esh,’ the old Danish pronunciation still surviving, the Danish for Ashby being Eshe-by), just afore ye go down to the brig o’er the beck.” “Can you name anyone who saw it?” “O, many on ’em, specially gean the brig.” “Name someone.” “Well, a waggoner living at Bag Enderby.” “What was it like?” “Well, a misty kin’ o’ thing. Ye could make nayther heead nor taal on it, only ye knew it was there, and it flitted unaccountable.” [7]

I will here give a few extracts from old documents connected with former owners, which may be of interest from their peculiarity, or otherwise.

John Gedney, of Bag Enderby, in his will, dated 14 June, 1535, mentions his lands in Ashby Puerorum and other parishes.

Margaret Littlebury, widow of Thos. Littlebury, Esq., of Stainsby, by her will, of date 2 January, 1582, requests that she may be buried in the Church of Ashby Puerorum, “near unto my husband.” She bequeaths to the poor of the parish, as also of Greetham, Salmonby, Somersby, Bag Enderby, and Hagg, the lease of the Parsonage of Maidenwell; a sheepwalk there to her sons George and Edward; to her daughter Anne, wife of Thomas Grantham, £10 (N.B.—The Granthams still survive); to her daughter, Elizabeth Fitzwilliam (a good family), £10; to her daughter, Katherine Wythornwyke, £5; to Thomas Dighton, son of Christopher Dighton, deceased (a family connected with several parishes), £10; “to Francis Atkinson, my warrener, 20s.” (“warrener” probably equivalent to gamekeeper). She refers to a schedule of plate, etc., bequeathed by her late husband to his deceased son, Humphrey, to be handed over to his son Thomas. She was a daughter of John St. Paul, of Snarford.

Thomas Littlebury, of Ashby, by will, proved June 10th, 1590, bequeathed to his wife Katherine £100, and “one goblett with gylte cover, two ‘tunnes’ (i.e., cups) parcel gilte, 6 silver spoons of the best, my gylte salte I bought of my uncle Kelke, with a cover.” (The Kelkes were related to the Kirtons of Kirkton). Then follow a number of bequests of property in various parts of the county. The husband makes his executors “my father-in-law, Charles Dymoke, my cousins Andrew Gedney and Thomas Copledike.” (N.B.—These are the Copledikes, of whom so many monuments exist in Harrington Church.)

George Littlebury, of Somersby, by will, dated 10 Sept., 1612, requests to be buried “in the Queare of Somersby Church,” and leaves 2s. to it, and 1s. to Ashby Church, and 1s. to Lincoln Cathedral. He wishes a stone to be placed over his grave, and his arms set in the wall, as his father’s were at Ashby. (N.B.—Both these stones and brasses still exist.)

When the Spanish Armada was expected, among the gentry who contributed to the defence of the country, at the Horncastle Sessions, 1586–7, was “John Littlebury of Hagworthingham Esq. ij. light horse.” At the same time “Thomas Littlebery of Staynsby Esq. [furnished] j. launce [and] j. light horse.” At the “Rising” in Lincolnshire (1536) against Henry VIII., on the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a previous John Littlebury was just deceased, but his son Humphrey took part in it, as also did Robert Littlebury, who was probably a son of Thomas Littlebury, of Stainsby.

The Littleburys and the Langtons of Langton intermarried more than once. In the reign of Henry VIII., Rose, daughter of John Littlebury of Hagworthingham, married John Langton, and in the next century (about 1620) Troth. daughter of Thomas Littlebury of Ashby Puerorum, married a son of Sir John Langton, Knt., High Sheriff of Lincolnshire. (“Architect. Soc. Journal,” vol. xxii., pp. 166–7). Probably it was owing to this connection that we find that Sir John Langton, of Langton, by his will, dated 25 Sept., 1616, leaves 20s. to the poor of Ashby, Langton, and several other places. (N.B.—I am indebted for these particulars to “Lincolnshire Wills,” edited by Canon Maddison of Lincoln.)

The second half of the name of this parish of Ashby Puerorum is derived from the fact that the rent of certain lands in the parish were assigned towards the support of the choristers of Lincoln Cathedral, which is now raised by a general rate of the parish, and, accordingly, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln are patrons of the benefice, a vicarage [9] which is now held by the Rev. Robert Ward, who resides at Hagworthingham.

One of the early Norman Barons, probably Gislebert Fitz Gozelin, erected here a gallows (Hundred Rolls, A.D. 1275). The site of this is not now known, unless it may be traced in a part of the parish lying in an easterly direction from the village, and named “Knowles,” possibly a corruption for “Knoll Hill,” a rising ground on which a gallows might well be placed as a conspicuous warning for future would-be offenders. A lane in the parish is called Galley Lane, which again may point to the former gallows.

Another field-name in the parish is not without interest, viz., Peaseholme. We have Peasedale gate (i.e., road) in Hameringham, Peasegate Lane at Spilsby, Peasewang (i.e., field) in High Toynton, and similar names in Louth and elsewhere. All these are indicating the general use of pulse as an article of diet in those early times.

Near the western end of the village is a farm named “Clapgate,” so called because the fugitive Royalists, after the battle of Winceby (Oct. 11, 1643), kept a neighbouring gate clapping all night in their haste to escape. Near this is a footpath across the fields, which leads to Holbeck Lodge, and here again, till recently, survived the same name, “Clapgate,” because there was formerly a gate near Holbeck Lodge, on the now high road to Salmonby, which was also kept in motion by other fugitives, to the disturbance of the slumbers of those living near. And this brings us to Holbeck, the other hamlet comprised in the parish of Ashby Puerorum, commonly described as “an extra-parochial liberty.”

The name Holbeck contains two Danish, or Norse, elements. “Hol” implies a hollow, connected with our word “hole.” We have it in the German Swiss Eulenthal, or hollow dale. “Beck” is Norse, corresponding to the German “bach,” as in Schwabach, Staubbach, Reichenbach, etc. Thus Holbech means a beck or stream running through a hollow. [10] The name Holbeck still exists in Denmark. Thus we have a name, like so many (as already remarked) in the vicinity, shewing the great immigration of Danes in this neighbourhood. There is also a Holbeck near Leeds, to which the Danes, who came up the Humber, extended their settlements. At the back, to the north of the present Holbeck Hall, is the rising ground named “Hoe Hill.” This again indicates the same. The How, or Hoe, is probably the Norse “Hof,” a holy place (found in such names as Ivanhoe, Ivinghoe, Piddinghoe, etc.), or it may have been the Norse “Haughr,” a burial place. In that case it may have been held sacred as the burial place of some Viking chief, who led his followers in their invasion of the district. It may be described as a truncated, and rather obtuse, cone, with a dyke, or scarpment, running round it, like a collar round the neck. There is a How Hill near Harrogate. We have also Silver-how, Bull-how, and Scale-how, which were probably the burial places of the chiefs Solvar, Boll, and Skall. But whether or not it once served these purposes, there can be little doubt that it has been a Danish encampment, and probably a stronghold of the Briton at a still earlier period. The dyke would form the outer defence of the height above, from which to charge down upon an enemy, laboriously breasting the hill, with overwhelming advantage to the defenders. Geologically, Hoe Hill is interesting, the ironstone, of which it is composed, being so totally different from the sandstone of Holbeck below. These lower rocks are said to be still the haunt of that much-baited, but harmless animal, the badger.

As to former owners of Holbeck, old title deeds show that it was formerly the property of Augusta Ann Hatfield Kaye, sister of Frederick Thomas, Earl of Stafford, who also, as we have seen, was lord of the manor of Ashby. She died at Wentworth Castle, and was buried at St. John’s Church, Wakefield, May 4, 1802, as I am informed by the present owner, F. W. S. Heywood, Esq. Old documents, still existing, show that the house at Holbeck was formerly called “The Grange,” and from this we may fairly infer that, before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was a “Grange,” or dependency, of Tattershall College, which owned other lands in Ashby. The site was well adapted for a monastic house, as they invariably chose a position near water, this being necessary for the supply of fish, which formed so large a portion of their diet when fasting days were so many.

Like some other parts of this parish, Holbeck also passed, at a later period, into the ownership of Mr. Stevens Dineley Totton, from whom Mr. John Fardell, of the Chantry, Lincoln, and formerly M.P. for that city, purchased this manor, about 1830. He took down the old residence, then a farmhouse, occupied by a Mr. Hewson, several of whose family are buried in the churchyard at Ashby, and built Holbeck Lodge, forming also the three lakes out of an extent of morass traversed by a brook, or beck. Portions of the old stables and outhouses still remain, but an interesting old circular dovecote [12a] was removed. There was, at that time, a watermill and cottage at the lower end of the lake. [12b]

The Lodge was subsequently bought by a Mr. Betts, but, through mortgages, it became the inheritance of a Miss Cunliffe, from whom Mr. Heywood recently bought it. This gentleman has made considerable improvements and additions to the residence, and one or two interesting discoveries have been made. In sinking a well there was found, at a depth of 20ft., an old key; also, as workmen were trying to trace a drain under the lawn, one of them dropped into a hollow below, where arches were found, apparently of ancient vaults. [12c] The monks of old knew what was meant by a good cellar, and these probably formed a part of the original monastic institution.

I now proceed to a description of the church of Ashby in the words of the late learned Precentor Venables, who gave it, on the visit of the Architectural Society in 1894 (which I conducted). “The chancel was restored in 1869 by the Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln. The rest was restored in 1877. The fabric consists of nave, north aisle chancel, porch, and western tower, having 2 bells. The main building is of the Early English style. A lancet window still remains in the south wall, and at the west end of the aisle. The other windows of the nave are mostly Perpendicular. On the south side of the chancel is a two-light square-headed window of the Decorated period. The arcade has two chamfered arches, on low cylindrical piers. The tower is low, of Perpendicular style, the green sandstone, picturesquely patched with brick, giving a mellowed tint to the whole. The west doorway is well proportioned, and the three-light Perpendicular window above it, and the tower arch are plain, but good. The font is plain octagonal. On the south wall is a brass to Richard Littlebury, of Stainsby, who died A.D. 1521, also his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edmund Jenny, died in 1523, and their ten children. [13] Haines says that this brass was not cut till 1560, at the same time with another of a knight in armour, without inscription, probably one of the six sons. In the pavement is a very fine incised slab of blue marble, representing a priest in Eucharistic vestments, with chalice on his breast. The head, hands, chalice, and other portions were of brass, but have disappeared.” An interesting discovery was made in this parish rather more than 100 years ago, a description of which I here give in the words of Saunders (“Hist. County Lincoln,” vol. ii., p. 170, 1), who gives particulars more fully than any other authority I have been able to consult. “On the 26th of October, 1794, a labourer, cutting a ditch (the actual site is not given) discovered at a depth of three feet below the surface a Roman sepulchre, consisting of a stone chest, in which was deposited an urn of strong glass, well manufactured, but of a greenish hue; the chest was of freestone, such as is found in abundance on Lincoln heath. When found the urn was perfect and had not suffered any of that decay which generally renders the surface of Roman glass of a pearly or opaline hue, for the surface was as smooth as if it had newly come from the fire. This receptacle was nearly filled with small pieces of bone, many of which, from the effects of ignition, were white through their whole substance; and among the fragments was a small lacrymatory of very thin, and very green, glass, which had probably been broken through the curiosity of the finder, as he acknowledged his having poured out the contents upon the grass in the hope of finding money, before he took it to his employer. The circumstances attending this sepulchre clearly prove it to have been Roman. It is, however, singular that the place chosen was not, as was customary with that people, near to a highway, and that it does not appear to have been the burial place of a family, since, although the trench was dug quite across the field, no traces of a body having been buried in any other part of it were observed. . . . No traces of the Romans have been observed here . . . except that some coins of brass or copper were dug up in an orchard at Stainsby, said to have been Roman, but as they were not preserved this must remain doubtful. . . . The locality, however, is so adapted, for various reasons, to the Roman villa, that Sir Joseph Banks, in an article communicated to ‘Archæologia,’ vol. xii., p. 36, thought it ‘not improbable that such a residence might some day be discovered, the Roman town of Banovallum being so near, with a number of Roman roads branching through the country.’”

The name of Stainsby itself indicates a considerable antiquity, meaning the stones-farm. This may have been from stepping-stones over the Somersby beck, near at hand or from some quarry of the sandstone in the vicinity, still so largely used. The stones were evidently the distinguishing feature of the locality.

P.S.—The writer is requested to say that he is in error in connecting the family of Coltman of Ashby with that of the Pocklington Coltman of Hagnaby, the two being quite distinct.

Asterby.

Asterby is situated about 6½ miles from Horncastle in a north-easterly direction, being approached by the road to Scamblesby and Louth, but diverging from that road northward shortly before reaching Scamblesby. The Rector is the Rev. J. Graham, J.P., who has a substantial residence, erected at a cost of £1,200 in 1863, and standing on the slope of a hill in good grounds. Letters, viâ Lincoln, arrive at 10 a.m.

Not much can be gathered of the early history of this parish. It is named in Domesday Book Estreby; this may mean the “buy,” byre, or farmstead, of the Saxon Thane Estori. But, according to another interpretation, the three elements of the name are As, or Aes, tre and by; the first of these implying “water,” the second “a way” or “passage,” the third a “homestead,” the whole thus meaning the Homestead by the water-way; and so probably referring to the river Bain, which forms the boundary between this parish and Ranby; its breed of trout being not unknown to anglers of our own day.

According to the Domesday survey this manor belonged to the Norman noble Ivo Taillebois, doubtless through his marriage with the Saxon heiress of the Thorolds, the Lady Lucia. And she conveyed to the Priory of Spalding certain “temporalities,” i.e., rents of lands, here, as well as at Scamblesby; her uncle Thorold, Vice-Comes, or Sheriff, of Lincolnshire, being the founder of that institution, and she herself one of its chief benefactors. In the Priory Charters this parish is also called Esterby.

Ivo, however, was only this lady’s first husband, and, as is mentioned in the “Notes” on various other parishes with which he was connected, he died without issue; and on her re-marrying, [15a] her great possessions passed to the Romara family, subsequently to the Gaunts, and were then gradually broken up, and dispersed among their various descendants. Only a few fragmentary records of former owners can now be found.

By Will dated 31st July, 1585, Edmund Dighton, of Little Sturton, leaves lands in Asterby and elsewhere to his son Robert, and also his leases of land held by grant of the late Abbot of Kirkstead, and a house called Beadway Hall. The Dighton’s were a wealthy family, originally engaged in commerce in Lincoln, but afterwards acquiring considerable property in various parts of the county, and taking a good position. The headquarters of the family were at the Old Hall, of which traces still remain, in Little Stourton; a daughter of Thomas Dighton “of that ilk” married Edward, 2nd son of the 1st Earl of Lincoln, of that line, temp. Elizabeth; she eventually, on the death of his eldest brother, becoming Countess of Lincoln. [15b]

Elizabeth Hansard, of Gayton-le-Wold, widow, by her Will, dated 17th March, 1591, makes her father, John Jackson, of Asterby, executor, and the guardian of her children, Edward, Margaret, and Mary Hansard; and leaves all her property to them, except 20s. each to her brother Thomas Jackson, and her brother-in-law William Hansard. These Hansards, a knightly family located in this county at South Kelsey (also of Beesthorpe and Thornton), were of very old extraction; tracing their descent from Ughtred, Earl of Northumberland in the reign of Edmund Ironsides, who came to the throne A.D. 016. [16] South Kelsey, their chief seat, passed to the old family of the Ayscoughs, by the marriage of Sir Francis Ayscough to the Hansard heiress, Elizabeth, in the middle of the 16th century. Both Hansards and Ayscoughs were connected with many of the leading county families.

John Guevera, of Stenigot, by Will dated 18th March, 1607, leaves his manor of Stenigot and all his premises in Asterby (certain portions being excepted) to his “Sonne Francis, his heir apparent, on his coming of age,” and specifies that “till then he be held content by Sir Nicholas Saunderson, knight, of Fillingham, and Captaine Henrie Guevera, of Barwick.” These Gueveras were of Spanish origin, probably coming to England in the train of Catharine of Arragon, or in attendance on King Philip of Spain, Queen Mary’s husband. Spain was then a flourishing country, and they soon acquired property, and took their position among the landed gentry, Francis Guevera being named among the Herald’s List of Gentry in 1634. Sir Nicholas Saunderson, here named, of Fillingham, was grandson of Nicholas Saunderson, of Reasby, in the parish of Stainton-by-Langworth. He was made a baronet in 1612, and Viscount Castleton in 1628. The family was involved in the Lincolnshire Rebellion of 1536. The manor, and greater part of the parish, are now in the hands of trustees of the Trafford family, who are also patrons of the benefice. Messrs. W. Pinning and Benjamin Harrison are also landowners, and Mr. James Walter has a large and picturesque farmhouse with good grounds and surroundings.

The church, dedicated to St. Peter, was for some years in an unsatisfactory condition, but during recent years it has been gradually undergoing restoration. It was formerly larger than it is now, having had a north aisle. The tower was half taken down towards the close of the 18th century, and rebuilt, the plinth of the tower buttress on the south side of the west door being said to be the original one of the 12th century. There are three bells. In 1896 the chancel was taken down and extended about 6ft. in length, the interior face of the walls being constructed of rubbed sandstone, in courses obtained from a quarry in the parish. The exterior character of the old work was carefully preserved, and a dressed stone plinth-course inserted. The old east window with wooden framework was removed and a stone traceried window introduced, filled with tinted glass. The floor was paved with encaustic tiles in place of ordinary bricks, and the communion table raised 18 inches above the body of the church, by three steps. A new altar rail of oak, with standard of wrought-iron and brass, was put up, and the roof was made of open timbers covered with match boards and slates. This work was done by Mr. R. Mawer, builder, of Louth, under the direction of Messrs. Mortimer and Son, architects, of Lincoln. The entire cost was defrayed by the present rector. Since then other improvements have been effected. The tower, in a dangerous condition, was partly taken down in 1898, and the bells rehung in new oak framework. A handsome altar cloth was presented by Lady Wigan. The nave floor has now boards in place of the old damp and unsightly bricks. It has been supplied with new seating of pitchpine. This work was entrusted to Messrs. Thompson & Sons, of Louth, and is thoroughly satisfactory. Inspired by these efforts, a generous donor, Mrs. Woodall, presented a massive oak lectern in memory of her parents who for many years worshipped in this church, and the whole fabric is now at length, through the exertions of the rector, liberally seconded by Mrs. Graham, a credit to the parish. Old features of interest in the church are the chancel arch, which is Early English; and in the south chancel wall, near the reading desk, is also a three-light Early English window, containing some fragments of very old glass, the new east window being a copy of this. In the north wall of the nave are two bays of the former aisle blocked up, with a grinning figurehead between the arches. In a frame affixed to the north wall is the text, from Eccl. v., 1, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools.” The font is old, having an octagonal bowl, with plain shields on each face, the shaft also being octagonal and standing on a pediment of three steps. In the south wall of the chancel, outside, is a mutilated slab bearing an inscription in memory of “Samson Meanwell, who departed this life Feb. 17, 1744, in ye 63 yeare of his age.” Nearly opposite the west door is a very old yew-tree, which may well have supplied the village archers with their bows in the days of Crecy, Poictiers, and Agincourt. The benefice is now held jointly with that of Goulceby. It was formerly in the gift of the Dymokes. Dame Jane Dymoke presented in 1711 and 1725. She also gave church plate. The patronage then passed to the Crown, who presented in 1771 and 1784, after which the Trafford Southwell family acquired it, with the manor, and presented in 1807.

Near the church is a field named Hall Close, where there are traces of a large residence; and here, about the year 1821, were dug up three human skeletons and an ancient dagger.

The poor of the parish have the benefit of a bequest made by Anthony Acham, for them, and for those of Goulceby; who also, in 1638, founded a school for the two parishes, with Stenigot.

We have only to add that the pilgrim to Asterby, who has an eye for rural scenery, will be gratified on his way thither by an extent of view not often to be found. He can take in, at one and the same moment, a prospect reaching almost 30 miles, including Lincoln Cathedral and miles beyond it to the north-west; and embracing Heckington and other fine church spires, with Tattershall Castle to the south-west, and extensive woods, corn fields, and meads to vary the scenes between.

Baumber.

Baumber, or Bamburgh, lies on the old Roman road, from Horncastle to Lincoln, about 4 miles to the north-west from the former place, and half-a-mile from the point where another Roman road furcates northward for Caistor; it is thus somewhat interestingly connected with the three ancient Roman stations, Lindum, Banovallum, and Caistor (Castrum). Its own name, in the older form, Bam-burg doubtless means the “Burg,” or fort, on the Bain; as it stands on high ground above the valley of the Bain, and commands what would formerly be a ford of that river at Hemingby, through which there passes a branch line of road, running due east from Baumber, and stretching into the wold hills, being doubtless also a Roman structure.

Baumber has had some interesting associations in the past. In Domesday Book it is reckoned among the possessions of the Norman Ivo Tayle-bois, nephew of William the Conqueror, Earl of Anjou, and chief of the Angevin auxiliaries of William’s army. Through his wife, the Lady Lucia, the Saxon heiress of Earl Alf-gar, who was given to him in marriage by the Conqueror, he acquired very large possessions in Lincolnshire and elsewhere. He was of a very tyrannical disposition; his chief residence being near Croyland Abbey. The Historian Ingulphus records of him, that he “tortured, harrassed, annoyed, and imprisoned their people”; that “he chased their cattle with his dogs, driving them into the marsh pools, where they were drowned; cut off their ears, or their tails; broke their backs, or their legs; and made them useless.” When the world was relieved of him by an early death, he was not mourned by his Saxon wife, or anyone else. Another historian, Peter de Blois, says, “Hardly had one month elapsed after his death, when the Lady Lucia married that illustrious young man, Roger de Romara, and entirely lost all recollection of Ivo Tayle-bois”; and he bursts into a volley of imprecations, to this effect:—“What does it now profit thee, O Ivo! ever most blood-thirsty, thus to have risen against the Lord? Unto the earth hast thou fallen, numbered with the dead; in a moment of time thou hast descended to hell, a successor of the old Adam, a frail potsherd, a heap of ashes, a hide of carrion, a vessel of putrefaction, the food of worms, the laughing-stock of those who survive, the refuse of the inhabitants of heaven, the avowed enemy of the servants of God; and now, as we have reason to suppose, an alien and exile from the congregations of saints, and for thine innumerable misdeeds, worthy to be sent into outer darkness.” [19]

Such was one of the proprietors of Baumber, but he was not the only one; as Domesday mentions another, and larger, and more worthy, land owner in the person of Gilbert de Gaunt, who succeeded, “by right,” or, more strictly speaking, by confiscation, to all the property of the Saxon Tonna; while another Saxon, Ulf, had also an estate in the parish. This Gilbert de Gaunt founded Bardney Abbey; and, when he died, was buried there.

The Lady Lucia was Countess of Chester and Lincoln; and at a later period, Baumber, including the hamlet of Sturton Parva, would seem to have been mainly divided between the family of the Earls of Lincoln, more recently created Dukes of Newcastle, and the wealthy family of the Dightons. Both had residences in or near this parish. A daughter of Thomas Dighton, and his heiress married Edward Clinton, second son of the first Earl of Lincoln of that line (temp. Elizabeth), and on failure of issue to the elder brother, this Edward succeeded to the Earldom. Many generations of the Clintons were buried here; but towards the end of the 18th century, the Clinton property was sold by the third Duke to Mr. Thomas Livesey, of Blackburn, Lancashire, [20] whose son, the late Joseph Livesey, Esq. erected a large mansion in 1810, which again was almost rebuilt, and considerably enlarged in 1873–5. A large part of the parish now belongs to the Vyner family of Gautby. The Baumber register dates from 1691. One entry is “June 20th, 1730, the Corpse of the Right Honourable, the Right Noble, Lord George Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, was interred.”

The Church is dedicated to St. Swithun. The west door is a good specimen of Norman work, with dog-tooth pattern running round the semi-circular arch, in bass relief; the capital of its south pillar has a head, with serpents whispering into each ear. The north capital is a conventional acanthus. The inner eastern door of the tower is also Norman, but plain. The Nave has north and south aisles of three bays; the eastern-most column of the north arcade, under the removable flooring of the Vicar’s seat, has the original round Norman plinth, the only one preserved. The Church of stone was cased in brick, in the early part of the eighteenth century (1736), when the present large, perpendicular windows were placed in the north and south walls, three in each. Placed against the west wall, south of the west entrance, is a large slab, commemorating John Ealand, who died in 1463, and his wives Alice and Elizabeth. This was formerly in the floor of the north aisle. Above is a tablet in memory of members of the family of J. Bainbridge Smith, D.D., formerly Vicar, as well as Rector of Sotby, and of Martin, and Headmaster of the Horncastle Grammar School. The Font is octagonal and massive, but plain. There is a handsome oak lectern with eagle on swivels, the gift of Mrs. Taylor Sharpe, of Baumber Park, in memory of her eldest son, who died in 1891. The pose of the eagle is very natural.

In the south aisle, and over the west entrance are hatchments of the Clintons.

In the chancel, the east window is blocked up; there are two windows in the north wall, one in the south wall, the second having been removed when a vestry was erected, and it now forms the vestry window. On each side, east of the chancel arch, are remains of massive early English pillars. South of communion table are three plain sedilia of wood. North of the table, a blue slate slab in the floor, with the Clinton arms, covers the vault, in which sixteen of the Clinton family are interred. Another slab close by, commemorates “Francis Clinton, alias Fynes, Esq., grandson of Henry Lord Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, who departed this life, February 5th, A.D. 1681.” On the south, a slab commemorates his wife, “who died, February 15th, A.D. 1679.” A communion chair, of very solid construction, was carved out of a beam formerly in Tattershall Castle. There are some remains of a former rood screen, “Arch. Journ.,” 1890, p. 206.

Mr. Weir, in his History of Lincolnshire (vol. I., p. 299, Ed., 1828), says that portions of the former residence of the Earls of Lincoln were at that date still standing, near the modern mansion of the Liveseys. Then the latter was re-constructed in 1873–5, the furniture and other arrangements, were of a very costly character. The present writer, with an acquaintance of the family, had the privilege of being shewn over the whole house, by the lady of the house, shortly after its completion. It might be called a repertoire of valuable works of art and vertu, in furniture, books, paintings, stuffed birds, and animals, among the latter being the famous lion “Nero,” from the Zoo. The owner, being devoted to engineering and mechanical operations, had one room, of which the walls were covered with clocks, of endless kinds, with various elaborate mechanism, such as cocks crowing, horns blowing, etc., etc., for chiming the hours. All these came to the hammer in 1891. Even the economy of the farm yard was elaborate. To give one instance:—At the back of the cattle sheds, ran a tramway of small trucks; doors opened at the back of the crib of each stall, and the trucks conveyed the exact modicum of provender, and it was injected into each separate crib, periodically, for the animals which were there fed. The lake in the park was formed from a small stream running through the grounds, it is well stocked with fish of various kinds, especially affording sport to the troller by the abundance of fine pike. It was originally stocked, as tradition avers, from the Moat of Langton Rectory, now no longer existing, but formerly of considerable size, and connected with a large pond, where fish of many kinds abounded. The vicarage is a substantial residence, with good garden, erected in 1857, on a site presented by Robert Vyner, Esq.

Belchford.

Belchford is one of our largest villages, lying at a distance of about 5 miles from Horncastle, in a north-east direction, and buried in a valley among the wolds. It was anciently among the possessions of the Conqueror’s nephew, Ivo Tailebois, which he acquired by his marriage with the Lady Lucia, the wealthy heiress of the Thorolds. Tithes and territory here were assigned by her to the Abbey of Croyland, as well as to its cell, the branch Priory of Spalding. There were two mills here, valued in Domesday book, at 18s. 8d. yearly. The acreage is large; Ivo had five carucates in demesne, or some 600 acres, while villeins, bordars, and soc-men, occupied nine carucates, or about 1080 acres; there were 360 acres of meadows, and six carucates (720 acres) reateable to gelt. The arable land was a mile long, and a mile broad, which was a large proportion. The acreage is now 2480, the population more than 400. By an indenture, 28th October, 1641, we find Sir Thomas Glemham owning lands in Belchford and Oxcombe, as well as other places, which he sold to Sir Matthew Lister, and his brother Martin Lister, subsequently the Listers of Burwell Park. The Listers, however, sold the Belchford lands again to Sir Thomas Hartopp, about 20 years later. Mr. Robert Charles de Grey Vyner is now Lord of the Manor, but much of the land belongs to the Epton, Reed, and other families. At the inclosure, land left by Henry Neave to the poor, was exchanged for two acres, now let for £5 15s., which is distributed among the poor at Christmas, as well as a rent charge of 4s., left by Mrs. Douglas Tyrwhitt. Letters, via Horncastle, arrive at 9.30 a.m. The nearest telegraph office is at Tetford.

Of the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, little can be said which is satisfactory, at the present time. It was rebuilt in 1781, in the characteristic poor style of that period. Some years ago it became almost unsafe, and the walls were strengthened to prevent their falling. The chancel was rebuilt in 1859–60; and in 1884–5, the church was reseated, the plaster ceiling removed, a new floor supplied, and fresh windows inserted; but once more it is in a bad and unsightly condition, gaps and fissures appear in the walls, the tower is much out of the perpendicular, and only kept together by bands of iron. The north wall is only relieved by one very plain Georgian window. The east window, a triplet in the early English style, is perhaps the best feature in the church. It was put in by a former Rector, Rev. W. Anthony Fitzhugh. The font, which is octagonal and perpendicular, formerly stood in St. Mary’s Church, Horncastle. The pulpit, of old oak, came from the private chapel of Lord Brougham, who was a relative of the late Rector; it has some quaintly-carved panels, and other portions in the same style lie unused in the church. The baptismal register has an entry of a baptism performed by Dr. Tennyson, father of the Poet Laureate. The register dates from 1698.

Some embellishments have been introduced in the chancel of late by the present Rector. An Italian crucifix, behind the Communion table, with devices representing the keys of St. Peter, and sword of St. Paul, the patron saints, with vine leaves and grapes, and a central chalice. There is a scroll below these, bearing the words, “Ecce panis Angelorum Factus cibus Viatorum.” The church ornaments include a processional cross of 18th century foreign work. An effort is now being made to accomplish a thorough restoration of the church. A flint implement was found in the parish in the year 1851, and fossils of the Echinus and other kinds have been found. The name of Belchford may be British; Bel (Baal) being the Druid name of the Sun-God and “fford,” is Welsh (or British), for road; a more pleasing, if more fanciful, derivation, has been suggested, viz.: that the prefix is connected with the words “bellow” and “bell,” and refers to the tinkling music of the ford on the brook, which passes through the valley.

In an ancient register of Spalding Priory, of date 1659, is an extract from a charter of the foundation of the Priory, in which it is stated that one Thorold, ancestor of Lucia, Countess of Lincoln and Chester, and wife of Ivo Tailebois, gave the Tithes of Belchford, Scamblesby, etc., to the Priory. The name is there spelt Beltisford, which would seem to favour the former of these two derivations. In Domesday Book it is Beltisford, further confirmatory of the same.

A former Rector of this Benefice was somewhat of a “character.” He was a bon vivant, though not of an objectionable kind. He was popular among his clerical brethren, and, like several others, gave an annual clerical dinner, which was attended by them from considerable distances. One of the special features of the repast, was a leg of mutton, with port wine sauce, which, as well as the wine, might be said to be “old.” The cellars of the rectory were very cool, and he usually had a leg which had been hanging for a quarter of a year, half a year, or more. At one of the last of his dinners, the joint had been in the cellar, specially preserved, for more than twelve months, but, served as it was, with a good surrounding, it was unanimously declared to be excellent.

The Rev. Egremont Richardson was long remembered by many friends, for his kindly, genial qualities.

Since the above remarks on the church were written, the fabric has, in a great measure, been worthily restored. The architect, Mr. Townsend, of Peterborough, employed Messrs. Thompson, of Peterborough (who have restored Peterborough Cathedral), and they have done the work thoroughly. The tower, in a dangerous condition, has been taken down, and will not be rebuilt until funds allow it, but otherwise the restoration is complete. Five decorated windows have been introduced into the former dark walls, a vestry has been added, and the walls of the nave have been beautifully decorated. The chancel walls are relieved with terra cotta, of the 17th century style, the roof having black and white arrow-head work. The choir stalls are stained green, and decorated in harmony with the walls. There is a new altar-table of oak, its panels being richly painted. The nave is furnished with chairs, in place of the old pews. The church is heated with the Radiator system, on the Italian principle, supplied by Messrs. J. Ward & Co., of Horncastle, being the first church in the neighbourhood furnished with this apparatus. In the porch is preserved a relic of the past, an old stoup, or holy water vessel, found in the Churchwarden’s yard. This has been done at a cost of about £900, and a further sum of £700 or £800 will be needed to restore the tower. The chief donors to the work have been the Rawnsley family, and Lord Heneage.

Bolingbroke, Old.

Bolingbroke, to which is now added the epithet “old,” to distinguish it from the modern creation, New Bolingbroke, near Revesby, lies distant about seven miles, in an easterly direction from Horncastle, and about four miles westward from Spilsby, in a kind of cul-de-sac, formed by steep hills on three sides. As to the meaning of the name, whether its commonly accepted derivation from the brook, the spring-head of which, as Camden says (Britannia, p. 471), is in low ground hard by, be correct, we must leave to full-fledged etymologists to decide; but the small streamlet, as it exists at present, in no way answers to the ideal of a bowling brook, sufficient to be a distinguishing feature of the place. We would venture to suggest, as a fair subject for their enquiry, that, as “bullen” is Danish for “swollen,” and “brock” is only another form of “burgh” (and common enough in Scotland), meaning a fort (as we have a few miles away, near Hallington station, Bully-hill, near an ancient encampment), there may have been an older fort, swelling out like an excrescence at the mouth of this valley; and so a “bollen” (or bulging) “broc,” providing a fitting site on which the later castle was also erected. It might, too, seem some confirmation of this, that, in Domesday Book, the name is given as Bolin broc. Be this as it may, however, the place itself is one of unusual interest to the archæologist. It is a town in decadence. Possessed of a market-place, and a number of good houses, some paved streets, a fine church, the site of a castle, and that rare distinction an “Honour,” it is yet but a village, with little to stir its “sleepy hollow” into social life or animation. The visitor may, perhaps, meet there (as the writer has done), one who has retired from her Majesty’s service; who has weilded his cutlass on quarterdeck, or carried his rifle through stockade or over battlement; the said individual may long, on the settle by the snug hostel fire, to fight his battles over again, in converse with some kindred spirit; but there is now no tread of sentinel on castle-wall, no warder now blows his bugle at castle gate. The castle itself is but a phantom of the past, only to be now seen in imagination. He would, perhaps, fain know something of its bygone history; but he finds no one to tell it. Ichabod echoes through the silent streets, and he can only murmur in the words of an ancient lament (for, is it not written in the book of Jasher?) “How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished.” The County Directory tells him (as would also Domesday Book) that Bolingbroke had a weekly market [26a]; from a like authority he may learn that the soke, or Honour, of Bolingbroke embraced nearly 30 parishes, Spilsby amongst them. [26b] Yet he goes to Spilsby on a Monday and finds it crowded with traffickers, while, from week’s end to week’s end, the market place of Bolingbroke does not see a merchant or a huckster. Sooth to say, the secluded nature of the locality, which of old commended it as a fitting position for a strongly-protected castle, embedded in hills, save on one side, served really to isolate it from the outer world, and hindred, and ultimately destroyed, the traffic, which became gradually transferred to other towns more easy of access. And so the once busy market is grass grown, and the buzz of its barter would not awaken a baby. The sole sound, indeed, of any volume, to break the moribund monotony—and this only one of recent creation—is the peal of fine bells with which the church is now furnished, and instead of soliloquising further we will now proceed to describe these, and then unfold the fine features of the church, of which they form so melodious an appurtenance. There are six larger bells and the old sanctus bell. Of the larger bells, one is old, and five were presented in 1897, by Miss Maria Wingate, whose family, formerly resided at Hareby House, which small parish and benefice were annexed to Bolingbroke in 1739. [27] The five new bells were cast by Messrs. Taylor, of Loughborough, a well-known firm of bell-founders. These were consecrated by Bishop King, of Lincoln, soon after they were hung. On one of them, the treble bell, is the inscription, “God save the Queen, a thank-offering in commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, 1897.” The peculiar appropriateness of this inscription will be the more manifest, when the singular fact is remembered (as will be fully explained hereafter), that, as Duchess of Lancaster, the Queen was Lady of the Manor of Bolingbroke. The old bell bears the date 1604, and has the inscription—

“I, sweetly tolling, men do call,
To taste our meats that feede the soole.”

This old bell is a very fine one, and is named among the “Bells of Lincolnshire.”

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Records, Historical and Antiquarian, of Parishes Round Horncastle

Records, HISTORICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN, OF Parishes Round Horncastle.