Bolingbroke, a decayed market town, is distant about eight miles south east from Horncastle, and gives name to the soke wherein it is situated. The town is seated on a clear, rapid brook, from which the name is derived, and which runs along a peculiar deep recess of rugged sand-stone hills, which suddenly terminate at the northern border of the adjacent fen district. Embayed amid these deep declivities, and having but one narrow outlet into the level land, it is a matter of no surprize that its importance as a place of security was not overlooked in the feodal times, when it became further strengthened by a castle.
Remains of Bolingbroke Castle, from a drawing taken in 1813
The manor appears to have been, from an early period, connected with the dignity of the Earldom of Lincoln. Ranulph, an illustrious nobleman, marrying Lucia, widow of Roger de Romara, sister, and heiress of Morcar, the Saxon Earl of Northumberland and Lincoln, delivered the estates, amongst which was this lordship, to Henry the first, for the dignity of the Earldom of Chester. Against this, William de Romara, son of Lucia by her former husband, appealed to the king, but in vain. William however strengthening by his interest the rebellion in Normandy which had been raised by Robert, the eldest son of the conqueror, and brother of the king, Henry, to appease his wrath, and obtain his favor, was in the twenty-second year of his reign, induced to restore to him the estates of his mother Lucia, and invest him with the Earldom of Lincoln. About the same time asserting the rights of the Empress Maud, in her contentions with Stephen for the throne, he greatly contributed to her early successes, particularly at the seige of Lincoln. After this, exchanging certain lands in Normandy with Robert de Tillol for the lordships of Hareby, Enderby, and Hundleby, parts of this soke, William was invited by the security of the situation, to erect his castle at Bolingbroke.
By his wife Maud, the daughter of Richard de Redvers, he had issue a son named William, who married Hawise daughter of Stephen Earl of Albemarle; but dying in the life time of his father, the estates descended to his son, also called William. This William, the third of that name, to further improve this fortress, and add to the advantages of its situation, procured from Simon Briton, who also held lands in these parts, remission of all his claims in the whole marsh of Bolingbroke, and from Jeffrey Fitz Stephens, the superior of the Knights Templar, a full release of their interest in all the fens belonging to this manor, and its soke, which William de Romara his grandfather had given to them.
This last mentioned individual of the family of Romara died without issue, and in him the male line of the family ceased, as appears from Gilbert de Gaunt, after being a suppliant prisoner when fighting on the side of Stephen at the siege of Lincoln, and compelled by the first William de Romara to marry his daughter Hawise, becoming in her right possessor of this manor, and receiving also the Earldom of Lincoln.
Gilbert de Gaunt, died in the second year of the reign of Henry the second, and left issue, two daughters, Alice and Gunnora; the former of whom was married to Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Huntingdon, who is said to have enjoyed, during her life time, the Earldom of Lincoln, and with it this lordship. Alice as well as her sister Gunnora dying without issue, their uncle Robert de Gaunt, though unallied by blood, became their heir, and possessed himself of these estates. Gilbert his son succeeded him; but joining the cause of the barons against King John, and afterwards against his son and successor, Henry the third, he was defeated at Lincoln, taken prisoner, and these estates conferred upon Ranulph de Meschines, surnamed de Blundeville, Earl of Chester; who, being third in descent from Ranulph Earl of Chester, by his wife Lucia, the widow of Roger de Romara, and sister of Morcar the Saxon Earl of Lincoln, had, independent of the claims on his sovereign for aiding in firmly establishing his family on the throne, a natural right, superior to that of the family of de Gaunt. Ranulph de Blundeville dying without issue, his sisters became his co-heiresses; but he had during his life time assigned by charter to one of them, named Hawise, the Earldom of Lincoln, and with it this manor and castle.
Robert, son and heir of Sayer de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, marrying Hawise, left issue, a daughter, Margaret, who was married to John de Laci, a descendant of the Barons of Pontefract. John de Laci received from Henry the third a charter of confirmation of the Earldom of Lincoln, and the inheritances which he possessed by his wife Margaret de Quincy.
Edmund his son dying before his mother, did not inherit the Earldom, though he received the tertium denarium of the county: he left issue, Henry, John, and Margaret, the former of whom succeeded to this manor and the Earldom of Lincoln; and is said to have been the most exalted nobleman of his time. He is stated to have been illustrious in counsel, undaunted in the fight, chief among the warriors of his country, and in fine, the brightest ornament of the reign. [69] His sons dying young, he bequeathed by will all his possessions to the heirs of Edmund Plantagenet, in case of failure of issue by his daughter Alice. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, son of Edmund Plantagenet, marrying Alice, held in her right, the estates of her father Henry de Laci, who, on his death bed, desirous that his son in law should be ennobled not only by the attendant riches, but also by the influence of his example, enjoined him to devote his power to secure the liberties of his country. But the proud and resolute spirit of the Earl of Lancaster needed no such injunctions to spur him on to action. Indignant that Hugh de Spenser should enjoy the favor of his sovereign, Edward the second, he after effecting the destruction of Piers Gaveston, broke out into open rebellion: defeated however at Boroughbridge, he was ignominiously put to death at his castle of Pontefract, and his estates forfeited to the crown. The inheritances which were, as has been before noticed, the right of his wife, were still reserved to her; but having borne an indifferent reputation for chastity, following the impulses of her amours in the life time of her late husband, and after his death marrying without the consent of the king to Eubold le Estrange, the king with whom but trivial pretences were sufficient for abridging the powers of any individual allied to his haughty relatives of the house of Lancaster, seized for this breach of fealty, or homage, all the inheritance which she held of the crown in chief, among which were this manor, and that of Denbigh, and conferred the whole on his favorite Hugh de Spenser.
Henry, brother of Thomas the late Earl of Lancaster, procured in the first parliament after the accession of Edward the third, a remission of the forfeited estates of the family; and upon the death of the countess Alice, the wife of his late brother, her honors and splendid inheritances devolved to him, partly by the will of her father Henry de Laci, and partly by reason of a render made by him to Edward the first, and a re-grant by charter from that monarch to the heirs of Henry de Laci, with remainder to the heirs of Edmund Plantagenet.
Henry Earl of Lancaster died without male issue, but left two daughters Maud and Blanche; the former of whom married William of Bavaria, and left no issue; but Blanche became the sole heir of her father, and married John of Gaunt, who, by reason of the inheritances, was created Duke of Lancaster. By her he had issue, at the castle at this place, the celebrated Henry of Bolingbroke; upon whose accession to the throne, the whole patrimony through the line of Lancaster became invested in the crown, and in his reign was counted one of the manorial possessions of the king, denominated honors.
On the south side of the town is the scite of the castle, which is now only to be distinguished by the traces of its foundations, encompassed by a moat.
The seclusion of this spot amongst steep hills, with only an opening to the level country, southward, rendered it in the early mode of warfare a desirable situation for a place of defence, since it was at all times secure from the emergencies of a sudden surprise. The advantages of such a situation were not overlooked by William de Romara, who about the early part of the reign of king Stephen, erected his castle at this place.
From the testimony of Mr. Gervase Holles, who is the only person that has left us a description of this castle, it appears to have been a very spacious square edifice, characterized in its construction by strength and uniformity, and containing beside numerous apartments, all the conveniences of warfare. [71] By Queen Elizabeth it was improved by elegant and extensive erections, and though afterwards neglected, yet it remained a place of importance down to the time of the civil wars in the reign of Charles the first, when for some time it withstood a siege by the parliamentary forces.
After the defeat of the royal army at Winceby, this castle was compelled to yield to the army of the parliament, who, after dismantling it, left it silently to decay. For a many years part of a circular building, said to be the gate-house, continued standing; but in May 1815, this last remaining fragment of the once formidable structure fell to the ground.
To the east of the enclosure may be seen the entrenchments, behind which the assailants, in 1643, protected themselves in their attack on this castle.
The church being occupied by the parliamentary forces when they stormed the castle, was almost entirely demolished by the cannon of that fortress.
The part now remaining, is situated a short distance north of the scite of the castle, and consists of a tower, and a part appropriated for public worship, which was once the southern aisle of the original edifice. It is built of sand stone, and if the delicate tracery of its windows be excepted, it contains but little architectural beauty. These windows were once ornamented with richly stained glass of which not a fragment is now remaining. [73]
There is yet preserved in this church the mutilated remains of an embroidered cloth for the communion table, said to have been wrought by one of the Duchesses of Lancaster.
Two chantries, which formerly were attached to this church, were suppressed at the dissolution of religious houses, in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Henry the eighth.
The rectory is in the presentation of Lady Eyre of Mortlake, in Surrey.
At so early a period as the time of forming the Domesday survey, this town appears to have arisen into some consideration as a place of trade, being possessed of a market, which however is in that record denominated a new one. [74]
For a many years it was considered one of the principal market towns of the county of Lincoln; but its trade, for some time previous to the destruction of the castle, had been gradually withdrawing to other places more conveniently situated; and afterwards the town fell rapidly into decay, and its market became wholly unfrequented.
Although it may be at present identified as a mere village; yet its widely detached houses, partially paved streets, and grass grown market place, connected with the mounds of the castle which once adorned the spot, evince sufficiently that there has been a time when destitution was not the characteristic of the town of Bolingbroke.
An unsuccessful attempt has lately been made to revive the market, on a portion of land allotted to this parish on the enclosure of the fens, in lieu of right of common thereon. An annual fair on the tenth of July, is held both at this town and on the fen allotment.
There is a free school at this place, founded and endowed in 1588, by a Mr. Chamberlain.
In 1811 this parish contained 75 houses, and 361 inhabitants.
Bolingbroke gives the title of viscount to the family of St. John, of Lydiard Tregoze, in Wiltshire.
Revesby is situated at the distance of six miles south from Horncastle, on the road from that place to Boston, and is included in the soke of Bolingbroke.
What now constitutes the parish of Revesby, appears formerly to have been three distinct manors, Revesby, Thoresby, and Seithesby; the greater part of which was the property of William de Romara, Earl of Lincoln. In the year 1142 he founded a Cistertian monastery at this place, and previous to endowing it with the whole of his possessions here, he negotiated exchanges with the other proprietors, by which he was enabled to give the entirety of the three manors to his new monastery. [76]
Revesby Abbey, Seat of The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart.
To add to the solemnity of the ceremony of foundation, the Earl on this occasion manumitted several slaves, who had petitioned for their liberty. One of them, called Wilhelmus Medicus, was doubtless a physician; another, Rogerus Barkarius, probably a shepherd: the surnames of persons at that time being derived from their profession. A person named Roger Barker resided until lately at a place called Stickney Wydale. This place belongs to the parish of Revesby, though about four miles distant, and is supposed to have been given to the monks on condition of their keeping Nordyke Causeway, formerly a dangerous pass, in repair.
Beside the endowment of William de Romara, the monastery was enriched by numerous other benefactions. At the dissolution of religious houses, its possessions with all its rights were granted to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk; and on the death of his two infant sons, who survived him only a short time, their extensive possessions were divided among the heirs general. On this division, Revesby fell to the lot of the Carsey family, who resided here several years, and afterwards sold it to the Lord Treasurer Burleigh, from whom it descended to the first and second Earls of Exeter; the latter of whom settled it on his grandson Henry Howard, the third son of the Earl of Berkshire. About a century ago it was sold by the descendants of Henry Howard, to Joseph Banks, Esquire, the great grandfather of the Right Honorable Sir Joseph Banks, Baronet, who is the present possessor.
The seat of the proprietor was built by Craven Howard, nephew and heir of Henry Howard; but has been much enlarged by the family of Banks. Part of an ancient mansion, formerly the residence of the abbots, now forms the offices. The monastery, which stood at a considerable distance, has long been entirely demolished.
The church, which is a small neat structure, was re-built by the before mentioned Joseph Banks, Esquire. It is a donative of exempt jurisdiction.
At the east end of the chancel is a tablet containing this inscription:
“Dedicated to the Memmorie of NEHEMIAH RAWSON, Esq. A Member of this Common Wealth, and a Justice of Peace. Hee Married Frances the Daughter of Thomas Knightley of Brough Hall in the County of Stafford, Esq. By Whome hee had Issue Six Daughters, Elizabeth Married to Richard Parkes of Lutton, Gent. Hanna to Theophilus Hartt of Birkwood Esq. Abigal to Daniell Hartt of London Grocer, Sarah, Rebecca and Mary, Dyed Younge, he Departed this Life in January 1657. Aged 80 Yeares.”
At the same end is another tablet, with the following inscription, and a shield containing a bend, in the sinister chief three crosses fitchy:
“To the perpetual Memorie of HENRY HOWARD third Son of Thomas Howard Earle of Barkshire by Elizabeth Daughter and heiresse to William Cecill Earle of Exeter his Wife who Departed this Life in the XLIIII Yeare of his age in December MDCLXIII.
“This Monument was Dedicated and Erected by his Nephew whom hee made his heir and successor to this Mannor of Revesby and his Lands in Lincolnshire, Craven Howard Son of William Howard who was 4th Son of the Earle and Countesse of Barkshire (before mentioned) in the yeare 1691.”
On the north side of the chancel is a large marble monument, surmounted by the bust of the individual whose memory it perpetuates, and ornamented with a shield containing the arms of Banks, Sable, a cross or, between four flowers de luce argent. This monument contains the following inscription:
“H. S. E.
“JOSEPHUS BANKS Armiger ex antiqua familia apud Bank-Newton, in agro Eborac. Oriundus. Juris prudentiæ studio operam dedit illamq. feliciter exercuit.
“In honorem Dei Ecclesiam hanc vetustate collabentem, a solo restituit Vicinium Ptochotrophium in X Senum aut Mancorum subsidium a fundamentis extruxit.
“Bis ad suprema Regni Comitia Senator Grimsbeiæ in Lincolnia, et Totenesiæ in Devonia. Electus, Regi suo et Patriæ utriamque vicem fideliter inservivit.
“Maritus et Pater benignus Amicus sine fuco Pacti et Promissi sui observantissimus Annos LXII. vixit XXVII. Septemb. A.D. MDCCXXVII. obiit.
“Liberos vidit adultos Josephum et Mariam Quorum hanc Dno. Francisco Whichcote Barnto. nuptam, Patre superstite præpropera mors abripuit; Optimo Parenti superstes Ille.
“M. H. P. C.”
Near to the church are ten alms-houses, on the centre of the front of which is the following inscription:
“Joseph Banks Esq. Lord of Revesby by his Will Directed the Building of these Almshouses for Ten poor People & Endowed the Same with Fifty pounds a year. He Departed this Life the 27th of Sept. 1727 Leaving Joseph Banks Esq. his only Son Heir who in Pursuance of his Father’s Will erected this Anno 1728.”
In this parish are two tumuli, each about one hundred feet diameter, and about one hundred feet apart, which have been formerly surrounded by a fosse. Dr. Stukeley supposes them to have been either the places of sepulture of two British Kings, or places of religious worship. [79]
A fair is held at Revesby on the second Monday after old Michaelmas day annually.
In 1811, the parish contained 99 houses, and 498 inhabitants.
Kirkstead, anciently called Cristed, is situated on the east bank of the Witham, in the hundred of Gartree, and is about three miles distant from Tattershall, and eight from Horncastle. Formerly it was a hamlet of Kirkby super Bane, but for many years it has been considered as a separate parish.
The manor, with that of Tattershall, was among the several estates given by the conqueror to Eudo, one of his Norman followers. His son Hugh fitz Eudo, called the Breton, founded a Cistertian Abbey here in 1139, and endowed it with his possessions in this place. Afterwards the monks, considering the situation unhealthy, petitioned Robert, the son of the founder, to allow them to remove the abbey to some other place; but though they obtained permission, yet it does not appear that the affair was proceeded in any further. The abbey had subsequently many benefactors, and acquired very extensive possessions.
At the dissolution of religious houses, the Kirkstead estate was given by Henry the eighth, to Charles Duke of Suffolk; and on the division of his estates after the death of his two sons, who survived him but a short time, it reverted to the king as one of the heirs general of the family, and was subsequently given to Lord Clinton and Saye, afterwards Earl of Lincoln. This estate descended to Mr. Daniel Disney, in right of his wife Catherine, the youngest daughter of Henry Fynes Clinton, Esquire, and grand-daughter of the second Earl of Lincoln. In the year 1792 it was sold by Mr. Disney Fytch, grandson of Mr. Daniel Disney, to the present possessor, Richard Ellison, Esquire, of Sudbroke Holme, near Lincoln.
Of the Abbey a small ruin only remains: but from a plate of “The Ichnography of the Monastery of Kirsted Linc.” in Stukeley’s Itinerarium Curiosum, the buildings appear to have been extensive.
South of the ruin of the Abbey is the Chapel, a very curious building, which according to tradition was built previous to the monastery. It is of early English architecture, having lancet windows at the sides and east end, and an ox-eye window over the entrance at the west end. The roof is beautifully groined, the ribs springing from corbel tables; and against the south wall on the inside, is a rude figure in stone of a knight templar, with the front part of his helmet in the shape of a cross. For many years the roof of this building was covered with thatch, but in 1790 it was removed and a covering of tiles substituted. At that time also the bell, which had previously hung in a tree, was placed over the west end of the building.
This chapel is a donative of exempt jurisdiction, but appears to have had no stipend for the officiating minister until it came into the possession of Mr. Daniel Disney, who being a presbyterian, appointed a minister of that persuasion to perform service there, with a salary of £30. per annum. [81] In order that the tenets which he professed might not want support in his parish, in 1720 he settled certain lands upon five trustees, the profits of which were to be applied to the maintenance of a presbyterian minister at this place. This gift he afterwards confirmed by his will in 1732, and in addition, bequeathed to the trustees the use of the chapel and chapel ground for the same purpose. On the death or alienation of the minister, the trustees were to present the names of two to the lord of the manor, who was to appoint one of them, and on his neglect or refusal, the trustees themselves were to make the appointment. Ministers continued to be nominated by the prescribed form until the death of Mr. Dunkley, who had for many years received the bequeathed stipend, and whose demise took place in 1794. On that occasion the present owner of the manor took possession of the estates which had been conveyed to the trustees, and appointed to the chapel a minister of the Church of England, paying him £30. per annum. The trustees, however, recovered possession of the estates, by an action of ejectment, tried at Lincoln summer assizes, 1812, but not of the Chapel. Owing to some difficulties in the arrangement of the affairs, the presbyterian form of worship is not yet re-established here.
This village gave birth to the celebrated monk Hugh de Kirkstead, who is styled by Fuller “a Benedictine Cistertian Bernardine Monk, or, as it may be termed a treble refined Christian.” He, and Serlo, one of his own order, joined in composing a chronicle of the Cistertians from their first arrival in England in 1131, to their own time, about 1210.
In the fourteenth volume of the “Archeologia of the Society of Antiquaries” is an engraving of an ancient iron candlestick of a very singular construction, six of which were found in cleaning the bed of the river Witham near this place.
This village contained, according to the returns of 1811, 26 houses and 110 inhabitants.
Tattershall or Tateshall is a small market town in the wapentake of Gartree. It is situated on the banks of the river Bane, near its junction with the river Witham, and is distant nine miles south west from Horncastle. It is a place of considerable antiquity, having been a Roman military station; traces of two encampments of that warlike people being still visible, at a short distance from the town, in a place called Tattershall park. Several Roman coins have also been found in different parts of the parish.
Tattershall Church and Castle, from the South East
Shortly after the conquest, the lordship of Tattershall, together with the hamlet of Tattershall Thorpe, and several other estates, was given by King William to Eudo and Pinso, two Norman nobles, who had attended him into England, but who, though sworn brothers in war, were not otherwise related. On the division of the estates between these chieftains, this manor became the property of Eudo, who fixed his residence here. Upon his death his estates descended to his son, Hugh Fitz Eudo, who, in the year 1139, founded an abbey for Cistertian monks at the neighbouring village of Kirkstead.
Hugh was succeeded by his son Robert, who left issue a son named Philip. Philip, after serving the office of sheriff of Berkshire in the seventh year of the reign of Richard the second, and also of Lincolnshire in the eighth, ninth and tenth years of the same king, was succeeded by his son Robert, the second of that name, who, in the year 1201, procured from King John, by means of a present of a well-trained goshawk, a grant to hold a weekly market on Thursday, on this manor. Robert was followed by his son of the same name, who about the year 1230, obtained from Henry the third a licence to build a castle at this place, together with a grant of free warren in all his demesne lands. The male line of Eudo was continued in regular descent, by Robert the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh; upon the death of the latter of whom in his minority, it became extinct, and the inheritance was divided between his three sisters. Tattershall became the portion of Joan, one of the co-heiresses, who married Sir Robert Driby, and who had issue by him a daughter and heiress Alice, afterwards married to Sir William Bernack. John, the son of this latter marriage, was succeeded by William, who died a minor, and left his sister Maud his heiress.
The Fitz Eudos, from the place, assumed the cognomen of Tateshall, and by that title had summons to parliament among the great barons of the realm.
Maud, the heiress of the Bernack family, married Sir Ralph, afterwards Lord Cromwell, who, in her right, became lord of this manor; and upon his death, which happened on the twenty-seventh day of August in the year 1398, left his son Ralph his heir, who died in 1416, and was succeeded by a son of the same name. In the year 1433, this latter Ralph was by Henry the sixth appointed Treasurer of the Exchequer. He died without issue on the fourth of January, 1455; whereby his two nieces, the daughters of his sister, the wife of Sir Richard Stanhope, became his co-heiresses.
It does not appear into whose hands the Tattershall estate fell after the death of the Lord Treasurer Cromwell, until the year 1487, when Henry the seventh granted the manor to his mother, Margaret, Countess of Richmond, and in the following year entailed it on the Duke of Richmond. The Duke dying without issue, Henry the eighth in 1520, granted it to Charles Duke of Suffolk, by letters patent, which were confirmed by Edward the sixth, in the year 1547.
On the death of the two infant sons of the Duke of Suffolk, who survived their father only a short time, this manor again came into the possession of the king as one of the heirs general of the family. By letters patent, dated the fifth of September, 1551, Edward the sixth granted the castle with the manor, in fee, to Edward Lord Clinton and Saye, afterwards Earl of Lincoln. The Earl dying in 1584, was succeeded by his son Henry, who died in 1616, leaving issue a son and heir Thomas, who survived his father only two years, and was followed by his son Theophilus, who died in 1667. The next possessor was Edward, who was the grandson of Theophilus, and who died at Tattershall in 1692; in him terminated the male line of the Clinton family. Upon his death, without issue, the Tattershall estate became the property of his cousin Bridget, who married Hugh Fortescue, Esquire, by whom she had a son and heir Hugh, created in 1746, Baron Fortescue, and Earl Clinton. Upon his death in 1751, his half brother Matthew succeeded him, but dying in 1785, the Tattershall estate descended to his eldest son Earl Fortescue, the present possessor.
Besides the liberties of the parks, chases and free warrens, belonging to the castle and manor of Tattershall, it also appears in the several grants of Henry the third, Henry the fourth, Henry the seventh, Henry the eighth, and in the grant of the liberties of Richmond fee, whereof the castle and manor of Tattershall is a part, that to the said castle and manor also belong the liberties of stallage, tolls of markets and fairs, together with the privilege for all tenants and inhabitants of Tattershall to be discharged of any tolls in fairs and markets abroad; also the sole liberties of fishing, fowling, hawking, and hunting, in all the said manors, chases and the precincts of them; also suits of courts baron, waifs, estrays, treasure trove, goods and chattels of felons, fugitives, men outlawed, and felones de se, deodands, bondmen, villains, with their sequels; and also that neither the sheriff of the county, nor his bailiff shall arrest within the said manor, and that no distress taken therein shall be delivered, nor replevins granted by the sheriff, but only by the steward of the lord of the said manor.
About two hundred and fifty yards south-west of the town stands the remains of the castle, a stately edifice, erected by the Lord Treasurer Cromwell, about the year 1440.
William of Worcester states, that the Lord Treasurer expended in building the principal and other towers of this castle above four thousand marks; his household there consisted of one hundred persons, and his suite, when he rode to London, commonly of one hundred and twenty horsemen; and his annual expenditure was about £5000. [86a]
This castle was originally intended as a place of defence, and was surrounded by two fosses, the inner one faced with brick, great part of which is now remaining. Formerly it was of great extent, but was dilapidated in the civil wars between the unfortunate Charles the first and his parliament: for the damages thereby sustained, Theophilus, fourth Earl of Lincoln, petitioned parliament in the year 1649.
The part now remaining, is a rectangular brick tower of exquisite workmanship, about one hundred feet in height, divided into four stories, and flanked by four octagonal turrets; and is raised on ponderous arches, forming spacious vaults, which extend through the angles of the building, into the bases of the turrets. [86b] Under the crown of these vaults was a deep well, which is now filled up.
South-West View of Tattershall Castle, with a Ground Plan
The walls are of great thickness, particularly that on the east side, in which are several galleries and narrow rooms, arched in a curious manner, through which communications were obtained with the principal apartments in the several stories, from the great stairs in the south-east turret. The east wall also contains the chimnies.
The windows are of the pointed order, well-proportioned, and contain tracery; those on the south, west and north sides are large, and from them the principal apartments received light; those on the east are smaller, being designed to give light only to the rooms and galleries in that wall.
The main walls were carried to the top of the fourth story, where the tower was covered by a grand platform, or flat roof, which, together with the several floors, is entirely destroyed. Surrounding this part of the tower are very deep machicolations, upon which, and part of the main walls, is a parapet of great thickness, with arches, intended to protect the persons employed over the machicolations. Upon these arches is a second platform, enclosed with a parapet and embrasures; above which the embattled turrets rise to a considerable height; three of them terminating in cones covered with lead. The cone of the fourth turret is demolished.
On the ground floor is an elegantly carved stone chimney piece, embattled, and ornamented alternately with arms, and treasury purses with the motto “nay je droit.”
First Row.
1. Ten roundels.
3. A lion rampant. Fitz Alayn, or Bellers.
5. Vairè a fesse. Marmion.
6. Ermine a fesse. Bernack.
8. A bend and chief, Cromwell, quartering a cheque and chief, Tateshall, impaling a fesse dauncette between ten billets, Deincourt.
10. Cromwell and Tateshall quarterly.
Second Row.
2. Bendy of ten. Clifton.
4. Deincourt.
5. Three cinquefoils. a dexter canton. Driby.
7. Barry of six, a bend, Grey of Rotherfield.
In the point of the surbase arch of this chimney piece is the coat of Cromwell.
Over this is another embattled chimney piece adorned with the following arms and devices, in circles:
1. Treasury purse and motto.
2. Tateshall.
3. Saint Michael and the dragon.
4. Quarterly, Cromwell and Tateshall, impaling Deincourt.
5. Cromwell quartering Tateshall; crest, a helmet; supporters two wild men.
6. Under an arch, a man tearing a lion.
7. A lion rampant.
8. Treasury purse and motto.
Above, between these circles, are seven small shields, with these arms: Deincourt, Driby, Cromwell, one broken, Cromwell, Tateshall, and Deincourt; and below seven purses.
The two upper stories also contain ornamented chimney pieces, but they are inferior to those described.
From the top of the castle is a very extensive view of the surrounding country.
Chimney Pieces in Tattershall Castle
Between the castle and the church stands an ancient brick building, which, from the stile of architecture, appears to be coeval with the castle, and is now inhabited. On the west of the castle is another remain, apparently of the same date. Each of these buildings is situated between the outer and inner fosse.
The principal entrance to the castle, with its portcullis and towers, was standing at the north-east corner of the enclosure, when Buck made his drawing in 1726.
In the seventeenth year of the reign of Henry the sixth, a licence was obtained from that monarch, directed to Ralph Cromwell, Knight, Henry Bishop of Winchester, Cardinal of England, William Alnewick, Bishop of Lincoln, John Scroope, Knight, Walter Hungerford, Knight, Walter Talbois, Esquire, and William Paston, patrons of the parish church of Tattershall, in the county of Lincoln, empowering them to convert the said church, into a collegiate church or college, in honour of the Holy Trinity, the blessed Virgin Mary, St. Peter the Apostle, St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist. The establishment was to consist of seven chaplains, one of whom to be custos or master, six secular clerks, and six choristers. The licence further authorized them to erect a perpetual alms-house on their own ground, being parcel of the castle and manor of Tattershall, next to the church-yard, containing ten acres, for thirteen poor persons of both sexes; with mansion houses and buildings for the said master, chaplains, clerks, choristers and their servants; with cloisters, enclosures, gardens, orchards and all other conveniences; and to assign the same to the said master and chaplains; who were to be a body corporate, and have a common seal for the execution of all business, with power to sue and be sued, and to purchase, receive and hold lands, tenements, and other revenues, ecclesiastical or secular, to the value of £200. per annum, over and above the advowson and yearly value of the said church of Tattershall, and the houses and ten acres of land aforesaid, without fine or fee to the king or his heirs.
The Lord Treasurer, in pursuance of this licence, began to convert the parish church into a college; but it appears that he died before it was finished, as, by his will, dated a short time previous to his decease, he bequeathed his body to be buried in the collegiate church of Tattershall, until the whole fabrick should be rebuilt, and then to be removed into the midst of the choir.
The church was afterwards finished nearly as it remains at this time; and mansion houses and other necessary buildings were erected for the use of the foundation, as well as the alms houses mentioned in the licence. Among the inscriptions in the MS. of Lincolnshire Church Notes, taken by Mr. Gervase Holles, are the names of several persons who belonged to this establishment.
This college received several benefactions, and its possessions progressively increased to a considerable magnitude. In the thirty-sixth year of Henry the eighth, the whole was granted to Charles, Duke of Suffolk, who at that time was possessor of the castle and manor.
The church stands about eighty yards east of the castle, near the outer fosse, and is a beautiful and spacious stone structure in the form of a cross, consisting of a square tower, a nave with five arches on a side, and eight clerestory windows placed in pairs, a transept, and a choir. On the north side is a porch, on which are sculptured the arms of William of Wainflete, Bishop of Winchester: formerly there were two porches on the south side also bearing the arms of the same bishop; but these have been some time since removed. Over the great eastern window is a richly ornamented niche, in which a statue once stood: the wall above the western door is likewise ornamented with thirteen blank shields. The cloisters, which were on the south side of the chancel, are entirely demolished.
In the south wall of the chancel are three stone stalls and a piscina, with a cornice charged with various animals; on each side of the transept is also a piscina. There is a handsome rood-loft between the nave and choir, now used as a singing gallery.
The windows of the choir were once enriched with beautiful stained glass, which was removed in the year 1754, by the Earl of Exeter, on condition that it should be replaced with plain glass: but this being neglected to be done, the choir remained about fifty years with unglazed windows; and being thus exposed to the weather, the elegantly carved oak stalls, the rich screens, and other ornamental work, fell entirely to decay. [90] The choir has, within these few years, been repaired by the present Earl Fortescue, and fitted up in a plain but neat manner.
The windows of the nave and transept were also enriched with stained glass containing the legendary histories of St. Guthlake, St. Catherine, and other saints, a few fine fragments of which are preserved in two of the transept windows.
On the floor before the communion table is a stone which once contained a rich brass figure of the Lord Treasurer Cromwell, habited in full plated armour and a flowing mantle and cordon, the gauntlets reaching to the middle joint of the fingers, a long sword across him from the middle of the belt, and at his feet two wild men with clubs his supporters; by his side the figure of Margaret his wife; and over them a canopy charged with saints, and under them the following inscription:
“Hic jacet nobilis Baro Radulphus Cromwell Miles D’ns de Cromwell quo’dm Thesaurarius Anglie et fundator hujus Collegii cum inclita consorte sua Margareta una herede d’ni Dayncourt qui quid’m Radulphus obiit quarto die mens. Januarij Anno d’ni Mill’o cccclv. Et p’dicta Margareta obiit xv die Septe’br Anno d’ni mill’io ccccliij Quor’ Aiab’ pp’ietur Deus Amen.”
The whole of these figures, the canopy, and the arms are gone and only half the inscription is now remaining.
On the north side of the Lord Treasurer, is the figure in brass of Joan Lady Cromwell, [91a] under a canopy adorned with saints, and under her this inscription:
“Orate p’ a’ia Johanne d’ne Cromwell que obijt decimo die martij Anno d’ni mill’mo cccclxxix cuj’ a’ie p’piciet’ Deus Amen.”
On the other side of the Lord Treasurer is the figure in brass of Matilda Lady Willoughby, [91b] under a canopy charged with saints, and at her feet the following inscription:
“Hic jacet d’na Matilda nuper d’ni Willughby quondam uxor Roberti d’ni de Willughby militis ac consanguinea et heres illustris d’ni Radulphi nup’ dn’i Crumwell militis fundatoris hujus collegii ac specialis benefactrix ejusdem collegij que obijt xxxo die aug’ Anno Domini Mill’imo cccclxxxxvij cujus anime p’picietur om’p’ns deus Amen.”
The corner shields from this stone, and also those from that of Joan Lady Cromwell are gone. [92a] The canopies have sustained but little injury.
In the middle of the floor of the choir is the figure in brass of a priest, under which is the following inscription to the memory of William Moor, the second provost of this college:
“Vir virtute vivens Will’us vulgo vocatus
Hujus Collegii de Tateshale secundus
Hic Eboracensis fuit eccl’ie cathedralis
Sacre Scripture baccalaurius arte p’batus
Octobris dena mensis cu’ luce novena
Bil’ d’ni C quater I sexto continuat’Boor micuit more mitis bene morigerat’
Prudens p’positus et egenis semp’ habundus
Canonicus Rector et de ledenham specialis
Jam sub tellure fit vermibus esca paratus
Mente pia morit’ cujus corpus sepelitur
Sp’us in celis ejus sine fine locatur.”
A brass figure of a priest, about five feet long, with the figure of the deity on his breast, and several saints down his robe, is now loose in the choir. Mr. Gough, in his “Sepulchral Monuments,” describes this as the figure of William Moor, and attached to the above inscription. [92b]
On the floor between the nave and the choir is a brass figure much worn, under which, though scarcely legible, is this inscription:
“Hic jacet Hugo . . . quondam . . . d’ni Rad’i de Cromwell Militis d’ni de Tateshale qui obiit ultimo die Septe’bris A’o d’ni mill’mo ccccxi cuj’ a’ie p’piciet deus Amen.” [92c]
In various parts of the floor of this church are traces of brass figures, which are now gone, one, in particular, against the door in the north aisle appears to have been exceedingly rich.
The south side of the transept is now partitioned off, and used as a school, in which the children are instructed on the plan of Dr. Bell.
The living is a donative, extra judicial, in the presentation of the lord of the manor. It was once held by the Reverend Obadiah How, D.D. a man of considerable learning, and the author of several theological treatises; he died in 1685, and was buried in the church of Boston, of which he was vicar. It was afterwards held for more than forty years by the Reverend Michael Taylor, who died in 1730, and was buried in the midst of the nave of this church.
The college, which was situated on the north side of the church, is entirely gone. The alms-houses still remain with a small endowment.
An old building in the town, supposed to have been the parish chapel, now forms part of a malting office.
The parish of Tattershall contains about 1555 acres of land, and the hamlet of Tattershall Thorpe about 2589 acres, the principal part of which is the property of the lord of the manor.
The town has derived considerable benefit from the navigable canal, which passes through it from the river Witham to the town of Horncastle. A fine bridge of four arches having been thrown over the Witham, in the place of the ferry, with a turnpike road to Sleaford, has also contributed to the improvement of the place.
From a manuscript account of the diocese of Lincoln, taken in the year 1588, it appears that at that period Tattershall contained 236 families, and the hamlet of Tattershall Thorpe 68. By the returns made in the year 1811, it appears that the number of houses in Tattershall was 105, and of inhabitants 506: Tattershall Thorpe, at the same time, contained 37 houses and 208 inhabitants.
There are two fairs holden annually at this place; one on the fifteenth of May, the other on the twenty-fifth of September. The market is now held on Friday weekly.
In the market place stands an octagonal column or shaft, which was once surmounted by a cross. The cross has however long since been removed and an urn substituted in its place. On three of the shields with which this column is ornamented these arms are sculptured, viz. Cromwell, Cromwell and Tateshall quarterly, and Cromwell and Tateshall impaling Deincourt. The arms on the fourth shield are obliterated.
On an extensive moor, about four miles north of Tattershall, and about six miles south west of Horncastle, stands the remain of a brick building, called from its situation the Tower on the Moor. It was built by the Lord Treasurer Cromwell, and is supposed to have been an appendage to the castle at Tattershall, from which place it is plainly visible by reason of the flatness of the intervening country. [97]
Of this tower only an octangular turret remains, to which fragments of the walls adhere; it is about sixty feet in height, and contains winding stairs of brick, now in a very ruinous condition. Traces of the fosse, by which it was surrounded, are still visible.
Although the Soke of Horncastle does not possess much variety in its geological structure, yet a considerable diversity is to be found in the formation of the adjacent elevated country, called the wolds. On the annexed map the denudations of the various strata in this district are traced out, and distinguished by different colours: the order of stratification is also exemplified by a section, of imaginary elevation, but on the same scale as the map with respect to horizontal distance. The section too shows a greater extent than the map to the east, where, on account of the dip of the strata towards that quarter, it is necessary to commence the description, although in point of distance it cannot be properly considered within the prescribed limits of this work.
The tract of marsh land between the sea and the wolds, (No. 1.) consists principally of unstratified clay, with admixtures of sand, and various marine depositions. These circumstances, together with the old sea banks, evidence that this mass of earth has been left by the gradual receding of the ocean.
On the west of these marshes is the rough elevated denudation of chalk, (No. 2.) which forms the highest stratum of the wolds, and gently dips underneath the marshes; for in boring in them for water the chalk is always found. The chalk is of two colours, white and red, each lying in regular strata, which alternate frequently, the red bearing but a small proportion to the white. In the white, compact seams of flint, of a light grey color, from two to six inches thick, are often met with. In the chalk several extraneous fossils are found.
The stratum immediately below the chalk, (No. 3.) is a coarse, brown, pebbly sand, consisting of quartz and oxyd of iron, varying in thickness from six to ten yards, and of uncertain appearance at its denudation. While the different strata in these parts were exposed to the action of the water, the sand would naturally be more affected by that element than the superincumbent stratum of chalk; and the latter being thus left projecting, would from the decomposing effects of the atmosphere, crumble down, and form those various declivities which now present themselves to view.
Beneath the sand is a bed, about fourteen yards in thickness, (No. 4.) containing equal proportions of oolite limestone and calcareous clay of a light grey colour. In some parts the stone is divided by the clay into regular strata, whilst in others it occurs in large detached pieces imbedded in the clay. Fossil shells, and lumps of pyrites, or sulphuret of iron, are frequently met with in the stone.
The next stratum (No. 5.) consists of grains of quartz, for the most part agglutinated into sandstone of different degrees of induration, and varying in colour from a light grey to a dark brown, whilst in some parts loose sand predominates. In the grey variety of this stone, marine shells of different kinds, are found in great abundance: in the brown they occur very seldom, and not at all in the sand. This stratum is considerably thicker than the two incumbent ones.
The lowest visible stratum is the shale, [100a] (No. 6.) which generally makes its appearance in vallies. As it no where exhibits a denudated termination, its thickness cannot be estimated, but from the great depths in which it has been bored, without being perforated, it must be immense. [100b] A great variety of organic remains are also found in this stratum.
The last division to be considered is an alluvial collection of earth, almost entirely consisting of the spoils of the neighbouring strata in a state of decomposition, wherein however detached pieces of the different strata are to be found unaltered. From this it appears that when these parts were deluged by the water, the current set in from east to west. As the chalk and the shale would present the largest surfaces to the erosion of the water, they would be more extensively acted upon than the other strata: hence the greatest part of the alluvial deposition consists of white marle and blue; the former (No. 7.) being of the least specific gravity, has covered the hills, while the latter with sand gravel (No. 8.) occupies the lower parts.
In the department of Natural History, this district possesses but little which is deserving of particular notice. Of birds there are none which can now be considered peculiar to this part, the drainage of the fen lands having entirely banished the great variety of aquatic birds which used, previous to that event, to be found here.
A variety of plants, many of which are of rare occurrence in other parts, are indigenous to this neighbourhood: a list of them is given in the following table.
Names of the Plants. |
Where found. |
Achillea ptarmica |
Bridle road to Hemingby |
Agrimonia eupatoria |
Ditto. |
Alchemilla vulgaris |
Ditto. |
Alisma plantago |
Ditto, wet ditches. |
Allium ursinum |
Tetford Wood. |
Anemone nemorosa |
Tetford and Thornton Woods. |
Antirrhinum linaria |
Horncastle, dry banks. |
Arabis thaliana |
Ditto, sandy grounds. |
Artemisia vulgaris |
Ditto, long hedge. |
Artemisia absinthium |
Tetford. |
Arum maculatum |
West Ashby. |
Asperula odorata |
Tetford, Stovin, and Whitehall Woods |
Asplenium adiantum |
Tattershall. |
Berberis vulgaris |
Scrivelsby, Horncastle, |
Tetford and Stovin Woods, |
|
Bryonia dioica |
Horncastle, West Ashby. |
Campanula trachelium |
Tetford Wood, Revesby. |
Cardamine hirsuta |
Bridle road to Hemingby. |
Carduus marianus |
Stovin Wood, Kirkstead. |
Centaurea scabiosa |
Horncastle, long hedge. |
Chironia pulchella |
Ditto, Blind lane, Scrivelsby road. |
Cichorium intybus |
Revesby. |
Cineraria palustris |
Sturton. |
Comarum palustre |
West Ashby furze-hill. |
Cornus sanguinea |
Horncastle, woodcock-lane. |
Convallaria majalis |
Bardney. |
Cynoglossum officinali |
Martin, Thornton. |
Crepis biennis |
Thornton, West Ashby. |
Digitalis purpurea |
Holbeck, Salmonby. |
Dipsacus sylvestris |
Horncastle. |
Drosera longifolia |
Tattershall. |
Drosera rolundifolia |
Ditto. |
Echium vulgare |
West Ashby. |
Erica vulgaris |
Moor. |
Erysimum alliaria |
Poolham. |
Eriophorum angustifolium |
Bridle road to Hemingby. |
Eupatorium cannabinum |
Tetford. |
Frugaria vesca |
Somersby. |
Galeobdolon luteum. |
Tetford and Stovin Woods. |
Genista anglica |
Horncastle. |
Gentiana amarella |
Greetham, Hemingby. |
Gentiana pneumonanthe |
Tattershall Park. |
Geum rivale |
Horncastle, wet meadows. |
Geum urbanum |
Ditto, banks of the Old Bane. |
Galium saxatile |
Moor. |
Hedysarum onobrychis |
Golceby. |
Hottonia palustris |
Thornton Mill. |
Hydrocotyle vulgaris |
Bridle road to Hemingby. |
Hyosciamus nigrum |
Hemingby, Baumber, Roughton. |
Hypericum audrosæmum |
Tattersall. |
Hypericum perfoliatum |
Ditto. |
Tattershall. |
|
Hypericum elodes |
Bridle road to Hemingby. |
Hydrocharis morsus ranæ |
Ditto. |
Iris pseudacorus |
Bridle road to Hemingby. |
Jasione montana |
Horncastle. |
Ligustrum vulgare |
Edlington, West Ashby. |
Linum perenne |
High Tointon. |
Lonicera periclymenum |
Holbeck, Roughton. |
Lycopsis europæus |
Horncastle. |
Lysimachia nemorum |
Roughton. |
Lythrum salicaria |
Thornton mill. |
Lychnis flos cuculi, var. flor. alb. |
West Ashby furze-hill. |
Malaxis paludoso |
Moor. |
Melampyrum pratense |
Tetford and Stovin Woods. |
Menyanthes trifoliata |
Horncastle. |
Myrica gali |
Moor. |
Ophyris apifera |
Mareham-le-fen. |
Ophrys ovato |
Thornton Wood. |
Oxalis acetosella |
Tetford Wood. |
Ophioglossum |
Langton, Stixwold. |
Ononis arvensis |
Horncastle. |
Orchis mascula |
Tetford and Thornton Woods. |
Orchis maculata |
Ditto. |
Orobus tuberosus |
Daw-Wood. |
Parietaria officinalis |
Horncastle Church, Kirkstead Abbey. |
Paris quadrifolia |
Tetford Wood. |
Parnassia palustres |
Horncastle. |
Pedicnlaris palustris |
Ditto. |
Pinguicula vulgaris |
Tattershall. |
Polygonum bistorta |
Horncastle. |
Poterium sanguisorba |
Ditto. |
Primula elatior |
Thornton Wood. |
Pyrethrum parthenium |
Wilksby. |
Ranunculus flammula |
Ditto. |
Ranunculus lingua |
Woodhall wharf. |
Reseda luteola |
Tetford Wood. |
Rhamnus catharticus |
Thimbleby. |
Wood at Somersby. |
|
Sagittaria sagittifolia |
Thornton Mill. |
Salvia verbenaca |
Horncastle. |
Sanicula europea |
Stovin and Tetford Woods. |
Saponaria officinalis |
Baumber, West Ashby, Horncastle. |
Scandix pecten veneris |
Hemingby. |
Scilla bifolia |
Thornton Wood. |
Scrophularia aquatica |
Bridle road to Hemingby. |
Serratula tinctoria |
Thornton, Stovin and Tetford Woods |
Solanum dulcamara |
Horncastle, Golceby. |
Solidago virga aurea |
Tattershall. |
Spartium scoparium |
West Ashby, Harrington. |
Spirea fillipendula |
Bridle road to Hemingby. |
Tamus communis |
West Ashby. |
Tanacetum vulgare |
Salmonby, Golceby. |
Teucrium scorodonia |
Holbeck, Salmonby. |
Tormentilla repens |
Bridle road to Hemingby, Scrivelsby. |
Trachelium majus |
Revesby. |
Tussilago farfara |
Horncastle. |
Tussilago hybrida |
Horncastle, Hemingby. |
Tussilago petasites |
Horncastle. |
Typha latifolia |
Tetford. |
Vaccinium oxycoccum |
Moor. |
Valeriana sylvestris |
Horncastle, Tattershall. |
Verbascum |
Tetford Wood. |
Verbena officinales |
West Ashby. |
Vinca major |
Salmonby. |
Viola albus |
Edlington. |
Viola canina |
Tetford Wood. |
Viola hirta |
Ditto. |
Viola tricolor |
Holbeck, Salmonby, Tetford. |
Minerals occur rarely in this part, and in very small quantities. Lumps of sulphuret of iron in the oolite stratum, earthy oxide of iron and prussiate of iron in a valley at Salmonby, and a stalactitic oxide of iron in the ferruginous gravel, comprise all the varieties which have yet been found.
Although organic remains are to be found in some parts of this district in considerable quantities, yet they do not include many varieties. The following list of those now in the collection of the author, comprises one of almost every species which has yet been found.
From the Chalk Stratum. No. 2.
A cast within some bivalve Venus.
A cast within Terebratula semiglobosus. Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology, 15 and 59.
From the Sand Stone Stratum. No. 5.
An Ammonites, curious and not named. It is without a keel; else like Ammonites inflatus.
A Cardita. Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology, 197.
An Inoceramus.
An Unio.
A Terebratula approaching glaber.
A Terebratula approaching acerminatus.
A cast within a bivalve, not named.
A cast within a Trochus.
From the Shale or Clunch Clay. No. 6.
An Os Femoris of some large quadruped.
Part of a large Vertebræ.
Part of a small Vertebræ.
An Ammonites, not named.
A Venus equales. Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology, 21.
An Ostrea crista galli. Linnæus.
A Cardita.
An Unio hybrida. Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology, 154, fig. 2.
An Ostrea under valve, with a cast of the inside of the upper valve.
A Griphites incurva. Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology, 112, 1 and 2.
An Ammonites seratus. Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology, 24.
An Inoceramus Cuvierii hinge.
Several Unios.
A piece composed entirely of shells, the chief part of which are the Serpula auricula. It also contains an inside cast of a small turretted shell.
From the beds of Ferruginous Gravel in Alluvium of Shale. No. 8.
A Madrepore.
An Alcyonium, or Spongites.
An Astarte.
A cast of Shell, not named.
An Echinus.
A cast of an Unio indistinct.
A part of a Spongites.
An Ostrea, with a cast of the upper valve.
An impression of a Cactus, or an Euphorbia, or some other Oriental plant. Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology, 40.