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

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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.”

Of the church itself, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, it may be said that it has had its peculiar vicissitudes. It was built probably by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; as the flamboyant style of its architecture indicates a late 14th century erection; and he was granted the manor in that century (1363). Many of our finest churches, such as those of Boston, Grantham, Heckington, &c., were built in that century. This of Bolingbroke is one of the latest of them, corresponding most closely in style and date to the Church of Kyme Priory; but it is certainly not one of the least striking. We now see in it only a portion of the original, namely, the south aisle, porch, and tower. It was occupied as head quarters by the Parliamentary troops in 1643, while they were laying siege to the castle, which was held for the King; and, with their usual puritan hatred of holy places, they destroyed the beautiful stained glass which adorned the windows; while, further, their presence there drew upon the building heavy bombardment by the King’s men, no less destructive to the edifice itself. Since that time, the original south aisle has been used as the main body of the church; and until recently, the arches of the arcade, formerly dividing it from the original nave, were distinctly visible, built up in the (later) north wall; while the tower, originally standing at the west end of the nave, became (in consequence of the destruction of the latter, semi-detached from the later south aisle) church, at its north-west angle. The church was restored in 1889, through the munificence of Mr. C. S. Dickinson, of Lincoln, at a cost of £3,000; the architect being the late Mr. James Fowler; and it was re-opened by the Bishop on Oct. 10th of that year; the old disfiguring galleries having been removed, and new battlements and pinnacles being added to the tower; and a new north aisle being erected, extending eastward from the tower; the original south aisle being still retained as a modern nave, re-seated, and re-furnished in every respect; and a new organ added, with various improvements. As to the result, we cannot do better than quote some of the observations of the late Precentor Venables, made by him on the visit of the Lincolnshire Architectural Society in 1894. [28] He described it as “a building of great stateliness, the proportions being excellent, and in its general design and architectural details, presenting a specimen of the decorated style in its greatest purity and beauty; the windows are almost faultless examples of flowing tracery in its early purity. The east window has five lights, with quatrefoil window in the gable above; the west window four lights; and the side windows three lights each; all excellent. The south porch has a well-proportioned inner door with good moulding; there being an open quatrefoil over the door. In its east corner there is a very sumptuous holy water stoup of unusual design, surmounted by a tall canopy of great richness. There is a statue bracket over the door, and one at the side. The recently opened arcade on the north side of nave is composed of fine equilateral arches, with mouldings continuous from their bases, without the intervention of capitals. On the south wall of the present chancel is a range of three rich, though rather heavy, stone sedilia, with projecting canopies over-braided with wall-flowers, and groined within Traces of canopied niches of similar design to the sedilia, are visible on each side of the east window. The piscina, with projecting basin, is plain.”

In the middle of the south wall of the nave there is also an old piscina, with aumbrey above it, which would indicate that, in the original church, there was here a chantry. [29] The present pulpit, and the choir seats in the chancel, are of modern oak richly carved; and the vestry, at the back of the organ, is screened off by similar rich modern oak carving. The tower has a west door, with a four-light window over it; a two-light window above this, with corresponding ones in the north and south faces. Within the tower, over an ancient fireplace, is embedded in the wall, 4ft. from the ground, a curious old gurgoyle head of peculiar hideousness, which doubtless, at one time, grinned down from the original roof. Over the said fireplace there is this inscription graven in a stone:—“Sixpence in bread every Sunday for ever for the poore women present at divine service, given by John Andred, M.A., rector of Bolingbroke, Anno Domini MDCLXXX.”

In the churchyard is a tall monument, surmounted by a cherub with expanded wings, in memory of Edward Stanley Bosanquet, who died July 16th, 1886, formerly vicar; also of his wife Emmeline, and three children, who died at different dates. Outside the north wall are some stone ends of seats, formerly in the tower.

It may here be worthy of remark that Chancellor Massingberd, in his account of the battle of Winceby mentions that “among the slain on the side of the King was a Lincolnshire gentleman of the name of Hallam, the immediate ancestor of the Historian of the Middle Ages,” Henry Hallam. The name is not a common one; and on a broken stone slab, lying behind the N.E. buttress, under the N.E. window, is the fragmentary inscription, “Body of Henry Hallam, who dyed January The 6, 1687.” [30a]

We conclude our notice of this church with the words of the Precentor:—“We may realize the magnitude, and the beauty of the (former) entire church, when we bear in mind that, besides what we now see, there was a wide nave, a north aisle, doubtless equal in dimensions and style to that now standing, and a long chancel reaching to the limits of the churchyard.” A building so fine would attest the former importance of the place; and we now proceed to consider other proofs of that importance which we know to have existed.

Bolingbroke is, indeed, a place of no mushroom growth. The Castle was built in the reign of Henry I. by William de Romara, Earl of Lincoln, who also founded the Abbey of Revesby about 1143. But history carries us back to a still earlier date, and to an older, and even more interesting, and more important family than that of Romara. The mother of William de Romara (or, according to others, his grandmother) was Lucia, a Saxon heiress [30b]; sister of the powerful Morcar, Earl of Northumberland, who for some time withstood the Conqueror, and daughter of Algar, Earl of Mercia, who was the brother of Edgiva, King Harold’s Queen (others making Edgiva the sister of Lucia). She was also a near relative of the renowned “Hereward the Wake,” the stubborn champion of Saxon freedom. There was an earlier Algar, Earl of Mercia, who, 200 years before, fell in the famous fight of Threckingham (between Sleaford and Folkingham) against the Danes, about A.D. 865. He was the son of another Algar, and grandson of Leofric, both successively Earls of Mercia; the wife of the last-named being the Lady Godiva (or God’s gift, “Deodata”), renowned for her purity and good works. This Lady Godiva was the sister of Turold, or Thorold, of Bukenale (Bucknall), [30c] Lord of Spalding, and Vice-Count, or Sheriff of the County of Lincoln. And these Thorolds, father and son, were among the chief benefactors of the famous Monastery of St. Guthlac, at Croyland; a similar good work being also performed, in her own day, by the aforesaid Lady Lucia, who was chief patroness of the Priory of Spalding [31a] an offshoot of the greater Croyland Abbey. Thus William of Romara was not only a Norman “of high degree,” on his father’s side, but, through his mother, he came of a race of Saxons, powerful, brave, and distinguished for their services to their country and religion. It has been frequently observed that, although the Normans conquered and subjugated Saxon England, the stubborn Saxon eventually absorbed, or prevailed over, his Norman master; and we have an illustration of it here, not uninteresting to men of Lincolnshire. The name of Romara has long been gone, in our country and elsewhere, beyond recall; but the old Saxon name of Thorold yet stands high in the roll of our county families. There is probably no older name in the shire; none that has so completely maintained its good position and succession, in unbroken descent. [31b]

Now the Lady Lucia inherited many of the lands of her Saxon ancestors; and among those which passed to her Son William of Romara, was Bolingbroke. He was a man of many, and wide domains, but of them all he selected this, as the place for erecting a stronghold, capable of defence in those troublous times. The castle is described by Holles (temp. Charles I) as “surrounded by a moat fed by streams, and as covering about an acre and half; built in a square, with four strong forts,” probably at the corners; and “containing many rooms, which were connected by passages along the embattled walls and capable to receyve a very great prince with all his trayne.” The entrance was “very stately, over a fair draw bridge; the gate-house uniforme, and strong.” The gateway, of which the crumbling ruins were engraved by Stukeley in the first half of the l8th century, finally fell in 1815; and nothing now remains above ground. The whole structure was of the sandstone of the neighbourhood, which, as Holles observes, will crumble away when the wet once penetrates it. The moat is still visible; and further, in the rear of it, to the south, beyond the immediate precincts, there is another moated enclosure, still to be seen, the residence doubtless of dependants under the shelter of the castle; or these may have been earthworks excavated by the forces besieging the castle. We cannot here give in detail the long and varied history of the great owners of Bolingbroke. But, omitting minor particulars:—“A Gilbert de Gaunt by marrying a Romara heiress, obtained the estate. One of his successors of the same name, joining the Barons against King John and Henry III., forfeited it. It was then granted to Ranulph, Earl of Chester. It afterwards passed to the de Lacy family, earls in their turn, of Lincoln; and by marriage with Alicia de Lacy, Thomas Plantagenet, grandson of Henry III. obtained it, with the title. A later Gaunt, the famous John, Duke of Lancaster, married the heiress of this branch of the Plantagenets, and so in turn became Earl of Lincoln and Lord of Bolingbroke, and their son Henry, born here April 3, 1366, became Henry IV. As being the birthplace of a sovereign, the estate, instead of remaining an ordinary manor, was elevated to the rank of an ‘Honour’” (Camden’s Britannia, p. 471) and is entitled, in all legal documents “the Honour of Bolingbroke.” Since the accession of Henry IV. it has remained an appanage of the Crown; and as Duke of Lancaster, King Edward is “Lord of the Honour,” at the present day. Gervase Holles states that Queen Elizabeth made sundry improvements in the interior of the castle, adding “a fayre great chamber with other lodgings.” The Constable of the Castle was (in his day) “Sir William Mounson, Lord Castlemayne, who received a revenue out of the Dutchy lands of £500 per annum; in part payment of £1,000 yearly, given by the King to the Countess of Nottingham his lady.” He also says “In a roome in one of the towers they kept their audit for the whole Dutchy of Lancaster, Bolingbroke having ever been the prime seat thereof, where the Recordes for the whole country are kept.” [32]

And he then gives a detailed account of the following supernatural occurrence, as being beyond controversy authenticated:—Which is, that the castle is haunted by a certain spirit in the likeness of a hare; which, “att the meeting of the auditors doth runne betweene their legs, and sometimes overthrows them, and soe passes away. They have pursued it downe into the castleyard, and seen it take in att a grate, into a low cellar; and have followed it thither with a light, where, notwithstanding they did most narrowly observe it, and there was no other passage out, but by the doore or windowe, the roome being all close-framed of stones within, not having the least chinke or crevice, they could never finde it. Att other times it hath been seen to run in at the iron grates below into other of the grotto’s (as their be many of them), and they have watched the place, and sent for hounds, and put in after it; but aftar a while they came crying out.” (Harleian M.S.S. No. 6829, p. 162). The explanation of this hare-brained story we leave to others more versed in the doings of the spirit world; merely observing that such an apparition has not been entirely confined to Bolingbroke Castle.

The town of Bolingbroke confers the title of Viscount on the family of St.-John of Lydiard Tregoze, Co. Wilts. The career, the abilities, the accomplishments, the vicissitudes, and the writings, of the great statesman, author and adventurer, Henry St.-John, Viscount Bolingbroke, during the reigns of Anne, William and Mary, and George I. are too well-known, to need further mention here.

Saunders in his History of Lincolnshire (Vol. ii., p. 101, 1834) says that there was then still in the church the remains of an altar cloth, beautifully embroidered, and traditionally said to have been the work of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt, and mother of Henry IV., who is celebrated in Chaucer’s poem “the Dream.” Chancellor Massingberd, however, writing his account of Bolingbroke Castle in 1858 (“Architect Soc. Journ.” vol. iv. p. ii.) says that it had then disappeared, and not been seen for some 20 years, having probably been disgracefully purloined.

The parish register dates from 1538; a rather unusual occurrence, as the keeping of registers was only enforced 1530–8 by Act of 27 Henry VIII., and the order was in few cases observed till a later period.

Edlington.

This is a pleasant, small village, about 2½ miles from Horncastle, the chief approach to it being by the so-called “Ramper,” the great Roman road, connecting the two Roman fortresses, Lindum and Banovallum (Lincoln and Horncastle), and still one of the best roads in the county. The Park of Edlington, now the property of the Hassard Short family, is a pleasantly undulating enclosure, adorned with some very fine trees; although of late some £3,000 worth, chiefly of outlying timber, has been converted into cash. The ground is varied by small copses, which afford excellent pheasant and rabbit shooting; as also do two covers, about two miles from the Park, called Edlington Scrubs; and there are also some very gamey plantations, belonging to the estate, situated about two miles north-west from Woodhall Spa. The estate comprises about 2,700 acres, and is fully five miles long from one end to the other, being intersected by portions of other parishes. There was formerly a substantial residence, with stew ponds and extensive gardens, at the upper or northern end of the park, [34a] with the parish road running behind it, covered by lofty trees. Here, it may interest the botanist to know that the plant “Butcher’s Broom” (Ruscus Aculeatus) grew plentifully, although it now seems to be extinct, having been improved away. From this position there is a very fine view, extending many miles to the south and west, over very varied country. While the late Mr. Hassard Short himself resided here, he had frequently coursing parties, hares being then very plentiful, to which, among others, the present writer, as a boy, and his father, were always invited. This residence was, however, pulled down sometime “in the fifties,” the owner, for the sake of his health, preferring to reside in the south. It was for a time, however, occupied by a Mrs. Heald, [34b] and her nephew George Heald, Esq., a fine-looking young fellow, who held a commission in the Guards. And hereby hangs a tale. In riding in the Park, in London, he made the acquaintance of the famous coquette, and adventuress, Lola Montez, created Countess of Landsfeldt by the King of Hanover, whose mistress she was. Being a mixture of Spanish and Irish blood, she possessed all the vivacity of both those races, with a gay dash in her manners, and considerable beauty, along with an extremely outré style of dress. Thus she fascinated the young man, as she previously had done her late Royal Master. He married her, although she was said to have been already married to a Captain James. The charm soon lost its power, and as a means of ridding himself of her, his friends prosecuted her for bigamy. Sergeant Ballantine in his autobiography gives the whole particulars (vol. II., p. 106), but he does not remember the result of this action. She was of a temper so violent, that she commonly carried arms, and was almost reckless of what she did. Young Heald came at length to live in almost hourly fear for his life. I well remember his coming down to a hotel at Horncastle, to receive rents; when he sat at table, with a loaded pistol at each side of him. I knew him and his aunt well, and from the latter I received many kindnesses. The poor persecuted young man soon passed from mortal ken; but the lady migrated to America, to seek higher game once more; but a fracas having occurred, in which she shot someone in a railway carriage, her career also was brought to a close.

The earliest mention which we have of this part of the Manor of Edlington, is as being part of the Barony of Gilbert de Gaunt (some of that name, still residing as farmers in the parish). He probably, or his ancestors, acquired the property, from what was a common source, in that day, viz., from the great Norman Baron, Ivo Taillebois, on whom William the Conqueror bestowed the rich Saxon heiress, the Lady Lucia, the representative of the wealthy family of the Thorolds, and near relative of King Harold (see my records of Old Bolingbroke). He held this Manor till about the year 35 Ed. I., or A.D. 1307. It then passed to the Barkeworthes; Robert de Barkeworthe being the first of them to reside in the parish, as owner of Poolham. They were a family of wealth and position in the neighbourhood at that period. There is a legal document called Feet of Fines (file 98 [39]), of date A.D. 1329, in which William de Barkeworthe, and ffloriana his wife, on the one part, and Robert de Haney and Alice his wife, on the other part, lay claim to considerable property, in Claxby, Normanby and Ussylby, in which the former establish their claim. In 1351, William de Barkeworthe presented to a moiety of the chapelry of Polum. But in 1369, Thomas de Thymbelby presented. This marks the period when the property passed from the Barkeworthes to the Thimblebys. A Walter de Barkeworthe died in 1347, and was buried in the Cloister of Lincoln Cathedral. At the period of this transition (1369), another Feet of Fines exists, between Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby, with several others, on the one part, and Richard, “son of Simon atte See,” on the other part, by which the said Richard surrenders lands in Claxby, Normanby, Tetford, and other property, to the said Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby and his friends (“Architectural Soc. Journ.,” vol. XXIII., p. 255). There is another Feet of Fines, in 1374, between Thomas de Themelby, John de Themelby, Parson, and others, on the one part, and John de Toutheby, and his wife Alianora, on the other part, which assigns the Manor of Tetford, and advowson of the church, to the Thymelbys. In 1388, John, son of Thomas de Thymelby, presented to Tetford. The Thimbleby pedigree is given in the Herald’s Visitation of 1562.

In 1333, at a Chancery Inquisition, held at Haltham, “on Friday next, after the feast of St. Matthew,” the Jurors declare, that Nicholas de Thymelby, and his wife Matilda, hold land in Haltham, of the right of the said Matilda, under the Lord the King, as parcel of the Manor of Scrivelsby; also that the said Nicholas held land in Stikeswold, of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln, by the service of paying them ij^s and vi^d yearly; and also that he held lands in Thymelby, under the Bishop of Carlisle. Further inquisitions show that Nicholas de Thymelby, and John, his brother, also held lands in Horncastle and over (i.e. High) Toynton, under the said Bishop of Carlisle; that Thomas de Thymelby presented to the Church of Ruckland in 1381; and that John, his son, presented to the Church of Tetford, April 4th, 1388. In 1427, it was found that the heirs of John de Thymelby, held by their trustees, lands “in Polum and Edlynton.”

In 1439, William Thymelby, Esq., Lord of Polum, presented to the Benefice of Somersby, having already presented to Tetford. He seems to have married Joan, daughter of Sir Walter Tailboys, a descendant of the same family, from which sprang Ivo Taillebois, the great Norman Baron, previously mentioned, from whom Gilbert de Gaunt probably acquired his land in Edlington. [37a] Richard Thimbleby, in 1474, obtained the Beelsby estates, through marriage with Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Beelsby, knight, and widow of Sir John Pygot, Knt. He died (1522) possessed (in right of his wife, who was coheir of Godfrey Hilton), of the Manors of Beelsby, Holton-le-Moor, Horsington, Harpswell, Harleston, Thorgansby; and a share of the advowson of Horsington; John Thymelby, his son, succeeded him (Escheator’s Inquisitions, 14 H.S., No. 24). To show the religious fanaticism in the reign of Elizabeth, even among Protestants, note the following:—A Thimbleby of Poolham, A.D. 1581, was thrown into prison by the Bishop of Lincoln (T. Cowper), for refusing to attend Protestant services. His wife was near her confinement, but she begged to see her husband, she was treated so roughly that the pains of labour seized her in her husband’s dungeon. She was nevertheless detained in prison without any nurse or assistant, and a speedy death followed; her husband also dying soon afterwards in prison from the rough treatment which he underwent there. (“The Church under Queen Elizabeth,” by F. G. Lee, II. p. 60). I have given these details to show the importance of the family of Thimbleby.

After another generation or two, Matthew Thymbleby’s widow of Poolham, married Sir Robert Saville, Knt., who, through her, died possessed of the Manors of Poolham, Edlington, and several more. Confining ourselves here to Poolham, we find the Saviles, who were members of the Saviles of Howley, co. York (now represented by Lord Mexborough, of Methley, co. York, etc., etc., and the Saviles, of Rufford Abbey, co. Notts.), continuing to own Poolham until 1600, when Sir John Saville, Knt., sold it to George Bolles, Esq., citizen of London, whose descendant, Sir John Bolles, [37b] Bart., sold it to Sir Edmund Turnor, of Stoke Rochford. It has recently been sold to Dr. Byron, residing in London.

As we have, thus far, chiefly confined ourselves to the owners of the hamlet of Poolham, we will now make some rather interesting remarks upon the old Poolham Hall, and matters connected with it. The old mansion was probably built originally on a larger scale than the present farm house. It is enclosed by a moat, in the south-west angle of which stand the remains of a chapel, or oratory, now in the kitchen garden; they consist of an end wall and part of a side wall, each with a narrow window. The font, a few years ago, was taken away, and in order to preserve it from destruction, it was placed, some twenty years ago, in the garden of Wispington Vicarage, by the Vicar (the late Rev. C. P. Terrot), a great ecclesiastical antiquarian. It has further again been removed by the present writer, and, on the restoration of the Church of St. Margaret, at Woodhall, in 1893, it was once more restored to its original purpose, as font in that Church, being further adorned by four handsome columns of serpentine, the gift of the Rev. J. A. Penny, the present Vicar of Wispington. Near the chapel, there was till recently, a tombstone, bearing date 1527. This stone was a few years ago removed, and now forms the sill of a cottage doorway in Stixwould. The writer should here add that, on the moat of this old Hall being cleaned out a few years ago, there was found in the mud, beneath the chapel ruins, a curious object, which at once passed into his possession. It proved to be an ancient chrismatory, of which there has never been found the like. The material is terra cotta, with peculiar primitive ornamentation, of a pale stone colour, containing two divisions, or wells, with spouts at each end, each having been covered with a roof, although one of them is now broken off, curiously carved. The use of the chrismatory, was, in mediæval times, connected with baptism; as the child was brought into the church, it was sprinkled with salt, and at the font it was anointed with oil. The two wells were meant to hold the salt and oil. As I have said, it is unique. Its use was first explained to me, by Sir Augustus Franks, of the British Museum. It has been exhibited among the ecclesiastical objects of art at the Church Congresses, at Norwich, London, Newcastle, Northampton, and other places. It has created very great interest, and has been noticed in various publications. According to Ecton’s “Thesaurus,” this chapel was connected with Bardney Abbey, but it is now a ruin, and unused. The population is limited to three houses, and the most convenient place of worship is Woodhall, St. Margaret’s.

We will now revert more especially to Edlington. We have mentioned Gilbert de Gaunt as among the first owners, but this applies, more strictly to the hamlet Poolham. Edlington proper, is evidently a place of great antiquity, the name is derived from “Eiddeleg,” a deity in the Bardic Mythology (Dr. Oliver’s “Religious Houses on the Witham”); the whole name meaning the town of Eiddeleg. In connection with this, we may mention that, until about three years ago, when it was destroyed by dynamite, there existed an enormous boulder, standing on a rising ground, about sixty yards from the present highway, on the farm of Mr. Robert Searby, which weighed about 10 tons, its height being about 10ft., width 4ft. 6in., and its thickness about 3ft. This would be just the Druidic altar, at which the Bardic mysteries, in the British period, might be celebrated. In 1819, while digging a field in Edlington, some men found several heaps of ox bones, and with each heap an urn of baked clay. Unfortunately none of these urns were preserved, so that we are unable to say whether they were of Roman make, or of earlier date. They imply heathen sacrifice of some kind, and were close to a Roman road; still the existence, already mentioned, of an earlier Bardic worship, would favour for them, an earlier origin.

From Domesday Book (completed circa 1086), we gather (1st) that among the possessions of the King (William the Conqueror), there were 4 carucates, i.e. 480 acres of land, with proportionate sokemen, villeins, and bordars. The whole land of the parish being reckoned at 6,960 acres. Of this extent, the Saxon Ulf, so often mentioned as an owner in this neighbourhood, had 10 carucates (or 1,200 acres). Egbert, the vassal of Gilbert de Gaunt had 480 acres, a mill, always a valuable possession, as all dependants were bound to have their grain ground there; 90 acres of meadow, and 210 acres of wood land, in all 780 acres. A Jury of the wapentake of Horncastle, declared that the powerful noble Robert Despenser, wrongfully disputed the claim of Gilbert de Gaunt, to half a carucate, or 60 acres, in Edlington, which in the time of Edward the Confessor had been formerly held by one Saxon, Tonna.

Edlington was one of the 222 parishes in the county which had churches before the Norman conquest, but as the number of priests serving these churches was only 131, it is doubtful whether it had a resident minister, it being more probably that it was served by a Monk of Bardney Abbey, to which (according to Liber Regis) it was attached. Here again we have a trace of Gilbert de Gaunt being Lord of the Manor of Edlington, as well as of the subdivision of Poolham. The Monastery of Bardney was originally one of the few Saxon foundations, and established before the year 697. It was however reduced to great poverty by the Danes, under Inguar and Hubba, in 870, 300 monks being slain. It remained in ruins some 200 years, when it was restored by Gilbert de Gaunt, who succeeded to some of the property of Ulf, the Saxon Thane, already named. Gilbert de Gaunt had 54 Manors conferred upon him; being nephew of the Conqueror, and among the several which he bestowed on Bardney, was Edlington. At the dissolution, it would revert to the King, and (as we are here reduced to conjecture), we may well suppose that it was one of the many Manors in this district conferred by Henry VIII., on Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, among whose descendants these vast possessions were subsequently divided. In Dr. Oliver’s learned book on the “Religious Houses on the Witham,” it is stated that Bardney had land in Edlington, that the abbot had the advowson of the benefice, and that before the King’s Justices, in the reign of Ed. I., the abbot proved his right, by act of Henry I., confirmed by Henry III. to the exercise of “Infangthef, pit, and gallows at Bardney.”

In “Placito de Warranto,” p. 409, he claimed, and proved his right, also to a gallows at Edlington (as well as at Hagworthingham, and Steeping, and Candlesby); and in connection with this, it is interesting to note that, as at Bardney, there is a field called “Coney Garth” (Konig Garth), or King enclosure, where the abbot’s gallows stood; so at Edlington there is a field (the grass field, in the angle, as you pass from the village road to the high road, leading northward), which is still called “Coney Green,” which name moderns of small education, suppose to be derived from the numbers of conies, i.e. rabbits, which abound there; but in which the antiquarian sees the old Konig-field, the King’s enclosure; and in that field, doubtless, stood the abbot of Bardney’s gallows; [41] just as the Abbots of Kirkstead had a gallows in Thimbleby. On this Edlington Coney Green, I have found bricks of an early style, with various mounds and hollows, indicating buildings of some extent, and probably belonging to the King.

In the year 1897, the Rev. J. A. Penny, Vicar of Wispington, discovered and published in “Linc. N. and Q.,” some very interesting Bardney charters of the 13th century, which make many mentions of Edlington. In one case they record the gift of a bondman, and his progeny to Thomas de Thorley, living in Gautby, the slave being William, son of Peter Hardigrey, of Edlington; among the witnesses to the deed of gift being Master Robert, of Poolham, Simon, the Chamberlain of Edlington, and others. Date, 22nd May, 1281.

Another is a declaration of Thomas de Thorley, living in Gautby, that he grants to Master William Hardegrey, Rector of Mareham, all the lands and tenements which he owns in the village and fields of Edlington; among the witnesses being Simon, son of John, the Chamberlain of Edlington; Richard King of the same, Simon the Francis of Edlington, and others.

Another charter states that, “I, William, son of William of Wispington, have granted, and by this deed confirmed, the gift, to William Hardigrey, of Edlington, clerk, all my toft, with its buildings, lying in the parish of Edlington, which is situate between the public highway, and the croft of Richard, son of Henry King, for ever. Among the witnesses being Simon, the Chamberlain of Edlington, John, his son, Alured of Woodhall, and others. Given at Edlington, the Wednesday after Michaelmas, A.D. 1285. (30th Sep., 1285), and 13th year of the reign of King Edward I.”

We further get disconnected notices of various owners of, or in, Edlington, but I can not make out a connected series.

For instance, in a Chancery Inquisition, 13. Ed. I. (12th May, 1285), held by order of the King, among the jurors are Henry of Horsington, Robert, son of the Parson of Horsington, Hugh Fraunklyn, of Langton, William de Wodehall, of Edlington, and others. Thus the William de Woodhall, already named, was a proprietor in Edlington, as early as 1285.

We find, in a Final Concord, Nov. 22nd, 1208 (three-quarters of a century earlier than the preceding), between Andrew, of Edlington, plaintiff, and Alice, daughter of Elvina, who acted for her, the said Andrew acknowledged the said Alice to be free (he had probably claimed her as a bond-slave, in his house, or on his land, at Edlington), for which Alice gave him one mark. It was only in the reign of Henry VI. that a servant was permitted, after giving due notice to leave his place, and take the services of another (23. Hen. VI. c. 13). Before that, all were the property of their owners, unless given their freedom for some special reason. Here is another proprietor in a dispute, on 10th Nov., 1208, between Thorold, of Horsington on the one part, and John, son of Simon, of Edlington. The said Thorold surrendered for ever, certain lands in Edlington, to John and his heirs, another family of proprietors, at the same date as the previous.

In November, 1218, in a Final Concord, between John, of Edlington, and Hugh, his tenant, as to the right to certain lands in Edlington, it was agreed that John was the rightful owner, and for this, John granted Hugh certain other lands, but in case Hugh died without issue, they were to revert to John, of Edlington. He would seem, therefore, to have been rather a large proprietor.

The will of Richard Evington, of Halsteade Hall, was made, on 22nd January, 1612, by which he leaves his lands in Edlington, and other places, to his two sons, Maurice and Nicholas Evington.

On 23rd December, 1616, Edward Turnor, clerk, of Edlington, made his will, the details of which do not here concern us, beyond showing that he was Vicar.

The parish register dates from 1562, beginning with Thomas fforeman, the sonne of William fforeman, christened 2nd February, 1562. This register is very peculiar, as it gives the baptisms down to 1700, then the marriages from and to the same dates, then the burials from and to the same dates. This is very unusual, the common arrangement, in those times, being to give the baptisms, marriages, and burials under the same dates all together. The present book is the copy on paper, of the original on parchment or vellum. Among some of the surnames are Billinghay, Padison, Melborn, fford, Hollywell, Kaksby, Stanley, Gunby, Brinkels (Brinkhills), William, son of Thomas Bounsayne, gent., bap. Jan^y. 12th, 1605. Margaret, daughter of John Elton, gent. (and a sister), baptized October 29th, 1611; and Siorach Edmonds, Vicar, 1617. Mary, the daughter of Robert Brookley, gent., bapt. Nov. 2nd, 1652; with others.

This list shews a considerable number of landed proprietors in the parish; there being no one pre-eminent landowner.

Among the Christian names, which occur in the oldest register, are Bridgett, Muriall, Rowland, Judith, Dorothie, Anthony, Hamond, Cicilie, and others.

George Hamerton, gent., and Sarah Hussey, were married June 21st, 1699. [These Hamertons were a wealthy family in Horncastle, owning a large block of houses at the junction of the east and south streets. The initials of John Hamerton and his wife, remain there, over the fire-place, in an oak-pannelled room. I believe they were connected with the Hamertons, of Hamerton, co. York.]

John Corbet and Isabell Thylley were married, December 6th, 1660. [The Corbets have been a long-established family in Lincolnshire, and also taking a leading position in Shropshire, in Sir Andrew Corbett, Bart]. In register III., is a note, “Thomas Barnett, of Thimbelby, found dead in Edlington parish, and was buried Sep. 6th, 1798”; also, “Deborah Bell, aged 95, buried November 7th, 1804.”

In the 2nd register book, among other entries are these:—The Rev. Tristram Sturdivant, Vicar, buried August 3rd, 1755. (The clerk, William Blow, had died 2 years before). Belmirah, daughter of Thos. Clarke of Horncastle, and Mary, his wife, buried Feb. 23rd, 1773.

The 3rd register has the following:—Mr. Wells’ youngest child (of Poolham), christened by me, William Wells, at Poolham, baptized by Mr. L’Oste (then Vicar), at Woodhall Church, named Charles, Aug. 11, 1794. [The Wells’ resided at Poolham down to about 1850. They were wealthy gentlemen farmers, and were most generous to the poor, and supported the church in every possible way, as I know from my own experience, and that of my father].

Margaret Spencer, a traveller, commonly called “Scotch Peg,” she being a Scotch woman, was buried (at Edlington), Sept. 2, 1789. In the 2nd Register again we have, among the surnames, Greenland, Walesby, Bouchier, Soulby, Bates, Longstaffe, Falkner, Bullifant, Gaunt, Elsey, Sturdivant, Bontoft, Darwin, and others.

We have just mentioned the name of Soulby. I find from the returns made by Government, that Charles Soulby, and his brother Edward, both payed the tax for male servants, the former for 2, the latter for 1, in the year 1780.

Among the Gentry of Lincolnshire, a list of whom was made by the Royal Heralds in the year 1634, is Thomas Tokyng, of Edlington, with Ambrose Sheppard, of Hemingby, Robert and John Sherard, of Gautby, Thomas Morgan, Esq., of Scrivelsby, &c., &c. John Rolt, of Edlington, declined the honour, there being some slight “duty” chargeable on the distinction.

Ralph Palframan, clerk, was presented to the Benefice of Edlington, by his brother Anthony, merchant of the staple, at Lincoln, by an assignment of the advowson made for this turn by the late Abbot of Bardney. William Palfreyman was Mayor of Lincoln in 1536, probably the father. He was instituted A.D. 1569, on the demise of Leonard Nurse. “Architect, Soc. Journ.,” vol. xxiv., p. 15.

The Church of Edlington is dedicated to St. Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, who was, by birth, a Yorkshire woman. The edifice was re-built, with the exception of the lowest part of the tower, in 1859–60, at a cost of £1146. It consists of a nave, south aisle, chancel, and substantial tower of 3 tiers, with 3 bells. The font is square at the base, octagonal above. The tower arch at the west end is the original Norman, and the only part remaining of the original building. The upper part of the tower is in the Early English style. The windows in the tower are copies of the former Early English ones, the south arcade is perpendicular, with windows in the same style, and consisting of 3 bays, with octagonal columns. The Chancel Arch is of good Early English style. There is a good coloured two-light window, near the pulpit, in memory of Margaret, the wife of J. Hassard Short, Esq., who died Feb. 2nd, 1881. The subject of this window is the three Maries, and the Angel, at the Sepulchre; combined with his wife, he also by the same window, commemorated his daughter, Agnes Margarette, who died 17th Dec., 1867. Another coloured window was placed in the Church in December, 1900, in memory of the late Squire, the subject being the Saviour appearing to Mary Magdalene, at the Sepulchre. Both figures are of life-size, the countenances being full of expression. It was designed by Messrs. Heaton and Butler, and placed in position by Mr. C. Hensman, of Horncastle; and forms a fitting companion to the window in memory of his wife. It bears the inscription, “To the glory of God, in loving memory of John Hassard Short, Esq., who died Dec. 4, 1893, this window is erected by his daughter Marian.” The Shorts have held this estate for four generations. The flooring is laid with Minton tiles, the church is fitted with open benches, and pulpit of oak, with reading desk and lectern of the same. These were the gift of the Lay Impropriators of the Benefice, the Trustees of Oakham and Uppingham Schools. The organ is by Stephenson, of Lincoln. The inscription on the 3 bells (according to North, in his “Lincolnshire Bells”), 2 Royal Heads on each, Edwd. I., and Queen Eleanor; Edwd. III. and Queen Philippa; Henry VI. and Margaret of Anjou. Further details are given, as that Edlington had, in 1553, “three big bells and a Priest’s bell.” Inscriptions now, on 1st bell “1824,” 2nd bell “I.H.S. Sancte Peter,” with diameter of 34 inches; 3rd bell “I.H.S., Sancte Paule”; Priest’s bell, “T.L. TFCW., 1670,” with diameter 11½ inches.

There have been at least 5 Vicars within the last 50 years. The present Vicar, is the Rev. E. H. Bree, formerly Curate of Belchford, who has a good and commodious residence and premises, recently enlarged, and good garden, pleasantly situated close to the Park.

We have said that the former old Residence of the Shorts was pulled down several years ago; no building has been erected on the same scale or site since, but a farm house was adopted as a shooting box, for members of the family; and for the last three or four years this has been occupied by J. R. Hatfeild, Esq., who rents the shooting. The Benefice is in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, as representing the former Patron, the King.

Small as is the parish of Edlington, it has seen some stirring scenes. On the day before the Battle of Winceby, near Horncastle, where the Royalists were defeated by Cromwell, viz., on the Evening of Tuesday, Oct. 10, 1643, a troop of Parliamentary Horse, commanded by Capt. Samuel Moody, were surprised at Edlington, by the King’s forces, under the command of Sir John Henderson and Lord Widdrington, of Blankney, and there befell a rather sharp skirmish, in which the Parliamentary troops had to fall back. Such was one violation of the quietude of the little village. In older times, lying as it did, between the two Roman forts of Banovallum (or Cornucastrum) and the ancient Lindum (or Lincoln), it would often, in the time of the Roman occupation of the country, be disturbed by the heavy tread of Roman Legions, and the accompanying music of Roman Clarions.

History also tells us that “in the year of our Lord, 1406, Sept. 12, King Henry IV. made a Royal procession from the town of Horncastle, with a great and honourable company, to the Abbey of Bardney, where the Abbot and Monastery came out, in ecclesiastical state, to meet him,” [Leland’s “Collectanea”]. As by-roads did not exist, as they do now, we can hardly doubt, that his line of route would be by the King’s highway, through Edlington.

Surely, even in these days of easy locomotion, it can have fallen to the lot of few villages, large or small, to have given to the gaze of their rustic wondering inhabitants, such varied, and unusual scenes as these.

Mavis Enderby.

Mavis Enderby is nearly 8 miles from Horncastle, in an easterly direction, the road passing through High Toynton, skirting Scrafield, and through Winceby, and Lusby, and being part of the old Roman road from Doncaster to Wainfleet. It is about 3 miles west by north of Spilsby, where is the nearest telegraph office; the nearest money order office being at Raithby. Letters, via Spilsby, arrive at 7.30 a.m. The village is prettily situated on a slope of the wolds, the houses clustering about the church, except solitary farm residences of a substantial kind; the parish is roughly divided into Northfield and Southfield. To the north formerly stood a religious house, a dependency of Revesby Abbey. It was last occupied by C. J. H. Massingberd Mundy, Esq. It fell into decay some years ago, and nothing now remains of it, beyond the turf-covered foundations and some fine yew-trees, apparently survivals of a former avenue leading to it. A varied view is seen to the north-east, towards Aswardby and Langton, including the wooded height of Harrington Hill, and other elevated ground, with the graceful spire of Sausethorpe church conspicuous in the intervening valley, one of the most successful creations of the Architect, Stephen Lewin, who, fifty years ago, did some good work among our Lincolnshire churches, notably in his restoration of Swineshead, and his re-building of Brothertoft. The stranger might, by the name of this parish, be reminded of the lines of Sir Walter Scott. [47a]

Merry it is in the good green woods,
When the Mavis [47b] and Merle [47c] are singing,
When the deer sweep by, and the hounds are in cry,
And the hunter’s horn is ringing.

But no groves or hedgerows vocal with their songsters, gave the parish its name. The Lord of the Manor, in the 12th century was Richard de Malbyse, or Malbishe, a large proprietor, and exercising considerable influence in this neighbourhood, and elsewhere. The epithet has been retained to distinguish this from Bag Enderby, and Wood Enderby; one of which is near and the other not far away. The name Malbyse or Malbishe, means, in old Norman French, an evil beast (compare Bis-on); and the arms of the family, as still preserved at Acaster Malbis, near York, once belonging to a member of the family, are a chevron, with three wild stags heads “erased,” i.e., raggedly severed from the body.

Domesday Book, however, tells us of owners of land before the Malbyshes, in pre-Norman times. The Saxon, Thane Elnod, held land in Mavis Enderby and Raithby and East Keal, in the reign of Edward the Confessor (p. 31) [a/][47c]; while another Saxon, Godwin, whose name appears in connection with several other parishes, had the Manor of Mavis Enderby (p. 159) [a/][47c] The old hereditary owners of the lands met with no mercy from the Conqueror, who had to provide for his Norman followers. The historian records that as William passed along the ranks of his army before the great Battle of Hastings, he addressed them in a loud voice thus, “Remember to fight well, if we conquer we shall be rich, if I take this land, you will have it among you,” and the promise then held out, was amply fulfilled; the vanquished Saxons were robbed of their lands, to reward William’s favorites who had capacious maws. Among those rewarded extensively with plundered territory, was William de Karilepho, consecrated Bishop of Durham in 1082, and also made Chief Justice of England; he received grants of land in Mavis Enderby, Raithby, Spilsby, Hundleby, Grebby, and many other places. Ivo Taillebois (equivalent to the modern Underwood), who was then leader of the Angevin Auxiliaries of the Conqueror, also received very extensive grants; among them being lands in Mavis Enderby, Raithby, Hareby, Halton Holgate, Asgarby, Miningsby and many other demesnes. About the same time also (1070), another of the Conqueror’s favourites Eudo—son of Spirewic, subsequently the founder of the Tattershall family, received very extensive domains, among them being the Manor of Mavis Enderby, a Berewick (or smaller outlying portion) in Raithby, another in Hundleby, and in the two Keals, Hagnaby, and endless more possessions, his head-quarters being at Tattershall, all of which he held “in capite” or directly of the King. But, as we have repeatedly observed in these notes, these early Norman tenures were precarious, they were acquired by violence, and when the hand that held them waxed feeble, a stronger hand, in turn, took possession. Mavis Enderby, like very many other parishes, became an appurtenance of the Manor, or Honor, of Bolingbroke, and throughout that great appanage of the Crown there were many changes in the Lords of demesnes.

The first of the Malbishes, whose name is recorded, is Osbert Malbishe, who, with others, is witness to a charter of Revesby Abbey, of date 1173; this probably is accounted for by the fact of there being a cell of Revesby Abbey at Mavis Enderby. Another Malbishe, William, also witnesses another Revesby charter in 1216. Both these lived before the Richard Malbishe who is generally referred to as being the Lord of the Manor, whose name became attached to the parish.

Among the “Final Concords” (p. 162), we find it recorded, that in a deed, dated 5th June, 1222, Matilda, wife of the above William Malebisse, claimed certain lands in Enderby (not yet specially designated “Mavis”), as her dower, but that through the agency of Robert de Wion, she quit-claimed all her rights to that particular portion in favour of one Nicholas and his heirs, for which the said Nicholas gave her 20s.

In a Chancery Inquisition, 4 Edw. III., 1330, it is shown that the heirs of Alan Malbish hold certain lands in Sausthorpe and Langton; and another Inquisition in 1352, mentions ¼ fee held in Sauzethorpe and Langton, which the heirs of Alan Malbish hold. (“Archit. S. Journ.,” 1894, p. 170.)

After this we hear nothing more of the Malbishe family. But in a Chancery Inquisition post-mortem, 18 Henry VII., No. 34, taken at “Est Rasen, 26th October, 1502, after the death of Thomas Fitzwilliam, heir of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, Knight, lately deceased,” it is stated that John Vere, Earl of Oxford, Sir Robert Dymmok, Knight, Robert Rede, Justice of the Lord the King, Thomas Chaloner, and others, were seized of the fee of the Manors of Malburssh Enderby, Maydinwell, Malberthorp, etc., with their appurtenances (which are described as extensive) to the use of the heirs male of the said Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam lawfully begotten, and the Jurors further say, that the Manor of Malburssh Enderby, with appurtenances, etc., are held of the Lord the King, of the Duchy of Lancaster, as of his Manor of Bolingbroke, and that certain lands are held of Sir George Taylboys (doubtless a descendent of Ivo Taillebois, owner in the days of the Conqueror), but by what services they do not know. (“Architect. Soc. Journ.” 1895, p. 14).

The Fitzwilliams still held lands in Mablethorp in the reign of Henry VIII. One of the family, Sir William Fitzwilliam was Lord High Admiral, and a staunch supporter of the King in the rebellion of 1536. Only two years later, in an Inquisition, 20 Henry VII., No. 14 (January 31, 1504–5). After the death of George Gedney, it is stated that a certain John Billesby (of Billesby) [49] and Nicholas Eland were seized of the Manor of Mabysshenderby, with appurtenances, as well as lands in Hagworthynham, Bag Enderby, Holbeche, Fleet, and Swaby, and that they enfeoffed the said George Gedney and Anne his wife of the aforesaid Manors, to them and their heirs for ever. The Gedneys continued for many generations an influential family in the neighbourhood. Andrew Gedney, of Bag Enderby, married Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Skipwith, of South Ormsby, 1536; and within recent years Arthur P. Gedney, Esq. (a cousin of the writer of these notes), owned the Manor of Candlesby, and resided at Candlesby Hall. (“Arch. S. Journ.,” 1895, page 27.)

In an Inquisition p.m. in the same year No. 52, after the death of the said Anne, wife of George Gedney, much of this is repeated, but it is further specified that the property in Hagworthingham is held of the Abbot of Bardney; some in Bag Enderby is held of the Warden of Tateshale, some in Holbeche of the Lady Dacre de la South, and some in Flete of the Lord Fitz Water; that the said Anne died on the Saturday after the feast of the Holy Trinity, and that John Gedney is son and next heir. In a deed of 14 June, 1535, John Gedney, of Bag Enderby, refers to his wife’s jointure of lands in Mavis Enderby and other parishes; the said wife being Isabel, heiress of the Enderbies of Bag Enderby.

In the register of Mavis Enderby, one book of which extends from 1579 to 1772, an entry shows that George Lilbourne was Rector from 1522 to 1588, or 66 years. He was a relative of the Smyths of Elkington, near Louth, who are still represented in the two parishes of North and South Elkington, as is shown by his will, dated 5th July, 1587 (Lincolnshire Wills), in which he requests that he may be buried on the north side of the chancel, bequeathing “to my niece Lacon, my niece Hansard, and my niece Simpson, an old English crown apiece; to Sir Edward Hustwaite, all the books he hath of mine, and a great book of St. Gregory’s works, in the hands of Sir Robert Welles, Parson of Howell; to my servant Agnes Cressie, a silver spoon with akorne at the end of it; to George Smithe 3^li.; to Dorothy and Susan Smyth, 10^s. apiece; to my nephew Herbert Lacon, a macer (mazer or drinking bowl), lined with silver and gilt; to my cousins Thomas Smithe and Anthony Smithe, and my nephew Tristram Smithe a little silver salt (cellar). I make my nephew Herbert Lacon, and Mr. Thomas Taylor, supervisors.” (Prob., 8 May, 1588).

It would appear that he was more generous in lending his books than his friends were careful in returning them, the latter, a failing not unknown in our own day, and even St. Paul could write to Timothy (2 T. iv. 13), “Bring with thee the books, but especially the parchments.”

Among Lincolnshire Wills is one of Roger Metcalf, clerk of Mavis Enderby, dated 18 July, 1606, in which he desires to be buried in the chancel, John Downes of Lusby, clerk, being left executor, and George Littlebury of Somersby, Gent., and John Salmon of Haltham-on-Bain, clerk, supervisors. We thus see that in Saxon times, lands in Mavis Enderby and Raithby were held by the same owner, and that in early Norman times, lands in the two parishes were held more than once by the same Lord. In a Feet of Fines, Lincoln, file 68 (32), 30 Ed. I., there was a dispute between John Beck (of the ancient family of Bec, of Eresby, Lusby, etc.) and Robert de Wylgheby (ancestor of the Lords Willoughby) about the Manors and advowsons of Enderby Malbys, and Ratheby, as well as other properties, in which the said Robert granted to the said John the said lands and advowsons. “Architect. S. Journal,” 1897, p. 56. And in the present day the two benefices are held together by the Rev. George Ward, who is himself patron of Mavis Enderby, Raithby being in the gift of the crown.

Early in the seventeenth century, the benefice was held by the Rev. James Forrester, who was chaplain to Anne, Queen of James I., and wrote a curious book, entitled “The Marrowe Juice of 260 Scriptures, or Monas-Tessera-Graphica”; printed at the signe of the crowne, in Paul’s churchyard, 1611.

The head of one of our old and distinguished Lincolnshire families, Sir Edward Ascough, presented to the benefice in 1679 and 1685. In 1734, Decimus Reynolds presented, and in 1782 Henry Best, Esq., presented. “Liber Regis.,” s.v., Malvis, alias Maurice, Enderby.

The present owners of the parish are Mrs. Rashdall of London, Mrs. Coltman of Hagnaby, Mr. Holmes of Eastville, and the Rector.

It need hardly be said that the poem, by Miss Ingelow, of Boston, called “The Brides of Mavis Enderby,” has no connection with this parish, being entirely imaginary, except that it is founded on the fact of a high tide on the Lincolnshire coast. It was published in 1849, and Tennyson, the Laureate, much admired it. “Life of Lord Tennyson,” Vol. I., p. 287. The name was chosen as being euphonious.

The Church, dedicated to St. Michael, consists of tower, nave with south aisle, and chancel. The tower is of three stories. In the western wall, above the west door, is a three-light trefoiled perpendicular window, above this a clock, above that a smaller three-light window, similar windows being in all four faces. The sill of the west door is an ancient stone, with the “Runic involuted knot” pattern, which, however, is almost obliterated by the tread of worshippers entering by the door. It is similar to the Runic stone at Miningsby. The church has been restored or rebuilt at various periods. The tower, originally a lofty one, but a large part of which, through decay of the sandstone, had fallen down, was partly rebuilt in 1684, and a lower bell-chamber provided. In 1894 it was again restored, and carried up to its original height. The chancel also was rebuilt to its original length in 1871, and the nave, aisle, and porch were handsomely restored in 1878. There are three bells. On the south interior wall of the tower is an inscription on a tablet, recording that the tower was restored and clock set up in 1894, in memory of four generations of the Ward family, “who were married in 1704, 1728, 1783, 1836, G. Ward, F.S.A. (Rector), W. Sharpe (Churchwarden), their 23rd year of office together, C. Hodgson Fowler (Architect), Edwd. Bowman and Sons (Contractors).”

In the north wall of the nave is a door, two three-light trefoiled windows, with two quatrefoils above. The south aisle consists of three bays, one of the original sandstone pillars still remains in the north corner of the west end, next to the tower wall, where there is also a two-light window behind the font. In the south wall, east of the porch, are two windows of three lights, one of the decorated style, the other perpendicular, both square-headed. The eastern one has coloured glass, by Clayton and Bell, the subjects being—in the centre the annunciation, to the east the angel appearing to Zacharias, to the west the visitation, adapted from the famous picture by Mariotto Albertinelli, in the Academy Gallery, at Florence. The seats are of modern oak, with carved poppy-heads, except one or two ancient ones preserved from an older structure near the tower, and the roof throughout is of red deal. There is a modern oak rood screen, with rood-loft, having standing figures of angels, one on each side, as well as one over the pulpit. These were originally in Louth church. The pulpit and reading desk are of modern oak. The font is octagonal, decorated with plain Ogee arch on each face. The south porch is modern, but having a curious old stoup, the pedestal being a cluster of early English columns, the bowl of a rather later date, in keeping with the carving round the doorway; these have probably been imported from elsewhere. The chancel, entirely modern, has a three-light east window, both the tracery and coloured glass being adapted from a window in Louth church (where the Rector was formerly Curate), the glass being by Clayton and Bell, the tracery by the late Mr. James Fowler of Louth. The subjects are—below, the agony, crucifixion and entombment, and above, the annunciation, with six-winged cherubim on either side. In the south wall are two windows of two lights, with quatrefoil above. On the north is an organ chamber, with low wide arch, and a modern piscina and aumbrey in the wall. The altar cloths are very handsome, the upper cover being crimson plush, decorated with shields, and the cross and scales; the frontals are gifts of various persons, one of Algerian red silk and gold work in three compartments; a second of white silk, worked by Mrs. Clarke, late of Stainsby House, with the Agnus Dei in the centre; the third is of green silk, with very rich embroidery; the fourth, of plain purple velvet, with four bands of darker purple, for the Lent season.

The churchyard cross has been recently restored after the fashion of the Somersby cross, a portion of the shaft being old. There is also a modern sun dial, erected by the present Rector. Fragments of the old tower, and of the Norman sandstone pillars, form ornaments in the Rectory garden.

The present Rectory was built in 1871, the architect being the late Mr. James Fowler, of Louth, it has been added to since that date, and now forms a commodious residence in pretty grounds, and a picturesque situation.

It may be added, as an incident of special interest, that the father of the late Sir John Franklin, the arctic explorer, on retiring from business in Spilsby, bought a portion of ground in this parish, in south field, and built a house, now occupied by Mr. W. R. Cartwright, in which he resided for some years, and in which Sir John Franklin spent his youth.

Some years ago, the Rector found in his garden a silver groat of Philip and Mary, two Nuremberg tokens, and a half-penny of William III.

The church and parish, in their past and present history, are among the most interesting in the neighbourhood.

Fulletby.

Fulletby lies about 3½ miles from Horncastle, in a north-east by north direction, on the road to Belchford. Letters, via Horncastle, arrive at 10 a.m. The nearest Money Order Office is at Belchford, the nearest Telegraph Office at Tetford, or Horncastle. We do not know very much of the ancient history of this parish. In Domesday Book it is stated (“Lands of the Bishop of Durham”) that the Saxons, Siward and Edric, had there two carucates (or about 240 acres) and six oxgangs of land, rateable to gelt. William, a vassal of the Bishop [54] had also there two carucates (or 240 acres) and five villeins and 19 socmen, who had two carucates and two oxgangs. In Hearne’s “Liber Niger” (vol. ii) Ranulph, Bishop of Durham, is said to have “in Fuletebi and Oxcum 4 carucates and 6 oxgangs which Pinson holds” (Circa A.D. 1114). Pinson was a Norman soldier, Dapifer, or Steward of the Durham Bishops, and held many lands in this neighbourhood under them for the service of acting as their bailiff; the Bishop holding, “in chief,” direct from the sovereign. Pinson thus became (deputy) Lord of Eresby, and other Episcopal Lordships, and by the marriage of Walter de Beck, with Agnes, a daughter of Hugh Pinson, several of these lands passed to the family of Bec, or Bek; one of the family, Anthony de Bec, himself became Bishop of Durham. In 1214 the Bishop of Durham’s land in Fulletby and Oxcomb was held under him by Henry Bec, and in the reign of Ed. I. John Beck and John de Harington held a Fee (doubtless the same property in Fulletby and Oxcombe). At another date, temp King Henry II., a certain “Count Richard,” probably the Earl of Chester, had “in Fulledebi 2 carucates.” By the marriage of Sir William Willoughby with a daughter of Baron Bec, of Eresby, several of these Lordships passed to the Willoughby d’ Eresby family; and among them (“Testa de Nevill,” page 318) were lands in “ffotby”; and in Feet of Fines, Lincoln, (file 69, 31, Ed. I. A.D. 1303) it is stated that Robert de Wylgheby held “rent of 6 quarters of salt in ffoletby, Beltefford, Golkesby, &c.” While Gervase Holles says (“Collectanea,” Brit. Mus., vol. iii., p. 770) that in the reign of Elizabeth, “Carolus, Dominus Willoughby de Parham,” was Lord of the Manor of Fulletby (“Old Lincolnshire,” vol. i., pp. 213–214). The lands have passed from these old owners many years ago, and are now the property of the Elmhirst, Booth, Riggall, and other families.

In the rebellion, called “the Lincolnshire Rising,” in 1536, Robert Leech, of Fulletby, joined with the insurgents, and, although his brother, Nicholas Leech, parson of Belchford, escaped trial, Robert was put to death with Thomas Kendall, vicar of Louth, the Abbots (Matthew Mackerell) of Barlings, and (Richard Harrison) of Kirkstead, and many others. Their names were included in a “List of Lincolnshire Martyrs,” sent to the Apostolic See, who were “first made Venerable, then Blessed, and lastly Canonised,” by his holiness, for their steadfastness in the Papal cause. Other persons, known by name, connected with the parish as patrons of the benefice, have been the heirs of Nicholas Shepley in 1701; George Lascells, Esq., in 1741; Thomas Rockliffe, Esq., in 1782; Francis Rockliffe, clerk, in 1784; Mrs. A. R. Rockliffe, 1826; Rev. J. Jackson in 1863. F. Charsley, Esq., is the present patron; and Rev. R. Barker is rector, who has a substantial residence in the parish. The benefice was formerly charged with a pension of 6s. 8d. to Bullington Priory.

The Church, St. Andrews, is a modern edifice, almost entirely rebuilt in 1857 by Messrs Maughan and Fowler, of Louth; a previous larger church having been erected in 1705, on the site of a Saxon church, mentioned by Archdeacon Churton, in his “English Church,” as one of the two hundred and twenty-two churches in Lincolnshire existing before the Norman conquest. No traces of the original Saxon church remain. The fabric, 400 years ago, is said to have been considerably longer, to have had a tower, and north and south aisles. In the later fabric, the aisles had disappeared, as shewn in an old print, and the tower which partly fell, in 1799, was then cut down to the level of the nave roof, with a small wooden bell-turret above it.

The Land Revenue Records (bundle 1392) state that there were “iij bells and a lytel bell.” In 1566 the Churchwardens reported a “sacringe bell” as still remaining (Peacock’s “Church Furniture” p. 81.) There are now only two bells; and a tradition still lingers, that the largest of the former bells now hangs in the belfry of Tetford church. In 1834, the Church, like several others in the neighbourhood, was thatched; at that date the roof was repaired, and covered with tiles.

The east window is a good triplet, in early English style. The present pulpit was put up by the late Rector, the Rev. G. E. Frewer; and, along with the Reredos, was carved by Mr. Winn, living in the parish. The reading desk was carved by a former Rector, Rev. J. Jackson, but has of late years, been altered. There is a handsome brass lectern given by the present Rector, Rev. R. Barker. In the floor of the chancel is a slab, with this inscription, “Depositum Ricardi Dugard qui obiit anno ætatis 68, salutis 1653, Januarii 28.” He is supposed to have been a nephew of William Dugard, who printed the original edition of “Ikon Basilike,” in his own house. The two present bells are inscribed “Warner and Sons, 1857.” All the registers previous to 1750 have been lost. Of the communion plate, the chalice and paten are dated 1688; the flagon is modern.

In 1566 there was in the church “one alb, one cope, a crosse, super altaire, ij images, a mass, a piece of wood, whereon stood xxiv candels.” George Monson, the royal commissioner, ordered that “they must awaie with (these) this side the first of Maie, and certifie.”

In 1846 six Roman urns, containing calcined bones, were dug up in this parish in an abandoned brickyard; and, about 5 years afterwards, another similar urn was found near the same place. There are still found there a considerable quantity of fossils, ammonites, gryphæa, &c.; and the writer of these notes possesses a vertebra of a large saurian, one of several which have quite recently been found at the same place.

Fulletby School was rebuilt in 1849. The 1st stone being laid in the last week in August, to contain 60 children, by Dr. Spranger, Rector of Low Toynton, who gave handsomely, besides building at his own expense and endowing a School at New York. The Rev. W. M. Pierce, Rector, contributed, also Mrs. Elmhirst, of Yorkshire; the Lady of the Manor, the Queen Dowager giving £10. (“Lincolnshire Chronicle,” August 28th, 1849).

Goulceby.

Goulceby lies in a northerly direction, about 7 miles from Horncastle, some two miles further on than Scamblesby, and barely a mile west of Asterby, to which parish it is now ecclesiastically annexed; the joint value of the two benefices, the former a vicarage and the latter a rectory, being about £380 a year, now held by the Rev. J. Graham, J.P., who resides at Asterby. Goulceby was probably, in Saxon times, the more important of the two places, since it was one of the 222 parishes in the county (according to Sir Henry Ellis) which possessed a church before the Norman Conquest, and one of the 131 which had a resident priest.

Letters arrive via Lincoln at 10 am., and are despatched at 3.55 p.m. The nearest money order office is at Scamblesby, the nearest telegraph office at Baumber; but, by arrangement, telegrams can be sent from the Donington-on-Bain station, on the Lincoln and Louth railway, which is distant about 2 miles.

The village lies in a valley which is watered by a branch of the river Bain. The patronage of the benefice has been in various hands. In pre-reformation times it belonged to the Preceptory of the Knights Templars at Willoughton; in 1605 it was held by Christopher Pickering (“Liber Regis”), later by a Mr. Hatley (Ecton’s “Thesaurus”); then by the Listers of Burwell Park, who presented as late as 1837; from whom the patronage, with the manor, was acquired by the Bagnell family; whose representative now presents to the united benefice, alternately with the Traffords, as Lords of the Manor of Asterby. At what period the original church perished does not appear to be recorded; but, according to Weir (“History of Lincolnshire,” ed. 1828) there was in 1821 only a small modern church, dedicated to all Saints. This fell into decay, and in 1855 was succeeded by a small brick and stone structure; which, in turn, has more recently been taken down; and the church at Asterby now serves for the two parishes.

Historic references to this parish are “few and far between,” yet by bringing them together, with a moderate degree of assumption from given premises, we can make out a fairly connected catena of its ownership. The name itself can hardly be said to give a certain sound. It has been variously spelt, as Golsby, Goldesby, Gouthesby, Golksby, Colceby, and, in Domesday Book, Colchesbi. We can only conjecture that it may have been the “Buy,” i.e., Byre, or farmstead of a Saxon Thane, named Col, Kol, or Golk, the two former being common as contractions of Colswen, or Colegrim, and not uncommon in the neighbourhood. [58]

According to Domesday Book, this, like many other parishes in the neighbourhood, was among the possessions of the Norman noble, Ivo Taillebois, acquired through his marriage with the Lady Lucia, the wealthy Saxon heiress of the Thorolds, and connected with the Royal line of King Harold. He (or she), had here 3 carucates of land (or 360 acres), rateable to gelt; with 16 socmen and 2 villeins, occupying 6 carucates (or 720 acres); a mill worth 4s. yearly; a church and priest, and 120 acres of meadow. As I mention in notices of other parishes (Bolingbroke, Scamblesby &c.), the tenure of these demesnes was not of long duration, and in a few years they were dispersed among the descendants of the Saxon heiress. Goulceby would seem to have become an appurtenance, with Belchford, Donington and several others, of the superior manor of Burwell. It would thus be granted, originally, by Henry I. to the Norman family of De la Haye, one of whom, in the 13th century, founded the Benedictine Alien Priory of Burwell, as a dependency of the Abbey of S. Mary Silvæ Majoris, near Bourdeaux, and endowed it with some of his own demesnes. This family held these possessions for 150 years. The last of them, John De la Haye, in the reign of Edward I., having enfeoffed Philip de Kyme of the same, continued for the remainder of his life to hold the lands, under the said Philip, by the peculiar (nominal) “service of one rose.” (Chancery Inquis., post mortem, 21, Edward I., No. 33). For some years the Kymes held the property, being called to Parliament as Barons, and doing other service for their sovereigns; until in 12 Edward III. (Dugdale’s “Baronage,” i., 621) William of that name died without issue; and his widow married as her second husband, Nicholas de Cantelupe (whose ancestors had been Earls of Abergavenny), who thus succeeded to these demesnes. He dying also without issue, on the subsequent death of his widow, the property reverted to Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, who had been enfeoffed of it by his uncle, the above William. Gilbert, again, died without issue, and his widow married Henry Percy, created at the coronation of Richard II., the 1st Earl of Northumberland, who thus in turn acquired the property. He, however, rebelled against Henry IV. (Camden’s “Britannia,” p. 547); and on his attainder that sovereign granted the manors to his son John, afterward. Duke of Bedford (Patent Rolls, 6, H. iv., p. 2., m. 16s) He dying without issue, the property reverted to the crown, and Henry VI. granted it to Ralph, Lord Treasurer Cromwell. (Patent Roll 18, H. vi., pt. 2, m. 19).

Before this period, however, the Cromwells were connected with Goulceby, since it is shewn, by an Inquisition in the reign of Henry V. (post mortem, No. 72, A.D. 1419), that Matilda, the wife of Sir Ralph Cromwell, Knight, held lands in Roughton, Wodehall, Langton, Golseby, Belcheford, Donington, etc., [59] and that Sir Ralph Cromwell her son was the next heir. When the Lord Treasurer founded at Tattershall, the College of the Holy Trinity, on the 17th Henry VI. (1439), he endowed it with portions of many of these manors, as had also been done in the case of Burwell Priory, centuries before; Goulceby doubtless being one of them. On the dissolution of Religious Houses by Henry VIII. a great number of the lands connected with them in this neighbourhood were bestowed by that sovereign on Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, among these being Goulceby, Belchford, ffulletsbye, etc. [60a] He died 24 August, 1545, leaving two sons, Henry and Charles, by his wife Catherine, daughter and heiress of William Lord Willoughby de Eresby. They, while at St. John’s College, Cambridge, died of the epidemic, called “the sweating sickness,” 16 July, 1551 (Cooper’s “Athenæ Cantabridgenses,” i., 105); whereupon the descendants of the daughters of their great grandfather, Sir William Brandon, were declared the rightful heirs. One of these, Eleanor, had married John Glemham, of Glemham Parva, Suffolk, and their great grandson succeeded Thomas Glemham, Burwell, and a considerable portion of these demesnes. [60b] He died about the 14 year of Queen Elizabeth, and was succeeded by his son Henry, afterwards Sir Henry Glemham, Knight, who married Lady Anne Sackville, daughter of the Earl of Dorset. [60c] He settled upon his wife, Burwell, with appurtenances; and documents connected with the Lister family (subsequently owners of Burwell, etc.), now in the possession of Porter Wilson, Esq., shew that, in 1602, the farm rents included those from “Goulsby, Belchforde, Donington super bayne,” etc. We now proceed a step further to another change of ownership:—In 1641, Sir Thomas Glemham, of Burwell, was a strong supporter of Charles I., being Colonel of the King’s 4th Regiment, and successively, Governor of York, Carlisle, and Oxford. [60d] He, probably in order to raise funds for his royal master, sold for £15,000, the Burwell estate and its many appurtenances, to Sir Matthew Lister, Knight, of St. Martin in the Fields, co. Middlesex, and Martin Lister, of Thorpe Arnold, co. Leicester, his brother. It is somewhat curious that in the list of manors, which then changed hands, although Belchford, Oxcombe, ffaireforth (i.e. Farforth), and Walmesgate, all in the near neighbourhood of Goulceby, are named, no mention is made of Goulceby itself, yet down to as recently as 1863 the patronage of the benefice was vested in them (Morris’s “Gazetteer,” 1863). It appears, however, from a deed of settlement, dated 10 Jan. 1656–7 (or about 15 years after the sale), that Sir Martin Lister, of Thorpe Arnold, was possessed of Belchford, Colceby, &c.; and after his death, his children were to divide his property, and the trustees were “empowered to sell, if necessary, Belchford, Colceby,” &c. It is possible that by this “Colceby,” Calceby may be intended, which was annexed to Driby and Ormsby; but it certainly looks as if Goulceby formed a part of the share of the property originally bought by Sir Matthew Lister’s brother Martin. The Listers continued to be owners of Burwell, doubtless at different periods parting with various of the subsidiary “appurtenances” down to a few years ago; intermarrying with the Dymokes, Alingtons, Gregorys of Harlaxton, Lord Deloraine, members of the families of Sir Robt. Barkham, Knollys, Sir Edward Boughton, and forming other good connections. Only in 1883, was the property finally parted with by the late Matthew Henry Lister, eldest son of Matthew Bancroft Lister, High Sheriff in 1800, to the present owner, William Hornsby, Esq., High Sheriff in 1898. We may add that Matthew Bancroft Lister claimed descent from Philip of Kyme; whose family, we have seen, were owners of Goulceby, in the reign of Edward I., and in 1840 he petitioned the Queen for a revival in his person of the Barony of Kyme; but that dignity still remains in abeyance. Of the Matthew Lister who married Eleanor, daughter of the Hon. Sir Charles Dymoke, Knight, champion of James II. (Circa 1683), it is recorded that he had a son “Martin, baptized 1 October, buried in woollen 30 Nov., 1693.” [61] For these particulars as to the ownership of Goulceby in the past, I am largely indebted to a paper in the “Architectural Society’s Journal” for 1897, by Mr. R. W. Goulding, entitled “Notes on the Lords of the Manor of Burwell.”

The present owners of Goulceby are Colonel Bagnell, Lord of the Manor, Earl Manvers, Thomas Falkner Alison, and various small proprietors.

The following particulars of the Listers are worthy of mention.—Sir Matthew Lister, M.D., was fellow of Oriel College, Oxford; Physician to Queen Anne, Consort of James I.; and Physician in Ordinary to Charles I., by whom he was knighted in 1636 (Woods’ “Fasti Oxon.,” 3rd ed., 1815, i., 307–8), he died at the age of 92. The entry of his burial is as follows, “Matthew Lyster, Kt. & cheefe lord of Burwell, &c., was buried December the 19th, 1657.” Among the bequests in his will, dated 18th August, 1656, are the following:—To his wife all his household stuff . . ., all “the jewells she usually weareth, and hath in her custodie”; also his “coach and coach-horses, if he should have any at his death.” “Item, I give to be divided between her and my neece, Sir Martin Lister’s wife, all that poure remnant of Plate which is left me since these troubles.” To his “son in law George Banfield, and to his sister, the Ladie Cobham, £10 for a remembrance.” To his “servant John Mitchele, £50 . . ., and if he bee with me at my death all my wearing apparel, except one fringed sattin gown lyned with furre called ffitches (i.e., Marten skins), which I desire my wife may have.” We may assume that this was some official, or court, robe worn by Sir Matthew on occasions of ceremony. He was President of the London College of Physicians, and even in our own day, members of a College wear the “gowns” of their degree or office.

Another member of the family, Martin Lister, M.D., F.R.S., was one of Queen Anne’s Physicians, an eminent zoologist, and author of books on various branches of Natural History. His most important work was his “Historia sive, synopsis Methodica Conchyliorum.” Various plants and animals have been named after him.

Two or three other documents connected with Goulceby, may be here briefly referred to:—

By a Final Concord, dated 20 June, 1202, an agreement was made between Holda, daughter of Geoffrey, on the one hand, and certain Monks of Minting Priory, who were tenants of an oxgang of land in Goutheby, by which she surrendered all claim to the land, in favour of the Monks and their successors for ever. In return for which the Monks gave her one mark.

On July 28, 1231, an agreement was made between the Master of the Knights Templars in England, and William Moysaunt and Amice his wife, by which the said William and Amice acknowledged a certain meadow in Golkesby to be the right of the said Master “to have and to hold, to him and his successors, in free, pure, and perpetual alms”; and for this the said Master gave them 2s.

By will, dated 30 May, 1617, Adam Henneage of Donynton Super Bane, Gent, left to Frances his wife “all my messuage in Goulcebie, wherein John Clarke now dwelleth”; and to his “sonne James his copyhold land in Goulcebie, in tenure of Peter Pindar and John Tomson.” Proved at Horncastle, 28 June, 1617. By will, dated 23 July, 1623, Thomas Kent, of Scamblesby, Clerk, left “to the poor people of the parish of Goulceby, 20s.,” with similar bequests to the poor of Donington and Scamblesby. Proved at Lincoln, 15 Nov., 1623.

The will of Timothy Kent, of Donington, Clerk, dated 13 Feb., 1623–4, mentions lands in Goulceby and Asterby, and leaves bequests to various relations and servants, and to the Cathedral Church, Lincoln, 2s., and to the poor of Donington, 20s. Proved at Lincoln, 28 May, 1624. Elias Kent, of Scamblesby, Gent., by will, dated 13 Feb., 1625, leaves various bequests to relatives and friends, and “to the poorest people of Goulceby 10^s., to those of Donington 10^s., to those Scamblesby 40^s.” Proved at Lincoln, 20 Dec., 1628. (“Lincs. N. & Q.,” Vol. III., pp. 205–207).

The poor of Goulceby have an annual rent charge of £2 10s., left by Anthony Acham, which is distributed in bread. He also in 1638 founded, and endowed with £10 yearly, a school here; which was re-built in 1865, with accommodation for 130 children; the original endowment is now supplemented from other sources, and the school serves for the parishes of Goulceby, Asterby, and Stenigot.

Greetham.

Greetham is distant about 3½ miles from Horncastle, in an easterly direction, lying just beyond the parish of High Toynton, south of Fulletby, west of Ashby Puerorum and north of Winceby. The village is chiefly situated on a cross-road running north and south (and probably Roman) which unites the road from Horncastle to Tetford with that from Horncastle to Hagworthingham and Spilsby. The nearest money order and telegraph office is at Horncastle, whence the letters arrive at 9.20. a.m. The population of this village is now just over 130; but, as Isaac Taylor says (“Words and Places,” p. 1), “local names are records of the past,” and Greetham, as its name implies, was at one time a place of considerably more importance than at present. The Saxons named it Greetham, or the great village; which, as Mr. Streatfeild suggests (“Lincolnshire and the Danes,” p. 18), the Normans translated into “Grandham,” or “Granham,” as we find it in the Conqueror’s survey in Domesday Book; and which was sometimes further curtailed into “Graham,” as we find a field in High Toynton described as the “24 acres towards Graham.” (Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 9, Henry III., No. 52, A.D. 1224–25, quoted “Linc. N. & Q,” vol. iii., pp. 245–6). And not only was Greetham (or Grandham) held in demesne, i.e., as a manor, but, like the neighbouring Bolingbroke, being connected with Royalty, it became also designated an “Honour.”

In a Chancery Inquisition post mortem (21 Henry VII., No. 122) taken after the death of Henry Dawson, it is stated that “4 messuages, &c., in Tetney are held of the Lord the King, as of his Honour of Bullingbroke”; and in almost similar terms, in a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, of the same King, No. 124, taken after the death of William Quadring, Esq., it is stated that he “held a messuage in Irby, of the Lord the King, as of his Manor of Greetham, parcel of his Duchy of Lancaster.” In Domesday Book it is stated that certain lands in the Manor of Bilsby, near Alford, are “held of the Manor of Grandham”; Greetham apparently not in either of these cases being regarded as an Honour. But in an Inquisition post mortem, of John Asfordby, A.D. 1499, it is stated that the manor of this same Bilsby, with Westhalgarth, is “held of the Lord the King, as of the Honour of Greetham.” But, even as early as Domesday (1080), lands are enumerated as belonging to “Grandham,” lying in Langtune (by Spilsby), Hacberdineham (Hagworthingham), Salmundby, Tedforde, Brinkhill, Wingsby, and Clachesby Pluckacre, in all amounting to 33 carucates, or close upon 4,000 acres (3960). And, to shew the wealth of the manor at that date, compared with some others in the neighbourhood, while Scrivelsby is given in Domesday as of the value of £14, and Horncastle at £44, Bolingbroke is put at £40, but Greetham at £60, and it is further tallaged, i.e., taxed at £70. It was the “caput Honoris,” or head, of the Lincolnshire Barony of Hugh de Abrincis, or Avranches, the Conqueror’s nephew, surnamed Lupus, or The Wolf, from his many deeds of violence. He was Earl of Chester, having the whole of Cheshire assigned to him, except a small portion belonging to the Bishop; and his royal uncle further granted to him, nine manors in Berkshire, seven in Yorkshire, ten in Dorset, thirty-two in Suffolk, and twelve in Norfolk, twenty-two in Leicester, and about a score in Lincolnshire, besides smaller numbers in other counties, and sokes and berewicks beyond counting. Earl Lupus in his later years, attempted to atone for the irregularities of his early life, by becoming monk in his own Abbey of St. Werburg, at Chester. Later, the estates which he held, reverted to the crown, and were, in part, granted to the Earl of Lincoln, who was created Duke of Lancaster. His daughter and heiress, married the 4th son of King Edwd. III., who also, through his wife, became Duke of Lancaster, and was father of Henry of Bolinbroke, afterwards Henry IV. After various vicissitudes, the Honour and much of the very extensive soke of Bolingbroke, became merged in the Crown; and, in part, still remains the property of the Sovereign, the King having among his titles still the Palatine Dukedom of Lancaster. The fortunes of Greetham were more varied. It is impossible, from the sources of information available for these notes to give all the successive steps in the tenure of this manor, and of its numerous and valuable appurtenances; or to give the connection, if any, between successive owners. Fixity of tenure was by no means a feature of those times, the power of the Sovereign was almost absolute, and demesnes were seized by him, forfeited, retained, granted anew, or disposed of for money, according to the royal caprice, or the exigencies of his purse, in a most arbitrary fashion. To show the precarious nature of tenures held “in capite,” or “in chief” from the Sovereign, we will mention one or two cases, taken haphazard:—Edmund of Woodstock, 2nd son of Edwd. I., was beheaded by Edward III., in the 4th year of his reign. He had been granted the manor of Greetham only 3 years before (Dugdale’s “Baronage,” vol. ii., p. 93). At a previous period, Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, died seised of the manor of Greetham. In the ordinary course of events, the manor would have remained a possession of his daughter, Alice, countess of Lincoln. Yet a Lancaster Record (class xxv. R. 8), shows that Alice granted the manor to Hugh Dispenser, 16 Ed. II., and, he being a favourite of that King, we can hardly doubt that the grant was a forced one. The historian Speed informs us that, the Earl of Lancaster being attainted, the elder Dispenser obtained a grant of some of the Lancaster property in Lincolnshire. But in 1327, the younger Dispenser, the Hugh above-named, the favourite of the King (Edward II.), fell into disfavour, and a commission was appointed to enquire what goods and chattels he possessed at the time of his banishment, in his manors of Greetham, Thorley, Wainfleet and Brattleby. He also held at that time, as shown by other records, lands in Thornton, Roughton, Wilksby, Wood Enderby, Partney, Mareham-le-Fen, &c., and a manor in Scrivelsby. But he, in his turn being banished, the attainder of the Earl of Lancaster was revoked, and the property once more reverted to the Lancaster family, in the person of his brother and successor, Henry of Lancaster.

Truly the history of many a noble family of those times was a moving and vivid commentary on the words of Holy Writ, “Put not your confidence in Princes!”

In a list of military tenures (temp. Henry II.), while Norman d’Arcy, the Earl of Britanny, Alan de Percy, Stephen of Albemarle, and several others, are named as holding various of the manors in the neighbourhood, the Duke of Lancaster is given as “Lord” of Greetham, Winceby and Hameringham (“Old Lincolnshire,” by G. H. Burton, 1885, vol. i. pp. 214–215). These, as we have seen, had been very extensively added to, and further additions are named in various records, some of which we will here give, as they show the importance of Greetham. We should, however, observe that because a great Baron held the manor of a demesne, it did not at all follow that he owned the whole parish. This applies to Greetham, as follows:—In an Assize Roll, at Lincoln, of 9 Edward I. (A.D. 1280), a certain Robert de Kyrketon, and his wife Beatrix, demand (and their claim is admitted), certain rents of lands in “Askeby next Gretham (i.e., Ashby Puerorum), Stavenesby (i.e., Stainsby), Bag-endreby and Little Gretham,” at a time when the Earl of Lancaster was lord of the manor. An Inquisition of the Earls of Kent (2nd son of Edwd. I., beheaded. 4 Edward III. and at that time, as we have already stated, holding the manor of Greetham), shows that lands in Huttoft, Theddlethorpe, Wainfleet and Thoresby, as well as in Bratoft and Mablethorpe (the two latter also given in Domesday), were held under the manor of Greetham in addition to those already named in the more immediate neighbourhood, of Bratoft and Mablethorpe, appurtenances of Greetham at the time of Domesday (1080) and continued to be so as late as 1552 (“Linc. N. & Q.” vol. iv. p. 122).

We will now look at the evidence of Greetham being an “Honour” as well as a manor. The two properties of Bolingbroke and Greetham, eventually, after various changes, passed under the same ownership; both forming parts of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Honour of Bolingbroke, was also called the Honour of Richmond, from the Earl and Countess of that name, the parents of the future Henry IV. of England, the only Sovereign of England born in Lincolnshire. The manor of Greetham is sometimes called the “Honour of Lancaster,” par excellence, but it is quite clear that Greetham is then intended, and though united, even under one common management, they were legally regarded and treated as distinct “Honours.” In a bailiff’s account of Rents of Assize, and of Court Perquisites (now in the possession of John Sykes, Esq., F.S.A., of Doncaster, quoted “Linc. N. & Q.” iii. p. 82), it is specified, that beside the Bolingbroke Rents, there “is nothing, because the others are given in the accounts of the Honour of Lancaster,” i.e. of Greetham; and the same distinction is observed in the “Perquisites of Courts,” where we find, “13s. 6d. from two views and Courts of the Honour of Bolingbroke, and one view and Court of Honour of Lancaster” (Greetham). Although the two accounts were thus kept distinct, the Court Rolls of the year (10 Richard II), show that the Court of both Honours were at that time “holden together by order of Thomas Hungerforde, Knight, Chief Steward.” In the earlier of these Records, Greetham was necessarily described merely as a manor, because it was not yet connected with royalty, and therefore was not then an Honour. But in later documents it is frequently referred to as such; for instance, in a Chancery Inquisition post mortem taken at Alford, 22 July A.D. 1506 (21 Henry VII. No. 121), we find it stated that “Thomas Rygge Gentylman, held certain lands, with their appurtenances, in Westyrkele and Langton, of the lord the King, of his Honour of Greteham” (“Journal of Architect. Society,” 1895, pp. 42–3). It is further stated that “John Afforby held the manor of Bilsby, of the Lord the King, as of the Honor of Gretham, of his Duchy of Lancaster” (quoted “Lincs. N. & Q.” iv. p. 108).

Besides the places already named as belonging to the demesne, or soke, of Greetham, I find “Lecheburne” (i.e. Legbourne), Swaby, Elgelo (i.e., Belleau), Claythorpe, Totele (i.e., Tothill), Withern, Haugh, Calceby, Dalby, Dexthorpe, and many more.

Enough has, however, been said to shew the extent of the soke, or jurisdiction, of the lords of Greetham, and its rank as an “Honour” connected at different periods with royalty.

Its subsequent history, down to the present century, is almost a blank. The Manor, although still, in our Directories (see Weir, Kelly, etc.), styled “a parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster,” has dwindled much in importance; and the inhabitants are apparently becoming fewer. In 1821 they numbered 148, in 1843 they were 152, in 1883 they were 147, in 1891 they had dropped to 131. The total acreage is 1250. A few stray notices, connected with by-gone Greetham, are the following:—In Gibbon’s “Early Lincoln Wills” (p. 67), Richard de Ravenser, Archdeacon of Lincoln, by Will, dated “15 May, 1385,” bequeaths a legacy to Walter de Gretham. Who the latter was, we have no means of learning. The Ravensers were of a good family. In Maddison’s “Wills of Lincolnshire” (1500–1600), p. 26, No. 68, we find that Richard Newcomen, of Nether Toynton, by will, dated “3 Sep., 1540, left xx pence to the poor of Greetham.” The Newcomens were among our oldest families, originally seated at Saltfleetby, where their names appear in the registers, for many generations. One of them, John Newcomen, “of Sallaby,” was involved in the Lincolnshire Rebellion of 1536, along with Monsons, Massingberds, Heneages, Maddisons, and many other members of leading families. This Richard, above-named, settled at Low Toynton early in the 16th century, and his grandson Samuel, “of Nether Toynton,” married Frances, daughter of Thomas Massingberd, of Bratoft Hall, Esq., M.P. Several of them are mentioned in the Herald’s “Lists of Gentry” in 1634 and 1666, as residing at Hagnaby, Withern, Bag Enderby, &c. They have now disappeared from Saltfleetby and “their place knoweth them no more.” Their pedigree is given in the “Architectural Society’s Journal” for 1897. Another old record (from the same source) is “John Dighton of Minting, by Will dated 17 December, 1606, leaves to Thomas Page of Greetham vj £.” Who Thomas Page was is unknown; but the Dightons were a well known family, of mercantile origin at Lincoln; the founder having served as Mayor and Sheriff; one of them, Thomas resided at Waddingworth, another at Minting; the chief member, Robert, owned and occupied the Hall at Stourton Magna, of which traces still remain in mounds and moats. He also was involved in the Lincolnshire rebellion. A daughter of Dighton of Stourton married Edward Clinton, Esq., of Baumber, who afterwards became Earl of Lincoln, and his descendants Dukes of Newcastle, whose burial place, for some generations, was at Baumber. “The fashion of the world changeth” the Dightons are gone, the Clintons, renovated in blood, remain.

A tradition remains to this day, that Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Stratford, in the reign of Charles I., and one of his Sovereign’s most faithful adherents, owned the manor of Greetham. I cannot find any positive proof of this; but it seems not at all unlikely, since a lease dated 14 Nov., 1685, was granted to Sir William Wentworth, Knight, of Ashby Puerorum, who was a son of Sir William Wentworth, who fell at Marston Moor, fighting for Charles I; and from him descended the first Earl of Stafford, of the second creation. [69] It is proved by the award that Thomas, Earl of Stafford was Lord of the Manor in 1785.

We pass on to the present century. About the year 1830, John Fardell, Esq., of Lincoln (who represented that City in Parliament for a brief period, being unseated on petition) became owner, by purchase, of the Manor of Greetham, the rest of the parish, except the Rectory farm of 48 acres, being purchased by the late Mr. Robert Dennis, who built in 1830, a commodious residence, Greetham House, where his two daughters now reside. The manor, and about half the parish, was sold by the Fardell Trustees to F. Wormall, Esq., whose present representative is his grand-daughter, Lady Garden of Templemore Abbey, co. Tipperary; whose father was Colonel Valentine Baker, one of a family distinguished as sportsmen, travellers, and soldiers. We have said that the road, or street, on which the village houses cluster, was probably originally Roman; and some years ago, the neck of a Roman urn was found near it. Along this road, to the North is a quarry in which many ammonites and other fossils are found, in the gravel lying above the white clay. The age of “Praise God Barebones” and his Puritanical allies, has long since passed away; but something of the Puritan Spirit seems to survive in the names of the villagers, given in the registers, which date from 1653. My informant had herself known, within recent years, the names Mordecai, Naomi, Keziah, Solomon, and Bridget shortened into Briggy. There are also some curious field names. A boggy field is called the “Waddles”; a similar field in the almost adjoining parish of Salmonby is called “Wallows,” both probably referring to a slough of mire, and the awkward ducklike gait involved in traversing it. A grass field is named “Thunker,” as locally pronounced, which may embody the Norse Thing-garth, or Council enclosure of the great hamlet. Another meadow is named “Kirtle,” probably the Kirk-dale; while two fields, one ploughed and the other meadow, are called “the Gousles,” which Mr. Streatfeild (“Lincolnshire and the Danes,” p. 174.) considers to mean the first slopes of the Wolds. “Gaut,” or “gout” (go-out) means an outlet from a drain; and throughout the whole range of the Wolds, there are numerous springs, issuing from their base, not uncommonly possessing medicinal properties. Greetham is situated on the first spur or projection, of the Wolds in this locality, and these gousles may have been the goutsleys, or meadows, in which were the sources of local springs.

N.B.—In East Kirkby, at the foot of the Wolds, is a field named Goutscroft.

There is also a field, named “Cross Close,” from which the poor receive a yearly dole of 10s., bequeathed by Elizabeth Somersby, in 1733. Here is a name which would seem to embody ancient history. We can picture to ourselves, the Saxon “rude forefathers of the (great) hamlet,” gathered round that sacred symbol, the village cross, before a church existed, to listen to the itinerant man of God, awakening in their hearts a simple faith in a welcome Saviour. These fields all, or most, of them lie in the western part of the parish, the property of the Misses Dennis.

Of the Church, dedicated to All Saints, little can be said. It is a poor fabric, of Spilsby sandstone, with square wood-framed windows, one in each side and end. A “three-decker” pulpit, reading desk, and clerk’s seat, square pews, a west singing gallery, a very meagre rood screen of apparently modern poor carving, all painted wainscot colour. The roof a flat, white-washed ceiling inside, is covered externally over the nave with lead, which, from the decay of the supporting timbers is now almost flat, and probably not in a very safe condition. The chancel roof is slated and pointed. The font is plain octagonal, with octagonal shaft, and square basin, within the bowl being a pewter christening basin, with date “1821.” The single bell hangs in a shabby bell turret, surmounted by a cross. A slab records the death of a former Rector, the Rev. Thomas Jesset, in 1837. The inscriptions on the grave-stones in the churchyard would imply that the inhabitants are long-lived, and the place healthy, as it should be, from its elevated and well-drained position. The Rector has a good residence, built in 1852.

Addendum.—The above remarks on the Church were written in the year 1900. We have much pleasure in adding, in the year 1903, that the present Rector, the Rev. T. Hoole, has succeeded in effecting a thorough restoration of the old fabric, at a cost of about £1,650, towards which sum, the Misses Dennis, of Greetham House, contributed £500 each. The Architect was Mr. Hodgson Fowler, of Durham; the contractors for the work were Messrs. Bowman & Co., of Stamford. The only features of interest in the former mean structure were a 13th century cross, and doorway, and the south respond of the chancel arch. The restored fabric has been constructed in harmony with this respond. It is throughout of a simple, but effective, late 15th century design. The chancel, vestry, bell-turret, and porch are new, and the screen has been restored; the nave has new windows, a well-repaired roof, and new flooring, all the internal fittings being of oak.

In the course of the work, other features of interest were discovered, namely, the responds of a south aisle, a north door, and a Norman entrance into a former tower. All these were effectively utilised by the architect, with his accustomed skill, and now the Church, though small, is large enough for the parish, and a worthy edifice for divine worship, a result which must be gratifying to all concerned.

Hagworthingham.

Hagworthingham is a considerable village, at a distance of 6 miles east of Horncastle, and 4½ north-west of Spilsby, on the road from Horncastle, via High Toynton and Greetham, to Partney. Letters via Spilsby, arrive about 9 a.m. It has its own Post Office, Money Order Office, and Savings Bank; the nearest telegraph office being at Spilsby. Of this parish there are several notices in Domesday Book. It is described as comprising six manors. These were owned, at the date of the Norman Conquest, by Thanes named Sivert, Elric, Swen, Swave, Holinchetel, and Adestan. The Conqueror apparently removed all these original proprietors, to provide for his own followers. Few places shew to a greater degree than this parish the insecurity of tenure which marked those times of trouble, transition, and lawlessness, when might was right. The survey of the country, made by order of the Conqueror, in Lincolnshire in 1085, was called by the Saxons “Domesday Book,” because it recorded their “doom,” or their almost universal expropriation from their rights, in favour of the Normans, who flocked into the country with William. But the “doom” was not confined to the Saxon. The Norman intruder, in many cases, found his possessions even less secure than had been that of those whom he superseded, and the Norman Lords of these demesnes succeeded each other with such rapidity, that, at this distance of time, it is beyond our power to trace their connection, in every case, with each other, or the causes of the changes. Doubtless, in many instances, having acquired possession through violence to others, violence again led to the confiscation of what they had acquired. The first-named of these is Alan, Earl of Britanny, on whom the Conqueror had conferred his daughter Constance in marriage. Famed for his valour and martial spirit, he had held an important command at the Battle of Hastings; and for his services the Conqueror conferred upon him, firstly, all the lands in the North Riding of Yorkshire, forming the district called Richmondshire, which had belonged to the powerful Saxon Earl Edwin, who was now dispossessed. From this gift he derived the title of Earl of Richmond, as well as of Britanny. Dugdale tells us that, altogether he held, by grant from the Conqueror, 450 Manors, 101 of these being in Lincolnshire. He seems however, in himself, to have been not unworthy of so great a position; since, though so great a warrior, the Chronicler, Ordericus Vitalis, states, that he was “ever studious for peace, a great lover of the poor, an especial honourer of the religious”; and that “his death, without issue created no little sorrow to all good people.” Such was one of the first Norman Lords of Hagworthingham. He was succeeded by his brother, also named Alan. His chief residence, probably, being in Yorkshire, when not in attendance on the King, he was represented at Hagworthingham, by his vassal, Eudo, who occupied his land here, to the extent of 3 carucates (or 360 acres), with dependents, in whose hands were 5 carucates (or 600 acres) more. Before proceeding to speak of other Norman Lords connected with this place, let us notice the name itself of the parish. It has 3 elements: “Haugh,” (says Streatfeild, “Lincolnshire and the Danes”), “is low, meadow land, bordering on a stream, and frequently overflowed”; a kindred form, “Hagi” he says also means a meadow. [73] Anyone standing in the churchyard at Hagworthingham will see below him westward, just such a low-lying meadow, traversed by a beck. The second element in the name is “Worthing.” Here we seem to have the Saxon “Weorthig,” which enters into many a place-name as “Worth”; (compare Waddingworth, and Benniworth in the neighbourhood); which is derived from the old Saxon “Warian,” to ward or protect. Hence these two elements mean the warded, or fenced, meadow, and “Ham,” the last element, also is Saxon, and means a place hemmed in; but especially the residence, the “home,” or the collection gathered round the one house, now forming the “hamlet.” What could give a more speaking description of the locality? It is the homestead, and afterwards the residences of the villagers gathered round it, whose position was on the higher ground, because they wished to be above the low-lying enclosed meadow, liable to be flooded by the brook, which runs through it, when swollen by the rain. Even in these days of drainage universal, the fox-hunter, in crossing that grassy valley, may still find his steed “boggled” in the slough of quagmire. In connection with this we may mention, that even in modern times, this dampness has not been forgotten.

In a note to Chap. ii. vol. i. of Smiles’ “Lives of Engineers,” it is stated that, when Dr. Whalley was appointed to the Rectory of this parish, it was with the singular proviso, that he should not reside in it, as the air was fatal to any but a native (Letters and Correspondence of T. S. Whalley, D.D.)

Another Norman soldier, named in Domesday as having a grant of land in Hagworthingham from the Conqueror was Drogo de Bevere. He was a Fleming by birth, and for his services in the cause of the King had many lordships given him in Lincolnshire and other counties. Among others, he had the lordship of all Holderness, in which was Beverley, whence he had the title of “Terrius de Bevere.” He was however of a very grasping and overbearing disposition. Not content with the lordship of Holderness, he wished further to seize lands given by the King to the Church of St. John at Beverley. Camden says that, as a mark of royal favour, he received in marriage the Conqueror’s niece; but that he got rid of her by poison; and then fled the country to escape the punishment he deserved. He was succeeded (his estates being probably confiscated) by Odo, Lord of Albemarle, in Normandy (Camden “Britannia” p. 742, Ed. 1695.)

To this Drogo was granted all the land in Hagworthingham, which at the conquest had belonged to the Saxon Thane, Adestan, including “a hall, with sac and soke” (or the right to hold a court of justice for the trial of misdemeanours), with 8 villeins occupying considerable lands under him, and a mill of the value of 18d. yearly. As his chief residence, when not in attendance on the King, would probably be in Holderness, he was here represented by one Robert, who was his vassal.

Another name mentioned as having property in this parish, is Gozlin, son of Lambert, of whom little is known. This was one of the 222 parishes in the county which had a church before the Conquest; and Domesday Book states that he had the church here, as well as a mill; but as it is added that “the soke” (or jurisdiction) belonged to Gilbert de Gaunt, the latter was evidently the superior lord. Gozlin had lands in 39 parishes in Lincolnshire, besides those in other counties; but Gilbert de Gaunt had 113 Manors in this county, besides 41 in other counties.

It has been mentioned that, on the flight of Drogo de Bevere, after poisoning the Conqueror’s niece, his estates were transferred to Odo, Earl of Albemarle. [75] Accordingly we find the old record, Testa de Nevill, p. 336. (Circa 1213), stating, “the Earl of Albemarle” holds of the King (land) in Hagworthingham, which Gilbert de Langton holds, as his vassal.

About the same time the same old record states that the Earl of Chester, besides other neighbouring possessions, held land of the King in Hagworthingham, which the same Gilbert de Langton held under him, as his vassal. This Earl was the only son of Hugh d’Abrincis (or Avranches), one of the most important among the followers of the Conqueror, who was his uncle. William gave to him numerous manors in this and other counties, and especially the earldom of Chester. He was surnamed Lupus, or the Wolf, for his daring deeds. It was supposed that he was granted the county of Chester, that he might restrain the incursions of the neighbouring Welsh people, the stubborn descendants of the old Britons; and this he did with a vengeance, for, in conjunction with Hugh Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, he took the Isle of Anglesey from the Welsh. Later in life, to make up for his tyrannous proceedings, he became a monk of the Abbey of St. Werberg, of his own establishment in Chester, and died there, in 1101. The Earl of Chester held in Lincolnshire about a score of manors, besides more than that number in Leicester, 32 in Suffolk, many in other counties, and the whole of Cheshire. At this stage the successive, or contemporary Lords of these manors become too complicated a tissue to unravel here. Some of the manors became merged in the superior manor of Richmond or Bolingbroke; some, in that of Greetham. The Earl of Chester enfeoffed before his death, William de Hardyshall, of certain land in Hagworthingham, where his descendant resided in the 14th century. A Gilbert de Langton held land here as a vassal of Alan de Mumby; his son John, held the same lands under a de Quincy. Hawise de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln in her own right, had a daughter Margaret, who married John de Lacy, and the de Lacies thus became Earls of Lincoln. At one period, members of two different families were at the same time Earls of Lincoln. After a succession of steps, John of Gaunt became Earl of Lincoln, and ultimately Duke of Lancaster, and held many of these manors.

Walter de Gant gave land in Hagworthingham to Bardney Abbey. The Abbot of Bardney (“Placito de Warranto,” p. 409), claimed the right to have a gallows in Hagworthingham, as well as in Edlington and other places. Other owners were Laurence de Dikeby, who died 1270, Robert de Altomonte, 1274, William de Saxill, in 1280. Gilbert de Hagworthingham is named in an Assize Roll (No. 478, John A.D. 1202), Walter de Hagworthingham and his son Philip, are named in an Assize Roll, 5 Ed. III. 1331. In the 14th century the Cupledyke family had land in Hagworthingham, viz., Roger de Cupledyke, who died 1324, and Alexander who died, 1335. In the 15 century, Thomas Blunt held a manor here, of the Duchy of Lancaster, dying in 1468. [76] The great family of Welles, also connected with the Dymokes, acquired lands here, which were forfeited after the battle of Loose-coat field, when Sir Robert Welles was attainted and executed at Doncaster, for espousing the Lancastrian cause, 1470. In the next century the old county family of the Hansards held a manor here, by Knight’s service, of the Honour of Bolingbroke. Sir William Hansard died 1520, leaving as his heir his granddaughter Elizabeth. Robert Marbury, in 1545 died, seized of a third part of a manor in this parish, which he left to his son William. Humphrey Littlebury, of East Kirkby, died Nov. 3rd, 1558, seized of a manor here, which was connected with the superior manor of Herby (probably Hareby, and equivalent to the Honour of Bolingbroke), which he held of the Queen (Elizabeth) by fealty. He also held another manor here, of the Queen’s manor of Greenwich, which had belonged to Bardney Abbey; the gift, as stated above, of Walter de Gaunt.

John Littlebury, of Hagworthingham, Esq., by will, dated 20 June, 1535, requests that he may be buried in the parish Church “before our Lady of the Rood.” He seems to have been a man of large property, for he bequeaths “to my wife £40, due to me from Mr. John Hercy; £4 of land in Somersby, Tetford, Skegness and Orby, to bring up my children in their nonage.” This she is to have for life; and then Somersby and Tetford are to go to his son George and his heirs male; Skegness and Orby to his son Peter and heirs male, and failing them, to his son Humphrey, and his heirs. “My sheep gate called Thorpe in the Mires (I leave) to my wife for her life, and then to my son Humphrey and Ursulay his wife, according to the indenture between me and Mr. Hercy. To my three daughters, my brother Humphrey Myssendyne 10s. a year for life, out of my copyhold held of Lord Willoughby.” His wife is to have the “putting in of the priests at Langton,” i.e., the presentation to the benefice for her life, and after her death, the “first avoidence of one priest” is to go to his son Humphrey, the other to his son Thomas. To his son Thomas his lands in Kealcotes. To his wife he leaves “my copyholds held of Lord Willoughby; and the farm of my son Langton, as long as the lease lasteth.” Also “if my wife be in decay in her widowhood, I will that she give no peny to her daughters, of the £40 that is appointed to every of them, and if they be not rewled by her in their marriage they are to have nothing. Item. I will all my children be contente with the lands which was assigned to me by my brother, and the feoffe of my father’s purchased lands; and if they, or any of them, be interrupted of the parts assygned to them by my neve Thomas, or his heires, I wyll they restate their tytyll of Richmonde fee, wych is the moyty of 360 akers, as it apperyth by a customar booke remaynyng with my wyfe, and a crosse set at the hede of it by Sir John Lyttlebury my grandfader’s fader. I appoint my brother John Eland supervisior, and my wyfe ex’x.” Witnesses, William Langton Gent, Sir Malmaduke Myssendyne and Sir Richard Cheles, of Ashby Puerorum. Various other wills show that Thomas Littlebury had lands at Hagworthingham in 1589, that Humphrey, of East Kirkby, held land in Hagg in 1568, and that Margaret Littlebury, of Stainsby, held land there in 1582.

The will of John Gedney, of Bag Enderby, mentions his lands in Hagg in 1535. The Gedneys were an old family in this neighbourhood. In the church at Bag Enderby, there is a stone mural monument, commemorating Andrew Gedney and Dorothy his wife, with their two sons and two daughters kneeling before prayer desks, date 1591. There is a slab of John Gedney in the floor, date 1535. [78] Andrew Gedney married Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Skipwith, of South Ormsby, in 1536. Within recent years Arthur P. H. Gedney, a cousin of the writer, owned Candlesby Hall, near here.

The will of John Gannock, of Boston, shews that he also was a landowner here, in 1583.

In 1572, Francis Bountague, died seized of a manor in Hagworthingham, which he held of the King, as of the manor of Greetham, of the Duchy of Lancaster.

John Littlebury, gent., of Hagworthingham, by will dated 27th March, 1594, bequeaths to Mr. William Wray, “the ring that it pleased my lady, his mother, to give me.” The Lady Wray, would be the wife of Lord Chief Justice Wray (temp. Elizabeth), whose residence was at Glentworth—he died in 1592; they were an old Durham family. The fine house at Glentworth continued to be the family residence of the Wrays, until Sir Cecil Wray, Bart., erected “Summer Castle” at Fillingham, in 1760, so called from Esther Summers, Lady Wray. Mr. John Littlebury also leaves to Sir George St. Poll, “my half part of the hawks,” with bequests to other relatives. Sir G. St. Poll or St. Paul, or Simpole, was a member of a good Lincolnshire family, their chief residence being at Snarford. Mr. John Saintpole was compulsively mixed up with the Lincolnshire Rising in 1536. The grandson, George, was created a Baronet in 1611. They were connected with the Hansards, already mentioned as having land in Hagworthingham.

Yet one more will of a Littlebury concerns us. John Littleburye (28 Sep. 1611), requests to be buried in Hag church. He leaves to the poor 20s.; to his son John, his land in Raithbye, for his life, and for his “bringing up in learning.” £100 to his daughter Bridgett, “soe that shee be ruled by mye wief her mother in marriage,” with £200 to be paid her when married. “To my wief Anne the lease of Orbye from Mr Massingberd, alsoe my stocke and cattle, with all my plate and furniture.” As the children are young he confirms an indenture previously made with Richard Gedney, and others, to act as trustees.

Sir John Langton, of Langton, by will dated 25 Sep. 1616, also left to the poor of Hagworthingham 10s., and like bequests to other places.

(These particulars are taken from “Lincolnshire Wills,” by Canon Maddison).

Among “Final Concords,” there are agreements about lands in Hagworthingham, under date 26 Oct. 1208, between Thomas de Winceby and Gilbert and Osbert of Hag, under date 20 Jan. 1213–14, between Mary, the wife of Hugh, son of Robert, Ernald de Dunham acting for her and Hugh de Harrington, appertaining to her “reasonable dowery;” and under the same date between the same Mary, and John de Bardney, as to land called “Sigwardes Croft,” in “Hacworthingeham, which Mary surrenders to John de Bardney and his heirs,” he for this giving her 2 marks.

We have already mentioned that in the 14th century, Roger de Cupledyke who died 1324, and Alexander, who died in 1335 had land in Hagworthingham. We also find that John Copledyke of Harrington, by will dated Palm Sunday, 1408, left to his sons lands in Hagworthingham, and other places.

In the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. a certain John Parker of this place became somewhat notorious as a religious and political turncoat. He made a public declaration “of the manner in which he had been drawn from the service of God to become a Papist,” dated 12 December, 1580; but in 1605, evidence was taken against him at Enderby, as to his making certain seditious speeches, and he was pronounced to be a Recusant (“Domestic State Papers” James I. vol. xv. “Architect. S. Journal” 1865 p. 55).

At the present day the only one of the old families of proprietors in this parish is the Rev. Alan Cheales above named, descended from Sir Richard Cheales who lived as far back as 1535. At the present time Earl Manvers is Lord of the Manor; Sir Henry D. Ingelby, Bart., the trustees of the late Rev. W. A. Bathurst, and the Wingate family are the principal landowners, the larger portion belonging to Mr. Cheales. We now proceed to the Church. It is beautifully situated on the slope of a steep hill commanding a view along a deep valley to the west, of fertile soil varied by copse and whin; and it is surrounded by a beautifully kept God’s acre. The Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, consists of tower, nave, south aisle and chancel. In the tower are 8 melodious bells. The Church was carefully restored and largely rebuilt in 1859; but still retains several of its original Early English features. The tower, of green sandstone, being much decayed, had new belfry windows inserted, but still retains its patched appearance by a mixture of brick: the green and red tints blending harmoniously. Towards the west end of the north wall is one of the old Early English pilaster buttresses; and at the east bay of the same wall is an original low-side window. Within, the aisle arcade of four bays is supported by circular-shafted pillars, having rudely-designed caps; the arches above being not sufficiently massive to correspond, and their junction clumsy. These low arches produce a sort of “dim religious light.” The aisle itself is entirely new; as are also the seats and fittings generally. The early English font has a plain octagonal bowl, supported upon a central shaft, and unengaged subsidiary shaftlets. The east windows are modern, but may be reproductions of the old. That in the east end (of three lights) is filled with coloured glass by Wailes, in memory of the Cheales family. There is a modern brass on the north side of the chancel, commemorating the Rev. Henry Cheales sometime Vicar of Burton Pedwardine, “and for sixty-six years a landowner of this parish,” 1870.

N.B.—The Parish Registers contain a large numbers of names of this family. The earliest mention of them is in the Church Book Topographical Collection of Sir Joseph Banks, 1786, where Hugh Cheales is given as one of the Churchwardens, 25 Henry VIII. (1534).

The window in the north wall is by Clayton and Bell, that in the south wall by Powell. They commemorate the families of the late Rector the Rev. F. Pickford, and his wife’s relatives, the Listers of Burwell Park; one also being in memory of the late Prince Consort. “The whole effect,” says the late Bishop Suffragan, Dr. E. Trollope, one of our greatest authorities, “is most pleasing and appropriate.” Gervase Holles the antiquarian says that, when he visited the Church (temp. Chas. I.) there was in the Chancel this fragmentary inscription, “Hic jacet . . . Redilston quondam Rector istius Ecclesiæ.” He says also, “on a gravestone of blue marble in ye body of ye Church is pourtrayed in brasse one in compleate armour, bearing upon ye manches of his coate of arms, on either side, 2 crescents. Between his feet a right hand couped. The rest is defaced.” (Harleian MSS., No. 6829.) The benefice was formerly in the gift of the Bishop of Ely (see Ecton’s “Thesaurus” p. 188); the patron is now the Bishop of Lincoln.

In the Registers were formerly some curious entries of “Briefs,” or Royal Letters, issued for various charitable objects, among 65 which were publicly read in Church in the 14 years from 1653 to 1667, 24 were for relief in cases of loss by fire; others were for various purposes; one being “For the Church of Lithuania being under persecution” (1661). [82]

Walter de Gaunt gave the manor, benefice, and six oxgangs of land, and “a view of frankpledge” in this parish to Bardney Abbey (Dugdale’s “Monasticon,” 1682, p. 143).

In sinking a well in 1897, on the property of Mr. Cheales in this parish, there were found at a depth of about 45ft. fragments of “Brinkhill gold” and fossilized wood. The gold has also been found in the churchyard. It is pronounced, chemically, to be a form of silicate of aluminia. Iron pyrite is also found, abounding in small fossils. The rectory is now held by the Rev. G. R. Ekins. The rectory house was built in 1841, a very commodious residence, at a cost of about £2000, by the late Rector the Rev. F. Pickford, the memory of whose family still remains in the parish, and many miles round it, as “a sweet smelling savour.”

There is a rent charge of £8 for the poor paid out of the estate, about 700 acres, of the Cheales family.

The Rev. William Dales also in 1667 left land, the rent of which was for the poor and the bell-ringers.

Hameringham.

Hameringham is about 4 miles from Horncastle, in a south-east direction, the road passing through Mareham-on-the-Hill. The marriage register dates from 1744, those for burials and baptisms from 1777. Letters, via Horncastle, arrive at 10 a.m.

We know little of the early history of this village; it is not named in Domesday Book, but in a list of military tenures, of the reign of Henry I. about A.D. 1108, the “Hundred of Hamringeheim” is mentioned, and “Count Richard,” probably the Norman Earl of Chester, is said to hold there eleven carucates and four oxgangs, or nearly 1400 acres, and Gilbert Fitz Gocelin had four oxgangs, or about 60 acres (“Old Lincolnshire,” vol. i. pp. 213, 214).

In the year 1208 Henry, son of Geoffrey, granted to Ralph, Abbot of Revesby, and his successors, an oxgang of land and a messuage in Hameringham; the said Ralph giving to the said Henry 20s., in consideration thereof.

In the year 1529, Jane Sheffield, widow, of Croxby, in her will dated 7 January, refers to a deed of feoffment, dated 4 June, 8 Henry VIII., whereby Sir John Sheffield, Parson of Hameringham, and others are feoffed of certain lands, for her life; Sir John Sheffield and Alexander Amcotts, Gent., being supervisors. (“Lincolnshire Wills,” page 6, No. 14).

In 1540 John Angevin of Ashby by Horncastle, by will, dated 10 Oct. makes his wife Margaret, executrix, and confirms to her lands in Ashby and Hameringham, to remain in her hands “unto suche tyme, as all suche goods as I am bownden, and myne heyres, in covenants by indenture to Sir Rycherde Warde, and to Sir Robert, be fully paid.” To which is added, in a different hand, “I Robert Awngeven agreed to this wyll.” The Angevins disappear in the 17th century; but one of the family held land in Hameringham in the reign of Henry VIII. (“Lincolnshire Wills,” p. 28, No. 72). By will, dated 20 April, 1545, Robert Angevin, of Langton by Horncastle, leaves his land in Hameringham to his son William. (Ibidem p. 36, No. 96). [83]

By will, dated 10 Sept. 1612, George Litilburie, of Somersby, leaves to his nephew Jeffery Litelburie all his apparell, and lands in Winceby and Hameringham. He wishes his armes to be “sette in the walle (of the church) as my grandfather’s was at Ashby (Puerorum).”

Among the Revesby charters is one, of date 1198, whereby Richard I. grants and confirms to the monks of Revesby certain lands in Hameringham, Enderby, and elsewhere (Dugdale v. 456).

By a deed in the reign of Richard I., or John, William, son of Gaufrid, clerk, of Hameringham, gives to the monks of Revesby 9 acres of arable land in Hameringham, a meadow called “Baldvinegaire [84a] and pasture near the 9 acres, and other lands; free of all service,” save that the monks are to pay to the donor annually “two spurs of the cost of one nummus,” at Michaelmas.

By a deed early in the 13th century Symon, son of Hugo, of Dunsthorpe, gives to the monks one toft in Hameringham, and 10 acres, and one selion in a place called Thyrne, and 2 selions in Pesedalegate, [84b] free from all claims.

In the reign of Henry III. Juetta, daughter of Alan, of Hameringham, gave to the Abbey of Revesby, 4 acres of arable land, for the purpose of gate-alms. In the reign of Edwd. I. Robert Cressaunt of Tuluse gave his rights and claims on lands in Tuluse, Hameringham, and elsewhere, to the monks of Revesby, on condition that they pay to him and his heirs annually 8s. Alicia the daughter of William, son of Alward of Hameringham, in the same reign, gave a half toft for the Revesby almsbox; with pasturage rights for 26 sheep and 4 cattle and 4 pigs in Hameringham; the monks to pay to her 6d. annually.

Sir Lionel Dymoke, by will, dated 15 Ap. 1512, bequeathed “for churche walke in hameringham xx^d. to John Sheffield parsone of hameringham, . . . to pray for me, my wyf Anne, and my wyf Jane deceased, and for all christen soules.” “Linc. N. & Q.” iv. p. 12.

On the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. that sovereign granted to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, in consideration of his “acceptable and long service,” “all manner of houses, messuages, &c.,” along with the lands, hitherto belonging to the monastery of Revesby, including property in Hameringham, and nearly 50 other parishes, to be held of the crown, on payment of the fifth part of one soldier’s service, and an annual payment of £28 to the Court of Augmentations every Michaelmas, the duke’s title to date “from March 1, in the 29th year of our reign (1538).”

[These different documents are among the Revesby charters, printed by the late Right Honble. E. Stanhope, M.P.]

The benefice of Hameringham was formerly charged with a pension of 6s. to the Prior of Bullington. In the early part of the 18th century, the Chaplin family would seem to have been proprietors here, as Mr. Thomas Chaplin presented to the benefice in 1712 and 1720. The manor now belongs to the Coltman family, who are also patrons of the benefice; and there are several smaller proprietors.

Scrafield, which has now no church, is united to Hameringham. Some of the communion plate is ancient, being Elizabethan, the rest is modern, being presented by the late Rector, Rev. Joseph Coltman.

Hameringham church, All Saints, stands appropriately on almost the highest ground in the vicinity, so that the parishioners may look, and wend, upward to it. It was restored by the present Rector, the Rev. Brice Smith, in 1894, the architect being Mr. Hodgson Fowler. It now consists of nave, chancel, and south aisle. It has, doubtless, gone through vicissitudes at various periods, as is evidenced by remains and records. In 1800 there was no chancel in existence. In 1820 a chancel was built by the then Rector, the Rev. Joseph Coltman. There was at one time a much larger edifice, of which the foundations were discovered by the present Rector, in preparing for the restoration. The chancel arch is Early English. The west window is modern, perpendicular in style. In the north wall of the nave is one window, perpendicular, of three lights, near the pulpit. The pulpit is of plain oak, with the old hour glass frame still affixed to it, and containing an ancient hour glass, recovered from a villager. These remnants of the days of long discourses are now very rare. There is still one in the church at Cowden, near Edenbridge, Kent. The arcade of the south aisle is of the 13th century, renewed in the 14th century with Lincoln stone. It consists of three bays, with two octagonal pillars having carved capitals; the eastern-most support is a circular, single, small shaft, apparently Norman, with carved capital, different from the others; where the moulding of the two eastern arches meet, the corbel is a King’s head; these two arches are considerably broader than the western one, which is pointed. This western pillar is the original 13th century one. The south wall is of the late 12th century, and the south porch arch is the original. In the south wall are two windows east of the porch, and one west of it, each having two lights, and a quatrefoil above, style perpendicular. There is a piscina near the door. The roof of the restored nave is of modern pitch pine. The chancel roof is considerably below the chancel arch. It is apparently of wood, and has formerly been divided into panels. The chancel is so long, that the communion table is placed 7 or 8 feet west of the east wall, and the space behind, shut off by drapery, forms a vestry. The east window, in perpendicular style, is of 3 lights, with six smaller lights above, within the arch. The font is a very old and interesting one, octagonal, on an octagonal shaft; the devices, quatrefoils, &c., on the faces of the bowl are much mutilated, those on the shaft are perpendicular mouldings on 5 sides, and on the three other sides are grotesque figures, much mutilated, the centre one being winged, and supposed to represent St. Michael. It stands on a plain oblong slab. There is one good medieval bell, the other being the “Sanctus bell,” re-cast in the Jubilee year 1887, as it had become cracked. The entire church is built of Spilsby green sandstone, faced in the porch with red Dumfries stone.

The visitor to Hameringham from Horncastle, looking south and westward, will see some beautifully wooded scenery, around Scrivelsby Park, Haltham, and beyond towards Revesby, Tattershall, &c. the view extending even beyond the Fens; with the spires of Heckington and other churches towering up in the dim distance, twenty miles or more away, a most delightful prospect. Conspicuous among these objects is the magnificent tower, with its lantern, of what is commonly called Boston Stump.

Hareby.

Hareby is situated about 7 miles, in an easterly direction from Horncastle, is about 1 mile west of Bolingbroke, and 4½ miles from Spilsby. From the first place it is approached by the old Roman road from Horncastle to Waynflete, as far as the cross-roads at Lusby, turning to the right for half-a-mile and then to the left. It is a small parish, of less than 40 inhabitants, and comprising about 740 acres. Letters, via Spilsby, arrive at 8.30 a.m. The nearest money order office is at Bolingbroke, the nearest telegraph office at Spilsby. Hareby Manor House, the property of Messrs. Ramsden and Taylor, stands on a steep hill-side, commanding extensive views over Bolingbroke, West Keal, and southward, far away to the waters of “The Wash.” It has been said that the name of Hareby, and probably also that of Eresby—the older name of Spilsby—is derived from the hares, which formerly abounded on these hills and valleys of the Wolds, the “South Wolds,” as we might here call them, of Lincolnshire. [87] We are only able to recover fragmentary particulars, “disjecta membra,” of the past history of this parish. From Domesday Book we gather, that, like Miningsby, Bolingbroke, and many other neighbouring parishes, it was once the property of Ivo Taillebois, through his marriage with the Lady Lucia, heiress of the Saxon princely family of the Thorolds, whom the Conqueror bestowed upon him. They were married in A.D. 1072, and on his death, without male issue, in 1114, the Lady Lucia married Roger de Romara, who thus, through her, became Lord of Bolingbroke, with other manors in the soke of that demesne. At that period the parish would seem to have been more populous than it is at the present day; the Domesday survey, giving the acreage as four carucates (or 480 acres), rateable to gelt; adds, that thirty-three socmen, five villeins and five bordars had another four carucates, and 100 acres of meadow.

The Lady Lucia, marrying as her 3rd husband the Norman noble, Ranulph, he delivered some of her estates to the King, Henry I., in return for the dignity of the Earldom of Chester. Against this, William de Romara, her son by her late husband, Roger de Romara, protested, but in vain. Some years later, however, Henry I. restored to him some of his mother’s property, and made him Earl of Lincoln; and later still, by the exchange of some lands in Normandy with Robert de Tillot, he acquired the lordships of Hareby, Hundleby and Mavis Enderby. By his wife Maud, daughter of Richard de Redver, he had a son William, who married Hawise, daughter of Stephen, Earl of Albemarle. The last of the Romaras dying without male issue, the property passed to Gilbert de Gaunt, who married his daughter, who also succeeded to the Earldom of Lincoln. Robert de Gaunt forfeited the property by rebelling against King John, and the estates were conferred upon Ranulph de Meschines, surnamed de Blundeville (i.e., of Oswestry), Earl of Chester, A.D. 1100–1120. He died with issue, but assigned to Hawise, one of his sisters, the Earldom and manors. She married Robert de Quincy, son of the Earl of Winchester, whose daughter Margaret, married John de Lacy, a descendant of the Barons of Pontefract. His son Edmund, left issue Henry (and others), who, dying without surviving issue, bequeathed his property to the heirs of Edmund Plantagenet; after various changes the property again came to a Gaunt, John, afterwards Duke of Lancaster, and father of Henry of Bolingbroke, who later on succeeded to the throne as Henry IV. [88] In the course, however, of the these changes, Hareby, and some other manors, had become separated from Bolingbroke, and had passed to the Willoughby family, since we find that in the time of Edw. III., father of Henry of Bolingbroke, John Willoughby, held “the manors of Wester Kele with Hareby, Lusby, Easter Kele, &c.” (Chancery Inquisition, 46 Ed. III. No. 78). The family of Willoughby, although originally holding lands under the Becs, who were lords of Spilsby, Eresby, &c., &c., subsequently inter-married with that family, and thus succeeded to some of their property, and were the ancestors of the family of the present Lords Willoughby d’Eresby, and eventually acquired very large possessions in these parts, much of which they still retain.

We find, however, at different periods, various other parties holding lands in, or connected with, Hareby.

In a Revesby Charter (No. 28, collection of the late Right Hon. E. Stanhope), conveying the right of lands in East Kirkby to Revesby Abbey (temp. Henry II. or Richard I.) the first witness is Alan, Dean of Hareby, others being, Aschetill, priest of Keal, Alan, priest of Asgarby, &c.

By another Charter (No. 53 temp. Richard I. or John), Henry Smerehorn of East Kirkby, gives his home-born (“nativum”) servant, Robert, son of Colvan, with all his chattells to Revesby Abbey, and receives in return “one silver mark from Peter, the monk of Hareby.” This monk of Hareby would therefore seem to be a nominee of the Abbot of Revesby.

And this connection is confirmed by another charter (No. 92, temp. Henry III.), by which the Abbot and monks of Revesby lease certain lands in Stickney to Bricius, son of Roger, clerk of Stickney, to which deed the witnesses are Walter of Hareby, at that time Prior of Revesby; Reginald the cellarer, John of Moorby, Alan of Horncastle, &c., so that it would seem the former priest, or dean, of Hareby, was promoted to the Priorate of Revesby.

By another charter (No. 129, temp. Ed. I.), Alan son of Richard atte Grene (or, as we should now say, Richard Green) gives certain lands in East Kirkby to the Abbey, the monks paying in return, “one farthing a year” to Alan, son of William, son of Roger Palmer, of Hareby, and his heirs, at the feast of St. Botolph, for all claims on the land.

By another charter (150 B.), lands in Hareby, Bolingbroke, West Keale, &c., formerly belonging to Revesby Abbey, are conveyed by Henry VIII., on the dissolution of the monasteries, to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.

Another name, once well-known in the neighbourhood, is found connected with Hareby, in the 15th century. In a Chancery Inquisition, 32 Henry VI., 1453, taken at Horncastle, the witnesses on oath are Walter Tailbois, Esq., William Dalison, of Hareby, and others. The Dalisons (doubtless originally d’Alencon), were a very old Lincolnshire family, seated at Laughton, probably of Norman extraction. In the 16th century Sir Francis Ayscoughe a member of another very old county family [90a] married, as his 2nd wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Dighton, Esq., of Stourton, and widow of Sir William Dalyson.

In 1635 Robert Bryan died, at Bolingbroke (March 7th) seized of lands in Bolingbroke and Hareby, which he held of the Crown, a captain Bryan being governor of the Castle in the time of the Commonwealth, and a few years later, (1663), a grant of leases in reversion of demesne land was made in favour of the widow of Thomas Blagge, groom of the bedchamber [90b] (“Architect. S. Journal,” 1865, p. 57).

We have mentioned this manor as formerly being the property of the Plantagenets. Of this there exists a curious piece of evidence. One Alan de Cuppledyke, [90c] was appointed by Edward II. governor of Bolingbroke castle, and his steward’s accounts still exist. In one passage he says that “the open woods of Hundleby, Kirkby and Hareby Thorns cannot be agisted (modern Linc. ‘gisted,’ i.e., let to be stocked with cattle), on account of the new coppice, planted by the late Earl,” i.e., Thomas Plantagenet, the recent owner, the King’s cousin, but who had forfeited his property, by stirring up a rebellion. This probably may be said to be the only wood in England which can be proved to have been planted by a Plantagenet (“Arch. S. Journ.” 1865, p. 43).