The granddaughter of Adelias de Cundi, Agnes,[16f]married Walter, son of Walter de Clifford of Clifford Castle, Hereford. Walter Clifford is named in the first great charter of Henry III. (A.D. 1216), along with the great nobles Walter de Lacy, William de Ferrars, Earl of Derby, William, Earl of Albemarle, and others.
William de Cheney, already mentioned as father of Adelias de Cundi, was “Lord of Caenby and Glentham,” and Walter de Clifford also is mentioned in the charters of Barlings Abbey as giving to that monastery lands in Caenby and Glentham, along with the above Walter de Lacy. The great feature of the reign of Stephen was the large number of castles erected by lords who were almost more powerful than their sovereign, and Adelias built her castle at Horncastle, where she resided in great state until, on her favouring the cause of the Empress Maud, daughter of the previous king, Henry I. (whereas Stephen was only his nephew), her lands were confiscated, and, as we have already seen, only restored on condition that her castle was demolished.[17a]This restoration was, however, only for life and on her demise the manor reverted to the crown.
The manor was next granted by Henry II. to Gerbald de Escald, a Flemish noble.[17b]This is shewn by a record still preserved at Carlisle, dated 1274–5. In the reign of Edward I. an inquisition was made at Lincoln, before 12 jurors of the soke of Horncastle, among the Commissioners being John de Haltham, Anselm de Rugthon (Roughton), Thomas de Camera (i.e.Chambers) of Horncastre, the King’s Justices and others, when it was declared that “the Lord Henry III., the father of King Edward who now is, once had the manor of Horncastre, and he enfeoffed Gerbald de Escald, a knight of Flanders, thereof, for his service, viz., by doing one knight’s fee for the Lord the King.”
Gerbald was succeeded by his grandson and heir, Gerard de Rhodes. This is shewn by a Carlisle document.[17c]A dispute arose between Hugh, son of Ralph (surname not given) and Gerard de Rhodes, concerning the manor and soke of Horncastle, the advowson of the church, &c., which were claimed by the said Hugh; but a compromise was effected, 400 marks being paid to Hugh, and Gerard de Rhodes left in undisputed possession.
It has been thought probable that this Ralph, father of Hugh, was Ranulph, Earl of Chester, who was lord of the manors of Revesby and Hareby, and had other possessions in the neighbourhood. He, it is supposed, held the manor of Horncastle, as trustee, during the minority of Gerard. Gerard was, in due course, succeeded by his son and heir, Ralph de Rhodes, in the reign of Henry III. This again is proved by a Feet of Fines,[17d]which records an “agreement made in the court of the Lord King at Westminster (3 Feb., A.D. 1224–5), between Henry del Ortiay and Sabina his wife on the one part, and the said Ralph de Rhodes on the other part,” whereby the former acknowledge certain lands and appurtenances in Horncastle and its soke to be the property of the said Ralph, and he grants to them, as his tenants, certain lands; they, in acknowledgement, “rendering him therefor, by the year, one pair of gilt spurs at Easter for all service and exactions.”
We have now reached another stage in the tenure of this manor and find ourselves once more at the point where the present chapter opened. Hitherto the manor had been held “in capite” (or “in chief”) of the king by lay lords, or, in the two cases of Queen Editha and Adelias de Condi, by a lady;but in this reign Walter Mauclerk, the third Bishop of Carlisle, purchased the manor from Ralph de Rhodes. He was himself a powerful Norman and held the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer (a common combination of civil and ecclesiastical duties in those days), but now he and his successors were bound “to do suit and service to Ralph and his heirs.” This purchase is proved by a Lincoln document called a “Plea Quo Warranto,” which records a case argued before the Justices Itinerant, in the reign of Edward I., when it was stated that Ralph de Rhodes “enfeoffed Walter Mauclerk to hold the church, manor and appurtenances in Horncastre, to him and his heirs, of the gift of the said Ralph.”[18a]That the Bishop, although an ecclesiastic, was bound to do service to the heirs of Ralph is shown by another document,[18b]in which John, son of Gerard de Rhodes, a descendant of Ralph, makes a grant to certain parties of “the homage and whole service of the Bishop of Carlisle, and his successors, for the manor (&c.) of Horncastre, which Gerard, son of Gerard my brother, granted to me.” This is dated the 13th year of Edward I., 1285, whereas the actual sale of the manor took place in the reign of Henry III., A.D. 1230, and was confirmed by the king in the same year.[18c]
We have called this another stage in the tenure of this manor and for this reason, an ecclesiastic of high rank, with the authority of the Pope of Rome at his back, was a more powerful subject than any lay baron, and this influence soon shewed itself, for while the lay lords of the manor had been content with doing their service to the king, and exacting service from those holding under them, the Bishop of Carlisle, in the first year of his tenure, obtained from the king three charters, conferring on the town of Horncastle immunities and privileges, which had the effect of raising the town from the status of little more than a village to that of the general mart of the surrounding country. The first of these charters gave the bishop, as lord of the manor, the right of free warren throughout the soke[18d]; the second gave him licence to hold an annual fair two days before the feast of St. Barnabas (June 11), to continue eight days; the third empowered him to hang felons. An additional charter was granted in the following year empowering the bishop to hold a weekly market on Wednesday (die Mercurii), which was afterwards changed to Saturday, on which day it is still held; also to hold another fair on the eve of the Feast of St. Laurence (Aug. 10th), to continue seven days.[18e]
We here quote a few words of the original Carlisle charter, as shewing the style of such documents in those days: “Henry to all Bishops, Bailiffs, Provosts, servants, &c., health. Know that we, by the guidance of God, andfor the health of our soul, and of the souls of our ancestors and descendants, have granted, and confirmed by this present charter, to God, and the church of the blessed Mary of Carlisle, and to the Venerable Father, Walter, Bishop of Carlisle,” &c. It then goes on to specify, among other privileges, that the bishop shall have “all chattells of felons and fugitives, all amerciaments and fines from all men and tenants of the manor and soke; that the bishop and his successors shall be quit for ever to the king of all mercies, fines (&c.), that no constable of the king shall have power of entry, but that the whole shall pertain to the said bishop, except attachments touching pleas of the crown, and that all chattells, &c., either in the king’s court, or any other, shall be the bishop’s.” Then follow cases in which chattells of Robert Mawe, a fugitive, were demanded by the bishop, and £24 exacted from the township of Horncastle in lieu thereof; also 40s. from William, son of Drogo de Horncastre, for trespass, and other fines from Ralph Ascer, bailiff. Robert de Kirkby, &c., &c. The same document states that the bishop has a gallows (furcæ) at Horncastle for hanging offenders within the soke; and, in connection with this we may observe that in the south of the town is still a point called “Hangman’s Corner.”
These extensive powers, however, would hardly seem (to use the words of the charter) to have been “for the good of the souls” of the bishop or his successors, since they rather had the effect of leading him to the abuse of his rights. Accordingly, in the reign of Edward III., a plea was entered at Westminster, before the King’s Justices,[19a]by which John, Bishop of Carlisle, was charged with resisting the authority of the king in the matter of the patronage of the benefice of Horncastle. That benefice was usually in the gift of the bishop, but the rector, Simon de Islip, had been appointed by the king Archbishop of Canterbury and, in such circumstances, the crown by custom presents to the vacancy. The bishop resisted and proceeded to appoint his own nominee, but the judgment of the court was against him.
A somewhat similar case occurred a few years later.[19b]Thomas de Appleby, the Bishop of Carlisle, and John de Rouseby, clerk, were “summoned to answer to the Lord the King, that they permit him to appoint to the church of Horncastre, vacant, and belonging to the king’s gift, by reason of the bishopric of Carlisle being recently vacant.” It was argued that John de Kirkby, Bishop of Carlisle, had presented Simon de Islip to that benefice, afterwards created Archbishop of Canterbury, and that the temporalities (patronage, &c.) of the Bishopric of Carlisle therefore (for that turn) came to the king by the death of John de Kirkby, bishop. The said bishop, Thomas de Appleby, and John de Rouseby brought the case before the court, but they admitted the justice of the king’s plea and judgment was given for the king.
We have said that although Walter Mauclerk, as Bishop of Carlisle, bought this manor from Ralph de Rhodes, he and his successors were still bound to “do suit and service” to Ralph and his heirs, and in the brief summary with which this chapter opened we named Roger le Scrope and Margaret his wife, with Robert Tibetot and Eva his wife, among those descendants of Ralph de Rhodes. We have fuller mention of them in documents which we here quote. In a Roll of the reign of Edward I.,[19c]John, sonof Gerard de Rhodes, says “Know all, present and future, that I, John, son of Gerard, have granted, and by this charter confirmed, to the Lord Robert Tibetot and Eva his wife (among other things) the homage and whole service of the Bishop of Carlisle, and his successors, for the manor of Horncastre, with appurtenances, &c., which Gerard, son of Gerard my brother, granted to me, &c., to have and to hold of the Lord the King . . . rendering for them annually to me and my heirs £80 sterling.” While in another Roll[20a]of the reign of Richard II., the king states that having inspected the above he confirms the grants, not only to the said “Robert Tybetot and his wife Eve,” but also “to our very dear and faithful Roger le Scrope and Margaret his wife,” recognizing them, it would seem, as descendants of the earlier grantee, Gerbald de Escald, from whom they all inherited.
Of these personages we may here say that both Tibetots and Le Scrope were of high position and influence. The name of Thebetot, or Tibetot, is found in the Battle Abbey Roll, as given by the historians Stow and Holinshed;[20b]with a slight variation of name, as Tibtofts, they were Lords of Langer, Co. Notts., and afterwards Earls of Worcester.[20c]According to the historian, Camden, John Tibtoft was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland under Henry VI., created by him Earl of Worcester, but executed for treason.[20d]His successor, John, was Lord Deputy under Edward IV.[20e]The last of the Tibetots, Robert, died without male issue; his three daughters were under the guardianship of Richard le Scrope, who married the eldest daughter, Margaret, to his son Roger. This is the one named above in connection with Horncastle. The Tibetot property of Langer, Notts., thus passed to the Le Scropes, and continued in that family down to Emanuel, created Earl of Sunderland by Charles I., AD. 1628.[20f]Castle Combe in Wiltshire was one of their residences,[20g]but their chief seat was Bolton in Richmondshire.[20h]William le Scrope was created Earl of Wiltshire by Richard II., but beheaded when that king was dethroned and murdered, in 1399.[20i]Richard le Scrope was Archbishop of York, but condemned by Henry IV. for treason.[20j]The name Le Scrope also appears in the Battle Abbey Roll of the Conqueror. Thus in both Tibetots and Scropes Horncastle was connected with families who played a considerable part in public life.
In the reign of Edward VI. there was a temporary change in the ownership of this manor. Among the Carlisle Papers is one[20k]by which that king grants permission to Robert Aldrich, Bishop of Carlisle, to sell “to our very dear and faithful councellor, Edward Fynes, K.G., Lord Clinton and Saye, High Admiral of England, the lordship and soke of Horncastre, with all rights, appurtenances, &c., to hold to himself, his heirs and assigns for ever,” and that he, the said Edward, “can give and grant to the said Robert, bishop, anannual rent of £28 6s. 8d.” We have, however, in this case an illustration of the instability even of royal decrees, in that on the demise of that worthy prince, to whom the realm and Church of England owe so much, his successor, Queen Mary, in the very next year, A.D. 1553, cancelled this sale, and a document exists at Carlisle[21a]showing that she “granted a licence,” probably in effect compulsory, to the same Lord Clinton and Saye, “to alienate his lordship and soke of Horncastle and to re-convey it to Robert Aldrich, Bishop of Carlisle.”
His Lordship would, however, appear to have continued to hold the manor on lease under the bishop, and to have acted in a somewhat high-handed manner to his spiritual superior, probably under the influence of the change in religious sentiment between the reigns of “the bloody Mary,” and her sister Elizabeth of glorious memory. For again we find a document[21b]of the reign of the latter, in which the Bishop of Carlisle complains to Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen’s Commissioner, of a “book of Horncastle,” which the Earl of Lincoln (the new title of Lord Clinton and Saye) had sent to him “to be sealed,” because (he says) the earl, by the words of the grant, had taken from him “lands and tithes of the yearly value of £28 6s. 8d.,” the exact sum, be it observed, above specified as the rent to be paid by Lord Clinton and Saye to the bishop, Robert Aldrich. Of this, he asserts, “the see of Carlisle is seized and the earl is not in legal possession by his lease now ‘in esse.’”[21c]He wages his suit “the more boldly, because of the extraordinary charges he has been at, from the lamentable scarcity in the country, the great multitude of poor people, and other charges before he came had made him a poor man, and yet he must go on with it . . . the number of them which want food to keep their lives in their bodies is so pitiful. If the Lord Warden and he did not charge themselves a great number would die of hunger, and some have done so,” dated Rose Castle, 26 May, 1578.
His lordship, however, did one good turn to the town of Horncastle in founding the Grammar School, in the 13th year of the reign of Elizabeth, A.D. 1571, although (as we shall show in our chapter on the school) this was really not strictly a foundation but a re-establishment; as a grammar school is known to have existed in the town more than two centuries earlier.
We have one more record of Lord Clinton’s connection with the town, from which it would appear that the Priory of Bullington, near Wragby, and Kirkstead Abbey also had property in Horncastle. A Carlisle document[21d]shows that in the reign of Edward VI. Lord Clinton and Saye received a grant of “lands, tenements and hereditaments in Horncastle, late in thetenure of Alexander Rose and his assigns, and formerly of the dissolved monastery of Bollington; also two tenements, one house, two ‘lez bark houses’ (Horncastle tanners would seem even then to have flourished), one house called ‘le kylne howse,’ one ‘le garthing,’ 14 terrages of land in the fields of Thornton, with appurtenances lying in Horncastle, &c., and once belonging to the monastery of Kyrkestead.”
As in other places the Clinton family seem to have been succeeded by the Thymelbys, of these we have several records. An Escheator’s Inquisition of the reign of Henry VIII.,[22a]taken by Roger Hilton, at Horncastle, Oct. 5, 1512, shewed that “Richard Thymylby, Esquire, was seized of the manor of Parish-fee, in Horncastre, held of the Bishop of Carlisle, as of his soke of Horncastre, by fealty, and a rent of £7 by the year.” He was also “seized of one messuage, with appurtenances, in Horncastre, called Fool-thyng, parcel of the said manor of Parish-fee.”[22b]The said Richard died 3 March, 3 Henry VIII. (A.D. 1512). This was, however, by no means the first of this family connected with Horncastle. Deriving their name from the parish of Thimbleby, in the soke of Horncastle, we find the first mention of a Thymelby in that parish in a post mortem Inquisition of the reign of Edward III.,[22c]which shews that Nicholas de Thymelby then held land in Thimbleby under the Bishop of Carlisle, A.D. 1333; but nearly a century before that date a Lincoln document[22d]mentions one Ivo, son of Odo de Thymelby, as holding under the Bishop in Horncastle, in the reign of Henry III., A.D. 1248.
Further, in the reign of Edward I., as is shewn by a Harleian MS., in the British Museum,[22e]Richard de Thymelby was Dean of Horncastle; Thomas, son of the above Nicholas de Thymelby, presented to the benefice of Ruckland in 1381, John de Thymelby presented to Tetford in 1388, and John again to Somersby in 1394,[22f]and other members of the family presented at later periods. The family continued to advance in wealth and position until in the reign of Edward VI. it was found by an Inquisition[22g]that Matthew Thymelby, of Poolham (their chief residence in this neighbourhood), owned the manor of Thymbleby, that of Parish-fee in Horncastle and five others, with lands in eight other parishes, and the advowsons of Ruckland, Farforth, Somersby and Tetford. He married Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Hussey. Other influential marriages were those of John Thymelby, “Lord of Polum” (Poolham), to Isabel,[22h]daughter of Sir John Fflete, Knt. (circa 1409); William (probably) to Joan, daughter of Sir Walter Tailboys (circa 1432),[22i]a connection of the Earl of Angus; Matthew’s widow marrying Sir Robert Savile, Knt.[22j]
Plan of Horncastle, 1908—from the Ordnance Survey
In connection with the marriage of William to Joan Tailboys we may mention that the base, all that now remains, of the churchyard cross at Tetford bears on its west side the Thimbleby arms “differenced” with those of Tailboys, the north side having the Thimbleby arms pure and simple.[24a]
Another important marriage was that of Richard Thimbleby (A.D. 1510) to Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Godfrey Hilton of Irnham Manor near Grantham, through which alliance that property passed to the Thimblebys. It had been granted to Ralph Paganel by the Conqueror, afterwards passed to Sir Andrew Luterel, Knt., and later to Sir Geoffrey Hilton, Knt. Richard Thimbleby built Irnham Hall; he was succeeded by his son and heir, Sir John Thimbleby, who thus became the head of the family, which has in later times become almost extinct. This fine mansion, in the Tudor style of architecture, standing in a deer park of more than 250 acres, was destroyed by fire, Nov. 12, 1887, being then owned by W. Hervey Woodhouse, Esq., who bought it of Lord Clifford’s son.[24b]
Turning again to the Carlisle documents we find one of the reign of Edward III.,[24c]giving an agreement made in the King’s Court at Westminster (20 Jan., 1353–4), “between Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby, plaintiff, and Henry Colvile, knt., and Margaret his wife, deforciants,” whereby, among other property, the latter acknowledge that certain “messuages, one mill, ten acres of land (i.e.arable), two pastures, and £7 of rent, with appurtenances, in Horncastre, Thimilby, and Bokeland (i.e.Woodhall), are of the right of the said Thomas; and for this the said Thomas gives to the said Henry and Margaret 200 marks of silver.”
Another document of the same reign,[24d]of date 1360–1, states that Gilbert de Wilton, Bishop of Carlisle, “gives 60s. for the King’s licence to remit to Thomas son of Nicholas de Thymelby, and John his younger brother, the service of being Reeve (i.e.Bailiff) of the Bishop, and other services, which are due from him to the said Bishop for lands and tenements held of the said Bishop in Horncastre,” and elsewhere. Another document,[24e]dated a few years later, shews an agreement made at Westminster, between Thomas Thymelby and his brother John, on the one part, and Frederick de Semerton and Amice his wife, deforciants, concerning four tofts, certain land, and £7 of rent, with appurtenances, in Horncastre and contiguous parts, by which “the said Frederick and Amice acknowledge these (properties) to be of the right of the said Thomas and his brother,” and for this Thomas pays them 100 marks of silver. Two other Carlisle documents of considerably later date refer to members of this same family of Thymelby, but are chiefly of value as introducing to us a new name among Horncastle owners of land.
A Chancery Inquisition[24f]taken at Horncastle, 24 Sept., 1612, shews that “John Kent, of Langton, was seized in his manor of Horncastell, with the appurtenances, called Parish-fee, and certain messuages, cottages, land and meadows in Horncastell (and elsewhere), lately purchased of Robert Savile and Richard Thymelby,” and “held under the Bishop of Carlisle by fealty,” . . . that “the said John Kent died 19 Sept., 1611, and that William Kent, his son, is next heir.”
We have already seen that, about 60 years before, the widow of Matthew Thymelby had married Sir Robert Savile; he belonged to an old and influential family now represented by Lord Savile of Rufford Abbey, Notts., and the Earl of Mexborough, Methley Park, Yorkshire. By the aforesaid marriage the bulk of the Thymelby property passed to the Saviles, and like the Thymelbys they had their chief residence, in this neighbourhood, at Poolham Hall, owning among many other possessions the aforesaid sub-manor of Parish-fee in Horncastle, which, as we have seen, was sold by their joint action to John Kent of Langton. We have already had mention of a John Savile who was apparently captain of the “trained band” connected with Horncastle in the reign of Elizabeth, A.D. 1586 (see p. 14); Gervase Holles mentions this John Savile as joint lord of Somersby with Andrew Gedney, and lord of Tetford in the same reign. (Collectanea, vol. iii, p. 770).
From another document[25a]it would seem that, some 10 or 11 years later, Richard Thymelby and Robert Savile were involved in a more than questionable transaction with regard to the property thus transferred. Among the Carlisle papers is a Petition in Chancery, of which we here give the text, slightly abridged, as it is remarkable, and fittingly brings to a close our notices of the Thymelbys in connection with Horncastle.
To the Right Honble. Sir Francis Bacon, Knt., Lord Chancellor of England. Complainant sheweth, on the oath of your petitioner, Evan Reignolds, of St. Catherine’s, Co. Middlesex, gent., and Joan his wife, that, whereas Richard Thymelby, some time of Poleham, Co. Lincoln, Esq., deceased, was seized of the manors of Poleham, Thimbleby, Horsington, Stixwold, Buckland, Horncastle, Edlington (&c.), and tenements in Langton, Blankney, Baumber, and in one pasture inclosed for 1000 sheep, called Heirick (High-Rig, in Woodhall, near Poolham) pasture, &c., whereof Robert Savile was seized for life, conveyed the same to his father-in-law Robert Savile . . . the said Richard Thymelby, going up to London, negotiated to sell the property to one Richard Gardiner, and for £2,300 engaged, at his desire, to convey all to John Wooton, the £2,300 was paid to Richard Thymelby and bargain settled July 15, 6 Elizabeth (A.D. 1564).[25b]A dispute arose in the following year between Richard Thymelby and Robert Savile, which was submitted to arbitrators (Feb. 15, 7 Elizabeth), who ordered Richard Thymelby to pay Robert Savile £1,500, and Robert Savile should then convey all to Richard Thymelby. The £1,500 was paid and afterwards the two “confederated to defraud the said Richard Gardiner and conveyed the said manors to John Kent.” The judgment of the court is not given, but neither of the defendants, surely, cut a very creditable figure, and Richard Thymelby, suitably, we must admit, passes from the scene.
Of the Saviles we may here give a few more particulars. Gervase Holles, the antiquary, mentions in hisCollectanea(vol. iii, p. 770) John Savile, Esq., as Lord of the Manor of Tetford, in this neighbourhood, in the reign of Elizabeth, and as joint Lord of Somersby with Andrew Gedney, Esq. (of the latter and his wife there is a very fine sepulchral monument in the church of the adjoining parish of Bag Enderby). The most distinguished literary member of the family was Sir Henry Savile, a learned mathematician, Fellow and Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton; a munificent patron oflearning, founding Professorships of Astronomy and Geography at his University; he wrote aTreatise on Roman Warfare, but his great work was a translation of the writings of St. Chrysostom, a monument of industry and learning; he was knighted by James I., and his bust is carved in stone in the quadrangle of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, among those of other benefactors. Charles I. conferred the Earldom of Sussex on Thomas, Lord Savile of Pontefract. Several members of the family were Seneschals, or Stewards, of Wakefield. George was created Marquis of Halifax, another was Baron of the Exchequer. The name is given in the Conqueror’s Roll of Battle Abbey (A.D. 1066), Hollinshed’s version, as Sent Ville, in Stow’s version as Sant Vile, while a Chancery Inquisition (of 18 Henry VII., No. 46,Architectural Society’s Journal, 1895, p. 17) gives it as Say-vile, and on the analogy of Nevill, formerly de Novâ-villâ, we may perhaps assume that the original form was de Sanctâ-villâ (or “of the Holy City”); which may well have been adopted by one who had made a pilgrimage to Canterbury, Rome, or Jerusalem itself.
I should, however, add that a member of the family, Miss Elizabeth J. Savile, who has herself dug to the roots of the genealogical tree, gives a different version of their origin. According to her they are descended from the Dukes de Savelli, who again trace their lineage from the still more ancient Sabella in Italy. When John Savile, 2nd son of Sir John Savile, travelled in Italy in the time of James I., the then Duke de Savelli received him as a kinsman. Of this family were the Popes Honorius III. and Honorius IV. A MS. Visitation in the British Museum says “It is conceived, that this family came into England with Geoffrey Plantagenet, rather than with the Conqueror, because there are two towns of this name on the frontiers of Anjou, both of which were annexed to the crown of England when the said Geoffrey married Maud, sole daughter and heir of Henry I.” This is said to have been taken from the Savile pedigree in the keeping of Henry Savile of Bowlings, Esq., living in 1665. The Saviles of Methley trace their descent, in the male line, from this Sir John Savile of Savile Hall. One branch, the Saviles of Thornhill, are now represented in the female line by the Duke of Devonshire, and the Savile Foljambes, one of whom is the present Lord Hawkesbury. The Saviles of Copley, now extinct, are represented by the Duke of Norfolk, and a younger branch by the Earls of Mexborough. The opinion that they came from Anjou is generally accepted, the authorities beingYorkshire Pedigrees,British Museum Visitations, Gregorovius, uno frio, Panvinio, and other chroniclers.
We now proceed to notice the other persons, of more or less repute, who were at various periods owners in Horncastle. In the 3rd year of King John we find Gerard de Camville paying fees for land in Horncastle by his deputy, Hugo Fitz Richard, to the amount of £836, which was a large sum in those days.[26a]He was sheriff of the county, A.D. 1190, along with Hugo.[26b]The name, however, is more known for the celebrated defence of Lincoln Castle by Nicholaia de Camville against the besieging forces of King Stephen in 1191, and again in her old age against Henry III., assisted by Louis, Dauphin of France. An ancestor of William de Camville is named in the Battle Abbey Roll, among those Normans who came over with the Conqueror.
William de Lizures and Eudo de Bavent are also named as paying similar fees, though to smaller amounts. The de Lizures were a powerful Yorkshirefamily, who inter-married with the De Lacys of Pontefract Castle and inherited some of their large estates.[27a]Among these, one was the neighbouring manor of Kirkby-on-Bain, which would seem to have passed to the Lady Albreda Lizures;[27b]they probably derived their name from the town of Lisieux, near Harfleur in Normandy. We soon lose sight of this family in England, and they seem to have migrated northward and to have acquired lands in Scotland. The name De Lizures is common in Scottish Cartularies, for instance in the Cartulary of Kelso, p. 257 (Notes & Queries, series 2, vol. xii, p. 435). In 1317 William and Gregory de Lizures were Lords of Gorton, and held lands near Roslyn Castle, Edinburgh (Genealogie of the Saint Claires of Roslyn, by Father Augustin Hay, re-published Edinburgh, 1835), [Notes & Queries, 3rd series, vol. i, p. 173].
The De Bavents were also a distinguished family, their connection with Horncastle survives in the name of a field in the south of the parish, on the Rye farm, which is called “Bavent’s Close.” A few particulars of this family may not be without interest. The earliest named are Richard de Bavent in 1160,[27c]and Eudo de Bavent in 1161,[27d]as holding the manor of Mareham-le-Fen, in the extreme south of the Horncastle soke, under Henry II., “by service of falconry.”[27e]Eudo (about 1200) gave “to God, the Cathedral, and Chapter of Lincoln,” his lands in the north fen of Bilsby.[27f]The family seem to have gradually increased their possessions in this neighbourhood. In 1290, under Edward I., we find Jollan de Bavent holding lands in Billesby and Winceby, as well as Mareham.[27g]In 1319, under Edward II., Robert de Bavent holds his land in Billesby of the King by the service of supplying “3 falcons for the royal use,”[27h]and, under Edward III., certain trustees of Peter de Bavent, by his will, transfer the manor of Mareham to the convent of Revesby, to provide a monk who shall daily throughout the year say masses “for the souls of the said Peter and Catherine, his wife, for ever.”[27i]Truly “L’ homme propose, et Dieu dispose,” for from this time forward we hear little of the Bavents. They may “call their lands after their own names,” “Bavent’s Close” survives, but of the whilom owner we can only say, in the words of Coleridge:
The knight’s bones are dust,And his good sword rust,His soul is withThe saints, we trust.
The knight’s bones are dust,And his good sword rust,His soul is withThe saints, we trust.
Another family of distinction connected with Horncastle was that of the Angevines. Among the Carlisle documents is one[27j]shewing that a trial was held at Horncastle (A.D. 1489–90), in which Sir Robert Dymoke, Knt., and William Angevin, Esq., recovered possession of 400 acres of land, with toftsand appurtenances, in Horncastle and its soke, from John Hodgisson and his wife, John Cracroft, Gervase Clifton (of Clifton) and others. This family probably acquired their name thus: William the Conqueror brought to England from Normandy a body of troops called the “Angevine auxiliaries” (from the province of Anjou), and their descendants were granted lands in various parts of the kingdom. One family especially seems to have adopted this name, which was variously spelt as Angevine, Aungelyne, Aungeby, &c.; they settled in various parts of this county at an early period, and Horncastle being a royal manor they naturally were located in this neighbourhood. We find traces of them at Whaplode in the south, Saltfleetby in the north, and Theddlethorpe midway, in the 12th and 14th centuries.[28a]Among Lincoln records is the will of Robert Angevin, Gent.,[28b]of Langton by Horncastle, dated 25 April, 1545, in which he requests to be buried in the Church of St. Margaret (then a much larger edifice than the present); he leaves to his son land in Hameringham, and to his widow, for life, and his four daughters, lands in Burnsall, Hebden, Conyseat and Norton, in the County of York. His brother, John Angevin, resided at West Ashby, then a hamlet of Horncastle. William Angevin, Gent., of Theddlethorpe[28c]is named in the official list of Lincolnshire freeholders made in 1561, and the name also appears in the Visitation of 1562, but all traces of the family disappear before the time of the commonwealth.
The same Carlisle document[28d]mentions Thomas Fitz-William as concerned in the said dispute, as being a Horncastle proprietor; while, further, another Carlisle document of the time of Henry VIII., shows that Thomas Fitz-William, Esq., was seized of one capital messuage, 6 other messuages, 4 tofts and 100 acres of land in Horncastle, held of the Prior of Carlisle, and John Fitz-William was his heir.[28e]The Fitz-Williams again were a very ancient and distinguished family, the name is found in the Battle Abbey Roll of William the Conqueror. The family claim descent from Sir William Fitz-Goderic, cousin of King Edward the Confessor. His son, Sir William Fitz-William, has been said (as the name might imply) to have been really a natural son of William the Conqueror himself,[28f]but the more generally accepted version is that Fitz-Goderic was his father. Sir William Fitz-William accompanied the Duke of Normandy to England as Marshal of his army, and for his bravery at the battle of Hastings the Conqueror gave him a scarf from his own arm. A descendant, in the reign of Elizabeth, was thrice Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; he was also Governor of Fotheringhay Castle when the unfortunate Queen Mary of Scotland was imprisoned there, and before she was beheaded she gave him a portrait of herself, which is still preserved at Milton House, near Peterborough, one of the seats of the Earls Fitz-William, who now represent the family, Baron of Milton being their second title. A Patent of Edward IV. (A.D. 1461)[28g]shows that Richard Fitz-William had the privilege granted to him by that King of “free warren” at Ulceby, near Alford.
An Inquisition in the reign of Henry VII.[29a](A.D. 1502) shows that Thomas Fitz-William held the manors of Mavis Enderby, Maidenwell and Mablethorpe. The list of magistrates for the county in the reign of Henry VIII.[29b]contains the name of George Fitz-William along with Lionel Dymoke, Lord Willoughby, and others; while an Inquisition held five years later[29c]shews that Thomas Fitz-William held the aforementioned manor of Ulceby, by the “service of 1 falcon annually to the King.” Sir William Fitz-William in the same reign[29d]was Lord High Admiral. John Fitz-William is named in the Herald’s list of county gentry in the 16th century as residing at Skidbrook, a hamlet of Saltfleet Haven,[29e]and William Fitz-William, Esq., supplied “one lance and two light horse” when the Spanish Armada was expected to invade England, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.[29f]William Fitz-William of Mablethorpe[29g]married, in 1536, Elizabeth daughter of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, of Kettlethorpe, a member of a very old Lincolnshire family, still owning property in this neighbourhood; and in 1644 Sir William Wentworth,[29h]a scion of a younger branch, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Savile, of Wakefield, whose family we have already mentioned as connected with Horncastle.
In 1620 the head of the Fitz-William family was created an Irish Peer; in 1742 the 3rd Baron was made Baron Milton in the peerage of Great Britain; and, 4 years later, Earl Fitz-William. In 1782, on the death of his uncle, the last Marquis of Rockingham, the Earl of that day succeeded to the Yorkshire and Northamptonshire estates of the Wentworths, and in 1807 they took the name of Wentworth as an affix. In the early part of the 19th century the name became again connected with Horncastle, when Earl Fitz-William, grandfather of the present Earl, hunted the local pack of foxhounds, which were kept in Horncastle, in what is still called Dog-kennel Yard, at the back of St. Lawrence Street. An old friend, formerly practicing as a Doctor in Horncastle, but lately deceased, has told the writer that he remembered seeing the Earl’s hounds breaking cover from Whitehall Wood, in the parish of Martin.
There is one more Carlisle document deserving of quotation as it is of a peculiar nature. A Patent Roll of the reign of Elizabeth,[29i]A.D. 1577, records that a “pardon” was granted to “Sir Thomas Cecil, Knt., for acquiring the manor of Langton (by Horncastle) with appurtenances, and 30 messuages, 20 cottages, 40 tofts, 4 dove-cotes, 40 gardens, 30 orchards, 1,400 acres of (cultivated) land, 100 acres of wood, 100 acres of furze and heath, 200 acres of marsh, 40s. of rent, and common pasture, with appurtenances, in Horncastle, Thimbleby, Martin, Thornton and Woodhall, from Philip Tylney, Esq., by fine levied without licence.” This was a somewhat extensive acquisition. We have already recorded a more than questionable transaction in the transfer of land by Richard Thymelby and Robert Savile, A.D. 1564, and this transactionof Sir Thomas Cecil, 13 years later, seems also to have been in some way irregular, since it needed the royal “pardon.”
There is nothing to show who this Philip Tylney was, who acted on this occasion as vendor, but Sir Thomas Cecil was the son of the great Lord Treasurer Burghley, who was Secretary of State under Edward VI., and for 40 years guided the Councils of Queen Elizabeth. Sir Thomas himself was a high official under Elizabeth and King James I.; he was knighted in 1575, received the Order of the Garter in 1601; under James I. he was made Privy Councillor, and having succeeded his father as Baron Burghley, was created by James Earl of Exeter. His brother Sir Robert also held high office and was made in 1603 Baron Cecil, in 1604 Viscount Cranbourne, in 1605 Earl of Salisbury. Thomas Cecil died Feb. 7, 1622, aged 80, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He married 1st Dorothy, daughter of John Nevil, Lord Latimer, and 2nd, Frances, daughter of Lord Chandos. He was, doubtless, a man of large ideas and great ambition, his royal mistress was herself Lady of the manor of Horncastle, and Horncastle having thus been brought under his notice, he may have been too grasping in compassing his purposes. The Revesby Charters[30a]show that he purchased that estate in 1575.
We may add that the Cecils were descended from an ancient family located in Wales soon after the Norman Conquest, and acquired large possessions in the reign of King Rufus; the 14th in descent was David Cecil of Stamford, Sergeant at Arms to King Henry VIII., he was grandfather to the 1st Lord Burghley.[30b]The present representatives of this old family are the Marquis of Exeter of Burghley House, Stamford, and the Marquis of Salisbury of Hatfield House, Herts.
We have now reached the end of a somewhat lengthy series of owners formerly connected with Horncastle, its manor, and its soke, bringing us down to the early part of the 17th century, and we think that few towns, of its size, could show such a record of distinguished names. The information available as to more recent periods is more meagre. The Bishops of Carlisle continued to hold the manor down to the year 1856, and various parties held leases of it under them, they themselves residing here from time to time,[30c]until the episcopal palace was demolished in 1770, when the present Manor House was erected on its site.
We have already stated that Queen Elizabeth leased the manor from the Bishop of Carlisle of that date, she was succeeded in the lease by King James I., who transferred it to Sir Henry Clinton, but owing to a legal error in that transaction, it proved void. One of the said Bishops in the next reign was Dr. Robert Snowden, whose family were located in this neighbourhood, his son being Vicar of Horncastle. Abigail Snowden married Edward, son of Sir Edward Dymoke, Knt., in 1654, and Jane Snowden married Charles Dymoke, Esq., of Scrivelsby Court; the former belonged to the, so called, Tetford branch of the Dymokes, who have of late years also succeeded to the Scrivelsby property. Bishop Robert Snowden granted a lease of the Horncastle manor to his kinsman, Rutland Snowden, and his assignees for three lives; but thiswould appear to have been afterwards cancelled, owing to the “delinquency” of the first grantee.[31a]The name of this Rutland Snowden appears in the list of Lincolnshire Gentry who were entitled to bear arms, at the Herald’s Visitation of 1634.[31b]
A break in the continuity of the sub-tenure of the manor here occurs, but not of long duration. The family of Banks are next found holding the lease, under the said bishops; the most distinguished of them being Sir Joseph Banks, the eminent naturalist, and patron of science in almost every form; who visited Newfoundland in pursuit of his favourite study; accompanied Captain Cook in his voyage to the South Seas; visited Iceland with Dr. Solander, the pupil of Linnæus; made large natural history and antiquarian collections;[31c]became President of the Royal Society; and was largely instrumental in forming the schemes for the drainage and inclosure of the fens; and other works of public utility. His family acquired the Revesby Abbey estates in 1714, and were closely connected with Horncastle for more than a century, as he died in 1820.
One of his ancestors, also Joseph, was M.P. for Grimsby and Totnes; another, also Joseph, had a daughter, Eleonora, who married the Honble. Henry Grenville, and was mother of the Countess Stanhope. Through this last connection, on the demise of Sir Joseph, the leased manor passed, as the nearest male relative, to Col. the Honble. James Hamilton Stanhope, who served in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo. He died three years later, in 1823, and was succeeded by the late James Banks Stanhope, Esq., then a minor, and afterwards M.P. for North Lincolnshire; who, some years ago, transferred all his manorial rights to the Right Honble. Edward Stanhope, 2nd son of the 5th Earl Stanhope, and M.P. for the Horncastle Division. He died 22 December, 1898, and his widow, the Honble. Mrs. Stanhope of Revesby Abbey, became Lady of the Manor; this, on her decease in 1907 reverting to the family of the Earl Stanhope, of Chevening Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, in the person of his son, the Honble. Richard Stanhope, now residing at Revesby Abbey.
In 1856 the manoral rights of the Bishops of Carlisle were transferred to the See of Lincoln, and the Bishop of Lincoln is nowex officioPatron of the Benefice. The head of the Stanhope family is still the chief owner of property in Horncastle; other owners being the Vicar with 92 acres, the representatives of the late Sigismund Trafford Southwell with 67 acres, representatives of the late W. B. Walter (now Majer Traves) with 58 acres; while Coningtons, Clitherows, Rev. Richard Ward, and about 100 other proprietors hold smaller portions. We have mentioned the influence of Sir Joseph Banks in the drainage and enclosure of the fens, and on the completion of that important work in Wildmore Fen, in 1813, some 600 acres were added to the soke of Horncastle, about 80 acres being assigned to the manor, while the glebe of the Vicar was increased so that it now comprises 370 acres.
We conclude this chapter with another record of the past, which shouldnot be omitted. It is somewhat remarkable that although Horncastle has been connected with so many personages of distinction as proprietors, and for about 600 years (as already shewn) with royalty itself, as an appanage of the crown, it has only once been visited by royalty in person. History tells[32a]that “on Sep. 12, 1406, Henry IV. made a royal procession” from this town (probably coming hither from Bolingbroke Castle, his birthplace), “with a great and honourable company, to the Abbey of Bardney, where the Abbot and monks came out, in ecclesiastical state, to meet him,” and he was royally entertained by them. We may perhaps assume that as his father, John of Gaunt, had a palace at Lincoln,[32b]he was on his way thither, where also his half brother, Henry Beaufort, had been Bishop, but was promoted two years before this to the See of Winchester.
The nearest approach to another royal visit was that of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, which however was of a private character. Although historians do not generally relate it, it is locally understood that, after the Battle of Winceby, on Oct. 11, 1643, Cromwell personally came to Horncastle to see that proper honours were paid, by the churchwarden, Mr. Hamerton, to the body of Sir Ingram Hopton, slain on that eventful day in single combat with Cromwell himself, who pronounced him to be “a brave gentleman,” he having, indeed, first unhorsed Cromwell. This visit would seem to be further proved by the fact that a man, named John Barber, died in Horncastle, aged 95, A.D. 1855 (or 1856), whose grandfather remembered Cromwell, on that occasion, sleeping in the house now called Cromwell House, in West Street (or rather an older house on the same site); while in the parish register of West Barkwith there is an entry of the burial of Nicholas Vickers, in 1719, with the additional note that he “guided Cromwell over Market Rasen Moor,” in his journey northward after the battle. He may well, therefore, have taken Horncastle on his way.
Having, so far, dealt with the more or less conjectural, prehistoric period of Horncastle’s existence in Chapter I, and with the Manor and its ownership in Chapter II, we now proceed to give an account of the town’s institutions, its buildings, and so forth. Among these the Parish Church, naturally, claims precedence.
This is probably not the original parish church. There is no mention of a church inDomesday Book, and although this is not quite conclusive evidence, it is likely that no church existed at that date (circa 1085 A.D.); but in Testa de Nevill (temp. Richard I.) we find “Ecclesia de Horncastre,” named with those of (West) Ashby, High Toynton, Mareham (-on-the-Hill), and (Wood) Enderby, as being in the gift of the King;[33a]while at an Inquisition post mortem, taken at Horncastle, 8 Richard II., No. 99,[33b]the Jurors say that “the Lord King Edward (I.), son of King Henry (III.), gave to Gilbert, Prior of the alien Priory of Wyllesforth, and his successors, 2 messuages, and 6 oxgangs (90 acres) of land, and the site of the Chapel of St. Laurence, with the appurtenances, in Horncastre,” on condition that they find a fit chaplain to celebrate mass in the said chapel three days in every week “for the souls of the progenitors of the said King, and his successors, for ever.” This chapel probably stood near the street running northwards from the Market Place, now called St. Lawrence Street, though, a few years ago, it was commonly called “Pudding Lane.” It is said to have formerly been a main street and at the head of it stood the Market Cross. Bodies have at various times beenfound interred near this street, indicating the vicinity of a place of worship, and, when a block of houses were removed in 1892, by the Right Honble. E. Stanhope, Lord of the Manor, to enlarge the Market Place, several fragments of Norman pillars were found, which, doubtless, once belonged to the Norman Chapel of St. Lawrence.[34]
The date of St. Mary’s Church, as indicated by the oldest part of it, the lower portion of the tower, is early in the 13th century. “It is a good example of a town church of the second class (as said the late Precentor Venables, who was a good judge) in no way, indeed, rivalling such churches as those of Boston, Louth, Spalding or Grantham; nay even many a Lincolnshire village has a finer edifice, but the general effect, after various improvements, is, to say the least, pleasing, and it has its interesting features. The plan of the church (he says) is normal; it consists of nave, with north and south aisles; chancel, with south aisle and north chantry, the modern vestry being eastward of this; a plain low tower, crowned with wooden spirelet and covered with lead. Taking these in detail: the tower has two lancet windows in the lower part of the west wall, above these a small debased window, and again, above this, a two-light window of the Decorated style, similar windows on the north and south sides, and at the top an embattled Perpendicular parapet. The tower opens on the nave with a lofty arch, having pilaster buttresses, which terminate above the uppermost of two strings; the base is raised above the nave by three steps, the font being on a projection of the first step. This lower portion of the tower is the oldest part of the church, dating from the Early English period. The chamber where the bells are hung is, by the modern arrangement, above this lower compartment, and is approached by a winding staircase built on the outside of the southern wall, a slight disfigurement.”
There are six bells, with the following inscriptions:—
(1) Lectum fuge. Discute somnum. G. S. T. W. H. Penn, Fusor, 1717.
(2) In templo venerare Deum. H. Penn nos fudit. Cornucastri.
(3) Supplicem Deus audit. Daniel Hedderley cast me. 1727.
(4) Tho. Osborn fecit. Downham, Norfolk. 1801. Tho. Bryan and D. Brown, Churchwardens.
(5) Dum spiras, spera. H. Penn, Fusor, 1717. Tho. et Sam. Hamerton Aeditivi.
(6) Exeat e busto. Auspice Christo. Tho. Loddington, LL.D., Vicar H P. 1717.
Near the south Priest’s door, in the chancel, a bell, about 1 ft. in height, stands on the floor, unused; this was the bell of a former clock in the tower. The “Pancake Bell” is rung on Shrove Tuesday, at 10 a.m.; the Curfew at 8 p.m., from Oct. 11 to April 6, except Saturdays, at 7 p.m., and omitting from St. Thomas’s Day to Plough Monday. The “Grammar School Bell” used to be rung daily, Sundays excepted, at 7 a.m., but of late years this has been discontinued, the Governors refusing to pay for it.
The fabric of the nave is of the Decorated style, though modern in date, with Perpendicular clerestory, having five three-light windows, on the north and south sides. The arcades are of four bays, with chamfered equilateral arches, springing from shafted piers; the capitals of the two central ones being ornamented with foliage of a decorated character; the others being plain. Each aisle has three three-light windows, of decorated style, in the side wall, and a fourth at the west end; these are modern, the north aisle having beenre-built in 1820 and the south aisle in 1821. There are north and south porches.
The chancel arch is modern, the carving of its caps being very delicate. On the north side the outline of the doorway, formerly leading to the rood loft, is still visible, and below, on the west side of the chancel wall, is a well-carved statue bracket of floriated character, which was transferred from the chancel, and on the south side a still older one, much plainer.
St. Mary’s Church
The east window of the chancel is said to be an enlarged copy of the east window of the neighbouring Haltham Church. It has five lights, with flamboyant tracery above, and is filled with rich coloured glass, by Heaton, Butler & Bayne; the subjects being, on the north side, above “The Annunciation,” below “The Nativity;” 2nd light, above “The Adoration,” below “The Flight into Egypt;” central light, above “The Crucifixion,” below “The Entombment;” next light, on south, above “Women at the Sepulchre;” below “Feed my Lambs;” southernmost light, above “The Ascension,” below “Pentecost.” In the upper tracery are “Censing Angels” and “Instruments of the Passion.” This window cost about £280 and is dedicated to the memory of the late Vicar, Prebendary W. H. Milner, who was largely instrumental in the restoration of the church, in 1861, and died Oct. 3, 1868.In that restoration the architect was the late Mr. Ewan Christian, and the contractors for the work Messrs. Lea & Ashton of Retford. The cost of the restoration of the chancel was defrayed by J. Banks Stanhope, Esq., as Lord of the Manor and Lay Rector, the rest being done by subscriptions amounting to about £4,000.
The present organ was originally designed by Mr. John Tunstall, and built by Messrs. Gray & Davidson, of London, at a cost of about £400. As re-constructed by Mr. Nicholson, of Lincoln, it contains 3 manuals, a fine pedal organ with 45 stops, and more than 2,500 pipes. It cost more than £2,000, £1,350 of which was contributed by the late Henry James Fielding, Esq., of Handel House, Horncastle. At a later date a trumpet was added, costing £120, the result being probably as fine an instrument as any in the county. For many years the organist was Mr. William Wakelin, whose musical talent was universally acknowledged; on his unfortunate sudden death, on March 1st, 1908, he was succeeded by Mr. Hughes, recently Assistant Organist of Ely Cathedral.
Beneath the east window is a handsome carved Reredos of Caen stone, somewhat heavy in style, having five panels, two on each side containing figures of the four evangelists, the central subject being “The Agony in the Garden.” In this the figure of the Saviour is exquisitely designed; below are the three sleeping disciples, while above are two ministering angels, one holding a crown of thorns, the other the “cup of bitterness.” The panels have richly crocketed canopies, the central one being surmounted by a floriated cross. They are filled with diaper work, and the supporting pilasters are of various-coloured Irish marbles. The whole was designed by C. E. Giles, Esq., cousin of the late Vicar, Prebendary Robert Giles.
In the jamb, south of the Communion Table, is a Piscina; in the north wall a square aumbrey and a curious iron-barred opening, which was probably a Hagioscope for the Chantry behind. The present Vestry in the north-east corner is modern, built on the site where there was formerly a coalhouse, and, at a later date, a shed for the town fire-engine.
The Chancel has an arcade of three bays on the south side, filled with good 14th century carved oak screen work, separating it from the south-side chapel, said to have been anciently called “The Corpus Christi Chapel,” and has two bays on the north, the easternmost being occupied by the organ, separating it from St. Catherine’s Chantry;[36]the other having similar screenwork. In the south wall of the chancel are a Priest’s door and three four-light Perpendicular windows, with a fourth in the east wall. Gervase Holles states that he saw in this south-east window figures of St. Ninian, with lock and chain, and of Saints Crispinus and Crispinianus with their shoe-making tools.[37a]It is probable, therefore, that the old glass of the window was supplied by a shoemaker’s guild. The window is now filled with good coloured glass by Heaton, Butler & Bayne, dedicated to the memory of the late Vicar, Rev. Arthur Scrivenor, who died 27 August, 1882, aged 51 years. It is of peculiar design, the subjects being chosen to represent his life of self-denying labour. There are four lights with eight subjects taken from St. Matthew’s Gospel, arranged in two tiers, as follows—(1) “Come ye blessed of my Father;” (2) “I was an hungred and ye gave me meat;” (3) “I was thirsty and ye gave me drink;” (4) “I was a stranger, and ye took me in;” (5) “Naked, and ye clothed me;” (6) “I was sick, and ye visited me;” (7) “I was in prison, and ye came unto me;” (8) “These shall go into life eternal.” There are eight compartments in the upper tracery, containing the emblems of the four evangelists, and two angels, and the Alpha and Omega.
In the north chancel wall are a Priest’s door, two five-light windows, and one of three lights, with, at the east end, a two-light window, all modern. Here, externally, the parapet of St. Catherine’s Chantry is embattled and enriched with panel work, and rises above the level of the rest of the wall. The clerestory of the chancel has six three-light windows on the south side, and five on the north. The easternmost on the north was inserted and made larger than the others in 1861, and, at a later date, was filled with good coloured glass by Heaton, Butler & Bayne, as a public memorial “To the glory of God, and in memory of Barnard James Boulton, M.D., who died March 15 1875.” He was an active member of the restoration committee in 1861. The subjects are, in the western light, “The cleansing of the leper” in the centre, “Letting down the paralytic through the roof,” in the eastern light, “The healing of blind Bartimæus.”
In the nave the second window from the west end of the south clerestory is a memorial of the late Mr. W Rayson, builder, filled with good coloured glass. In the south aisle of the nave, the easternmost window is a good specimen of coloured glass by Heaton, Butler & Bayne, erected by public subscription in January, 1901, “To the glory of God, and in grateful commemoration of the 18 years’ ministry of Canon E. F. Quarrington,” who resigned the Vicarage in 1900. The cost of this window was about £80, the subject is “The Sermon on the Mount.” The Saviour is represented as addressing the people, grouped around Him, of all classes, soldiers, Pharisees,disciples, travellers, young men, women, and children, with the city in the background. In the tracery above are angels, with rich ruby wings, in attitudes of adoration.
The window next to this is filled with coloured glass, by Clayton & Bell, to the memory of Mrs. Salome Fox. In the upper tracery are the Alpha and Omega, with the date of erection “Anno Dm’ni MDCCCXCVII.” In the central light below is the risen Saviour, seated on a throne, holding the emblem of sovereignty, with the inscription over His shoulders “Because I live ye shall live also.” In each side light are three angels in adoration. An inscription runs across the three lights, “I am he that liveth and was dead, and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” Beneath are three square compartments, representing (1) three women, (2) three soldiers, (3) the apostles SS. John and Peter at the sepulchre, with the inscription “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” and again, below all, “To the glory of God, and in loving memory of Salome Fox, who died June 26, 1883, aged 65.” This cost about £85.
The window at the west end of this aisle, by Heaton, Butler & Bayne, was filled with coloured glass, by the late Mr. Henry Boulton, in memory of his first wife, being partly paid for by a surplus of £40 remaining from what was collected for the chancel east window, and the rest (about £40 more) by Mr. Boulton himself. The subject is the Saviour’s baptism in the Jordan.
In the north aisle of the nave, the easternmost window was erected in 1902, at a cost of £98, from a bequest of the late Mr. Charles Dee, as a memorial of his friend the late Mr. Robert Clitherow. The subject is “The good Samaritan,” who, in the central light, is relieving the wounded wayfarer; while, in the side lights, the Priest and Levite are represented as passing him by. In the two upper quatrefoils are angels holding scrolls, with the inscriptions (1) “Let your light so shine before men,” (2) “That they may see your good works.” An inscription runs across the three lights, “Blessed is he that provideth for the sick and needy, the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble;” and, below all, “To the glory of God, and in memory of Robert Clitherow, a truly Christian gentleman, by his faithful servant.”[38]The artists were Messrs. Clayton & Bell.
The next window to this, also by Messrs. Clayton & Bell, is considered the best specimen of coloured glass in the church. It was erected by public subscription, largely through the exertions of the late Mrs. Terrot, then of Wispington Vicarage, near Horncastle, her husband, the Rev. Charles Pratt Terrot, a clever artist and learned antiquary, supplying the design. It is inscribed “To the glory of God, and in memory of Frederick Harwood, formerly churchwarden, who died March 12, 1874, aged 51 years.” Mr. Harwood was an indefatigable church worker, and died suddenly, after attending a Lent service, when he occupied his usual seat, near this window. It is of three lights, the subjects being six, (1) the centre light illustrates “Charity;” a female figure above, holding one child in her arms and leading others; while below is “Joseph in Egypt, receiving his father, Jacob.” (2) The west light illustrates “Faith,” a female above, holding a cross and bible, and below “Abraham offering his son Isaac.” (3) The east light illustrates “Hope,” a female above, leaning upon an anchor, and below “Daniel in the den of lions.” The grouping of the subjects and arrangement of the canopies are admirable.
The west window in the same aisle contains a handsome memorial, by Preedy, of the late Vicar, Prebendary Robert Giles. It is of three lights, the subjects being from St. Peter’s life: (1) the south light shewing “The net cast into the sea,” “Depart from me, &c.”; (2) the central light, Peter’s commendation by the Saviour, “Thou art Peter, &c.”; and (3) the north light, Peter’s release from prison, “Arise up quickly, &c.” The tabernacle and canopy work are good. The cost of this was about £140. Mr. Giles succeeded Prebendary Milner, as Vicar, and died 12 July, 1872.