To these “worthies” of the town we here add two or three of its “oddities.” About 1844 Billy Boulton, who kept an inn in Millstone Street, now called North Street, named the Tom Cat, was noted for his great strength; for a wager he dragged a “dung cart” on the turnpike road, from Lincoln, to his own yard in Horncastle, a distance of over 21 miles. It is said, however, that he suffered from rupture for the rest of his life, as a consequence of the great and continued exertion involved in this feat. The inn is now named The Cricketers’ Arms, but it may be noticed that the figure of a cat is still engraven on a pane of the front window.
The same man bought the wife of a man named Rogers, a boatman, who put her up for auction, standing on a tub, with a halter round her neck, in the public street; the price paid being £20. She had a son and daughter by Boulton, who both lived to be married, but died early. In after years, having lost her (so called) husband, Boulton, she removed to Lincoln, and there meeting her former husband, Rogers, she became reconciled to him, and both again lived together, as man and wife, until death.[160]
A man, known as Aty Rushton (short for Horatio), who lived in Horncastle, on the West Ashby Road, about the same period, and let out horses on hire, being in Lincoln, laid a wager that he would set off from Lincoln, above hill, just after the moon rose, and ride to Horncastle, 21 miles, before the moon should rise there; which would be later, the town being in a hollow, with a steep hill in the west to hide the moon for some time; while Lincoln is on a hill, with a view to the west over low county, where the moon would be seen earlier. He rode a swift animal of his own. and strained all its powers in the effort. Unfortunately there was then a toll bar on the Lincoln road about a mile from Horncastle, where he found the gate closed, and was delayed two or three minutes before the keeper could pass him through. He pressed on with all speed, galloping through the town, shouting in his excitement “Now me! now moon!”; but as he dashed into his own yard, he saw the moon shining in a bucket of water, standing by the stable door. The delay at the toll-bar had lost him his wager.
A son of the above, Thomas Rushton, was a great fisherman, and not always particular where he followed his sport. Walking in the night to a certain lake in a park, about 6 miles from Horncastle, he fished it and landed two or three brace of good trout, and then about eight o’clock in the morning, he called at the hall, and sold them to the squire for his breakfast. He used to tell this anecdote to his confidants, with his well-known chuckle of satisfaction, as a satisfactory stroke of business. Many other stories of his performances with “the angle” could be also related, but this may suffice.
The following relates not to a native of Horncastle, but to one whom we may call an “intruder,” although he was to play his part (not a very creditable one) in the town. We avoid, for obvious reasons, giving names and dates. There had occurred a number of petty thefts, which made, those who possessed anything of value, uneasy about their treasures, lest their turn for spoliation might come next. The police arrangements for the town were still of a veryprimitive character, and quite inadequate for due protection of the householder. The days of the “bobby” and “peeler” were not yet, at least in country districts; although Sir Robert Peel had done away with the old watchman, and established the present police system in the metropolis; and some other of our larger towns had followed suit. But in Horncastle the constable, by way of setting a thief to catch a thief, had, it was said, himself in his earlier years been a great smuggler, while in his age he was a spindle-shanked old man, whom a boy could knock down. Roused by the insecurity of property, the authorities decided to import a London detective, disguised in plain clothes. He came, and for a while marauders, among whom the secret soon leaked out, carefully stayed their hands. After a time, however, robberies began to recur; especially a corner shop near “the far bridge,” was the scene of considerable pilfering. The detective was called in to investigate. He took up the matter, but did not succeed in making any arrests.
It was noticed by someone that a brass button was missing from the sort of gamekeeper’s velveteen coat which he wore; and, strange to say, a button of the exact kind was found behind the counter of the shop where the thefts occurred. No public action was taken in the matter, but it came to be strongly suspected that the professional thief-taker had himself been guilty of thieving. Other suspicious circumstances occurred, but he was a clever man, and nothing was brought home against him. It was believed, however, that something of the truth had become known at head quarters, as his appointment was a few months later cancelled, and he was not appointed elsewhere. He continued to reside in Horncastle and, having no employment, he accepted the post of water bailiff to the local angling association, which he filled for some time, until he eventually disappeared from the scene of his labours, which were thought by not a few to be somewhat “fishy” in the unfavourable sense of being at least questionable in their nature.
He had not left the town very long when it became known that certain parties had received from him some of the goods which had disappeared from the grocer’s shop, which had been robbed. Sundry hams were found concealed in a hay loft, and it was generally believed that the robbery of an inn in the town, not far from the shop in question, as well as other thefts in the country around, had been perpetrated by him.
One of the remarkable features of Horncastle is the number of its publichouses, and these were far more numerous formerly than at the present day. This was, of course, mainly due to the great number of dealers who attended the horse fairs, not only from all parts of England and Ireland, but from most countries on the continent; especially the great August fair, which formerly lasted no less than three weeks. The present facilities for rapid travel, by rail, and quicker means of communication, which now enable dealers to hear of horses for sale, and to visit them in their owners stables, before they are brought to the fair, has altered all this, and the fairs now last only a few days at the most.
These publichouses had also generally attached to them large yards, and extensive stabling (as may still be seen), where the best horses were shewn and tried, without appearing in the streets. In consequence of the reduced need for such accommodation many of these publichouses have disappeared. Amongthe names of those which have been lost, are the Royal Oak, the Peal of Bells, Cock and Breeches, Chequers, Hammer and Pincers, Dolphin, Pack Horse, Woolpack, Fox and Goose, Marquis of Granby, Blue Bell, Horseshoes, Axe and Cleaver, Three Maids’ Heads, Queen’s Head, the George, and others which are only traditionally remembered.[162]
Several of these were almost contiguous. For instance, on the west side of the market, on the site of No. 1, now (1908) occupied by Mr. R. W. Clitherow, formerly stood a good-sized publichouse, which was destroyed by fire. Being rebuilt, it became the private residence of Mr. H. Sellwood, Solicitor, father-in-law of the late Poet Laureate, Lord Tennyson. Separated from this, northward, by only two houses, was the Black Horse Inn, still existing, and next to this, on what is now part of the shop of Messrs. Lunn and Dodson, was the Peal of Bells, and not more than half-a-dozen yards distant, on the opposite side of the street, was the very old Saracen’s Head, still existing.
On the north side of the Market Place, next to what is now Mr. Cammack’s cycle depot, was the Queen’s Head Inn, now gone; and at the north-east corner of the Market Place, one door removed from St. Lawrence Street, was the Nelson Inn, still existing; while at the south-east corner stood the large George Inn, no longer existing; and near the churchyard, under the same roof with the old vicarage, was a much patronized dram shop, kept by a Mrs. Clayton, long since removed.
Of some of these we are able to give particulars, not without interest. The Cock and Breeches was kept by Roland Oliver, a breeches maker, whose daughter migrated to London, and, as Mrs. Hibbert, kept an inn, the Elephant, in Fenchurch Street, City. At the Queen’s Head were, early last century, barracks for volunteers or soldiers, with their drill sergeants; who performed their drill and practiced with “Brown Bess” in a chalk pit, on the west side of the Edlington Road, now disused, but still represented by a deep depression in the field below the footpath to Thimbleby, and at the back of the gardens of Mr. Frank Heane, of the Garth House, and other adjoining residents.
At this same inn, the Queen’s Head, some 20 years or more ago, on removing the bricks of the kitchen floor, the workmen found a skeleton, probably that of a man who had been murdered for his money at the August fair, and in connection with this, it was remembered that a farmer living at Stourton, who used to frequent this inn, had some years before attended the fair, but never returned home, nor could enquiring friends find any trace of him.
The Nelson Hotel, on the same side of the Market Place, was formerly kept by an old man named Vesey, who was said to have been, in his earlier years, a great smuggler on the coast, but coming to Horncastle, he reformed, and was appointed constable. The sign of this inn is a portrait of the great hero of Trafalgar and the Nile, originally well painted by the artist, Northouse, but it has recently been repainted in the worst style, and almost “improved” out of recognition.
The George stood on the sites now occupied by the Post Office, and the adjoining shop of Messrs. Salter, Shoemakers, the original archway of the inn yard still remaining between them. This was formerly one of the principle inns of the town, equal in size to the Bull and the Red Lion; and from it, before the railway line was opened to Horncastle, the landlord, Mr. Hackford, ran a coach, to meet the train at Kirkstead. An incident, in connection with theGeorge may here be mentioned, which is not likely to occur again. A wealthy lady, Miss Heald (who had also a house in London, where the writer, as a boy, visited her), occupied in those days the old hall (now demolished) in Edlington Park. She was of the family of Chancellor Heald, to whose memory there is a marble tablet, on the north wall of the chancel of St. Mary’s Church. She had a nephew, who was an officer in the fashionable regiment of the Guards. He became enamoured of the once famous courtesan, Lola Montez, who had been mistress to the King of Bavaria, attracted by her beauty, it was said, as she drove, and he rode, along Rotten Row, the resort of fashion, in Hyde Park, London. She wished to make the most of the opportunity to regain a respectable position, and pressed her attentions of the young officer too persistently. She was a woman of daring and reckless temperament; and his love and admiration gradually, on closer acquaintance, gave way to fear. At length he did all he could to avoid her, which roused her bitter resentment, and at length he became in daily terror of her revengeful nature. Coming down from London to Horncastle, to collect his rents, he put up at the George, and was there found, by a friend who called upon him, sitting at his luncheon, but with a brace of pistols lying on the table, fully expecting that she would follow him, and force him into matrimony. It is said that she ended her days in an American prison, after perpetrating a murder in a railway carriage.
Old Thatched Inn in the Bull Ring
Another inn worthy of mention here is the Fighting Cocks. Here this once fashionable but cruel sport used to be practised, until it was made illegal by Act of Parliament, in 1849, and it is said to have been clandestinely continued for some time longer, although a penalty of £5 was imposed. An old man working on the premises in 1902 could remember the last fight. The “pit” was in the present garden, at the rear of the inn yard.
In the Fighting Cocks yard were formerly the kennels of the South Wold hounds, and the writer can well remember going frequently, as a boy, while he attended the Grammar School, to see them fed, as well as occasionally being mounted by the whips on one of the horses of the hunt, when, after the hunting season, they went out for exercise. Mr. “Jack” Musters, the whilom rival of Byron for the hand of Miss Chaworth, was at that time Master.
In the yard of this inn there still remain two large scythe blades affixed to the wall of an outhouse. The history of these is that they were formerly on the front of the inn, facing the street, because was annually held, on August 21st, what was called the Scythe Fair, when the county blacksmiths gathered to purchase scythes, to supply the Irish, and other reapers, for the coming harvest. This was discontinued when the machinery for reaping came into use.
The Three Maids’ Inn was situated in the High Street, on part of the site now occupied by the Corn Exchange, and was demolished when that building was erected. A small inn, on the east side of North Street, now called the Cricketer’s Arms, was formerly named the Tom Cat, because here was sold the strong old gin of the well-known distillers, Swagne and Borde, whose trademark was a cat. Hence gin took its name of “Old Tom.” There is still the figure of a cat engraven on the front window, with the words “Unrivalled Tom” beneath it.
Opposite the Bull, the leading hotel in the town, replete with all modern requirements, stands the King’s Head, an old “public,” still remarkable for its low thatched roof; the reason for which is said to be, that by the forms of the will of a former owner, it was bequeathed to his successor, with the condition attached, that it should continue to be thatched: a condition which the advance of civilization may, in a few years’ time, make it difficult to fulfil.
And here we may make the concluding remark that 100 years ago most of the houses in Horncastle were thatched. It is on record (Overton MS.) that the first slated house in the town was built for a Mr. Storr, a gardener, in what is now the back passage from the Bow Bridge to the Wong, near the Baptist Chapel. This was afterwards occupied (1790–1800) by Mrs. L’Oste, widow of a former Rector of Langton. The next house to be slated was that of Mr. Titus Overton, lately the residence of Mr. John Overton, Grocer.
This parish is contiguous to Horncastle, but the village and church are distant about 1¼ miles from the town, in a north-westerly direction. Letters arrive at 8.30 a.m., from Horncastle, where are the nearest money order and telegraph office and railway station.
As to the name Thimbleby, given inDomesday Bookas Stimbelbi, it doubtless meant originally the Bye (scotice “Byre”), or farmstead, of a thane, or owner, in pre-Norman times named stimel.[165]In the survey made by the Conqueror, A.D. 1085, there are two mentions of this parish, (1) It is included among the 1,442 lordships, or manors, of which King William took possession on his own behalf, ejecting the previous owners; none of whom, in this instance, are named. Under him it was occupied by 22 soc-men, or free tenants, and 18 villeins, or bondsmen, who cultivated 4½ carucates (540 acres), with 240 acres of meadow. This, however, did not comprise the whole parish, for (2) another mention gives Thimbleby among the lands granted by the Conqueror to Odo, Bishop of Baieux, who was half brother to King William, on his mother’s side, and was created by him Earl of Kent. His brother was Earl of Moretaine, and his sister Adeliza was Countess of Albermarle. He had been consecrated Bishop of Baieux before William’s conquest of England, in 1049. He was subsequently made Count Palatine and Justiciary of England. The old historian, Ordericus Vitalis, says “he was reputed to be the wisest man in England, and ‘totius Angliæ Vice-comes sub Rege, et . . . Regi secundus’”; and thiswas hardly an exaggeration, since he was granted by William 76 manors in Lincolnshire, besides 363 in other counties. But we have observed in several other instances how insecure was the tenure of property in those unsettled times, when might was deemed right, and this ambitious Prelate was no exception. He aspired to the Papacy, the highest ecclesiastical office in Christendom, and was about to start for Rome, with the view of securing it through his wealth, when he was arrested and imprisoned by his royal kinsman, and his estates confiscated.
The portion of Thimbleby granted to this Odo comprised 250 acres of cultivated land, with 12 acres of meadow and 30 acres of underwood. This was worked for him by three free tenants and five bondmen.[166a]On the attainder of Odo, this land passed again into the King’s hands, to be bestowed doubtless upon some other favourite follower. Accordingly we find that, shortly after this, the powerful Flemish noble, Drogo de Bevere, who had distinguished himself greatly at the battle of Hastings, along with many other manors in Lincolnshire, held that of Thimbleby. He was, by Royal Charter, Lord of all Holderness, and took his title de Bevere from Beverley, the chief town in that division. As is also related elsewhere,[166b]the Conqueror gave him his niece in marriage; but, being of a violent temperament, Drogo got rid of her by poison, and then, having thus incurred the anger of William, he fled the country. His estates, in turn, were probably confiscated, for we find that a few years later Stephen, Earl of Ambemarle,[166c]had five carucates (i.e.600 acres) of land between Thimbleby, Langton and Coningsby.
This noble was distinguished for his piety, as well as his other great qualities. The chronicler describes him as “præclarus comes, et eximius monasteriorum fundator,” an illustrious earl and distinguished founder of monasteries. Among other such institutions he founded, on the feast of St. Hilary, A.D. 1139, the Priory of Thornton, in North Lincolnshire. This Stephen also received the lordship of Holderness, which had been held by Drogo. He was succeeded by his son William, who was surnamed Crassus, or “The Gross,” from his unwieldy frame. His great-granddaughter, Avelin, succeeding to the property in her turn, married Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, surnamed Gibbosus, or humpback. But they had no issue, and so, as the “Book of Meux Abbey” says, “for want of heirs the Earldom of Albemarle and the Honour of Holderness were seized (once again) into the King’s hands.” What became of the demesne of Thimbleby is not specified; but we find from the survey, already quoted, that in the same century Walter de Gaunt, son of Gilbert de Gaunt,[166d]held Thimbleby and other neighbouring parishes 24 carucates, or in all 2,880 acres of land. We have traced elsewhere[166e]the descent ofthe Willoughby family from the Gaunts, and about 100 years later (circa 1213, Survey, as before) William de Willoughby succeeded to these estates, including the demesne of Thimbleby. He was ancestor of the present Earl of Ancaster, and Lord Willoughby de Eresby, who now represents this division in Parliament. How long the estates, in whole or in part, remained with the Willoughbys is not clear; but we have evidence of their connection with Thimbleby nearly 100 years later, in a document dated 1302,[167a]concerning a dispute as to lands in Thimbleby, Langton, Woodhall, and several other parishes, between John de Bec and Robert Wylgherby, the two families being related; in which the said Robert surrenders to the said John all property in dispute, for his lifetime, on condition that, after his decease, the whole shall revert to the said John Willoughby, and his heirs, for ever.[167b]
From this time we find other names connected with the parish. Indeed prior to this, in a charter of Bardney Abbey, dated “at the Chapter of the Convent, on Sunday next after the Ascension of our Lord” (22nd May) 1281; we have among the witnesses, along with others belonging to Edlington, Wispington, and Baumber, “Master Bartholomew of Thimbleby,” and John Crayck of the same, the former being probably the Rector.[167c]This charter refers to certain lands and tenements, the gift to the abbey of “Walter, son of Gilbert, de Bolingbrog,”i.e.Walter, the son of Gilbert de Gaunt, already named. In another Bardney charter, dated four years later (30th Sept., 1285), we find again the same Thimbleby witnesses, with Alured of Woodhall, and others.[167d]
Three years later than this, in an official inquiry, held at Lincoln, as to certain knights’ fees, which belonged to Elyas de Rabayn and his wife Matilda (12th Nov., 1288), the jurors declare that “Robert de Rothwell holds in Thymelby and Horncastre,” certain “rents of assize, to be paid at the Feast of St. Michael, the Nativity of the Lord, Easter, and St. Botulph” (June 17), amounting to 12s.
A more interesting record is the following. We may premise that the Norman noble, St. Quintin (so named from a town of France, in the department of Aisne, the Augusta Veromanduorum of the Romans), came over among the followers of William the Conqueror, and his name appears in the famous “Battle Roll” of 1066. A Final Concord, of date A.D. 1293, states that on the Quindene of the purification of the Blessed Mary (i.e.the 5th day after), a dispute having arisen between Herbert de St. Quintin on the one part, and Ascelina de Waterville and Matilda de Diva on the other part, the two latter being tenants of 3½ carucates of land (i.e.420 acres) in Thymeleby; it was settled that the said Ascelina and Matilda should acknowledge the said land to be the right of Herbert; and for this Herbert granted them, as his tenants, all the said lands, except six oxgangs (i.e.90 acres) which were occupied in separate parcels, by Baldrick, Hogge, Alfsi, Godric, Walfric, and others; and for this the said Ascelina and Matilda gave him, in acknowledgment, 40 marks.
A few years after this date it would appear that the Bishop of Carlisle exercised a kind of ecclesiastical lordship over this parish. Thimbleby was in the soke of Horncastle, and Ralph de Rhodes, the former Lord of the demesneof Horncastle, with its appurtenances, West Ashby, High Toynton, &c., had granted these (by charter confirmed by Henry III., A.D. 1230) to Walter Mauclerk, Bishop of Carlisle, and his successors.
Accordingly in an old document of the early 14th century, we find that John de Halghton, Bishop of Carlisle, gave consent for William de Foletby to convey certain lands in Thimelby, Langton, and Horncastle, to the Abbot and Convent of Kirkstead, to provide two monks, to celebrate daily services for the souls of the faithful deceased. The witnesses were Richard de Wodehall, William de Polam (Poolham), and others. “Dated at Horncastre, on this day of St. Barnabas, 5 Ed. II., 11 June, A.D. 1312”[168a]This shows a connection with the monastery of Kirkstead, to which we shall refer hereafter.
We next come to a record of special interest, of rather later date. The family of Thimbleby, Thymelby, Thimoldby, &c., doubtless took their name from this parish, at a period lost in hoar antiquity. They acquired in course of time extensive property in various parts of the county. The chief branch of the family resided at Irnham Park, near Grantham, which was acquired (about 1510) by Richard Thimbleby, through his marriage with the heiress of Godfrey Hilton, whose ancestor, Sir Geoffrey Hilton, Knight, had obtained it by marriage with the heiress of the Luterels, a very ancient family, several members of which were summoned to Parliament as Barons, in the 12th century.
The earlier members of the Thimbleby family are called, expressly, Thomas de Thymelby, Nicholas de Thymbylby, and so forth, shewing their connection with this parish. The family name of Thimelby still survives in the neighbourhood of Spilsby.
The first mention of a Thimbleby, as an owner in Thimbleby, occurs in a Post Mortem Inquisition, held at Holtham (Haltham), on Friday next after the Feast of St. Matthew (Sept. 21), A.D. 1333; where the jurors say that Nicholas de Thymelby held, with certain other lands in the neighbourhood, two messuages and four acres of land in Thymelby, of the Bishop of Carlisle, and that the said Nicholas died on the Feast of the Purification (Feb. 2nd); and that his son Thomas, aged 19, was heir.[168b]
Then follow a grant of land and other privileges, by the Bishop of Carlisle, in Horncastle and Upper Toynton, to Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby. Thomas presented to the Benefice of Ruckland in 1381. His son John married Joan, daughter of Sir Walter Taillebois; whose mother was daughter and heir of Gilbert Burdon (or Barradon), whose wife was sister and heir of Gilbert Umfraville, Earl of Angus. Thus the family kept growing in importance.[168c]
Our last mention of this family, in connection with Thimbleby, shows a still greater expansion. An Inquisition taken 12th August, 4 Ed. VI. (1550), after the death of Matthew Thimbleby, of Polam, Esq., shows that he married Anne, daughter of Sir John Hussey, and that he was seised of six manors besides that of Thimelby; also of lands in eight other parishes, with the advowsons of the churches of Tetforde, Farrafford, Ruckland, and Somersby.[168d]His widow married Sir Robert Savile, Knt.
Soon after the first mention of a Thymelby of Thimbleby, we find another family of some note connected with this parish. In an agreement made at“Langton near Horncaster, 8 August, A.D. 1370, Peter Skynner of Ely, and Alice his wife, for some consideration not named, surrender to William de Atherby and his heirs, all their rights in certain lands and tenements in Woodhall, Langton, Thymelby, Horncastre, Thornton,” &c.[169a]These lands had evidently been held by the said Peter Skynner and his wife.
The Skynners were a family of wealth and position. In 1315 Robert and Richard Skynner held the manor of Pinchbeck, near Spalding.[169b]They were also land owners in Hareby and Bolingbroke. Henry Skynner, by will, dated 29th May, 1612, leaves to his daughter Judith, all his copyhold in Harebie, to his brother, Sir Vincent Skynner, Knight, lands in Hareby and other places, with the advowson of the Benefice. Sir Vincent Skynner was Lord of the Manor of Thornton Curtis; he was in 1604 appointed by the crown Keeper of East Kirkby Park, as part of the Royal manor, or “Honour,” of Bolingbroke. His son William married a daughter of Sir Edward Coke, Knight, and was buried at Thornton Curtis, August 17th, A.D. 1626.
We find mention of another owner of land in Thimbleby, in the 15th century, whose apparent love of pelf would seem to have tempted him to defraud the king of his dues. A certain Thomas Knyght, of the City of Lincoln, Esquire, died in the 10th year of the reign of Henry VII. (A D 1495), seized of lands and tenements “in Thembleby,” and other places. At the Inquisition then held, the jurors found that he had alienated certain parts of the property, “the Royal license therefor not being obtained, to the prejudice and deception of the lord the King,” and the property passed to his son and heir William, who took possession, with “a like evasion of dues, to the King’s prejudice.” What penalty was imposed is not stated; but it was a somewhat remarkable coincidence, that, as shewn in another Inquisition made the following year (A.D. 1496), certain witnesses deposed that on the 20th day of June, A.D. 1476 (i.e.19 years before his decease), the said Thomas Knyght, and his servants, about the middle of the night “broke and dug the soil of the parlour of his house, and found £1,000, and more, of the coinage of the Treasury . . . there placed and hidden,” which as “tresour-trove, by reason of the prerogative of the lord the King, ought to come to his use, &c.” This has all a very suspicious look, Knyght would not have ordered this search for the money if he had not himself known of its being there. It looks like a previous attempt at concealment, in some way to defraud the revenue, which Knyght himself afterwards felt was a failure, and that it was safer to exhume the hoard himself, rather than that public officials should do it. Altogether it would seem that “Thomas Knyght, of the City of Lincoln, Esquire,” was somewhat of a sordid character, and not a proprietor for Thimbleby to be proud of.
We now proceed to records more ecclesiastical. We have already noted that, with the consent of the Bishop of Carlisle, William de Foletby, in the 14th century conveyed lands in Thimbleby to the Abbot of Kirkstead. This would seem to imply a previous connection of this parish with that monastery, to attract the Thimbleby proprietor to it. Accordingly we find that, among the various properties of the Abbey, granted by Hugh Brito, its founder (A.D. 1139), and other benefactors, were 90 acres of land in Thimbleby, with the advowson of the Benefice. In those days there was only a very limited numberof resident clergy in the country parishes,[170a]the churches being served largely by the monks of the monasteries. In some cases these were “itinerant clerks,” in other cases there was a “grange,” or dependency, of the monastery in the parish, having a “cell,” or “hermitage,” for a priest.
Thimbleby was not among the number of parishes which had a church before the conquest, as Edlington and several other neighbouring parishes had; but there is no doubt that a church was erected here soon after that period, which, like the neighbouring Woodhall, was connected with Kirkstead, and here, as at Woodhall, there are traces of a moated enclosure eastward of the church, which doubtless was the site of the grange.
The Abbot of Kirkstead exercised the powers of a superior lord here in a somewhat arbitrary fashion; it being complained against him before Royal Commissioners as early as the reign of Edward I., that he had erected here “furcœ,” or a gallows, on which various criminals had been executed; and that he had appropriated to himself the assize of bread and beer here, and at Horncastle.[170b]But “blessed are the peacemakers,” and the abbots, with wholesome influence, were able, when occasion served, to produce harmony out of discordant elements; as the following records show (quoted from Final Concords): “In three weeks from the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary, 10 Henry III. (28th Sept., A.D. 1226),” a dispute arising between Reginald, Rector of Thymelby, and Peter, son of John, tenant of a certain messuage and toft in Thymelby. Peter was induced to give up his claim, in favour of Reginald and his successors; and for this the said Reginald gave him one mark, in recognition of the concession. Which agreement was made in the presence of Henry, Abbot of Kirkstead, who himself gave to the church of Thymelby all right which he had in rent, which he was wont to receive; not however without an equivalent, which—being wise in his generation—he was careful to secure; for Reginald, in return, gave him a certain sum “to buy a rent in another place.”
The worldly wisdom of the same abbot appears again in the following Concord: On the morrow of St. Michael, 10 Henry III. (30th Sept. A.D. 1226); a dispute between Sarah, the wife of Alan de Tymelby, and Henry, Abbot of Kirkstead, about a certain meadow in Tymelby, was happily settled (it being to the soul’s peril to incur an abbot’s anathema!) by the said Sarah giving up all claim to the meadow in favour of the said Abbot, and his successors; in recognition of which he gave her one mark.
A gap now occurs in our history, which can only be filled in, for a time, by conjecture. On the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII., the possessions of Kirkstead Abbey were granted by him to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk; on whose death without issue, they reverted to the sovereign, and were re-granted to the Earl of Lincoln, of the Fiennes Clinton family, subsequently Dukes of Newcastle. The Abbey lands in Thimbleby are not, so far as we know, specially named in this grant, and therefore we are unable to say positively whether that family acquired property in Thimbleby or not; but they had undoubtedly property in Horncastle and neighbourhood. For instance the manor of Baumber remained in their hands, and Baumber Church continued to be the family burial place, until the 3rd Duke of Newcastle, late in the 18th century, sold that estate to T. Livesey, Esq.
A few years later, however, we have official evidence that the manor and advowson of Thimbleby were vested in the sovereign. By a deed (a copy of which is in the Rector’s possession) dated 10th April, 7 Edward VI. (A.D. 1553), of the Court of Augmentations, a toft and messuage in Thimbleby were granted by the King to John Welcome; also “the lordship and manor of Thimblebye, with all its rights, &c., lately belonging to the monastery of Kirkstead;” also “the advowson and right of patronage of the Rectory and Church of Thymmelbie, aforesaid.” In the next reign, of Mary, the benefice was presented, by the Queen herself, to William Brantinghame, being admitted on her nomination 19th Sept., 1554.[171a]
A deed of that reign, dated 6th Feb., 1 and 2 Philip and Mary (1554), grants certain lands belonging to the manor of Thimblebie, to Anthony Kyme, for 21 years, at 10s. per annum
St. Margaret’s Church, Thimbleby
Next, in the reign of Elizabeth, a deed dated 9th March, 4 Elizabeth (1562), grants certain tofts and lands to John Porter, for 21 years, at a rent of 18s. per annum; and finally, by deed dated June 30th, 1564, Elizabeth in consideration of the sum of £609 5s. 2d., confirms the above grants and leases to William Conyers and William Haber, both of the Middle Temple, the patronage of the Rectory, “to be held with the manor of Est Grenwich, in the countie of Kent, free of all duty or military service.”
After a further hiatus in the parish history, we find another link in the records. The former property of the Thimblebys, of Poolham, and elsewhere, had been sold to a member of the Bolles family, in 1600; and Mr. Weir[171b]tells us that in the reign of Charles II. the manor of Thimbleby belonged to SirRobert Bolles, of Scampton. From Liber Regis we find that Sir John Bolles presented to the benefice of Thimbleby in 1697, and doubtless was Lord of the Manor. This Sir John sold his property, and according to the antiquarian, Browne Willis (Ecton’s Thesaurus), in the reign of Queen Anne, the patronage of the benefice belonged to “Mr. Kercheval”
In 1719 and 1725 John Hockin, Clerk, presented.
In 1720 the manor and advowson were bought by John Hotchkin, Esq., of Tixover; and a Thimbleby record, preserved with the registers, shows that the Hotchkins have presented from about that time till recently. In 1767 (Sept. 10th), Allen Corrance was admitted on the cession of John Kercheval, by Thomas Hotchkin, Esq., of Alexton, Co. Leicester. In 1778 William Holmes, M.A., was admitted to the rectory by John Hotchkin, Esq., of South Luffenham, on the death of Allen Corrance. In 1831 (Sept. 21st) Robert Charles Herbert Hotchkin, B.A., was instituted at the rectory, on the death of William Holmes, on the nomination of Thomas Hotchkin, Esq., of Tixover. The late T. J. Stafford Hotchkin, Esq., of Woodhall Manor, sold his property in Thimbleby and some other parishes in 1872; and the advowson of this benefice, then in his gift, was subsequently sold to the father of the present Rector, the Rev. C. A. Potter.
There is another name on record, connected with Thimbleby, which we have not yet mentioned. Among a list of the gentry of Lincolnshire, made on the Royal Herald’s Visitation of the County, in 1634, which is still preserved at the Heralds’ office, is the name of “Robert Frieston, of Thimbleby.” What position he held, or whether he was a land owner, in the parish, is not stated, but he ranked with Thomas Cressy (of a very old family), of Kirkby-on-Bain; the Dymokes of Scrivelsby, Haltham, and Kime; Heneage of Hainton, &c.[172a]
There is a smaller manor in this parish called the Hall-garth, the residence attached to which is a picturesque old thatched mansion, with an old-time garden, enclosed within high and thick hedges of yew, trimmed in Dutch fashion. It has also a large “stew,” or fish-pond, from which, doubtless, in Roman Catholic times, the owners drew their supply of carp and tench, for the numerous fast-days then observed. Old title deeds show that this was at one time crown property.[172b]At a later date it was owned by a family named Boulton, who also held land in Stixwould, where there is still the slab of a Boulton tomb in the pavement of the aisle of the church.
A slab, on the south side of Thimbleby Church, bears the inscription: “Here lyeth the body of Michael, the son of Mr. Michael and Elizabeth Boulton, buried the 7th of Septemr, 1692, ætatis suæ 7. His mother the 28th of May, Anno Dom. 1725, ætat suæ 61.” The Register has the following entries, “1725, Mrs. Boulton, ye wife of Mr. Mich. Boulton, buried May 28th.” “1738, Michael Boulton buried May 8th.” The last entry connected with this family is that of “Michael, son of Michael and Mary Boulton,” who was baptized in 1726 and buried in 1767.
These were the ancestors of the late Mr. Henry Boulton, of St. Mary’s Square, Horncastle. Michael Boulton, in 1719, left 40s. a year, from the Hall estate, at Bransby near Stow, for the education of poor children at Thimbleby; leaving also a bequest for the poor at Bransby.
At the beginning of the 19th century this manor was held jointly by Richard Elmhirst, Esq., of Usselby, and Mr. Thomas Kemp, the latter of whom resided at the Old Hall.[173a]There is a field at the west end of the village, now the property of H. N. Coates, Esq., traversed by mounds and ditches, which was formerly divided into three separate plots, belonging to Elmhirst, Kemp, and Hotchkin. The Kemps were of an old stock. In the Thimbleby Registers the first mention of them is in 1723,[173b]but their name implies a much greater antiquity. One theory has been that they were a Huguenot family, who came over to England at the time of the French massacre of Protestants, on St. Bartholomew’s day, 1572. Those refugees, in their enforced poverty, prosecuted various kinds of useful industries; and the Kemps, it is suggested, acquired their name from being kempsters, or comb makers.
But it is probable that the name had a much earlier origin. Kemp (Saxon Cempa) meant a soldier[173c]being connected with the Norman-French and modern English “Champion;” and although we might look back with pride to forefathers who suffered for their religion, it is pleasanter, if only in imagination, to regard them as having been a race of doughty warriors, sufficiently distinguished to win a name by their deeds.[173d]
Mr. Thomas Kemp, in the first half of the 19th century, was a wealthy bachelor, and added to the Hall-garth estate by the purchase, from time to time, of adjacent property. He lived in some style, with two maiden sisters to keep house for him. By his will the land at Thimbleby passed into the possession of his great nephew, Robert Edwin Kemp; another nephew, Samuel Harrison Kemp, inheriting most of the personal estate. But alas! liveried servants, crests and arms, and other emblems of wealth have become things of the past; for when this Robert died the property passed to his son, Thomas Kemp, in whose hands the patrimony speedily evaporated; and other members of the family are now dispersed, “their places knowing them no more,” save as a lingering memory, which will soon be gone.
The interesting old hall and the manor were then bought by Reuben Roberts, Esq., of Linden House, Horncastle, who resides there in the summer. He also owns other land in the parish. Other owners are E. Hassard,Esq., of Edlington Park; H. N. Coates, Esq., of Langton Manor; the trustees of the late Mr. Samuel Goe, and several smaller proprietors. Mrs. Tebbutt, of Horncastle, a relict of an old Thimbleby family, whose name appears frequently in the parish books, is now Lady of the Manor.
Some 200 yards east of the church and on the south side of the main road is a large field, the property of Mr. Henry N. Coates of Langton, which is known as “The Butts.” It has some fine trees, apparently the remains of an extensive avenue, which have been more numerous even within living memory. It has been sometimes called “The Park Close,” but the title “The Butts” is interesting, as probably indicating that it was formerly the site on which (in the words of a rhymer, it may be said):
England’s archers of old,Village wights true and bold,Unerring in hand and in eye,Learned skill in their craftWith yew-bow and shaft,Wand to splinter, or pierce the bull’s-eye.And while the youth gay,Rough rivals, essayTo rive and riddle each butt,Sage sires stand by,And coy maidens cry,To welcome the winning shot.Full many such sceneHas been witnessed, I ween,In that whilome time-honoured spot,’Neath the wide-spreading shadeOf the green wood gladeWhich is still named the “Thimbleby Butt.”
England’s archers of old,Village wights true and bold,Unerring in hand and in eye,Learned skill in their craftWith yew-bow and shaft,Wand to splinter, or pierce the bull’s-eye.
And while the youth gay,Rough rivals, essayTo rive and riddle each butt,Sage sires stand by,And coy maidens cry,To welcome the winning shot.
Full many such sceneHas been witnessed, I ween,In that whilome time-honoured spot,’Neath the wide-spreading shadeOf the green wood gladeWhich is still named the “Thimbleby Butt.”
In this “Butts” field rises a spring, which is the source of a small runnel, called “Daubeny’s Beck.” This bearing westward, for some distance forms the boundary between the parishes of Thimbleby and Langton, then flowing through Woodhall falls into the “Monk’s Beck,” at Poolham. The name “Daubeny” is doubtless a corruption of D’ Albini. The D’ Albinis held the Barony, and built the castle of Belvoir, and had other large possessions in this county and elsewhere; the name is not uncommon as a field name, &c. There is a field in Langton called “Daubeny’s (i.e.D’ Albini’s) Walk.”
In the grounds of Mr. W. A. Crowder, further to the east, near the Lincoln “Ramper,” as the highway is locally called, there was found, a few years ago, a so-called “Roman” tomb, somewhat rudely constructed of blocks of Spilsby sandstone. Within it was a human skeleton, with bones of a dog, a sword, and the head of a spear. In connection with this, we may also mention, that in the Rectory grounds there is an ancient well, of great depth, lined also with Spilsby sandstone, and said to be Roman; which in the immediate proximity of the Cornucastrum, or Roman fort of Banovallum, would not seem to be at all improbable.
An old parish book of Thimbleby, recently shown to the writer, proves the care which was taken by the parish officials, before the present poor law system was established, to secure the comfort and maintenance of poorer parishioners.
At a parish meeting, Nov. 1st, 1819, Thomas Kemp, Churchwarden, in the chair, it was ordered that John Sharp’s daughter was to have a gown and pettycoat, worsted for two pairs of stockings, and one blue apron. Four boyswere to have two smocks each, and eight old people a strike of coals each per week. At another meeting Margaret Day was to have worsted for two pairs of socks for her two boys, herself to spin it; and one pair of shoes for her daughter. Robert Kemp, and his son Richard, in order to find them work were to be paid 2s. per day, to “gether” stones for the parish.
Again, Maria Day’s shoes were to be mended; Mary Atkin to have a pair of blankets, and her chamber window put in and thatched. Benj. Benton one pair of shoes, Willm. Adkin a waistcoat. Mary King’s family four shirts, two pairs of shoes, three frocks, three petticoats, and three dabs (i.e.pinafores). A pair of breeches for George Skipworth; Willm. Skipworth to have a spade.
Again, Mr. Thos. Kemp was “to be allowed £20 for the use of the poor-house, to be insured for £200 by the parish, and, when given up to be left in the same state.”
At a meeting on 7th August, 1820, Robert Dixon in the chair, it was ordered that all paupers receiving assistance should regularly attend Divine Service, and on their non-attendance the assistance should be stopped. Mary Todd was to receive her money (which had been stopped) having given satisfaction to the vestry for not attending the church. Mary Hobbins’ boy to be put to school. “To get the Lord’s Prayer, and the ‘I believe,’ put in the church at the parish expense.”
At a meeting held 27th August, 1830, Thomas Kemp in the chair, it was agreed that £75 be borrowed of Mr. Thos. Kemp, to pay Mrs. Farmer’s expenses to America, to be repaid by the parish, 30s. weekly, with legal interest. Church rates are now among the “has beens,” but in 1843 a rate was passed of “1d. in the pound for the support of the church, and 10d. in the pound for the highway repairs.”
In the churchyard, along the south side of the church, are a group of gravestones of the Kemp family. Eastward are several of the Marshall family, formerly numerous here, and in the neighbourhood, holding a respectable position, but now extinct.[175]There are also a number of tombs of the Todd family, respectable small farmers, resident in the parish, from the first notice of a burial, June 24th, 1738, down to recent years. The Tebbuts and Dixons were also resident, as tenants or small owners, for many years.
Among the marriage registers, which date from 1695, is the following note: “March 23, 1779, a marriage was attempted to be solemnized; but the intended bridegroom, to the great surprise of the congregation assembled, remaining away, the ceremony, &c. . . .” The rest is illegible.
We have now to speak of the church. The present edifice stands on the site of a former 14th century church, which, judging by the remains that have been found, must have been of much larger dimensions, and consisted of nave, two aisles, chancel, and bell tower; the total breadth having been 52-ft. Several fragments of stained glass have, at various times, been found in digging graves, showing that this early church, like several others in the neighbourhood, had good coloured windows. This was taken down in 1744, and from the materials remaining a small fabric was erected in its place, consisting of nave and apsed chancel, with no pretensions whatever to architectural beauty. This (as has been generally the case with badly constructed edifices of that period) became also, in turn, so decayed that the present Rector, on enteringon the benefice, decided to rebuild the church once more; and in 1879 the present structure was completed at a cost of over £1,000, in the best early Decorated style.
It consists of nave, chancel, organ chamber on the south, and an octagonal bell turret, designed by the late Mr. James Fowler, the Architect, and containing one small modern bell, graven with the date and initials of W. Carey, Churchwarden in 1744,[176a]who demolished the old church. The nave has three two-light windows, of the decorated style, in the north and south walls; there is a square-headed two-light window in the organ chamber; the chancel has a single-light window in the north and south walls, with a good east window of three lights, trefoiled, and with a triangle of trefoils above. In the north wall is a credence recess, and in the south wall are two stone sedilia. The tiles within the chancel rails are copied from ancient tiles, which were found some years ago, at Revesby Abbey. In the west front, over the door, is a large two-light window, and above it a clock, the only village church clock in the neighbourhood, by Smith of Derby. Within the west doorway, let into the north wall of the tower basement, is a fragment of an old battlement, having a shield in the centre, probably a relic from the original church. The font is modern, having a plain octagonal bowl, shaft, and pediment. The roof is of pitch pine, the timbers being supported by plain corbels. The lectern, chancel stalls, and communion table are of good modern oak
Used as a stile in the south fence of the churchyard is a large slab, on which, above ground, is the matrix of a former brass, representing one figure, with a broad transverse bar for an inscription, and connecting it with other figures, which are now below the ground.[176b]
The church plate includes an interesting paten, presented to the church in 1837, by the mother of the late Rector, but bearing hall-marks of 1727–8, with the letter M and a five-pointed star below. The chalice is still more interesting, as it bears an old Lincoln hall-mark, of date about 1570; there are only eight other known examples of this period in the county.
The rectory is a commodious house, built in 1839, doubtless on the site of the former monastic grange; it stands in an extensive garden, embowered among trees of goodly growth. A fine oil painting at the present time adorns the entrance hall. It is reputed to be by Spagnoletto, and was formerly in the monastery of St. Jerome, in Lisbon. Its size is 5-ft. by 4-ft., the subject being St. Jerome translating the Vulgate scriptures.
This parish, like High Toynton, Mareham-on-the-Hill and Wood Enderby, was formerly a hamlet of Horncastle, of which it adjoins the northern boundary. We find them all coupled together in an extract from the Testa de Nevill[folio 348 (556), quotedLincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, p. 215] as follows: “The church of Horncastre, and of Askeby, and of Upper Thinton, and of Meringes, and of Hinderby, are of the gift of the Lord,”i.e.the Lord of the Manor. InDomesday Bookit is called Aschebi. Queen Editha, wife of Edward the Confessor, who owned various lands in this neighbourhood, was Lady of this Manor, as well as that of Horncastle. She held here six carucates of land (or about 720 acres), besides which there were 45 soc-men, 5 villeins, and 13 bordars, with eight carucates (or about 960 acres), and 500 acres of meadow and pasture. (Domesday, “Soke of Horncastle.”)
The Manor House, West Ashby
Domesdayalso mentions that the Saxon thane, Chetelburn, who had property in Coningsby, Keal, Candlesby, Friskney, and other places in the county, had at Ashby “a mill worth 12s. yearly,” a very considerable sum in those days. The manor was afterwards held by the Conqueror himself (Domesday, “Property of the King”); and it would seem, although there is no direct evidence of it, that he bestowed the manor on one of his chief favourites, Ranulph de Paganall, who received from his sovereign extensive grants in the counties of Somerset, Devon, York, Northampton, and Lincoln,[177]including all the lands formerly held by the Saxon Merleswain, in this county and elsewhere. Ranulph Paganall founded (A.D. 1089) the Priory of the Holy Trinity in York, said to have been built on the site of a former Roman heathen temple; one of his family, Helias Pagnall, being subsequently Prior of this institution, and Canon of Selby. When the present Church of the HolyTrinity was restored in 1904, among other ancient monuments, was found the slab of the tomb of Ralph Ranulph, which is still preserved in the church, along with sculptures commemorative of St. Benedict, St. Martin of Tours, Prior Helias, and others.[178a]
Ranulph, by charter of that date, endowed the abbey with two-thirds of the tithes of Ashby; which was further confirmed by charters of 1100, 1125, and 1179. This Ranulph Paganall was Sheriff of Yorkshire. The last known representative of his family was William Paganall, summoned to Parliament as a Baron in the reign of Edward III. Dugdale states[178b]that the Priory of the Holy Trinity was made, by its founder, a dependency or cell of the greater monastery (marmonstier) of the above, St. Martin in Touraine; and by the Inquisition, taken at York, 34 Ed. I., it was found that he claimed no portion of the temporalities of the Priory, beyond the right to place an official there, during the vacancy of the priorate, as temporary custodian. The name Paganall became in later times softened into Paynell; they were at one time Lords of Bampton.
At a later period the manor of Ashby, probably with that of Horncastle, belonged to Gerard de Rhodes and his descendant, Ralph; since in a Charter Roll of 14 Henry III. (pt. i, M. 12), we find that King’s confirmation of a grant, made by the said Ralph, to Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, of “the manor of Horncastle, with the soke, and the advowsons of the churches, and all other things pertaining to the same in all places,” evidently including the churches of the hamlets as well as that of the town. Among the witnesses to this are Gervase, Archdeacon of Carlisle; and Henry de Capella; the latter name being noticeable because, as will be seen below, Ashby was called “Capella.”[178c]
The Abbey of Kirkstead had a grange in Ashby, which after the dissolution of the monasteries, was granted in the 5th year of Edward VI., to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Lord High Treasurer of England; this is now part of the Ashby Thorpe estate.[178d]In 1820 this was the property of Mr. Joseph Rinder. It is now partly owned by the Booth family, and partly by the Smedley trustees.
The parish is still divided into Far Thorpe, Church Thorpe, and Middle Thorpe. Far Thorpe included the farms held by the late Mr. Griffin and Mr. Addison. Mr. Wattam’s house, which is moated, was the old Midthorpe Hall. As being a hamlet of Horncastle, the benefice was formerly called Ashby “Capella,” or the Ashby Chapelry; and like Horncastle, Wood Enderby, High Toynton, and Mareham is given in “Liber Regis” as in the patronage of the Bishop of Carlisle. Until recently it was a perpetual curacy, in value about £50 a year; but about 30 years ago, on the enfranchisement of certain episcopal lands, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners endowed it to the extent of £300 a year, and built a substantial vicarage. The patronage is now with the Lord Chancellor by exchange with Kirk Oswald, Cumberland.
The church, All Saints, is of considerable size, being one of the largest village churches in the neighbourhood, mainly in the Perpendicular style, and substantially built, consisting of tower, nave, and chancel, the two latter of the same elevation throughout. The tower has three old bells, and a peal of eight tubular bells. Gervase Holles gives the inscriptions on the bells as being:
1. Sit nomen Domini benedictum.
2. Intonat e cælis vox campana Michaelis.
3. Sum rosa pulsata Mundi Maria vocata.
One of these was, some years ago, re-cast; and now bears the inscription “voco ad templum, date 1759.”
The main features of the church are as follows: the porch arch is semi-circular, Norman, the west window in the tower is unusually high, 12-ft. by 4-ft. in width, of three lights. The north aisle has four bays. The nave, in the south wall, has two three-light windows, the western one perpendicular and having pointed arch, the eastern square headed. In the north wall there is a three-light debased decorated window. In the west wall of the north aisle is a two-light window of coloured glass, in memory of Augustus Elmhirst; and in its eastern wall is a three-light memorial window to his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Ruck Keene. In the south wall of the chancel are two late four-centre two-light windows; and in the north wall a three-light flamboyant window. Gervase Holles mentions a north chancel window having “sa. a crosse between 4 cinquefoyles arg. . . .,”[179]but this has disappeared. The east window is modern, with three lights. A new window was erected, in 1907, in the north aisle (corresponding to a window inserted in 1905, in memory of General and Mrs. Elmhirst), by Mr. H. R. Elmhirst, to the memory of his late wife, Lilian Frances, nee Hatfeild; the artists were Powell and Sons; the subject Faith, Hope and Love represented by three figures.
All Saints’ Church, West Ashby
The communion table has a very handsome cover, with red frontal, elaborately embroidered with old Roman work. A carved wooden reredos has recently been presented by Col. and Mrs. Stack. On a tablet on the north wallis an elaborate inscription, in memory of Lieutenant Richard Calthrop, who was killed at the siege of Algiers; erected by his mother and 10 surviving brothers and sisters; who are said to have lived to the remarkable average age of 85 years. There are various tablets commemorative of the families of Rockliffe, Drewry, Pierce and Elmhirst. There is a north door, as well as south, to the nave. The font is a plain octagonal one, perpendicular in style.
The church was restored and reseated in 1873; the tower being renovated in memory of Mrs. Barnard, otherwise known as “Claribel,” a well-known musical composer, connected with the Elmhirst family. It is lofty and massive, surmounted by four high pinnacles and large gurgoyles at the angles.
The register dates from 1561.[180a]The communion plate consists of a cup, with inscription “Ashby Chappell, 1758;” a paten presented by “Elizabeth Pierce, Christmas Day, 1841,” and flagon, given by the same, in 1859. She was the wife of the Vicar of that day, the Rev. W. M. Pierce, and an authoress. In the churchyard are the tombstones of John Thistlewood and his wife; he was brother of the Cato Street conspirator, and died at Louth, having formerly resided at Ashby and Wispington.
The late William Elmhirst, Esq., bought the lands here formerly belonging to the Bishops of Carlisle, and erected a handsome and substantial residence, in well-wooded grounds; which in later years passed by purchase to the Booth family, by whom it, and the estates attached, are now owned. It is at present occupied by Dr. and Mrs. Newstead. The Elmhirsts are at present represented by H. R. Elmhirst, Esq., son of the late General Charles Elmhirst, C.B., who resides at The Grove.
High Toynton is situated about 1½ miles from Horncastle, in an easterly direction, on the road to Partney and Spilsby. It would seem to have been formerly, like West Ashby, an appendage to the Manor of Horncastle. The old record[180b]says (as already quoted under West Ashby) “The church of Horncastre, and of Askeby, and of Upper Thinton, and of Maringes (Mareham), and of Hinderby, are of the gift of the lord,”i.e.the Lord of the Manor. As thus not being a separate manor, it is barely more than mentioned inDomesday Book, where it is called Todintune, and Tedingtone. Queen Editha, wife of Edward the Confessor, would be Lady of the Manor; but William the Conqueror took possession and held lands here, in demesne, with tenants and dependants.
That the manor afterwards, along with that of Horncastle, became the property of Gerard de Rhodes, is shewn by the following peculiar circumstances. In a Feet of Fines, at Lincoln, 9 Henry III., No. 52, it is recorded that an agreement was arranged in the King’s Court at Westminster, (3 Feb., A.D. 1224–5), between Henry del Ortiay and Sabina his wife, plaintiffs, and Ralph de Rhodes, a descendant of Gerard, defendant, whereby certain lands in Upper Tynton, Mareham, and other places, were recognized by the plaintiffs as the property of Ralph de Rhodes; they receiving, in lieu thereof, 100½ acres of land, and 11 acres of meadow, with appurtenances, all in Upper Tynton. These lands are further specified by name, as 24 acres next Graham (i.e.Greetham), 12 acres in culture called “Hethoten acre” (i.e.Heath of ten acres), 9 acres of land in “Pesewang” (i.e.Peas-field), 5½ acres in “Sex acre,” 7 acres in Leir-mewang (or low mead-field), 4 acres in culture of Lange landes, 6 acres in Whetewang (i.e.wheat-field), and 10 acres in Kruncewang (qy.crown’s-field?); and further plots not specially named. The peculiar feature however of their tenure was, that they and their heirs were “to have and to hold the said lands for ever . . . rendering therefor by the year one pair of gilt spurs, or 6d., at Easter, for all service and exaction.”
St. John the Baptist’s Church, High Toynton
A Pipe Roll (14 Henry III., Lincoln) states that “Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, holds certain lands hereditarily of the aforesaid Ralph de Rhodes;” and in a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 34 Edward III., 2nd Nrs., No. 29 (1360), mention is made of “Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby, and John his younger brother, and their heirs,” as tenants of the Manor of Horncastle, “and of lands in Over Tynton,” which they “hold of the said Bishop.” These were scions of the wealthy family of the Thimblebyies, Lords of Poolham, and other estates. One of them married a daughter and co-heir of Sir William Fflete, Knt.; another married a daughter of Sir Walter Tailboys; this Sir Walter being the son of Henry Tailboys and his wife, Alianora, daughter and heir of Gilbert Burdon and his wife, Elizabeth, sister and heir of Gilbert Umfraville, Earl of Angus.
By a Close Roll, 20 Henry VII. (part 2 [No. 367] No. 33), it appears that Sir Thomas Dymmok, Knight, had recently purchased lands in Over Tynton, Nether Tynton, Maring next Horncastle, and other parishes; which he granted to his son Leo, and his heirs for ever.
Further, by a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 24 Henry VII., No. 61, it is found that Humphrey Conyngesby, Sergeant at Law, and others instituted a suit on behalf of William Stavely, and others, by which he recovered to them the Manor of (apparently Upper) Taunton, the advowson of the church of Nether Taunton, about 2,700 acres of various land, and the rent of 4½ quarters of salt in Over Taunton, Nether Taunton, Tetford, and other parishes.
The Manor, with that of Horncastle, continued for a long period in the hands of the Bishops of Carlisle; who were patrons of the benefice until the creation of a bishopric of Manchester, in 1848, when their patronage in this neighbourhood was transferred to that See. The Manor, however, with that of Horncastle, had previously passed to Sir Joseph Banks, and came eventually to his successors, the Stanhopes. The benefice, until late years, was a very poor one, being a perpetual curacy, annexed to Mareham-on-the-Hill; their joint annual value being £160, without a residence. But when the episcopal property (the Bishop being Rector) was transferred to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, they, with the aid of Queen Anne’s Bounty, raised the joint benefices to £300 a year; and in 1869 erected a good residence at Toynton, now occupied by the Vicar, the Rev. W. Shaw.
The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was formerly a very mean structure, dating from the 18th century (1772), in the worst of styles, with wooden-framed windows, of large square panes of glass, and having a flat whitewashed ceiling. The timbers of this had become so decayed that a former curate-in-charge, mounting to the false roof, to examine them, fell through, among the square pews below. This incident led, not too soon, to the rebuilding of the fabric, at a cost of more than £1,200 in 1872, on the site of the previous building, as also of an original 13th century edifice. The present church is a substantial and neat structure in the early English style, thoroughly well kept, and with several pleasing features. It consists of nave, chancel, and porch, with tower and low spire. The nave has, in the north wall, two single-light narrow pointed windows, and at its eastern end a two-light window, having a quatrefoil above. In the south wall there is one single-light and one two-light window, corresponding to the above; the porch, taking place of a window at its western end.
The two-light window in the north wall has coloured glass, with various devices, one being a small copy of the famous Descent from the Cross, by Rubens, in Antwerp Cathedral; another the Royal Arms, with the initials V.R. below, and date 1848. The corresponding two-light window in the south wall has coloured glass “In memory of Eliza, wife of the Rev. T. Snead Hughes, late Vicar, she died March 9, 1872, aged 57.” The subjects in the two lights are the Ascension of our Lord, and the three women at the sepulchre, with an angel pointing upward. In the west wall of the nave are two pointed windows beneath a cusped circlet, all filled with coloured glass; the lower subjects being John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, and the baptism of our Lord by John in the Jordan; the upper subject is the angel appearing to Zachariah; all three having reference to the patron saint of the church. An inscription states that these are a memorial to the late Mark Harrison and his wife Ann, erected by their family.
The font is of stone, octagonal, having four different kinds of crosses on the alternate faces, a circular shaft ending in octagon, and on octagonal pediment. Within the south porch, over the outer and inner doorways are old fragments of massive zigzag pattern, all that remains of a whilom Norman structure. The modern doorway arch, externally, has a dog-tooth moulding, with floriated finials. The tower, over the porch, is square below, octagonal above, with small lancet windows in each face, and is surmounted by a low spire; it contains one bell. The roof and sittings are of pitchpine.
The chancel arch is of massive stone, plain, and of wide span. In the east wall of the chancel are three narrow windows, the central higher than the other two; they have good coloured glass by Clayton and Bell. Beneath is a handsome reredos of Caen stone, erected in memory of the late Mr. Thomas Terrot Taylor. It has one large central device, the Agnus Dei within a circle, and on each side four divisions, containing a dove with olive leaf, Fleur de Lys, ears of corn, a passion flower, vine leaves and grapes, a crown, a rose, and a conventional flower. On each side are memorial tablets of the Ball family. In the south wall is a brass tablet in memory of Mr. Taylor, and a small pointed window. In the north wall is a doorway leading to the vestry. Within the vestry, lighted by a similar small pointed window, are three more Ball tablets, and a priest’s door. In the centre of the nave floor, close to the chancel step, is a large slab “In memory of the Rev. William Robinson, 22 years Incumbent, who died May 8, 1830, aged 56.” The register only dates from 1715, and contains no entries of special interest.
In a List of Institutions to Benefices, preserved at Lincoln, it is shewn that in 1562, on the resignation of the then Vicar, one John Howsone, Michael West, Clerk, was appointed to this vicarage, along with that of Nether Toynton, by Richard Bertie, Esq., the ancestor of the present Earl of Ancaster. This was probably by some private arrangement with the Bishop of Carlisle, as the Berties (as the Willoughbys are now) were patrons of Low Toynton, but not of Upper, or High, Toynton. He was instituted to the two benefices on July 9th of that year.