This handsome structure was erected under the following circumstances. The Right Honble. Edward Stanhope, who had represented the Horncastle Division in Parliament, with much distinction, from the year 1874, died rather suddenly, as the result of hard work, in his official capacity, on Dec. 22, 1893, to the great grief of the entire constituency; when it was universally felt that his services merited some public recognition. Various meetings were held, and at length, on Jan. 22nd, 1897, at a gathering in the Masonic Hall, a committee was appointed to carry out the scheme. The design of the Memorial was intrusted to the architect, Mr. E. H. Lingen Barker, of Hereford, Messrs. Walter & Hensman, of Horncastle, being the contractors for the work.
The ceremony of inauguration was performed by J. Banks Stanhope, Esq., formerly M.P. for the Division, on Feb. 2nd, 1899, in the presence of the Earl and Countess Stanhope, and other distinguished persons on the platform, and a vast crowd from the neighbourhood filling the entire Market Place. This was followed by a public luncheon in the Corn Exchange.
The site chosen was the centre of the Market Place, as that, along with the market dues, had been made over to the town as a free gift, by the Right Honble. gentleman, as Lord of the Manor. The following is the official description of the monument, as published at the time of its erection. The structure is 31-ft. 6-in. in height. It stands on a massive foundation of concrete; with three tiers of Yorkshire stone steps, each 15-in. wide, running round the base leading up to the monument proper, their shape being octagonal. With the exception of two strings of Dumfries’ red stone, the lower part is of Monk’s Park stone. Above this is a moulded string course, and on each face are shafts of Aberdeen red granite, with moulded caps and bases. The panels are filled with diaper work; and in each alternate panel are arms of the Stanhope family, and the arms of the town, with an inscription to the memory of the Right Honble. E. Stanhope, and a medallion, with bust, in relief, of the same. These panels are surmounted by moulded and carved cinquefoil panels, surmounted by carved finials. Above these, again, are eightcolumns of polished granite, supporting the superstructure, and these also have eight trefoil dormers, simpler than those below, each finished with a finial of gun metal. Above these are eight gun metal columns, having trefoiled heads, with foliated finials and moulded cornice; and on these rests the spirette, constructed of oak and covered with lead, with eight other dormers, which complete the whole. The total cost was £552 12s. 3d., raised by subscriptions, a small balance being handed over to the public Dispensary.
The Clerical Club was founded in 1822; a room was rented on the premises of Mr. James Babington, Bookseller, in the High Street (now occupied by Mr. J. S. Balding, Butcher), where the members met for discussion, and gradually established a good library.
The Stanhope Memorial
The first members enrolled were the Rev. the Hon. the King’s Champion, John Dymoke, Rector of Scrivelsby; the Revs. J. B. Smith, Head Master of the Grammar School; C. N. L’Oste, Rector of Claxby; Francis Rockliffe, Rector of Fulletby; Robert Spranger, D.D., Rector of Low Toynton (and of Grosvenor Street, Grosvenor Square, London); John Mounsey, Rector of Gautby; Thomas Roe, Rector of Kirkby-on-Bain; E. Brackenbury, Rector of Aswardby; W. Dodson, Rector of Well; F. Swan, Rector of Sausthorpe; and others holding benefices scattered over a wide area, but several of them living in Horncastle.
The Club was formally opened in the following year, when several more members were added; the Honble. John Dymoke being elected President, Dr. Clement Madeley, Vicar of Horncastle, Vice-President, with Dr. J. B. Smith as Secretary, in which capacity he did valuable service, in increasing the membership and adding to the efficiency of the institution, which flourished for many years.
In later times, especially on the lamented death of Dr. Smith, and the creation of circulating libraries, such as that of Messrs. Mudie, in London, the numbers of subscribers fell off considerably. The books were transferred to various quarters; at first to the house of the late Mr. John Osborne, parish clerk, himself no mean scholar and student, afterwards to the residence of the head master of the Grammar School, where they remained for some years, under successive masters, still available for members of the club.
On June 8th, 1892, Canon Quarrington, Vicar of Horncastle, Revs. J. C. Hudson, Vicar of Thornton, and J. Conway Walter, Rector of Langton, were appointed a sub-committee, with instructions to find a permanent club room, or to give the books to the Lincoln Diocesan Library. In September of that year Dr. Madge, Head Master, offered to keep the books, to act as Librarian, and admit members to them two or three days a week in his house.
In January, 1893, the present writer was commissioned with Dr. Madge, to examine the books, when there was found to be 799 in good condition, 69 missing. The Secretary of the Lincoln Diocesan Library was communicated with, and at a meeting of the committee of that library, held on Feb. 24, 1893, the offer of the books was accepted, and they were in due course transferred to that institution.
On May 17th, 1894, the Rev. J. Conway Walter, with three others, was commissioned to obtain a supply of books from a circulating library at Lincoln. Eventually Mudie’s library was established at the shop of Mr. H. Willson, Bookseller, Horncastle; Mr. W. K. Morton opened a subscription library, and Messrs. W. H. Smith opened a book stall at the station. These three still continue: the original Clerical Club books being still available, with others, at the library in the Chapter House of Lincoln Cathedral.
There was at one time aLiterary Societyin Horncastle, which used to meet at the Bull Hotel, in a small room, now the bar, beneath the large ball room, on a level with the street. Among the most active members of this was John Brown, the late, so-called, Horncastle “Poet Laureate,” whose poems were published in 1890, by the Rev. J. Conway Walter, in a volume entitledLiteræ Laureatæ, dedicated to Lord Tennyson. Another prominent member was the late Mr. Thomas Baker, who was an amateur actor and clever ventriloquist, as well as a great cricketer. In his early years he was engaged by the father of Sir Evelyn Wood to teach the village boys cricket in Essex. His bowling was of the old roundhand style; in which he bowled to Fuller Pilch, the greatest batsman of his day; and also to Dr. W. G. Grace, now of the Crystal Palace; and, many years ago, in a match against a crack 11, including three University players and one professional, he bowled them all out for 11 runs. He also bowled out the captain of the All England Eleven with his first ball. He died Feb. 12th, 1903, aged 88.
Mechanics’ Institutes were first established in the earlier half of the 19th century. The first known was that founded in London by the famous Dr. Birkbeck in 1823; another being opened in the same year in Glasgow; after which they became general. As Horncastle was in advance of other towns in the county in its valuable Dispensary (see p. 119), so it would seem to have preceded other towns, with the exception of Lincoln, in catering for the growing taste for literature. The Mechanics’ Institute was founded in the year 1834. It was first located in Union Street, now called Queen Street, and soon received the support of all classes. The building, which consisted of one large room, was situated on the west side of the street, on the site where now stands the private residence, No. 18.
Soon after the erection of the Corn Exchange, in 1856, the Mechanics’ Institute was transferred to that building; two upper rooms being occupied, as library and reading room; the former premises in Queen Street being sold to the late Mr. Joseph Parish, who used them for sales, public meetings, dances, and so forth, until in 1866 he erected on the site a private residence for himself.
After some years the introduction of the above named branch of the popular London Library of Messrs. Mudie & Co., at the shop of Mr. Hugh Willson, Bookseller, in the Bull Ring, followed by the subscription library of Mr. W. K. Morton, in the High Street, and that of Messrs. W. H. Smith & Sons, at the Railway Station, reduced the numbers of the subscribers to “The Mechanics,” and it was removed to smaller premises in Bank Street; and eventually this same cause led to the Institute being closed. On January 14th, 1886, a meeting was held in the library to determine its future, the result being that the Secretary, Mr. W. Betts, and the members of the committee resigned, Jan. 21st, and the books, &c., were removed to a small chamber at the Gas House, in Foundry Street, another small room there being used as a temporary reading room. These were closed about the year 1894, the books remaining stowed away. About the year 1899 an effort was made by the late W. Brown, of the Capital and Counties’ Bank, to get the books transferred to the Technical School in Queen Street, of the committee of which he was chairman; with the object that they might be once more rendered available for public use; but this project fell through.
In 1905 the library was finally broken up by the late Mr. Joseph Willson, the last survivor of the Managing Committee, who sold the less valuable among the books by auction in Lincoln, the rest being divided between the permanent subscription library of Mr. W. K. Morton, Bookseller, High Street, and that of the Grammar School.
It is much to be regretted that a valuable collection of books thus ceased to be public property. A catalogue of the library, published by Mr. W. Johnson, Bookseller, High Street, in 1865, shows that the number of volumes was at that date 1,468, with annual additions; while in 1879 a bequest was made by the late Henry James Fielding, Esq., of Handel House, South Street, of about 230 volumes of standard works, bringing the total up to about 1,750 volumes. (Classified List, published by W. K. Morton, 1879.)
The first librarian was Mrs. Wood, assisted by her daughter (afterwards Mrs. Panton). She was succeeded by Miss South, who was followed by Miss Stephenson, and she was succeeded by Mrs. W. Johnson.
The late Mr. Henry Nicholson acted as secretary, and for several years took a great interest in all that concerned the Institute, until his prolonged serious illness, which ended fatally in June, 1900. Mr. C. Hensman was treasurer while the library was at the Corn Exchange, resigning when it was removed to Banks Street. During the same period the late Mr. Berridge, Master of the Union, acted as Secretary, and was succeeded by Mr. W. Betts, of the Dispensary, who only held that post two years, before the Institute was closed.
There were in the library, besides the books, a quantity of weapons of war from the South Sea Islands, some cases of objects of natural history; valuable sepia paintings by the late Rev. C. P. Terrot, of Wispington, an almost unrivalled artist in his own line; and several fine Roman vases exhumed in the town; all these were disposed of by Mr. Joseph Willson, only surviving trustee, now deceased.
The Corn Exchange is a spacious and lofty building of brick, with stone facings, capable of holding 500 persons, situated on the south side of the High Street, and standing on what was formerly the eastern wall of the old Roman castle; a well of pure water, still in use, under the adjoining house, having been just within the wall of that fortress. It was opened on July 5th, 1856. From the terms of the original deed of settlement of the company we may give the following items.
The Indenture, dated July 18th, 1855, was registered the 31st of the same month; the agreement being, on the first part, between Thomas Armstrong, Merchant; Henry Turner, Land Agent; George Wright, Merchant; Henry Nicholson, Draper; William Preston Carlton, Chemist; and others, all of Horncastle; with certain residents in the neighbourhood on the second part; and Frederick W. Tweed, of Horncastle, Gentleman, as trustee to give effect to the covenant, on the third part. The said parties agree to form themselves a Joint Stock Company, within the meaning of the Act 7 and 8 Victoria, c. 110, to provide a building for the purposes, according to these presents, viz., a Corn Exchange, which can also be used for concerts, exhibitions, and other public objects, on such terms as the committee may think fit.
The capital of the company to be £3,000, in 600 shares of £5 each; annual meetings of shareholders to be held on May 2nd; any five, or more, owning 25 shares, may require the directors to convene an extraordinary meeting. The capital may be increased by additional shares of £5, not exceeding 300; money may be borrowed on mortgage, not exceeding at any one time £1,500.[140]One-third of the original directors to retire in May, 1856, being eligible for re-election. In May, 1857, one-half of the remaining original directors to retire; and similarly in succeeding years one-third to retire in rotation, according to seniority. Any director to forfeit office on ceasing to hold five shares; anyone intending to apply for directorate, to give at least 10 days’ notice. Directors to meet at least once every three months; any two directors may require the secretary to convene a meeting, at any time, for any desirable special object.
The Court of Directors to apply to the Privy Council (Board of Trade)for permission to purchase, or rent, land or buildings, as may seem to be needed; or to let, or lease, buildings, offices, &c., as they may think fit; or to make mortgages, conveyances, &c., for the purposes of the company. A reserve fund (by clause 67) to be established, by setting apart one per cent of the profits in any year; the accumulation to be employed for the benefit of the company, as may seem to them desirable. Shares to be sold (by clause 68) for the benefit of the company, by a vote of a majority at a general meeting. No sum beyond £400, at any one time, to be negotiated by promissory note or bill of exchange.
Watermill Road during the Flood, Dec., 31, 1900
That a report be presented, and dividend declared, at an annual meeting, on March 25th, with seven days’ notice to each shareholder. A common seal to be kept in a place of safety, and affixed to all legal documents, by the secretary, in the presence of three directors. Henry Nicholson, Draper, to be the first auditor, paid as committee of directors decide. Samuel Sketchley to be the first solicitor; and the Lincoln and Lindsey Bank the company’s bank. Thomas Armstrong, Timothy Collinson, and Robert Edwin Kemp to be the first trustees of the company.
The books may be inspected by any shareholder, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., in the presence of the secretary, or other person nominated in accordance with Act 7 and 8 Victoria, c. 110. By clause 89 it was provided that, in case of the company being wound up, the chairman should declare the companyto be dissolved with all convenient speed; all property to be sold, and converted into ready money, to meet all claims; a final distribution of assets to be made; no sale by private contract to any shareholder being allowed. This deed was signed, sealed, and delivered by the said F. W. Tweed, and witnessed by J. S. Cropper, Horncastle, July 18th, 1855.
On Nov. 6th, 1889, a meeting was held to consider whether the company should be wound up; but it was decided to continue it, and of late years the financial position of the company has improved; the report for 1906 shews total receipts for the past year, £145 13s. 1d.; expenditure £87 2s. 10d.; leaving balance £58 10s. 3d.; allowing a dividend of £1 10s. per cent., the sum of £6 0s. 3d. being still in hand. Offices on the same premises are rented by Mr. Reuben Roberts, Corn Merchant.
The Whelpton Almshouses are situated in Queen Street, on its east side, being six small residences, for the reception of deserving poor persons, natives of the town. They were established in the year 1861, under the following circumstances.
The late Mr. Geo. Whelpton was a shoemaker, occupying a small shop, one of several then standing in the Market Place, on or near the site of the present Stanhope Memorial;[142a]the whole of these being cleared away when the late Honble. Edward Stanhope presented that piece of ground to the town, for the enlargement of the Market Place. He resided in a small house in Stonewell Row, but afterwards removed into better premises in Queen Street. While living in Stonewell Row he purchased some furniture cheap, at an auction, and in a drawer of one of the articles purchased he found a recipe, said to have been written by a Boston doctor, for the medicine eventually to become known universally as “Whelpton’s Pills” (a powerful stomachic, for kidney diseases, &c.), and from the sale of which he and other members of his family realised large fortunes.[142b]His wife had been for some time in a bad state of health, and after she had consulted various doctors without deriving any benefit from their treatment, he decided to try for her the prescription which had thus accidentally come into his possession. The result was so satisfactory that other sufferers applied to him for the pills, which for a time he freely gave to his neighbours; ultimately, however, these applications became so numerous that he was obliged to make a charge.
As he began to realise a considerable income from this source, he gave up the shoemaking business, and left Horncastle; his first move being to Derby,[142c]where he occupied a residence known as “St. Anne’s House,” afterwards moving to London, where he, at first, lived in Crane Court, Fleet Street, which still continues to be the depot of the pill business. He subsequentlymoved to a better part of the metropolis, taking up his residence at 1, Albert Road, Regent’s Park, where he remained for several years, until he finally settled in Warrior Square, Hastings.
While residing in London his wife[143a]had another illness, from which she eventually died, in 1859; and feeling her loss very acutely he decided, after a time, to erect the almshouses to her memory.[143b]
West Street during the Flood, Dec. 31, 1900
Among the documents preserved in connection with this charity, is the original letter of George Whelpton, dated March 18, 1861, giving instructions that the building of the almshouses should be immediately taken in hand. The Indenture itself is dated March 21st, 1861, and among its terms are the following: “This agreement is between Richard Clitherow, of Horncastle, Gentleman, surviving trustee and executor of the will of Samuel Curtis Lomas, late of Blencogo, Co. Cumberland, Surgeon, of the first part; George Whelpton, of No. 1, Albert Road, Regent’s Park, Middlesex, of the second part; and William Thompson Whelpton, of No. 69, Gloucester Crescent, Regent’s Park, Middlesex, Gent., and Rev. Henry Robert Whelpton, of Upton Park, Slough,Bucks., on the third part.” In accordance with this agreement certain lands comprising, with others, the future site of the almshouses, situated on the east side of what was then called Union Street, the property of the said Samuel Curtis Lomas, were acquired through the said Mr. Richard Clitherow, for Mr. G. Whelpton, for the purposes of the charity, with the above relatives as co-trustees. The sum of £1,000 was also conveyed as endowment of the charity, to the trustees.
It was provided by the agreement that the inmates of the houses should be selected from persons who were fit and deserving subjects of the charity, indigent, but of good character, not recipients of parish relief, and not under 45 years of age; and that any, becoming guilty of immorality, should forfeit their privileges. The power of selection of inmates was vested in the trustees, assisted by the vicar and churchwardens of the parish; a clause being added, that, in case of the trustees being incompetent, by reason of infancy or idiocy, the vicar and churchwardens should select. The weekly allowance to the inmates was to be 3s. 6d.
The agreement to this effect was signed, sealed, and delivered, by the said George Whelpton, in the presence of Richard Clitherow, Solicitor, and Charles Dee, Solicitor, both of Horncastle. It was further signed by George Whelpton and William Thompson Whelpton, in the presence of Robert Cunliffe, Solicitor, of 43, Chancery Lane, London; and by Henry Robert Whelpton, in the presence of John Adams Cree, Clerk in Holy Orders, of Upton Park, Slough, Bucks. Appended is a receipt, signed by Richard Clitherow, and witnessed by Charles Dee, shewing that, at the date of the Indenture, the sum of £101 5s. was paid by George Whelpton for the purchase of the site of the almshouses.
This agreement was examined on Feb. 7th, 1888, in the Court of Justice, London, before Mr. Justice Chitty, on an enquiry being made as to the estate of William Thompson Whelpton, deceased, at the instance of the Rev. Henry Robert Whelpton, and Stephen Whelpton; when the Court declared that the direction in the will of the testator, as to the endowment of the charity, was a “valid charitable bequest of £1,000,” and the money “invested in three per cents. Consols, for the following purposes”: (1) for the repair of the alms-houses; (2) to pay each occupant 3s. 6d. per week; (3) in case of there being any surplus, to pay them so much more as the trustees should think fit. A clause was added, empowering the Charity Commissioners, from time to time, to order any part of the income to be applied to special purposes, as they might think desirable.
We may add that while residing at Hastings, Mr. George Whelpton secured two acres of land, at Eastbourne, from the Duke of Devonshire, the owner of the whole town, as he is also of Buxton; and at a cost of about £20,000, erected and endowed the church and vicarage of St. Saviour’s, which was held by his youngest son, Henry Robert, who graduated at St. John’s College, Cambridge, and was afterwards made Canon of Chichester. This benefice is private property, and is now held by his son, Henry Urling Whelpton, of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
The head of the Whelpton family may now be considered to be the Rev. George Whelpton, at one time residing in France, but now of Trinity House, Abington, Berks. The original George Whelpton died in 1903.
For these details the present writer is indebted to several members of the Whelpton family, with some of whom he was a fellow pupil at the Horncastle Grammar School.
The present building is not the first structure erected in connection with the Volunteers, any more than the present Volunteers themselves are the first institution of the kind formed in Horncastle. In the early years of the 19th century, when there was a general feeling abroad that one great project, nurtured in the ambitious mind of the first Napoleon, was an invasion of England, volunteers were organized throughout the country, with a view to self-defence. As an instance of this, in the town of Pontefract a corps was formed, of which the Earl of Mexborough was Colonel Commandant, and George Pyemont, Esq., of Tanshelf House, Pontefract (grandfather of the present writer), was Major;[145]the records of which are preserved, among other public documents, in Pontefract Castle.
Conging Street during the flood, Dec. 31, 1900
Similarly, a corps was raised in Horncastle at the same period, of which we have somewhat curious evidence in the following. There exists a small pamphlet, which the writer has recently (July, 1908) perused, entitled “An address delivered to the Horncastle Volunteers, on Feb. 26, 1804, by their chaplain, in consequence of the resignation of some of the members. Published by desire of the corps. Printed by James Weir, Horncastle, 1804.” In this address he expresses his great regret that so many volunteers are resigning“after putting the country to the expense of supplying them with clothing and arms, having also pledged themselves to the country’s defence, and received in return exemption from militia service,” this too at a time when (as he says) “we are in danger of being reduced to a French province.” “No resignations (he continues) have taken place in London, in Boston, or in Spilsby.” He reminds them that they (the Horncastrians) had been “among the first in the county to offer their services,” and he urges them still to “maintain their character” for loyalty.
In consequence of this appeal a public meeting was called together, at which was formed a “Court of Enquiry,” consisting of “9 members, 3 elected from the officers of the corps, and 6 from the non-commissioned officers and privates, to whom all proposals of resignation should be submitted.” In subsequent pages regulations are added as to keeping their weapons in proper condition, orders as to loading their guns, &c., which are described as “firelocks” with “flints.” This we may regard as an interesting item of past local history, evidencing the spirit in which the first Horncastle Volunteers were formed.
The modern volunteer movement originated in the year 1859, under somewhat similar circumstances to the earlier movement. Notwithstanding our ultimate victory in the Crimean war, it was felt that our blunders had been most serious, and our military organization far from complete. War, as a science, was assuming new forms; steam was giving to navigation an independence of wind and tide, which might lead to invasion unawares. The state of our defences was considered most unsatisfactory. France was our ally, but the Emperor Napoleon III. only ruled by popular suffrage, and the memories of Waterloo still affected the sentiments of his people towards England. The facility with which England might be invaded was a subject of discussion in parliament in the course of the session of that year. Lord Palmerston held the view that France could, within a few hours, bring together an army, which could land on our shores and march upon London, before we were awake to the danger. It was our duty to be ready for defence against any such surprise, and it was said that “our friend” Napoleon would himself welcome such preparedness on our part, as giving him the best arguments with his own subjects against any such enterprise.
Strengthened by such reasoning, the Earl of Ripon, Under Secretary for War, announced that volunteer corps would be enrolled throughout the country. The government plans were published on the first of July, were warmly accepted by all parties, and a circular was issued, dated July 13th, to all the Lieutenants of counties, urging immediate action; and forthwith the “nation of shopkeepers” were, as by magic, transformed into an armed camp. So rapid was the progress that by June of the following year the cry was “Ready, aye! ready;” and on the 23rd of that month the Queen held a review in Hyde Park, at which some 20,000 volunteers passed before her. We are told, as a curious incident, that at that review there was present as a newly enrolled private, a Mr. Tower, of Wealdhall, Essex, who had also been present, as a private, at a review held under the former system in 1803.[146]
The loyal town of Horncastle was not behindhand; a public meeting was held in the Bull Hotel, on Aug. 10th, 1859, for the purpose of organizing aRifle Corps, for the district, at which the Deputy Lieutenant attended. Among those present were Major Smart, of Tumby, J. Wadham Floyer, of Martin Hall, H. F. Conington, Clarence House, Horncastle, Dr. B. J. Boulton, Dr. W. Ward, Messrs. W. S. Clitherow, R. C. Armstrong, E. Babington, F. Gilliat, F. W. Tweed, J. R. Banks, and most of the chief tradesmen and residents in town and neighbourhood.
The Stanch
The Muster Roll, which is still preserved, of the corps then formed, and designated the “G Company of the 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment of Volunteers,” has at its head the name of Henry Francis Conington, as Captain, March 9th, 1860, with Richard W. Clitherow and Robert Jalland, as officers under him, at the same date; then follows a long list of non-commissioned officers and privates, numbering, in the course of a few years, more than 2,000 names. Captain Conington, promoted Major in 1870, was succeeded in due course, on his going abroad, by Captain, afterwards Major, Robert Clifton Armstrong, who had begun service as Sergeant, and then Lieutenant; having under him, as Lieutenants, Messrs. W. Jeffery and W. S. Clitherow, who were succeeded by Richard W. Clitherow and Robert C. Isle; with Dr. Hugh George as surgeon.
Mr. Arthur Ellwood, of Mareham-le-Fen, who had joined the corps in 1865, succeeded to the command in 1891, with Dr. Keogh, of Coningsby, andF. S. Dymoke, Esq., as Lieutenants, Dr. Hugh George still acting as Surgeon; Ellwood was promoted as Captain in 1891, succeeded to the Colonelcy of the head-quarters staff in 1894, and is now Hon. Colonel of the Battalion, entitled to wear the regimental uniform.
In 1894 Mr. H. Tweed succeeded to the command as Captain, with Messrs. T. Levett and Granville Sharpe acting as Lieutenants (Mr. F. W. S. Heywood, of Holbeach Hall, being temporarily attached). In 1899 Granville Sharpe succeeded to the command, but his health failing, he resigned after a year’s service. He was succeeded in 1900 by Dr. J. W. Jessop as Captain, who had joined in 1895, and was in 1906 promoted Major of the Battalion; A. A. Ellwood becoming Lieutenant. Dr. Herbert A. Howes, who had joined in 1900, succeeded in 1906 to the command, which he still holds, 1908.
Senior officers in command of the Battalion have been Col. Amcotts (deceased), Col. Seddon (deceased), Col. Preston (deceased), Col. J. G. Williams of Lincoln, and at present Col. J. Ruston of Lincoln. Clergy who have served as Chaplains have been Revs. S. Lodge; C. Reginald Blathwayt, Vicar of West Ashby; A. Scrivenor, Vicar of Horncastle; H. Benwell; and at the present time (1908) Paul O. Ashby, Incumbent of Revesby.
Among those who have done good service in the corps, we should mention the first Drill Sergeant Beeton, who had previously served in the 22nd Regiment of the Line (the Old Cheshire), and afterwards in the South Lincolnshire Militia, as Colour Sergeant. He drilled the corps during about 20 years; dying in Horncastle, after about 40 years service. He was followed by Sergt. Major Bartlett; then by Sergeant Doggett, who had been Colour Sergeant in the 1st Royal Sussex, and previously to that in the 2nd Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment (the old 98th). He still resides in Horncastle. In later years the post has been held by Sergeants Towne, Ashley and Bamber.
As to the buildings connected with the volunteers, their history is briefly this: In the early years of the corps’ existence drill was carried on in the Corn Exchange. After a time the building adjoining the north-east corner of the Wong, which had been a British School, was secured; and this, after structural renovation, was used for several years as the head-quarters. It is now in the occupation of Messrs. Danby and Cheseldine, Coach Builders; as in 1901 a new site was obtained at the south-east corner of the Wong, and here on the 13th day of June in that year the foundation stone of the present Drill Hall was laid, with much ceremony, by the Earl of Yarborough, supported by other public functionaries. We here give, in full, the official programme of the proceedings, which may be worthy of preservation, in memory of this important occasion.
PROGRAMME OF THE CEREMONIALto be observed inLAYING THE FOUNDATION STONEof theNEW VOLUNTEER DRILL HALL, THE WONG, HORNCASTLE,On Thursday, the 13th day of June, 1901.
the stone will be laid by theRight Worshipful the Provincial Grand Master of Lincolnshire,The Right Hon. the Earl of Yarborough,P.C.,D.L.,Past Grand Warden of England, R.W. Provincial Grand Master;assisted by theWorshipful the Deputy Provincial Grand Master,Bro. W. H. Sissons,D.L.,J.P.,And Officers of the Provincial Grand Lodge.
CEREMONIAL.
The Members of the Provincial Grand Lodge and Visiting Brethren will assemble at theWesleyan Schoolroom, Horncastle, at 12 o’clock.
A Procession will be formed at 12–15 precisely, in the following order:Two Tylers, with drawn Swords.Visiting Brethren.The Lodges of the Province, according to their numbers, Juniors going first.The W. Masters of the Olive Union and Shakspeare Lodges, with Trowel and Gavel.
Prov. Grand Steward.
Cornucopiæ with Corn and Salt,borne by Masters of Lodges
Prov. Grand Steward.
Prov. Grand Steward.
Ewers with Wine and Oil,borne by Masters of Lodges.
Prov. Grand Steward.
Past Provincial Grand Officers.
The Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works, with the Plate bearing the inscription for the Foundation Stone.Provincial Grand Officer.Provincial Grand Deacons, with Wands.Acting Provincial Grand Treasurer, with Phial containing Coins to be deposited in the Stone.The Corinthian Light, borne by the Master of the Franklin Lodge.The Column of the Junior Provincial Grand Warden, borne by the Master of the Witham Lodge.The Junior Provincial Grand Warden, with Plumb Rule.The Doric Light, borne by the Master of the Doric Lodge.The Column of the Senior Provincial Grand Warden, borne by the Master of the Pelham Pillar Lodge.The Senior Provincial Grand Warden, with the Level. The Provincial Grand Chaplains, bearing the Volume of the Sacred Law.The Provincial Grand Secretary, with Book of Constitutions.The Provincial Grand Standard Bearers, with Banner of Provincial Grand Lodge.Provincial Grand Sword Bearer.The W. Deputy Provincial Grand Master, with Square.The Ionic Light, borne by the Master of the Yarborough Lodge.
Prov. Grand Steward
The R.W. Provincial Grand Master.
Prov. Grand Steward.
Provincial Grand Tyler, with Sword.
On arrival at the site, the Brethren will divide right and left, allowing the R.W P.G.M. preceded by the Sword Bearers followed by the Acting Officers, to pass to their positions, and the brethren will then file round the Acting Officers.The W.M. of the Olive Union Lodge will then request the Provincial Grand Master to lay the Foundation Stone.The Deputy Provincial Grand Master will deliver the Ancient Opening Address.
HYMN—
Hail! Eternal! by whose aidAll created things were made,Heaven and earth Thy vast design,Hear us, Architect Divine!
May our work, begun in thee,Ever blest withorderbe;And may we, when labours cease,Part inharmonyandpeace.
By Thy glorious Majesty—By thetrustwe place in Thee—By the badge and Mystic sign—Hear us, Architect Divine! So mote it be.
The Provincial Grand Chaplin will offer Prayer.
The Architect will then present the Plans for Inspection.
The Acting Provincial Grand Treasurer will then deposit the Coins, &c., in the cavity of the stone.
The Provincial Grand Secretary will read aloud the inscription on the Stone and Plate, whichwill then be placed in position.
The W. Master, 1304, will then present the Trowel to the P.G.M., who will adjust the cement,and the upper stone will be lowered, with three distinct stops.
The R.W. the P.G.M. will now prove the just position and form of the stone by the Plumb Rule, Level, and Square, which will be successively handed to him by the P.G. Junior Warden, the P.G. Senior Warden, and Deputy Provincial Grand Master. Being satisfied in these particulars, he will give the stone three knocks with the Mallet, which will be delivered to him by the Grand Superintendent of Works.
The Cornucopiæ, containing the Corn and Salt, and the Ewers, with the Wine and Oil, will next be handed to the R.W. the P.G.M., who will strew the Corn and Salt, and pour the Wine and Oil over the stone, with the accustomed ceremonies.
Invocation by the P.G. Chaplain.
The R.W. the P.G.M. having inspected the Plan of the intended building, will deliver the same to the Architect, together with the several tools used in proving the position of the stone, and desire him to proceed without loss of time to the completion of the Work, in conformity with the Plan.
The following Hymn will then be sung:—
God of Light! whose love unceasingDoth to all Thy works extend,Crown our Order with Thy blessing.Build—sustain us to the end.
Humbly now we bow before Thee,Grateful for Thine aid Divine;Everlasting power and glory,Mighty Architect, be Thine. So mote it be
The Procession will return in inverse order to the P.G. Lodge Room.
This hall is a spacious and lofty building, well adapted for its purpose, and also (as it is frequently used) for theatricals, and other entertainments; having a permanent stage, dressing rooms, lavatories, &c., with a commodious kitchen attached, and every convenience for cooking, &c. The cost of the whole was about £2,000, raised by public subscriptions.
Miss Annie Dixon, the artist, was a native of Horncastle of whom the town may well be proud. She was the eldest daughter of a corn chandler, living on the Spilsby Road, now called East Street; he had two sons and five daughters. We know nothing of the sons, but Miss Annie early developed great taste in water-colour painting; and among her early productions was a miniature of a near relative of the present writer, done in 1855. Another of Miss H. A. Palmer, eldest daughter of Captain Moffat Palmer, of Horncastle, and widow of the late George Storer, Esq., of Thoroton Hall, Notts., late M.P. for S. Notts., was done about the same time. She afterwards removed to London, and became the first miniature painter of her day; was a frequent exhibitor in the Royal Academy, and a favourite with Queen Victoria and the Royal family, of most of whom she painted miniatures. She died unmarried Feb 15th, 1901, aged 83, and was buried in the Horncastle cemetery.
Another daughter, Leonora, married a Mr. F. Stapleforth, of Holbeach. Two other sisters, Fanny and Emily, unmarried, carried on a ladies’ school at Spalding; and another, Charlotte, married a former Under Master of the Horncastle Grammar School, Rev. W. Hutchinson, who in 1862 was appointed by the Lord Chancellor Vicar of Howden, in Yorkshire. Of these Emily, died unmarried, May 28th, 1903, aged 80, and was also buried in the cemetery; as well as Charlotte (Mrs. Hutchinson), who died Oct. 19th, in the same year, aged 73. Their graves are situated to the east of the chapel.
Lord Allerton, formerly Mr. William Lawnes Jackson, is a member of a Horncastle family. A near relative was a well-known object, a few years ago, in our streets as a cripple, going about on a donkey, lying flat on a large saddle or “pad,” his only means of locomotion. Lord Allerton’s father, William Jackson, left Horncastle for Leeds, somewhere in the “thirties,” or the “forties,” going it is said, with only half a sovereign in his pocket, given by an aunt, and a spare shirt given by an uncle. At Leeds he found employment in the tanyard of a Mr. Robert Barker, where he presently became foreman. He afterwards returned to Horncastle and worked in the tanyard of the late Mr. Hawling; but went back to Leeds and commenced tanning on his own account, at Meanwood near Leeds, and afterwards on a still larger scale at Buslingthorpe. He speedily began to prosper, and in due course was succeeded by his son; who made a large fortune in the same business. He became a magistrate of Leeds, and was elected to the Mayoralty in 1895. He represented North Leeds in Parliament for many years, as a conservative, being first elected in April, 1880, and re-elected five times, with ever increasing majorities. He was for many years a Director and Chairman of G.N.R. Company, and held other public offices. In 1896 he succeeded Mr. A. J. Balfour, under Lord Salisbury’s administration, as Chief Secretary for Ireland, being also, for several years, Financial Secretary of the Treasury; and was raised to the peerage in June, 1902. He was born in 1840, married in 1860, Grace, the only daughter of George Tempest, Esq. He owns, as his country seat, Allerton Hall, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, and 27, Cadogan Square, as his town residence. His uncle, Mr. John Green, still lives in Horncastle, on the Edlington Road.
Edward Gilliat was the eldest son of the late Mr. George Gilliat, of the Manor House (now called “Banovallum”), by his second wife. He was educated partly at the Grammar School, being afterwards a pupil of Canon Sanderson, at Seaford, Sussex. He entered at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he obtained a scholarship in 1861. In 1862 he took a 1st class in Classical Moderations, and 1st Literæ Humaniores, 1864. In 1867 he wasProxime accessitfor the Latin essay. He was appointed Assistant Master at Westminster School, Sept., 1867, holding the post to Dec., 1870. He was ordained deacon in 1870 and priest in 1871, by the Bishop of London. In Sep. 1871, he was appointed Assistant Master at Harrow, where he remained till 1900. He has been a voluminous writer, publishing his first work,Asylum Christi, 3 vols., in 1875;On the Wolds, 1879;Under the Downs, 1882;Forest Outlaws, 1886;John Standish, 1889;In Lincoln Green, 1893;Wolf Head, 1898;The King’s Reeve, 1899;Romance of Modern Sieges, 1907; andGod save King Alfred, in the same year. He also published, for the S.P.C.K.,Dorothy Dymoke, andChampion of the Right. He has now retired from scholastic work and resides at St. Catherine’s Hill, Worcester.
We have already in our notice of the Grammar School (p. 98) given an account of the Rev. Francis Grosvenor, son of an ironmonger in the town;there was also another son, Frederick, educated under Dr. J. Bainbridge Smith, at the school, who graduated at Oxford, and was ordained deacon in 1860, and priest in 1861. He held a curacy at Basford, Notts, 1860–62; was travelling Chaplain to the Bishop of Brisbane, 1862–65; Curate of Holy Trinity, Westminster, 1866–67; of St. Mary’s, Hulme, Manchester, 1867–69; of St. Gabriel’s, Canning Town, London, 1869–73; at Dudley, 1874–76; and at Hornsea, near Hull, 1876–85; when he, like his brother Francis, retired to Epsom, and succeeded him as Chaplain to the Union there, until his decease.
Mr. John Caparn, Chemist, having a shop in the High Street (now occupied by Mr. Herbert Carlton), had a son, William Barton Caparn, who graduated at Brazenose College, Oxford, taking honours, in 1843. He was ordained deacon in 1843, and priest in 1845, in the diocese of Ripon. He became Vicar of East and West Torrington, near Wragby, in 1846, which he held till 1859. He held the benefice, as Vicar, of Drayton, Somersetshire, from 1866 to 1875. Having private means, he gave up that benefice, and became Curate of Angersleigh, in the same county, 1877–79; which he then gave up, and undertook the Chaplaincy of the Taunton Union, and local hospital. These he resigned after a few years, and resided at Taunfield House, Taunton, until his death, April 10th, 1892. He published various minor works; the first being a small volume onEpitaphs, later productions wereMeditations to be used in Church before Divine Service;Councils and warnings before and after Confirmation, &c.
George Gilliat, Esq., late of The Wharf, Horncastle, married, as his first wife, Miss Caparn, a sister. Miss Helen Caparn, another sister, married Mr. William Sharples, Surgeon, a partner of the late Mr. T. Snaith, of Horncastle, and one of the first doctors at Woodhall Spa. Mr. Sharples left Horncastle for Wisbech, being appointed by the trustees first resident physician at the hospital founded in that town by Miss Trafford Southwell. Losing an only daughter while there, the shock was so great, that he resigned the post, and removed to Taunton, and took up there the practice of a deceased brother, which he carried on until his death, Feb. 8th, 1897. At Horncastle he resided for some years in the old vicarage, south of the churchyard, afterwards moving to the house next the “Fighting Cocks” Inn, called “Westholme House.” For some years he was a very popular Secretary to the Southwold Hunt.
Among more recent natives of Horncastle, who have distinguished themselves, is the son of the late Mr. Robert Brown, of the Market Place. He graduated at University College, Durham, as Licentiate in Theology, 1887, and was ordained deacon in 1890, priest in 1891, holding the curacy of North Ormsby, near Middlesborough; and was appointed Rector of Bucknall, near Horncastle, in 1898, by the patron his father-in-law, the late Mr. James Dunham, Merchant, of Horncastle. He was appointed Inspector of Schools, 1899. Mr. Benson Brown is an energetic worker, has restored his church, adding a carved reredos of oak, a handsome lectern, and filling the east window with good stained glass. He has also introduced various reforms and improvements in the parish.
Another native of Horncastle, who has already done credit to the town is the son of Mr. Henry Sharp, Saddler, in the Bull Ring; of a very old firm, established in 1760, and doing an European business. William Heneage Sharp was educated at the local Grammar School, 1885–9, where he gained the first scholarship granted by the Governors, under the reformed system. He then went to the college at Framlingham, Suffolk, 1889–90, a county institution founded as a memorial of the late Prince Consort, and there gained several prizes. He then became a Junior Master in a private school at Devizes; and during his stay there took the 2nd and 4th prizes at the College of Preceptors. He next accepted a Mastership at John Ellis’s endowed school in South London (Gospel Oak). After which he studied at King’s College, London, 1899–1901, where he gained the Jelf prize for Dogmatic Theology, the Senior Wordsworth prize for Latin, and the Barry Divinity Prize. He was also appointed Precentor, and afterwards Dean, of the college, being senior student of his year, and taking a first-class in the final examination. He was ordained by the Bishop of London, in St. Paul’s Cathedral, in 1901, being appointed “Gospellor” on the occasion. He was Curate of Staines, Middlesex, 1901–3, removing afterwards to St. John the Evangelist, Holborn, 1903–8; and was then appointed Theological Tutor and Sub-Warden at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, in the Diocese of Ripon.
A youth of Horncastle who has distinguished himself, though chiefly in another line, is Alfred H. Healey, son of the late Mr. Alfred Healey, Brewer and Merchant, of Horncastle, Branston and Lincoln. He was appointed to a Mastership of Ardingly College, Sussex, but removed to Alnwick College more recently. A member of a family remarkable for their ability; a brother, though still young, being high up in the Civil Service; he is specially distinguished as an athlete. Among his performances are the following:
Olympic Games, at Athens, 1906, 2nd in 110 metres hurdle race.
English Championship, 120 yards hurdle race, at Manchester, 1907, 2nd.
Northern Counties’ 100 yards Championship, hurdle race, Darlington, 1905, 2nd.
Northern Counties’ Champion, 100 yards, at Batley, 1907, 1st.
Northern Counties’ Champion, 120 yards, at Batley, 1907, 1st.
Northern Counties’ Champion, 220 yards, at Darlington, 1907, 1st.
Northern Counties’ Champion, long jump, at Darlington, 1907, 1st.
A record, no one before having won more than two events. His “bests” have been: 100 yards in 10 seconds; 120 yards (hurdles) 16 and three-fifth seconds; 220 yards (hurdles) 23 seconds; high jump, 5-ft. 8-in.; long jump, 22-ft. 4-in. He was also selected to represent England in the foot races at the Franco-British Exhibition, at Shepherd’s Bush, 1908.
Horncastle had, for some years, the dubious honour of being the home of the public hangman. William Marwood was born at Goulceby, about six miles from Horncastle, and afterwards lived some years in Old Bolingbroke, coming to Horncastle about 1860; where he was a shoemaker, having a small shop in Church Street, now occupied by Mr. Joseph Borrill, of the same trade. Before being himself appointed hangman he assisted his predecessor in that office,Calcraft, and succeeded him in 1872; continuing the duties until his death, Sept. 4th, 1883; when he in turn was succeeded by Bartholomew Binns. He was rather short in stature, with large square head and large hands, indicative of firmness of character. His first official act was to hang a man named Francis Horry, at Lincoln, who murdered his wife at Boston, in 1872; his last was to hang a man, James Burton, at Durham, who murdered his young wife, aged only 18, from jealousy. On this occasion the man fainted on the scaffold, and got entangled with the rope under his arm, and Marwood had to lift him in his arms to get him disentangled, and then drop the unconscious man down—a painful scene.[155]This was only about a fortnight before his own death. Among his last executions was that of Charles Peace, a notorious burglar, who shot a man at Banner Cross, near Sheffield. In May, 1882, he went to Dublin to execute the perpetrators of the Phœnix Park murders, three Fenians, who shot Lord E. Cavendish, and his secretary, Mr. Burke. In his last illness, which was short, it was suspected that his health had been in some way injured through Fenian agency, and a post mortem examination was held by order of the Home Secretary, but a verdict was returned of “natural death.” Mr. Henry Sharp, Saddler, of the Bull Ring, was one of the jury on this occasion.
Marwood’s wife was, for some years, ignorant of her husband’s official occupation, as he generally accounted for his absence by saying that he had to go away to settle some legal question. Visiting the slaughter-house of a neighbouring butcher, he observed to him that he could “do” for men as the butcher did for cattle, because the men whom he had to deal with were themselves “beasts.”
Some of Marwood’s official paraphernalia are still preserved at the Portland Arms Inn, Portland Street, Lincoln, where he generally stayed at an execution. The late Mr. Charles Chicken, who resided in Foundry Street, Horncastle, had a rope 1¼-in. thick, given him by Marwood, with which he had hanged six or seven criminals. Other ropes used by him are in Madam Tussaud’s exhibition, in Baker Street, London, where there is also a bust of himself. He used to exhibit his ropes to foreign horse-dealers, who attended the great August Fair at Horncastle, at a charge of 6d. each. There was recently a portrait of Marwood, in crayons, in a barber’s shop, 29, Bridge Street, drawn by J. S. Lill, postman, but this has now disappeared. Marwood’s favourite dog, Nero, and other effects were sold by auction, after his death in 1883, by Mr. W. B. Parish.
* * * * *
Other Horncastrians whose lives, or circumstances, were more or less exceptional, may be here also briefly noticed.
Mr. Henry Turner, about the middle of the 19th century, was a corn and coal merchant, and also land agent for Sir Henry Dymoke, Bart., of Scrivelsby Court. He occupied the house at the corner of South Street, next the water side, then a private residence, but now the shop of Mr. F. Stuchbery, Ironmonger. He married the widow of Arthur Thistlewood, a native of Horsington, noted, in his later years, as the leader of the “Cato Street Conspiracy,” whichproposed to assassinate the ministers of the government, in London, when attending a dinner at Lord Harrowby’s residence, in February, 1820. The plot was discovered and frustrated, and Thistlewood, with others of his guilty confreres, was executed on May 1st in that year. Mrs. Turner was the daughter of a butcher, named Wilkinson, whose shop was situated in the High Street, where is now the shop of Mr. Uriah Spratt.
Mr. Martin Brown, grandfather of Mr. W. H. Brown, Plumber and Glazier, of Church Lane, was in the early part of the 19th century captured by the press gang in Horncastle, and made to serve in H.M.S. Mars, in the war with Napoleon. In one contest his ship was lashed to a French man-of-war, to fight it out, and his captain was killed. He survived to tell the story till 90 years of age, with scarcely a day’s illness, until his death, Nov. 9th, 1866. He lies buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, his wife, who predeceased him by several years, being buried in St. Mary’s churchyard, on the south-east side.
Captain Shepherd, an old naval officer, lived many years, and died, in Union Street, now called Queen Street. He had had many voyages and experiences, which he was fond of recounting to his many friends. He had brought home many trophies and curiosities; among other things he gave an Indian bow, made of sugar cane, and poisoned arrows, to the present writer, when a boy.
In the next house to Captain Shepherd resided Miss Franklin, sister of the great arctic navigator, Sir John Franklin. Much interest was taken in Horncastle in the fate of Sir John, when absent on his last polar voyage, and considerable sums were raised, more than once, among the residents in the town, to assist Lady Franklin in sending out vessels in search of her husband, under the command of Captain Leopold MacClintock and others. We have mentioned elsewhere that a public dinner was given to Sir John, at the Bull Hotel, just before he sailed for the last time to the north.
In connection with this it may be added that the son of another great arctic explorer, Sir John Ross, used to visit friends in Horncastle, and is still remembered. Sir John Ross sailed in search of Sir John Franklin in 1848, but was unsuccessful.
Edmund Keane, the Tragedian visited Horncastle with his company, in the first half of the 19th century, and acted in a large building, which is now the warehouse of Mr. Herbert Carlton, Chemist. The mother of Mr. Henry Sharp, Saddler, and the late Mr. Henry Boulton, of St. Mary’s Square, among others, witnessed these performances. In connection with this, it may be added, that Mr. Charles Keane, Actor, son of the above, sent two nieces to be educated at a ladies’ school, kept by Mrs. Nicholson, Bank Street, Horncastle, and on their leaving he made her a present of a valuable pianoforte.
About 30 years ago Robert Langley kept an inn in South Street, called the “Coach and Horses,” on the premises now occupied by Mr. Crowson, Grocer. His son, Ambrose Langley, became a noted footballer, in Horncastle and neighbourhood. He afterwards left the town and joined the Grimsby Town Football Club; subsequently he went to Middlesborough, Yorkshire, playing for the Ironopolis Football Club. He afterwards joined the Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, which team he was with eight years, being captain three years; playing in the final for the English Cup, for that team, when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers by two goals to one, in 1896. Leaving Sheffield Wednesday he became manager of the Hull City Football Club, which position he now (season 1907–8) holds.
Captain Surgeon Smith, son of a draper, Mr. Walker Smith, who occupied, about 25 years ago, the shop near the Post Office, on the south side of the High Street, now occupied by Mr. Redmore, enlisted as a private in the Army Hospital Corps; and, afterwards, passing all examinations with credit, he rose from the ranks to become medical officer in the corps; an exceptional instance of such promotion.
Henry Allenby, son of a fellmonger, Mr. Richard Allenby, residing near the Wong, and having a tanyard on the Lincoln Road, became an assistant chemist at St. Albans. Afterwards coming under notice, in a chemist’s shop in London, he was selected to accompany the Duke of Edinburgh in his tour round the world, in H.M.S. Galatea, as dispenser to the expedition. This was in 1866; and in this capacity he visited India, Japan, China, Australia, &c.
Mr. Robert Schofield, Landlord (in the middle of the last century) of the Saracen’s Head Inn, Bridge Street, Horncastle, had a son, John, who left Horncastle for London, and became a member of the Stock Exchange, where, from small beginnings, he became so successful in business, that he eventually married a daughter of Bishop Blomfield, of London.
The Rev. W. Robinson, Vicar of Wood Enderby and Wilkesby, in the middle of the 19th century, like several other clergy, who at that time had no country residences, lived in Horncastle. His daughter, happening to be of the same size and figure as Queen Victoria, was for several years engaged in the Queen’s service, as a living model, on whom were “tried” all dresses intended for the Queen. In return for this she received, as a perquisite, her Majesty’s cast-off dresses, from the sale of which she realised an acceptable income. It is said that, through her, on the marriage of a lady friend, the dresses of both bride and bridesmaids were all royal attire. It was generally understood thatthis appointment was due to the representations, in her favour, of Miss Annie Dixon, the artist (herself a native of Horncastle, mentioned elsewhere), who was at that time agrata personawith the royal family.
Mr. John Cussons, son of the late Mr. John Cussons, Baker, in the Bull Ring, and nephew of the late Mr. David Cussons, Printer and Bookseller, High Street, Horncastle, ran away before his apprenticeship had expired, and went to America, settling in the Confederate States. He there espoused the Confederate cause against the Federals, and took a leading part in the civil war, commanding Confederate forces in several important engagements. Since that time he has visited Horncastle, and has published a history of his military operations. He now resides on his own property, at Forest Lodge, Glen Allen, Virginia. His last publication, in 1908, isJack Sterry,the Jessie Scout. He is also the author ofA Glance at Current History,The Passage of the Thoroughfare Gap,Some Modern Pillars of State,Principles of Cryptiography,Assimilating the Indian, &c.
Henry Allison, son of Mr. Allison, Miller, formerly residing in West Street, married a daughter of Mr. David Cussons, and leaving the town about 1848, settled in Hull, where he established a large business as paper manufacturer. He was elected Mayor of Hull; and died some years ago, leaving a widow, who resides in a large mansion, which he built on the outskirts of the town, Marlborough House, Anlaby Road. The business, with several branches, is still carried on by members of his family.
John Brown, the “Poet Laureate” of Horncastle, has already been mentioned; he is chiefly known by the volumeLiteræ Laureatœ, published in 1890, dedicated to Lord Tennyson, by permission, and containing most of his poetical productions. These are remarkable for his knowledge of Lincolnshire dialect and local folk-lore. The volume was published, after his death, on behalf of his widow.
He was born in the first workhouse, adjoining St. Mary’s churchyard, his parents being in charge of that institution. Being first apprenticed to a cabinet maker, Mr. J. Williams, when only just “in his teens,” he ran away to Hull, and took service on a vessel, the Margaret, bound for Cronstadt. His first voyage, however, was sufficient to disgust him with marine life. When about 15 he found employment with a theatrical scene painter from London, who settled in Horncastle. He afterwards went to London to learn his trade as a house decorator. He married in 1833 a Miss Gainsborough, of Alford. In 1838 he went to Lincoln, and for some years carried on his trade there. In 1848 he returned to Horncastle, and still carrying on his trade, became a member of a literary coterie, who used to hold meetings in the coffee room of the Bull Hotel. In 1860 he bought a house on the Louth Road, which he opened as the Globe Inn, and which became the resort of his literary friends. Literature, however, did not conduce to business. In 1872 his health failing, and his savingshaving evaporated, he was granted a residence in the Whelpton Almshouses, where he continued to employ his pen, in comfort, until his death in 1890.[159]
The late Mr. Thomas Baker has already been referred to, but is worthy of a fuller account. He was not a native of Horncastle, but lived in the town more than 60 years, and became so identified with its interests, in many ways, that he may well be regarded as one of its “worthies.” Born in 1814, at Braintree, in Essex, he was the son of a veterinary surgeon in that town, his family having previously there owned the once well-known coaching house, named The Horn Inn; although earlier members of his family had occupied a higher position; one of them, named Thorowgood, having founded the Grammar School at Oxford.
Before coming to Horncastle, in 1841, Mr. Baker was known on more than one county cricket ground, and had distinguished himself on the University ground at Cambridge, “Parker’s Piece.” On coming to Horncastle he immediately made his mark in cricket as a round-hand bowler; and the leading young men of the neighbourhood became his pupils. One of his feats was, in a match between an 11 of All England and 22 gentlemen of the county; when he bowled out, with his first ball, Iddison, Captain of the All England team. The great matches in which he took part for many years were too many to tell. Among other things he had the distinction of being employed by Sir Evelyn Wood to train a village club in his parish.
Besides his cricketing skill he was remarkable for his ventriloquial powers; and the story was told, that, while sitting in conversation with two strangers, at the Bull Hotel, he threw his voice under the table. The two sprang up to catch the supposed eavesdropper, when he at once calmed them by throwing his voice in another direction, and then letting them into the secret. He was also, in his way, a fair actor; and, with the late Mr. John Brown, the Horncastle Laureate, and others, he helped to amuse considerable audiences, in town and neighbourhood. In comedy he could take all the parts himself, rapidly changing his dress, and at one moment adopting the high falsetto tones of an old crone, and the next moment speaking in the deeper accents of a strong man. It is greatly to his credit that, only having for many years a small shop, famed chiefly for his two specialites, “bull eyes” and “Grantham ginger-bread,” he brought up a large family, who have taken good positions in various parts of the country. He was a staunch conservative and churchman.
In his later years he was often visited by strangers, who were entertained by his fund of anecdote and cricketing reminiscences. Among these we may name the novelist, Miss Marie Corelli, who, while staying at Woodhall Spa, sought his acquaintance, as being one of the “characters” of the neighbourhood, and to his delight she gave him her autograph. Mr. J. J. Hissey, the author ofA Driving Tour in Lincolnshire, also visited him at his house in Horncastle, and says of him “although wearing a shabby garb, he struck me with his perfect self-possession, and superior manners. . . . I have met many characters, but Mr. Baker struck me as being the most remarkable.” He died Feb. 12th, 1903, aged 88; and in his last illness letters poured in upon him from old friends and pupils, expressing their sympathy and their pleasant recollections of his company.