Part 1
MEMORIALS OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND
General Editor: REV. P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.S.L., F.R.H.
MEMORIALS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE
MEMORIALS OF OLD LINCOLNSHIRE
EDITED BY E. MANSEL SYMPSON, M.A., M.D. _Author of “Lincoln” (Ancient Cities) Co-Editor of “Lincolnshire Notes and Queries”_
WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON GEORGE ALLEN & SONS, RUSKIN HOUSE RATHBONE PLACE 1911
[_All Rights Reserved_]
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL BROWNLOW LORD-LIEUTENANT OF LINCOLNSHIRE
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED BY KIND PERMISSION
PREFACE
Lincolnshire, perhaps, is known most widely as the second largest county in England, as pre-eminent in agriculture and stock-breeding on wold, heath, marsh, and fen, as well to the fore in the manufacture of agricultural and other machinery, as possessing the largest fishing-port in Europe (Grimsby), and as being associated with “The Handicap.”
But, apart from all these, she can boast of very many attractions for the traveller and the antiquary. Flat and low though her shores may be, yet there is a fascination in the great extent of “yellow sands”; and there is a recompense for the level plain of marsh or fen in the vast expanse of sky, where “The incomparable pomp of eve, And the cold glories of the dawn,” are seen at their finest.
And the views are wonderful: from Alkborough, over the junction of the Trent, the Ouse, and the Humber; from Lincoln, over the plateau eastwards to the wolds, or westwards over the valley of the Trent to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire hills; or eastwards, from the edge of the “high wold,” over the great plain
“That sweeps with all its autumn bowers, And crowded farms and lessening towers, To mingle with the bounding main.”
The county possesses the birthplaces of Newton, Tennyson, Henry of Bolingbroke, Archbishop Whitgift, and John Wesley. She has produced explorers like Franklin, and heroes of romance and reality like Sir John Bolles (the hero of the Spanish Lady ballad) and Captain John Smith of Willoughby (who was rescued by Pocahontas). St. Botolph, St. Guthlac, and St. Gilbert of Sempringham were all Lincolnshire in origin and life, and the latter founded the only monastic order (that of the Gilbertines) which originated in this country.
The monastic institutions of this county have had to be passed by in this volume. Although there are no vast or splendid remains (if Thornton Abbey gate-house and Crowland be excepted) above ground, still the excavations of the Rev. C. G. Laing at Bardney Abbey have proved how large and beautiful one at least of those buildings was.
The city of Lincoln, again, demanding a volume to itself, has not been dealt with here, save in so far as it appears in Roman times.
The greatest and noblest “memorial” of all is, of course, the mighty Minster, superb in its architecture and in its situation, with its great roll of bishops from St. Hugh and Grosseteste to Christopher Wordsworth and the much beloved, most saintly, Edward King. But this subject could not be treated of piecemeal, and has been deliberately omitted.
But Lincolnshire is particularly rich in splendid and interesting churches, and much will be found in this volume to justify these epithets.
Stamford, Boston, and Grantham all have had full justice done to them, while Tattershall Castle may well serve as a specimen of the best domestic building of the time of King Henry VI., as Doddington does of “the spacious times of great Elizabeth.”
The history of the county has been interesting, and at times very important. The wars of King Stephen, the battle of “Lincoln Fair,” the Lincolnshire rising in 1470, and the second insurrection in 1536 at the suppression of the monasteries, have had to be passed over; but the _pre_-historic facts, those of the Roman rule, and of the great Civil War will be found.
To the Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, the General Editor of this series, and to the Rev. G. E. Jeans, whose knowledge of Lincolnshire is unequalled, for much kind help and advice; to all my contributors, and to all who have given photographs or illustrations, I desire to tender my most sincere thanks.
E. MANSEL SYMPSON.
DELORAINE COURT, LINCOLN, _November 1910_.
NOTE.—As the County of Lincoln possesses no heraldic bearings, the Lord Bishop has kindly permitted the use of the coat-of-arms of the See of Lincoln to be used on the cover of this volume.
CONTENTS
Prehistoric Lincolnshire By Rev. A. HUNT, M.A. 1
The Romans in Lincolnshire By Rev. E. H. R. TATHAM, M.A. 24
Saxon Churches of Lincolnshire By A. HAMILTON THOMPSON, M.A. 53
Kirkstead Chapel By C. HODGSON FOWLER, F.S.A. 81
South Lincolnshire Churches By W. E. FOSTER, F.S.A. 85
The Church of St. Andrew, Heckington By W. G. WATKINS, A.R.I.B.A. 114
Boston and its Church By G. S. W. JEBB, M.A. 120
The Town and Church of Grantham By A. HAMILTON THOMPSON, M.A. 131
Stamford By V. B. CROWTHER-BEYNON, 162 M.A., F.S.A.
Tattershall Castle and Church By the EDITOR 179
The Sepulchral Brasses of Lincolnshire By REV. G. E. JEANS, 198 M.A., F.S.A.
Mediæval Rood-Screens and Rood-Lofts in Lincolnshire Churches By the EDITOR 206
Lincolnshire and the Great Civil War By Rev. E. H. R. TATHAM, M.A. 249
Doddington Hall By Rev. R. E. G. COLE, M.A. 280
Lincolnshire Families By Rev. CANON MADDISON, 309 M.A., F.S.A.
Spalding Gentlemen’s Society By MARTEN PERRY, M.D. 319
INDEX 341
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Lincoln from the South-East (Evening) _Frontispiece_ (_From a water-colour drawing by E. R. Taylor_)
FACING PAGE
St. Peter’s Church, Barton-on-Humber (from S.W.) 54 (_From a photograph by C. C. Hodges_)
St. Mary’s Church, Stow (Interior, looking S.E.) 58 (_From a photograph by C. C. Hodges_)
St. Margaret’s Church, Marton (Tower before restoration) 78 (_From a photograph by C. C. Hodges_)
All Saints’ Church, Holbeach (Nave, looking W.) 86 (_From a photograph by T. M. Foster_)
St. Mary and St. Nicholas Church, Spalding (Nave, looking N.E.) 86 (_From a photograph by T. M. Foster_)
All Saints’ Church, Moulton (Nave, looking E.) 100 (_From a photograph by T. M. Foster_)
All Saints’ Church, Moulton (South Aisle, looking N.W.) 100 (_From a photograph by T. M. Foster_)
St. Andrew’s Church, Heckington (Plan) 116 (_From a drawing by W. G. Watkins_)
St. Andrew’s Church, Heckington (South Transept and Porch) 118 (_From a photograph by H. W. Hitchcock_)
St. Andrew’s Church, Heckington (from the E.) 120 (_From a photograph by H. W. Hitchcock_)
St. Botolph’s Church, Boston 126 (_From a photograph by G. Hadley & Son_)
Angel Hotel, Grantham 138 (_From a photograph by G. W. Wilson_)
St. Wulfran’s Church, Grantham (Plan) 146 (_Drawn by H. Thompson_)
St. Wulfran’s Church, Grantham (North Porch) 150 (_From a photograph by Emary_)
Stamford (from the Meadows) 164 (_From a photograph by Nicholls_)
Stamford, St. Mary’s Church and Hill 170 (_From a photograph by Nicholls_)
Stamford, Screen in Browne’s Hospital 172 (_From a photograph by Nicholls_)
Tattershall Castle (from the S.W.) 188 (_From a photograph by G. Hadley & Son_)
Tattershall, Holy Trinity Church (from S.E.) 196 (_From a photograph by G. Hadley & Son_)
Brass of Matilda, Lady Willoughby de Eresby 200 (_From a photograph by F. E. Harrison from rubbing by W. Scorer_)
Brass of John and Alice Lyndewode 204 (_From a photograph by F. E. Harrison from rubbing by W. Scorer_)
Crowland Abbey, Rood-Screen from the East 218 (_From a photograph by Aymer Vallance_)
Lincoln Minster, Pulpitum from the East 222 (_From a photograph by G. Hadley & Son_)
Holy Trinity Church, Tattershall, Pulpitum from the East 228 (_From a photograph by G. Hadley & Son_)
St. Denis’ Church, Sleaford, Rood-Screen 231 (_From a drawing by the late Herbert Kirk_)
St. Edith’s Church, Cotes-by-Stow, Rood-Screen and Loft from the Nave 236 (_From a photograph by G. Hadley & Son_)
St. Mary’s Church, Winthorpe, Rood-Screen and Chantry Screen 238 (_From a photograph by Aymer Vallance_)
St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Middle Rasen, Rood-Screen 246 (_From a photograph by G. Hadley & Son_)
Doddington Hall (from S.E.) 284 (_From a photograph given by R. E. G. Cole_)
Doddington Hall, Long Gallery 300 (_From a photograph by W. J. Smith_)
Doddington Hall, Dining-Room 306 (_From a photograph by W. J. Smith_)
ERRATA
Page 106, line 4, _for_ “Norman capital” _read_ “Norman pier.”
” 108, paragraph 6, should read—“This church probably had its origin from the Abbey of Castle Acre—aided by the laity.”
” 109, line 1, _for_ “St. Mary Magdalene’s, Gedney,” _read_ “St. Mary’s, Gedney.”
” 180, line 28, _for_ “1220” _read_ “1201.”
PREHISTORIC LINCOLNSHIRE
BY THE REV. ALFRED HUNT, M.A.
That part of England which we now know as Lincolnshire passed through great changes in its surface before the advent of mankind.
The rocks which lie beneath the surface soil in this county are all made by deposit, for several thousand feet in thickness, and are what are called stratified rocks. They indicate the fact that in past periods of time Lincolnshire was all under a great sea. Occasionally in the limestone rocks are found small branches or pieces of trees, as well as great quantities of fossils of many kinds. The fact that oak and silver birch twigs are found inside the limestone shows that trees were growing elsewhere when the rocks were being laid down by the action of water in Lincolnshire.
Beneath the limestone are found thick beds of red sandstone, while still deeper down, over 3000 feet below the surface, lie beds of coal in the north-western part of the county—indicating vast changes in the land since what is now coal was first formed.
After the deposit or formation of these thick beds of rock, the land seems to have been raised above the surface of the sea, to be in turn covered with vast sheets of ice, called glaciers.
These glaciers extended all over Lincolnshire and up into North Britain above Aberdeen in the one case, and joined another vast glacier stretching right across what is now called the North Sea to land which is known to-day as Norway.
These glaciers carried on their surface blocks of rock of many kinds, some of an igneous nature, and as the glaciers moved slowly the fragments of rock were carried many miles from their original source. As the ice melted, these blocks of rock fell to the ground, and are now found all over Lincolnshire.
The time when these glaciers of Britain melted away is given by Lord Avebury[1] as about fifty thousand years ago, but they “may have lingered among the mountains, and occupied some of the valleys down to a much more recent period.”
The deepest borings in Lincolnshire have not yet reached the fiery or igneous rocks _in situ_, except in the Isle of Axholme; therefore those fragments of igneous rocks found on the surface, or in the soil, or in glacial clays, indicate that they have been transported from their original source, which, in certain instances, is as far distant as Norway.
Since the melting of the most recent glacier, other great changes have taken place in the surface of the land, owing to elevations and depressions, and the action of rain, frost, and denudation over wide areas.
A vast forest (now submerged) formerly existed right along the edge of the east coast of Lincolnshire; at specially low tides it is seen exposed at Chapel St. Leonards, Ingoldmells, and other places on the East Coast.
When the Romans came to Britain, and began their conquest or occupation of Lincolnshire, A.D. 50, they found extensive portions in the south-east of the county covered by great meres stretching many miles in extent. In the south-western part of the county were extensive forests; in the north-western part of the county was the island, now called the Isle of Axholme; but during the Roman occupation, and for centuries afterwards, were vast sheets of fresh water, with here and there an island or islet standing out above the surrounding meres. On the eastern side of the county, along the sea-board, the Romans built extensive banks or sea walls.
Prior to the Roman occupation of Lincolnshire, a race or different races of people lived in the land we now know as the county of Lincolnshire; and it is of this period that we write regarding the earliest known races of mankind in the county.
The different races of mankind in the Prehistoric Ages or Periods have been tabulated as—
1. The Eolithic Man, or Dawn of the Stone Age. 2. The Paleolithic Man, or the Old Stone Age, subdivided by Professor Dawkins as (_a_) The River Drift Man and (_b_) Cave Man.[2] 3. The Neolithic Man, or New Stone Age. 4. The Pygmy Man. 5. The Bronze Age, subdivided as Early and Late Bronze Periods. 6. The Prehistoric Iron Age. 7. The Iron Age of the Roman Period.
We will deal with each of these races separately as they concern Lincolnshire.
THE EOLITHIC PERIOD
Of this period no traces of the work of mankind have been found in the county of Lincolnshire.
It is a period which some experts strongly affirm show traces of the work of man in other more southern parts of Britain; so far as our experience by definite research has extended, we are not satisfied with the evidence offered, and prefer to keep an open mind.
THE PALEOLITHIC PERIOD, OR OLD STONE AGE
Many thousands of specimens of man’s work in this period or age have been found in Southern England—that is, as we define it south of a line drawn from the Severn to the Wash—but none of these old rough stone weapons have been found _in situ_ in Lincolnshire. From the facts presented by geology and a careful study of the county, it would appear that, while Paleolithic Man existed in the south of England, north of an imaginary line from the Wash to the Severn no traces of mankind have been found relating to the Paleolithic Period. It is probable that the great glaciers covered what is now known as Lincolnshire and Northern Britain in that period, and formed an inaccessible barrier to the progress of mankind.
THE RIVER DRIFT PERIOD AND THE PERIOD OF CAVE MAN
In these ages or periods, mankind found a home in the caves of North Yorkshire, at Kirkdale and on both sides of Cresswell Craggs, the boundary line between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Quite recently[3] discoveries have been made at Upper Langwith, also on the borders of the two counties, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, showing unmistakable signs of Cave Man dwellings and handiwork. While these places are not far geographically from Lincolnshire, yet, to be accurate, no trace of Cave Man or River Drift Man has been found in what is now the county of Lincolnshire.[4]
THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD
It is in this period we first find traces of mankind in Lincolnshire. Various burial places and many finds of implements show how widely Neolithic Man spread over and occupied the county.
These implements are described as stone axes, spear-heads, lance-heads, arrow-heads, scrapers, gouges, chisels, pot-boilers, knives, borers, graving tools, hammer stones, whetstones, polishers, sink stones, anvil stones. A list of the places where these “finds” have been recorded is as follows:—
*Alkborough. Barlings. *Billinghay. Branston. Brigg. Broughton. *Burwell. *Bully Hill. Caythorpe. Claxby, near Alford (flint flakes). Cold Harbour. *Cold Hanworth. Crowle. Coningsby Warren. Coxey Hills, near Louth. Doddington. Donington-on-Bain. Elkington, South. Fiskerton. Fotherby. Friskney. Ferriby, South. Gonerby. Gonerby, Little. *Haxey. Healing (arrow-head). Horncastle. Hubbard’s Hills, Louth. Irby. *Isle of Axholme. Keal, West (arrow-heads). Kelstern. Kirkstead (axe-head). Kirton-in-Lindsey. *Legbourn. *Lincoln. *Lynwode. *Mablethorpe. Maidenwell. Manton. Messingham. Newport, Lincoln. Nocton (axe-head). Ponton, Great. Potterhanworth. Reepham. *Ruckland. *Salmonby. Saxilby. *Scawby. *Scunthorpe (arrow-heads). Sleaford. Spalding (spear-head). Stewton. *Stow. Tathwell. Tetford (arrow-heads). Welton, by Lincoln (whetstone). Wragby. Woodhall. *Witham River.
Those marked with an asterisk (*) are to be seen in the County Museum at Lincoln.
Many of these implements are excellent specimens of the art and skill of the Neolithic workers in stone. For the purpose for which they were made, they seem to have served well.
The axe-heads have been (in some cases) made to be used with wood handles formed out of the branches of trees. In the course of ages the handles have perished, but the stone implement remains.
Often people unacquainted with the subject of stone implements ask, “How do these stone implements differ from stone forms of natural shape?” There are several points for students to notice about “Worked Stone Implements.” The points to be noticed with the Old Stone or Paleolithic Implements are as follows:—
1. The Flat Top, where the blow was struck to separate the implement from the flint nodule. 2. The Bulb of Percussion caused by the blow. 3. The Conchoidal Fracture or shell-like flake. 4. The Flaking off at the back. 5. The Dorsal Ridge or Ridges. 6. The Secondary Working, round the edges. 7. The Patina or Skin, the result of exposure to the weather.
In the characteristics of the New Stone Implements, or Neolithic Stones, which are found in Lincolnshire, the points to be noticed are—
1. The Definite Shaping of the Stone. 2. The Worked Edges of the Implement. 3. The Piercing or Socketing of the Stone. 4. The Patination of the Implement.
THE NEOLITHIC BOATS
Several boats made out of the trunks of trees have been found in the county—
Two at Lincoln. One at Scotter. Two at Castlethorpe, near Brigg.
One of the two boats found at Castlethorpe was an exceptionally fine specimen of the Neolithic boat craft. In length it was 45 feet, and 5½ feet wide inside, made out of an oak tree trunk. Within the boat was found a very fine polished stone axe-head.
The interior of the boat showed that it had probably been charred, and scraped or chopped out with a stone hatchet.
The boat is now transferred from Brigg to the Hull Museum.
POTTERY OF THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD
Very little pottery of this period has been found in the county.
One very good specimen of a jar or vase, broken in pieces, was found by Mr. S. Maudson Grant on the sea-coast, outside the Roman Bank at Ingoldmells.
This specimen is now deposited in the Lincoln Museum.
NEOLITHIC BURIAL PLACES
The burial places of early man in Lincolnshire must have been very numerous, judging from the remains we still have surviving to this day. These people were buried in barrows or large mounds of earth, which are called “Tumuli.”
In Lincolnshire the barrows are of two classes, called Long Barrows and Round Barrows.
The Long Barrow is the oldest form of interment, and belonged to the race of people called Dolicho-cephalic, or long-headed people. Sir John Lubbock says: “The Long Barrows are like the Gang-graben of Scandinavia, in which the dead are buried and not burnt.”
It is in the _Long_ Barrows that we find this Neolithic race of people buried their dead in Lincolnshire.
One of the Long Barrows still exists at Swinhope, near Grimsby, and there are others in different parts of the county.
In a map of Lincolnshire, published about 1570, by Saxton, the position of some of the barrows was indicated. From that map we have compiled the following list, but the list includes both kinds of barrow, long and round—there being no indication on the map to distinguish the one form of barrow from the other:—
Aukborough, 2. Ashby. Barkstone. Barnetby. Barrow, 2. Barton. Belton. Binbrook. Bonby. Boothby Graffoe. Bottesford, 2. Blyborough. Branston, 3. Braceby. Burton-upon-Stather, 2. Caburn. Carlton, North. Caythorpe. Clixby. Coleby. Coleby, near West Halton, 4. Cranwell. Croxby. Croxton. Cuxwold, 2. Dunston, 2. Ferriby, 2. Fillingham. Frodingham, 2. Fulbeck. Glentworth. Grange de Lings, 2. Grantham, 2. Harmston. Hatcliffe, 2. Haydour. Hemswell, 2. Horkstow, 2. Howsham. Hybaldstow, 2. Ingham. Kirmond le Mire. Limber, 2. Londonthorpe, 2. Manby. Manton, 2. Mere Hospital, 2. Messingham. Metheringham. Navenby, 2. Nettleham. Normanby. Normanton. Rauceby, 2. Redbourne. Riby. Riseholme. Rothwell. Ropsley. Rowston. Saxby. Scampton. Scawby. Scopwick. Scotter, 2. Scotton, 2. Searby. Southorp. Spridlington. Stainton le Vale. Thoresway, 2. Thornton, 3. Ulceby. Waddington, 2. Walesby. Walcot. Welby. Welton. Welton le Wold, 2. Willoughton. Wootton. Worlaby, 3. Wrawby. Wyham.
The custom of raising a mound over the place where the dead are buried is very ancient, widespread, and continuous to the present day: examples are to be seen in Egypt, India, America, and Britain. In its simple form it is seen in the village churchyard, in its greatest development it is seen in the magnificent pyramids of Egypt.
In the Long Barrows no metal implements are found unless they have been used for what are called “secondary interments.”