Chapter VI: Preface (6)

We may well suppose, that, as at that other Kirkby, now known as Pontefract, a fine church was once a feature of the locality, so it was once the same here; but this is no longer the case. If those armorial bearings which Gervase Holles saw in the rectory 250 years ago, were originally in the church, as would seem probable, they would doubtless embellish a fabric of some size and beauty. We can hardly imagine, that the benefice, under the patronage of rich prelates like the Bishop of Durham, in a parish also connected with important monasteries like those of Kirkstead and Revesby, having also powerful landowners such as the Becs, Willoughbys, Cromwells, and other “Lords of Tattershall” (where so fine a collegiate church was provided by them), would have been left with an unworthy church here. But whatever may have been its former merits, of these there are no longer any traces. On the south side lies the square base of a churchyard cross, shorn of its shaft, probably by the reckless Puritans, who may also have demolished, as they often did, the fine stained-glass windows, of which the armorial bearings, once in the rectory, may likely enough have been remnants. Gervase Holles mentions two monuments which were in the church in his time. Of these one was in the chancel, having a quaint Latin inscription to the following effect:—

Richard Lambard lies by this stone entombed;
Of this Church formerly Rector was he.
Who caused this Chancel to be newly built.
He presented a Missal, and other valuables.
On the 14th day of January he sought the stars,
In the 1450th year of our Lord.
To whom God grant eternal rest! Amen.

On a flat slab, beside the above, was the following, also in Latin:—

William Bulliar lies here entombed;
Of this church formerly Rector was he;
He caused a new Crucifix to be erected.
He presented a gradual {117a} and cross, and other valuables.
He died the 11th day of December, 1510.

There was also apparently a window to his memory.

Of a later Church, in a state of ruin, there was given an engraving in the “Gentleman’s Magazine” of August 11, 1801, with brief account of the church; a copy of which is in the possession of the present rector, the Rev. R. Gathorne, M.A.; framed, in his study. {117b} In that later edifice, the pulpit is said to have been a massive one, of stone. But this, like the monuments given above, has disappeared. Of the present church, built in 1802, the best we can say is that it is in the style called “Debased Gothic.” The late rector, the Rev. C. F. R. Baylay, rural dean, &c., put stone mullions, in place of wood, in the windows, in 1879; when the late bishop, Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, performed the ceremony of re-opening the church on November 6th, as is recorded on a brass tablet on the north wall of the nave. The church was, at the same time, re-seated with open sittings of pitch-pine. The western gallery was also then removed. Over the west door is a good painting of the royal arms, of date 1712, with initials “A.R.” (Anne Regina). There is a slab in the pavement of the nave at its east end, in memory of Rev. T. Roe, formerly rector. The font is plain octagonal. The ceiling is flat, of polished pitch-pine. There are three plain windows in the south wall of the nave, and two in the north wall. The chancel is apsidal, with a three-light window in the centre, and a small single-light window on each side. The chancel arch is unusually low, and broad, out of proportion. The only handsome thing in the church is the communion table, which is of old oak, probably of the Caroline period, massive, and richly carved, having a curious cupboard below the upper slab. It is, however, more fit to be a chiffonier or dining room sideboard, than for its present use. The church has accommodation for 212, which is amply sufficient, as the once “Town” of Kirkby has been decreasing in population for many years. The one bell hangs in an external small turret. The registers date from 1562.

The present rectory is a commodious residence, built in 1827, at a cost of £1,800. It stands in almost park-like grounds, with fine timber. The village school was rebuilt in 1870, with residence for the teacher, and was endowed by Richard Brocklesby with 33 acres of land in the parish of Bicker. The poor have an interest in the almshouses of Sir Joseph Banks at Reyesby; also a yearly dole of 5_s._, left by Martha Chamberlain.

The poet Dyer, who was appointed rector of Coningsby, by Sir John Heathcote in 1752, became rector of Kirkby in 1755, but presently exchanged it for Belchford. He was the author of “Grongar Hill,” “The Fleece,” and other poems of some merit, and was honoured in a complimentary sonnet by Wordsworth, the Laureate.

Another rector, the Rev. Willoughby West, extended his charity beyond his own parish, since by will dated 30 January, 1690, he founded two almshouses, for deserving poor persons, in the parish of Langton-by-Horncastle, (he being one of the patrons of the benefice), endowed with the rent of land purchased by him “from Geo. Langto of Langto, Esq.” His burial is registered at Kirkby, 29 May, 1691, and that of his wife, Mary Ester, “April ye 8th, 1690.”

At “Leeds Gate,” to the south of this parish, in Coningsby, are two fields, named “Gibbet close,” and “Gibbet nook close,” where probably some offenders formerly expiated their misdeeds, under the stern hand of the lord of the manor. {119} The name “Leeds gate,” given in old maps as “Lidyate,” is probably a corruption of “Our Lady’s gate” (_i.e._ road); there having been formerly a “Guild of the Virgin Mary,” connected with Coningsby church. There are also two fields called “Over Coney Green,” and “Low Coney Green,” which may have reference to the rabbit warren of Tumby Chase, or to “the King’s Garth,” or inclosure, “Conig,” _i.e._ King, also forming part of the name Coningsby. These field-names are found in several other parishes. There are fields called “Otter Close,” “Best Moor,” and “Worst Moor,” the not uncommon “Pingle” (or small croft), “North Ings,” and “Tumby Ings,” these meaning well-watered meadows. Another name, not easy to explain, though not uncommon, is “Pry-close.” It occurs also in Woodhall and elsewhere. One interpretation which has been suggested is that it may have marked the place where watch was kept for game, or game-marauders, or like “Toot-hill,” also found in the vicinity, it may have been a look-out for cattle, strayed in the time of Fen floods. But another suggestion is that it is a form of the old Norman “Pre,” a meadow, praie being a kind of coarse grass. Near Northampton, there are “the verdant meads of de la Pre,” and in Normandy there was a monastery of “De la Pre de Rouen,” attached to the abbey of Bec, and the Norman Becs (as we have seen) were connected with Kirkby and Tumby. There is a “Pry-farm,” in Wiltshire. What is now only Fulsby mill, in this parish, was formerly and within living memory also, a public-house, rejoicing in the name of “The Jolly Sailor.” Here, after the murder of Stennet Jeffery, in “the Wilderness” of Whitehall Wood, on June 22, 1822, the murderers, who belonged to Coningsby Moor, stopped for refreshment. They were said to be “bankers,” _i.e._ navvies, whose chief employment was digging drains, repairing their banks, &c.; while employed on the Horncastle canal near at hand, they had doubtless frequented the house before. They were usually rough and even violent characters, and it is said that Mrs. Copping, the landlady of the Inn, was aware of their guilt, but too much afraid of them to mention it. After their visit, some blood-stained clothing was found concealed in a hedge hard by. Two of these men were convicted of the murder and transported for life. (See “Records of Woodhall Spa,” by J. Conway Walter, pp. 16, 17.)

Geologically, Kirkby has some interest; parts of the parish are on the blue clay, with ammonites and other fossils, while there is also a stratum of fine gravel, termed the “Bain terraces,” in which teeth of the “elephas primi-genius” have been found. (“Government Geolog. Survey,” Lincoln, 1888, pp. 161, &c.)

To the ornithologist and entomologist its interest would seem to be increasing. The abandonment of the Horncastle canal, which runs through this parish, is making it a sort of sanctuary where the coot, the moorhen, the dab-chick, and the mallard resort; the green sand-piper may be seen, skimming the water, or the king-fisher darting into the shallows, and the heron, which nests in the adjacent woods, stands like a silent sentinel on one leg, by its pools, on the watch for its finny prey. On the reedy banks of the fast silting-up canal, it would hardly be surprising if that rarity among butterflies, the swallow-tail, which over-drainage has driven from its former haunts, should once more re-appear. But we have said enough about Kirkby, and more than exceeded the measure of space allowed us.

KIRKBY, EAST.

East Kirkby is situated just below the steep slope of the Wolds, near their southern extremity, between 7 and 8 miles south south-east of Horncastle, 6 miles south-west from Spilsby, and 9 miles north-east from Tattershall. From Horncastle it is approached _viâ_ Scrivelsby and Moorby. It is contiguous, on the east, to Revesby.

This in one of the 220 odd parishes in the county which possessed a church before the Norman Conquest. At that period it seems to have been united with Revesby, since in Domesday Book (1080–86) “Cherchebi” and “Resuesbi” are given together, and it is stated that “the whole manor and all that belongs thereto is six miles long, and six miles broad.” There are 12 carucates (or 1440 acres) rateable to gelt (_i.e._, 2_s._ to the carucate); and the same extent of arable land (or 2,880 acres in all); with (in Saxon times), 54 socmen, and 14 villeins. The great Norman Noble, Ivo Taillebois, Chief of the Angevine troops of the Conqueror, was lord of this manor, through his marriage with the wealthy Saxon, Lady Lucia, heiress of the Thorolds. On his death early in life—a death not regretted by her, for the marriage had been forced upon her by the Conqueror—she re-married, with hardly a decent delay, Roger de Romara, about 1093; and by him had a son, William de Romara, who was created Earl of Lincoln. This William founded Revesby Abbey in 1142, and, by an interchange of lands, while retaining Revesby, Moorby, Wilksby, &c., as a compact property, he separated East Kirkby as a distinct domain. Among those with whom exchanges were effected was one Ivo, a priest, who held a church at Thoresby, probably standing on the site of the present Revesby church. In lieu of this, the Earl gave to Ivo the church of East Kirkby with its appurtenances, and a toft near the churchyard. In the 13th century, the family of de la Launde (represented, down to recent times, by the Kings, of Ashby de la Laund, near Sleaford) were manorial lords {121} of East Kirkby, while the Earls of Exeter (as shewn in Notes on Revesby, &c.) had the manor of Thoresby and Revesby, &c. East Kirkby, as well as Revesby, was in the soke of Old Bolingbroke, and, as parts of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Sovereign would be the superior lord of the various manors in that soke, or “Honour,” as it was named, as being connected with royalty. Accordingly, in 1604, we find that Sir V. Skinner, of Bolingbroke, was appointed by the crown keeper of Kirkby Park, the site of which is still shown on old maps; and, according to “Liber Regis,” in 1762 the Sovereign presented to the benefice, although, by some arrangement, William Ellis, Esq., had presented in 1719. The manor now belongs to R. Maidens, Esq., and Dr. T. Robinson, but most of the soil belongs to the Stanhope or Coltman families, the patronage of the benefice being in the hands of the former.

Among the Revesby charters and deeds, printed by the late Rt. Hon. E. Stanhope, is one (No. 27) of Alan Smerehorn, of East Kirkby, dated 1165, by which he gives a watermill and premises to the Abbots of Revesby, with the right to draw water through his land, from Bolingbroke to Kirkby; the Abbey thus being supplied with water. {122} He also, by another deed (No. 28), conveys to the Abbey his rights in certain lands in Kirkby, undertaking all claims and services due to the King, in return for which the Revesby Monks confirm to him certain rights in Hagnaby.

By a deed of the same period, Alan, son of Walter of Kirkby, gives his feudal rights, in certain lands in Kirkby, to the monks, with lands in Hagnaby and Engcroft in Stickford, free of all claims from the King.

A charter of Richard I. (“Dugdale,” v. 456) confirms to the Monks of Revesby, among other possessions, 620 acres of land in E. Kirkby, and part of Kirkby Wood, along the road called “Swinistigate” (No. 40 B). N.B.—There is still a Swinecote in Revesby. Various other deeds assign to the monks lands given by William son of Ivo, of Kirkby (No. 43); by Alan son of Walter of Kirkby (No. 45); by Lucy widow of Walter Faber, of Kirkby (a “Smith?”) a meadow, “to decorate and strew the monk’s choir.” (No. 56). While Henry Smerehorn gives to them his “servant Robert, son of Colsvan, with all his chattels” (No. 53); and Alan Smerehorn, of Kirkby, gives a plot “ad portam josep.” (at the Joseph gate), among several others, taking on himself all claims to the king or others (No. 58). The seal of Smerehorn is a round one with the device, a man blowing a horn. Gaufrid, son of Alan Buche, of Kirkby, gives land in E. Kirkby specially as “gate alms” for the poor (No. 68); the same Gaufrid also confirming the gift made by his brother Walter, of a meadow in Goutscroft (No. 70). N.B.—“Gout,” or, writ fully, “go-out,” means a spring issuing from a hill side, of which there are many on the Wold slopes (Streatfeild, “Lincolnshire and the Danes,” p. 174). {123a} Alan de Cuilter, of Kirkby, among other lands, gives a place (placeam) called “gayres” (No. 101); gaire meaning a triangular plot which requires ploughing a different way to the rest of the ground. {123b} A meadow in Kirkby is given by Nicholas son of Roger, of Miningsby, towards maintaining “the light before the image of St. Nicholas in Kirkby Church, every St. Nicholas’ day.” (No. 119).

There are other deeds connected with East Kirkby, but these are typical.

We give here some other records connected with East Kirkby, which are of more or less interest, taken from “Lincolnshire Wills.”

William Saltfletby, alias Massenge {123c} of “Kirkby juxta Bolingbroke,” by his will, dated 3 January, 1443, requests that he may be buried in Kirkby Church; and leaves money to the church, as well as to the Church of St. Peter in Eastgate, Lincoln; also to his daughter, his wife, and her daughter, certain lands in Kirkby, Miningsby, and West Kele; and his house opposite the Church of St. Peter, Eastgate, “called the Gryffin.” The witnesses are Robt. Drydyke, Vicar of Kirkby (N.B.—The place-name Drysykes occurs in Salmonby); John Cokeryll, chaplain of the same; and Hugh Wellys, clerk.

Richard Skepper, of East Kirkby, by will dated 26 May, 1556, requests to be buried in the church; and leaves to his sons, Thomas, George, and Edward, and daughters, Bridget and Anne, his copyholds in Kirkby, Miningsby, Bolingbroke, Waynflete, Irby, Thorpe, and Friskney. N.B.—This was a family from Durham.

John Ballet, parson of Nether Toynton, by his will, of 17 April, 1558, leaves his “gown, that the Bishop of Ely gave him,” to Mr. Goodryke, of Kirkby {123d} and a gold ring; he also leaves money to repair the roads between Fulletby and Horncastle.

Connected with the Goodricks, by marriage, were the Littleburies, descended as is shown elsewhere {124a} from a very ancient knightly family, originally seated in south Lincolnshire, and hence we find the following will of Humphrey Littlebury, of East Kirkby, dated 1 Sep., 1568, by which he leaves all his lands in Hagworthingham to his son John, who is to pay to his brother Edward xxli a year “for his _exhibition_,” {124b} during the widow’s lifetime; the annuity to cease when the said Edward becomes a “counsaler,” and able to provide for himself. He bequeaths his lands in Hareby, East Keal, Keal Cotes, and Raithby, to his daughter Ann, “if she will be ordered by her friends, Sir John Kersey and John Littlebury,” and if she will not, then “never a penny.” It would rather appear, from this testamentary provision, that the said daughter Ann was somewhat of a wilful “hussy.” Sir John Kersey would be one of the family who came in for a share of the Revesby estates after the extinction of the direct line of the Dukes of Suffolk. To his daughter Dorothy he leaves “one hundred marks” with a like proviso. To his son John he leaves a “ring with the seal,” _i.e._, the family signet; also “one silver salt, vi. silver spoons, 1 silver goblet, gilt, a flat silver piece, and 1 of my silver pots I bought in London.” Reference is then made to an Inventory of Lyon Goodricke, deceased, which was bequeathed to testator’s wife, Winifred, and Edward Goodricke, her son. The testator had married (1) Ursula, co-heir of Sir John Kersey, knt., of Grove, co. Notts, and (2) Winifred, daughter of Henry Sapcote {125a} of Lincoln, and widow of Lyon Goodricke, of East Kirkby.

We have noticed, above, a Richard Skepper, of East Kirkby, whose will was dated 26 May, 1556. We find later, the will of George Skeeper, of Boston, evidently the same name, of date 28 Sep., 1606, in which he desires to be buried “in ye parish church of East Kirkby.” The name still survives in this neighbourhood.

Another name still occupying a position in the county is that of Booth, and we find that William Booth, of East Kirkby, by will dated 31 Oct., 1584, left property to his brother George’s children in Cheshire, to his brother Edward’s children, of Rand, to George Booth of Thorpe, and to Thomas Booth, his brother’s son; appointing as his executors, Sir Thomas Scales and John Scales, his sons-in-law.

We have named, above, Edward Goodrick, of East Kirkby. He died in 1615, and by his will, of 16 August in that year, he left the bulk of his property to his son Lyon, but £35 from lands in Suffolk to his daughter Washbourne, besides £400, in the hands of Sir Thomas Jenney, as her portion; “a best bed” to another daughter; and “bedsteads of those in Suffolk,” to four other daughters, all married, “2 Jacobuses to each as a token of my love.” Small sums are bequeathed to his cousin, Richard Palfreyman, {125b} and his godson, Nathaniel Palfreyman; to his servant John Tupholme 20s. besides his wages 13s. 4d. His “grandson John Godricke to have the manor of Stickney when 22 years old,” and his cousin Richard Palfreyman to have it meanwhile; paying “a penny a year to Lyon Godricke.” The will was proved at Horncastle by Lyon Goodrick and Richard Palfreyman, 25 Oct., 1615.

A name which we cannot omit to notice in connection with East Kirkby is that of Silkstone; there being a monumental slab in the parish church of Robert de Silkeston, who died in 1347. Among 14 documents in the possession of Porter Wilson, Esq., of Louth, this Robert is a principal party in 13 of them; by which lands are conveyed to him by Ranulphus, son of Baldwin de Thorpe, in Ireby; by Robert, son of Philip de Kirkeby, in Kirkby; by Walter de Kirkby, in Kirkby; by Hugo de Hatton, lands in Kirkby; by Walter, son of Robert de Langena, lands in Kirkby; Robert, son of Adam Pertrich, of Bolingbroke; Alan, son of Walter de Kirkeby, and William, son of Henry de Kirkeby, give him other lands in Kirkeby; Beatrice, widow of William Wriht, of Miningsby, gives him lands in Miningsby; John de Waynflet gives him lands in that parish; and Robert de Swylington, Thomas de Marketon, Rector of Hareby, and Robert de Miningsby, chaplain, grant to him lands in “Kirkby, Winthorpe, Thorp, Waynflet, Irby, ffriseby (Firsby), Boston, Leek, Wrangel, Stepying, frrisseneye (Friskney), Bolynbrok, and Menyngesby,” by Deed, given at Kirkebi, 26 Dec., 29 Ed. III. (1355). Robert de Silkeston thus became a proprietor of large estates. At a later period Sir Robert Sylkeston had issue Alicia, who was “maryed to Robert Grynne.” {126} A large portion of the property passed to that family, and through them to the Skeppers already mentioned; and from them, by marriage, to the Loddingtons; one of whom, Thomas Loddington, was Vicar of Horncastle in the early years of the 18th century; his name being on one of the church bells with date 1717.

Sir John Browne, knight, resided here for several years, holding lands in East Kirkby, conveyed to him by Lionel Goodrick in 1616, and on a dispute arising between him and the Skeppers, already mentioned, an agreement was made, 20 May, 1619, by which Sir John granted to Richard Skepper certain property, for 2,000 years, at a peppercorn rent, Richard Skepper in return granting to Sir John, other lands for a like term and consideration. (Mr. R. W. Goulding, “Linc. N & Q.,” vol. v. p. 75).

Some of these lands were known as Bonthelandes, (Boothlands), West-wang, Wayteclif, Bulgaire, Inge-croft, Langemer-dayles, Goutscroft, &c.

Sir John Browne was 2nd son of Sir Valentine Browne, of Croft, “Treasurer and Vittler of Barwicke, and Treasurer of Ireland in ye raigne of Queen Elizabeth,” who married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Monson, of South Carlton, ancestor of Lord Oxenbridge. Sir John Browne was “Sergant to King James in his privy chamber.” He married (1) Cicely, daughter of William Kirkman, Esq., of Easter Keale, who only lived 20 weeks after marriage; and (2), Francis, daughter of Richard Herbert, Esq., of Montgomerie Castle. She was youngest sister of George Herbert, who wrote the well-known poem, “The Country Parson,” and of Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who was so prominent a figure in the time of Charles I. They were nearly related to the Pembroke family, and descended from Sir Richard Herbert of Edwd. IV.’s time. There is an elaborate altar tomb in Croft church, with effigies of Sir Valentine and his lady above; and of their eight sons and seven daughters on the panels below. Beside this is an equally elaborate monument of Sir John and his 2nd wife. (“Arcitect. S. Journal,” vol. viii. pp. 70, 71).

Another family, with a good old Saxon name, connected with East Kirkby, were the Elands (Ea-land or Eyland), representatives of whom have lived in this parish within quite recent times; the last of them being William Fawcett Ealand residing at the High Hall in 1860–70. The name means Island-land, or water land. {127a} Sir William de Eland was constable of Nottingham castle in 1330, and M.P. for the county in 1333 (Baily’s “Annals,” vol. i. p. 223). They possessed the “Honour of Peverel.” In Baumber church there is a slab of John Ealand (obiit 1463) and his two wives, in the north aisle. {127b} A branch of the family resided at Raithby near Louth. Toward the close of the 16th century, one of them resided at Cawkwell, and had that manor and the advowson of the benefice. {128} Others had estates, and lived at various places in Yorkshire.

In the latter part of the 17th century another family, the Webberley’s of Addlethorpe, resided at East Kirkby. They intermarried with the Amcotts family, now represented by Colonel Cracroft Amcotts, of Hackthorne Hall, Lincoln. John Webberly, who was born here, was a strong partizan of Charles I., in his contentions with the Parliament. He did not die for his King on the field of battle like his compatriot Hallam, possibly of Bolingbroke (see “Notes” on Bolingbroke); but his support of the King, and his religious opinions (Socinian), subjected him to persecution, and, in 1648, to much suffering from imprisonment. He was afterwards expelled from Lincoln College, Oxford. (Weir’s History, Ed. 1828, vol. i. p. 415).

The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is pronounced by Mr. Jeans to be “one of the most interesting in this district, though sadly patched with brick, and defaced with ugly windows.” It is no longer used for services, a small modern church having been recently erected more conveniently near the village. The varied colouring of the edifice, from the combination of grey-green crumbling sandstone, with the red tone of the bricks, surrounded as it is also by lofty trees, render it a pleasing study for the artist, but its decayed condition inspires the fear that, unless tenderly dealt with, this interesting relic, may soon go to decay. It is to be hoped in the interest of archæology that this may be averted.

The original Saxon church was mostly replaced by a later fabric, but now ancient, of the 14th century. It consists of nave, aisles, chancel and tower, having two bells; this tower probably dating from early in the 13th century, occupies an unusual position, being attached to the south aisle towards the west end of it. Its lower storey forms a groined porch, having a head of the Saviour, rather rudely carved, as the central top of the vault. It has some early features, especially the window in its eastern face, but, we quote the late Precentor Venables, in a description given by him on the visit of the Architectural Society in 1894. Like the rest of the fabric, it has been patched and repaired at various periods, and most of the remains are debased. The battlemented upper storey is Perpendicular, the fabric generally being Decorated, of the 14th century. Of the windows, however, there are few surviving of that period, the west being the most noticeable. It is of two lights, beautifully designed, the mask heads of the hood moulding being remnants of an earlier style. The side windows, both of nave and chancel, were square-headed. One remains, to the west of the tower, portions of others remaining among modern degradations. The eastern windows of both aisles have flamboyant tracery, but now blocked and partly destroyed. The blocked arch of an entrance to a north chantry which has been removed, is seen in the north aisle wall. It must have been filled in at an early date, as the window inserted is of the Tudor period. The piscina of this chantry altar, with a square basin, is still to be seen outside the church. In the north wall of the chancel, a small two-light window is worth attention as an excellent example of the purest Decorated. The south chancel wall has three-light windows, with segmental heads and super-mullioned tracery of Perpendicular date; one of these has been removed to form a poor east window, in place of a good 14th century window, destroyed a few years ago. The eastern gable is surmounted by a good cross and saddle stone. The windows of the south aisle are of the meanest type. There is an arcade of four bays, with Decorated arches supported on very slender octagonal piers, which are too tall and slender, and which drive up the arches too high. The moulded brackets which serve as responds, being elaborately moulded, deserve notice. The roofs are very poor, being of a later period; one of the beams bears the date 1583. The chancel arch has been decapitated and blocked by boarding, but the rood-screen below is an unusually good specimen of Perpendicular. It has five bays, the centre being double the width of the others, and having still its panelled doors. It is 12ft. 4in. wide, and nearly 18ft. high. {129} (Dr. Mansel Sympson, “Architect. S. Journ.,” 1890, p. 209).

Parts of the parclose which formerly enclosed the chantries at the ends of the aisles, still remain. The Silkstone chantry on the south retains its decorated trefoil piscina.

In the floor of the south aisle is an incised slab, commemorative of Sir Robert Silkstone, the builder of the chantry and church. The late Bishop Trollope’s rendering of the Latin inscription, which is somewhat defaced, the slab being broken into four pieces, is as follows:—“Here is buried Sir Robert Silkstone. He erected this church and chantry. He departed hence in 1347, and on the 14th of June lost his life. To whom may God ever grant rest in Heaven. Amen.” The tradition is that he died an untimely death, if not by his own hand. (“Linc. N. & Q.,” 1896, p. 50).

The old oak seating remains at the west end, and there are fragments, scattered about, of other screen-work. In the north wall of the chancel is a narrow trefoil-headed recess, thought by some to be an Easter sepulchre; it has a curious carved panel, with three kneeling figures, supposed to be the three Maries, each holding a heart. The recess is an aumbrey, intended for the Host. The projecting basin, which Mr. Bloxam thought was a receptacle for “creeping silver,” is a piscina and the so-called carved “hearts” are boxes for spice. This portion of the service of the Mass is referred to by Barnaby Googe (1570), in the lines:—

“While frankincense and sweet perfume
Before the shrine they burn.”

The font is a good sample of Perpendicular, having a panelled octagonal bowl, supported on a panelled shaft, standing on a platform of steps; the panels contain heads and flowers. There are fragments of old stained glass scattered about the windows, and old encaustic tiles in the floor. A St. Edmund’s penny was found some years ago on the north side of the church, which the late Vicar, the Rev. G. Maughan, pronounced to have been issued before A.D. 905. Not far distant, in the year 1899, on some cottages being pulled down, there were found some fragments of dog-tooth pattern, and portions of columns and capitals, which are supposed to have come originally from Revesby; these are now in the garden of Mr. T. Coltman, at Hagnaby Priory.

The chantry on the north side of the church formerly existing, was called the Jesus Chapel. Here was buried William Goodrick, father of the Bishop of Ely, at his own request, by his will dated 20 March, 1517, to be buried “in the chapell of Jhus in my p’ysh church of Saint Nicholas.” {131} “On the viij. Kal. Nov., 1344, Robert de Silkestone presented” Thomas West, of Mucton, priest, to this chantry (then newly founded), and on Kal. June 1346, he presented “Rob., son of John Fowler, of Mithingsby, priest, to the same chantry.” (“Linc. N. & Q,” 1896, p. 51, note).

LUSBY.

Lusby (called in Domesday Book Lodeby and Luzebi), is distant from Horncastle about 6 miles, in an easterly direction, being 1 mile beyond Winceby. Prior to the Norman Conquest, the Saxon Thane, Tonna, held lands here, as well as in other parishes in the neighbourhood, his property here being 3 carucates, or about 360 acres (Domesday). Other owners of land were Almer, and his brother John, and his son Mauger. These, at the Conquest, were mostly superseded by Normans. William the Conqueror gave to his nephew Gilbert de Gaunt, son of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, whose sister was William’s Consort, 113 Manors in Lincolnshire, besides several in other counties, among them being Lusby, the adjoining Hagworthingham, and Grantham (Greetham), &c. The property would seem, however, to have been only held by the Gaunts for three generations. In 1223 we find Simon de Kyme instituting a suit in the King’s Court to recover certain lands in Lusby, as being the descendant and lawful representative and heir of the aforesaid Almar. He failed, however, to establish his case. (Curia Regis, Roll No. 82, Hilary, 7 Henry III.) He still, however, held lands in Langton and Sausthorpe; and he must also have had other lands in Lusby, as we find that in the 9th year of King John he granted the fee of 1 knight to Walter de Bec, “to have and to hold of the same Simon and his heirs for ever.”

The superior lord, however, of all these parties, would seem to have been the Bishop of Durham, a powerful and wealthy prelate. Early in the 12th century (circa 1114) we find that Ranulph, Bishop of Durham, held in chief, lands in Lusby, and several other parishes in the neighbourhood, and one Pinson was tenant under him at Lusby, holding by the service of acting as the bishop’s bailiff. Whether this Pinson was the same as Pinso, sworn brother in arms of Eudo, the Norman lord of Tattershall, is not clear; but it seems likely, as the Bishop of Durham, his over-lord, also held lands in Tattershall. (N.B.—The author of “The History of Spilsby,” Rev. H. Cotton-Smith, says that he was; p. 24). But through the Pinsons, Lusby, Winceby, and other manors passed to another family, already named, which for some time held an important position in the county, the Beks or Becs. There is some confusion in the different records of the earlier generations of this family. Walter de Bek was the scion of a family of Norman blood, whose ancestor, according to Sir William Dugdale in his “Baronage,” had “a faire inheritance in Flanders,” but came over with the Conqueror. This Walter de Bec married Agnes, daughter of Hugh Pinson, the steward, and had by her five sons, Hugh, Henry, Walter, John, and Thomas. Of these, Henry succeeded to the manors of Eresby, Spilsby, Scrivelsby, and Wispington; and Walter became “Lord of Lusceby, Wynceby, Neuton (_i.e._ Wold Newton) and ffoulstow (Fulstow).” (Lansdown MSS. 207, cf., 453). The Becs were a family of great influence. Of two brothers, one, Anthony, was Bishop of Durham, the other, Thomas, was Bishop of St. David’s, and another Anthony, was Bishop of Norwich, his brother being Bishop of Lincoln, in days when Bishops were statesmen and even soldiers, as well as proud prelates. Walter was Constable of the Castle of Lincoln (Harleyan MSS, f. 23).

In the old documents called “Final Concords,” p. 80., under date “17 May, A.D. 1208,” we find Walter Bec, named as “tenant of one knight’s fee in Lusceby.” In 1300 A.D. Sir John Bek, like his father, was Constable of Lincoln Castle, but also holding the additional office of Constable of Bristol. He made a grant to the Priory of Bullington, near Wragby, which is worthy of notice, as its terms are peculiar. It runs as follows:—“I, John son of Walter Beck, of Lusceby, have granted, &c., for ever to prior and convent of Bolington, for the safety of my soul, and the souls of my ancestors, two selions of land, &c., which formerly, Simon, merchant of Burgh, held of me for one pair of white gloves.” We have mention, in the case of High Toynton, of land, held by the tenure of a pair of spurs, presented annually to the lord, as rent; here we have a no less singular tenure, by the gift of a pair of gloves. The knightly gauntlet was probably in those days a more costly article than a nineteenth or twentieth century glove. In illustration of the above peculiar tenure, we may notice the legacy of Baron Bec’s “gauntlets” to Kirkstead. This John, son of Walter, was created first Baron Bec of Eresby; he obtained a license to fortify his castle at Eresby, 1295. By his will, dated July 20, 1301, he ordered his body to be buried at Kirkstead, whereunto he gives his best horse, his mail coat, “gauntlets,” harness of iron, lance, targe and other accoutrements. His daughter married Sir William Willoughby.

Most of the property of the Lusby Beks passed, a generation or two later, to another branch of the family, the Becks of Eresby; whose descendant, John Willoughby, through the marriage of Baron Bec’s daughter to Sir William Willoughby, in the reign of Edwd. III., held the manors of “Hareby, Lusceby, Ester Kele, Wester Kele,” &c.; and thus the property passed to the ancestors of the present Earl of Ancaster, and Lord Willoughby d’ Eresby. We still, however, find (by Feet of Fines, Lincoln, file 69) that in A.D. 1302, John Bek had “the rent of 6 quarters of salt, {133} in Wispington, Marton next Horncastle, Langtone, Wodehalle, Thymelby, Scrivelsby,” and other parishes, “with advowson of the church of Wispington.” “Henry Bek, of Pusseby (Lusby), sold to Lord Stephen de Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, lands and tenement in ffowlestow; which same bishop gave the said manor to Beatrice, his sister, who was married to Alan de Normanby.” (Lansdowne MSS. 207, cf., 453). For these details of the Becks, I am chiefly indebted to a paper, by Rev. W. O. Massingberd, in the “Architect. Soc. Journal,” for 1897.

To show that the Becs were not confined to the neighbourhood of Eresby and Lusby, I may mention that, not only are their armorial quarterings found, as was to be expected, in Spilsby church, but according to Gervase Holles’ “Notes on Churches,” they formerly existed in windows in the churches of Coningsby and Langton-by-Horncastle, and probably many others. (Harleyan MSS., 6829.)

Of later proprietors of Lusby, I am not able to give any, except that, in a List (given in the Melbourne Hall MSS.) of Gentry, of the 16th century, who furnished launces and light horses, when the country was preparing to give a warm reception to the expected Spanish Armada, I find that Mr. Palfreyman of Lusby, gent., attended the muster at the Horncastle Sessions in 1586, and furnished 1 launce and 1 light horse, when his neighbour, Mr. Langton, of Langton, and Augustine Cavendish, of Orby, furnished each 1 light horse, but no lance; John Littlebury of Hagworthingham, furnishing 2 light horses and no lance. Mr. Maddison explains that this Mr. Palfreyman would be a descendant of William Palfreyman, who was Mayor of Lincoln in 1536. (“Arch. Soc. Journ.” 1894, pp. 214, 220).

In Liber Regis we also find the names of those who presented to the benefice, and therefore were in some way connected with the place; George Davenport in 1699, Carr Brackenbury in 1720, and Robert Carr Brackenbury in 1780. In recent times the bishops of Lincoln seem to have inherited the position formerly held by the bishops of Durham, as owners of the soil and lords of the manor; and these are now in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissions.

We now come to speak of the church, dedicated to St. Peter. At the date of Domesday Book, this was one of the 222 parishes in the county which possessed a church. A priest is also there named, doubtless one of the 131 only resident presbyters in the county; many of the churches being served by the “Religious” of the convents. There is also mention of a mill, worth 3_s._ yearly. {135}

There was thus at Lusby a church at that early period, and it, as well as Winceby, paid a pension to the Bardney Monastery, probably through the connection with Gilbert de Gaunt, that Norman noble being one of Bardney’s most generous patrons, and the re-founder of that institution after it had been in a state of decay for some 200 years. Ecton’s Thesaurus gives the pension as 30_s._, a fairly large sum in those days.

The present very interesting church is, in parts, so very ancient, that it is more than likely that some portions of the original fabric of that day still remain. Only a few years ago the building was in a state of squalid neglect and architectural disfigurement; but it was restored by the Commissioners in 1892, and re-opened by the Bishop of Lincoln on January 17, 1893, the work having been done with great care and judgment; and the former flat-ceiled, white-washed room has given place to a structure church-like in all its arrangements. It is nevertheless of a somewhat conglomerate character, windows, and other objects, breaking out, as it were, in all sorts of unexpected positions; and thus making it a study of curiosities. We quote here some of the remarks of the late Precentor Venables made on the occasion of the visit of the Architectural Society in 1894, “of the original Norman fabric, itself of more than one date, and which was shortened at the west end, there are several relics, especially in the charming narrow doorway in the north wall of the nave, now built up, the arch of which is surrounded with zigzag moulding; and a very remarkable little ‘key-hole’ window, high up in the north wall of the chancel. An incised line which runs round the head of this ends in volutes, and above it is a small incised cross. Holes in the jamb of the shutter indicate that this widow was originally unglazed. Opposite the north doorway are traces of another Norman doorway in the south wall, also now blocked, having above it a cross with round medallions.” Eastward in this same south wall of the nave is a two-light early English window with quatrefoil above, in the eastern splay of which, inside the church, is a small, but “singularly fine corbel head, crowned.” Immediately eastward of the chancel arch in the south wall of the chancel is a small square window, possibly a squint; and east of this a very narrow small “lancet window has been opened,” and still east of this, at a different elevation, there is a good two-light decorated window. The chancel arch is round-headed and plain; on either side of it are a pair of Norman pillars, with the capitals hacked away; those on the north side partly retain their rounded columns. There is a perpendicular screen across the chancel arch of three compartments above with ogee arches and richly carved finials, the central compartment being open; and below are two panels on either side the central open compartment, having ogee arches within semi-circular rims. On the north side of the chancel arch is a niche for a figure. In the north wall of the chancel is an aumbrey, and an oblong one above it; and in the south wall a square one corresponding. In the south wall, under the easternmost window, is an easter sepulchre a plain semi-circular arched recess, probably marking the tomb of the founder. In the north wall of the nave is a similar, but rather larger recess. The east window has three lights, quatrefoiled, with trefoiled compartments above, and a quatrefoil above these. The west door is square-headed with a low arch within; over this a three-light quatrefoiled widow with square-headed moulding above; and over this, in the gable, a square, slit widow, above which hangs the one bell in a large turret. The font on the north side of the west door, is modern, circular, massive, of Caen stone. The sittings are of deal; the pulpit, lectern, and chancel sedilia, of modern oak; the roof throughout of pitch pine. There is a small brass tablet of date circa 1600, with eight English rhyming lines, forming a dialogue between a deceased wife and her surviving husband. The stones of the walls are of all sizes and shapes, and the massive western buttresses are 5ft. thick. The benefice, a rectory, is now held with that of Hagworthingham, and is in the incumbency of the Rev. G. R. Ekins, who resides at the latter place.

Letters, _via_ Spilsby, arrive at 8 a.m., and are despatched at 5 p.m.

ASGARBY, which is ecclesiastically annexed to the benefice of Lusby, lies about six miles south-east of Horncastle, being about a mile south by east of Winceby, by which it is reached from Horncastle, and about a mile west of Lusby. Letters, via Spilsby, arrive at 8.30 a.m. The nearest money order office is at Old Bolingbroke, and the nearest telegraph office at East Kirkby, about 5 miles distant. The whole parish comprises about 760 acres, divided into two farms, the property of Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and occupied respectively, Asgarby Hall farm by Mr. M. Dunham, and the Asgarby House farm by Mr. W. H. Robinson, both these residences being substantial structures of considerable age. It has been asked “What’s in a name?” yet the name Asgarby would seem significant. Its elements are “as” (or Aes), “gar” (guard or garth), {137} and “by”; the first of these implying the presence of “water,” the second meaning, “an enclosure”; and the third “a building”; thus we have, as the meaning of the whole, “a water-enclosed building,” or moated residence. The hall stands on an elevation, commanding an extensive view, and there are various hollows and banks still existing, which probably indicate the moat which at one time surrounded a more important building than the present hall. This is confirmed by the stews, or fish-ponds, lying westward below the hall, which imply that the establishment required an extensive fish diet, on the numerous Romish fast days. The demesne is given in Domesday Book, along with Hareby, Mavis Enderby, Raithby, and many others, which became the property of Ivo Taillebois, by his marriage with the Lady Lucia, daughter of the powerful Saxon Earl Alfgar, father-in-law of King Harold. It probably passed at a later period to the Bishops of Durham, who held many lordships in the neighbourhood; and ultimately came to the Bishops of Lincoln, who were lords of the manor, until the transference in 1862, of episcopal property to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who have since that time, owned the estate.

The Benefice, now worth £40 a year, is described in Liber Regis, as a curacy. It, however, gives its name to a prebendal stall in Lincoln Cathedral. The church, dedicated to St. Swithin, is an unpretending structure, of no architectural merit; but since it was re-seated, with deal fittings, in 1882, it has been kept, to say the least, in a neat condition. It is doubtless one of the smallest parish churches in the kingdom, the nave being slightly over 20ft. in length, and the chancel about 9ft. The east window has two lights, in debased style. There is a three-light debased window in the north wall, and a corresponding one in the south wall. The pulpit is of modern oak. There is a tablet on the south nave wall in memory of Sarah, wife of John Parkinson, “greatly admired for her virtue, frugality, and charity,” who died 17 May, 1816; also in memory of John Parkinson, her husband, who died May 15, 1821.

In the north wall of the chancel is a memorial tablet of the Rev. W. Ward, Incumbent, who died 26 Nov., 1846. The one bell hangs in a turret over the west door. The register dates from 1575. Canon Oldfield, who holds the benefice, with that of Lusby, is also Rector of Hagworthingham, where he resides. Asgarby Benefice is now held with Lusby, by Rev. C. E. Bolam.

MININGSBY.

Miningsby is situated about 7 miles from Horncastle in a south-easterly direction, and is approached by way of Mareham-on-the-Hill and Hameringham. It is seven miles from Spilsby westward, and 9 miles north-east of Tattershall Station. Letters, _via_ Boston, arrive at 9 a.m. The nearest money order and telegraph office is at East Kirkby.

In the time of the Conqueror, this manor belonged to his nephew, Ivo Taillebois, through his marriage with the Lady Lucia, the rich heiress of the Saxon Thorolds. It is stated in Domesday Book to comprise 6 carucates of land rateable to gelt (_i.e._, 720 acres), worked by thirty-six soke-men, eight villeins, and 4 bordars, who had also 40 acres of meadow, {138} which is several acres in excess of the present measurement.

Miningsby was connected with Spalding Priory in the following manner. That monastery was founded by Thorold de Buchenale (_i.e._, Bucknall, near Horncastle), A.D. 952; and the Lady Lucia, his niece and heiress, in conjunction with her husband Ivo Taillebois (who was Lord of Spalding), added largely to the original endowment from her uncle. The churches of Bolingbroke, Stickney, and other parishes, with “half the Church of East Keal,” were given to the priory; also tithes from Claxby, Edlington, Minting, Gautby, &c., and “temporalities” from Haltham, Bolingboke, Miningsby, &c., the latter including two carucates (or 240 acres) of land in Miningsby. On the Dissolution of the Monasteries, by Henry VIII., several of these properties passed to the crown, and became connected with the Duchy of Lancaster, and the “Honour of Bolingbroke.” We mention in the Notes on Revesby, and other parishes, how those and other lands, passed, through the Lady Lucia’s son (by her 2nd husband), William de Romara, to the Abbey of Revesby, and at a later period to the Stanhopes, and, by a parallel process, although through a distinct channel, the Stanhopes are now lords of the manor of Miningsby, and own most of the soil.

Frequent mention is made of Miningsby in the ancient Revesby Abbey charters. {139} By charters No. 1 B. and C., William de Romara conveys to the abbey, 23 acres of land in Miningsby, as well as common pasture in the same. Among the witnesses to the latter, is Baldric de Cheles, a name still represented in the neighbourhood, by the family of the Rev. Alan Cheales, rector of Friskney, and owner of land in Hagworthingham, &c. By charter No. 7 C., Hugo Wac confirms to the Abbot of Revesby “two oxgangs (or 30 acres) of land in Miningsby with right of pasturage and the hermitage, which Ranulph the Monk made in Halton marsh.” This Hugo Wac, would seem to be a representative of the ancient Lincolnshire Saxon family of the Wakes, whose most distinguished member was “Hereward the Wake,” lord of Bourne, the last hero of Anglo-Saxon independence, whose “Camp of Refuge” for some time defied the Conqueror, and whose exploits have been celebrated in prose and verse. By charter No. 39, Alan son of Ranulph, of Miningsby, gives 2 perches of meadow in “Sud Bec” (south beck) in Miningsby, free of all service and claims (temp. Henry II. or Richard I.) We may mention here that this Miningsby beck is now the chief feeder of the reservoir which furnishes Boston with its water supply. By charter No. 40 B., Richard I. confirms to the monks of Revesby certain lands and possessions in Miningsby, Kirkby, Claxby, Mareham, &c. This is witnessed by Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert de Harecourt and others. By No. 41, a plot of land in Miningsby is given “for the use of the gate-monk, and for gate alms,” at the abbey, by William, son of Roger de Bikinghesby (Wilksby?) temp. Richard I. or John. By No. 59, William Helle, of Miningsby, gives the right of pasturage for 60 sheep in Miningsby, free of all claim. By No. 63, William, son of Ivo, of Kirkby, gives land adjoining the place from which the sand was taken for building Miningsby church, near “Crosbesich.” By No. 115, William, son of John Barette, of Stickney, residing at Miningsby, gives one perch of meadow, “for the maintenance of two candles always burning in the Abbey Chapel.” (Date Henry III. or Ed. I.) By No. 119, Nicholas, son of Roger Herod of Miningsby, gives “one meadow, free of all claims,” and stipulates that “the monks shall pay annually one penny towards maintaining the light before the image of St. Nicholas, in Kirkby church, every St. Nicholas Day.” By No. 131, Alan of Miningsby, gives “one selion, {140} and four akerheveds” of land in Miningsby, in two places, called “Hankes” and “Claxby dale,” free of all claim (date, Ed. I.) By charter No. 150 B., the King, Henry VIII., grants to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, all rights and property, hitherto belonging to the monastery of Revesby, in Miningsby, Moorby, Wood Enderby, Wilksby, East Kirkby, and many other places, “having come into our hands by reason of the dissolution of the said monastery.” The Duke’s title is to date from March 1, in the 29th year of our reign, A.D. 1538. (British Museum, additional MSS. 24805, fol. 32).

Among “Lincolnshire Wills,” we find Richard Skepper, of East Kirkby, in his will, dated 26 May, 1556, mentioning among other land, which he devises, certain copyhold lands in Miningsby.

By will, dated 22 Dec. 1615, Robert Hustwait, of Great Grimsby, makes his brother, Edward Hustwait, of Miningsbye, and his cousin, Tristram Smith, of Awdbee Grange, supervisors, and gives them twenty shillings each. The Husthwaites were above the yeoman class, but not important enough to appear in the Visitations of the Heralds; they intermarried with the Wrights of Grimsby and Smyths of Audby, and lived at Little Coates and Bradley.

By a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 23 Henry VII., No. 78 (A.D. 1507–8), taken at Horncastle, Jan. 14th, John Parke of Mynyngesby, John Skayman, of Mynyngesby, being among the jurors, it was shewn that Thomas, the Abbott of Revesby, was entitled to hold from the King, among other lands, 10 acres of arable land and 4 acres of meadow, called “Symondes lands” in Mynyngesby (“Architect. S. Journal,” 1895, p. 59), notwithstanding the Statute of Mortmain.

By a Feet of Fines, Lincoln, file 68 (32), 30 Edw. I., Robert de Wylgheby (Willoughby) granted to John Beek (Bec) certain lands in Hareby, Kyrkeby, Bolyngbrok, Mythyggesby, &c., and “the advowsons of the churches of Spillesby, Kyrkeby next Bolingbroke, and the Church of Toynton.” (“Architect. S. Journal,” 1897, p. 56.)