Records of Woodhall Spa and Neighbourhood Part 18

I am inclined, however, to suggest that it was a chantry chapel, put under the protection of the Abbey and served by its inmates according to the Will of one of the former wealthy lords of Tattershall and Kirkstead, whose burial place it eventually became.

"This beautiful little structure consists of an unbroken oblong, supported by plain b.u.t.tresses, insufficient to sh.o.r.e up its side walls and bear the weight of its vaulted roof. A plain plinth const.i.tutes the footing of the structures, above which is a bold boutel string, below the window sills, and it is surmounted by quarter round corbels which originally supported a corbel table and a higher pitched roof than the present one, not long ago (in the forties), covered with thatch. The side windows consist of very narrow little lancets. At the east end is a triplet, and at the west end structural ornaments of a most beautiful kind have been most lavishly supplied. Owing to the loss of the gables of this chapel, and its present hipped roof, its appearance at a distance does not promise much, but, when approached, the remarkable beauty of its design, and especially of its western elevation, will most a.s.suredly command admiration.

"From its own architectural evidence we may safely a.s.sume that it was built during the first quarter of the 13th century, and it nearly resembles the contemporary work in the north transept of Lincoln Cathedral. The western facade is supported by a b.u.t.tress on the south, and a larger b.u.t.tress on the north in the shape of a staircase turret, the upper portion of which is now lost. Between these is one of the most lovely doorways imaginable. Its jambs are first enriched by an inner pair of pillars, having caps from which spring vigorously, and yet most delicately, carved foliage; and then, after a little interval, two more pairs of similar pillars, carrying a beautifully-moulded arch, one member of which is enriched with the tooth mould. Above this lovely doorway, in which still hangs the co-eval, delicately-ironed oak door, is an arcade of similar work, in the centre of which is a pointed oval window of beautiful design; but, through the loss of the gable above, this elevation is sadly marred. In the north wall, close to the west end, is a semi-circular-headed doorway, similar in general character to the western one, but plainer. Its arched head, however, is charmingly moulded, and has the tooth ornament worked upon its inner chamfer.

"Within, is a still more beautiful sight than without, for the whole of the interior is, in every respect, admirable.

"A bold, boutel string runs round the walls about five feet from the ground, and from this, at intervals, rise dwarf shafts surmounted by most delicately carved caps, the foliation, of which almost looks as if it might expand, and yield to the breeze. These serve as supporters to vaulting princ.i.p.als, enriched with the tooth ornament, dividing the roof vaulting into four squares, having large circular foliated bosses in the middle, on the easternmost of which is also carved the holy Lamb and bannered cross.

"In each bay of the side walls is a pair of lancet windows, except in the westernmost one of the north wall, where the north doorway takes the place of one of these, and close to this, in the west wall, is a little doorway giving access to the turret staircase. The triplet at the east end is simply exquisite. This consists of a central lancet and a smaller one on either side, between which rise lovely cl.u.s.tered and handed pillars, enriched with flowing foliated caps, supporting, with the aid of corresponding responds enriched by the tooth ornament, lovely moulded arches, on which the nail head ornament is used.

"Towards the east end of the south wall is a piscina, having a triangular head and shelf groove. Towards the west end, on the north side, are portions of some very valuable woodwork, apparently co-eval with the chapel itself. These probably const.i.tuted the lower part of a rood screen, and consist of slender pillars, supporting lancet-headed arcading. They are now used as divisions between the seating, and are most noteworthy. {246} There is also a respectable canopied pulpit, of the time of James I., but scarcely worthy of the wors.h.i.+p it seems to invite, from its peculiar position at the east end of the chapel.

"I must now refer more particularly to a sepulchral effigy in the chapel.

The lower portion of this is lost, and the remainder is now reared up against the south wall. This represents a knight in a hauberk of mail covered by a surcoat, and drawing his sword slightly out of its sheath, pendent on his left. At a low level on the right is his s.h.i.+eld, and over his coife de maille, or mail hood, covering his head, is a cylindrical helm, slightly convex at the top, having narrow bands crossing it in front, the horizontal one, which is wider than the other, or vertical one, being pierced with ocularia, or vision-slits, but dest.i.tute of breathing holes below. The head, thus doubly protected, rests upon a small pillow, from which spring branches of conventional foliage. These helms began to be worn about the opening of the 13th century; to which breathing holes were added about 1225. Thus the armour of this knightly effigy exactly coincides in date with the architecture of the chapel in which it still remains, and it may well have served to commemorate Robert de Tattershall and Kirkstead, who died 1212."

To these remarks of the Bishop I here add some valuable observations made by Mr. Albert Hartshorne, F.S.A., in a Paper read before the Archaeological Inst.i.tute, {247} and reprinted for private circulation, on "Kirkstead Chapel, and a remarkable monumental effigy there preserved."

He says: "Reared against the south wall at the west end is a monumental effigy in Forest marble, larger than life, of a man in the military costume of the first quarter of the 13th century. He wears a cylindrical helm, a hauberk, apparently hooded, a short surcote, and a broad cingulum. The left arm is covered by a ponderous s.h.i.+eld, and he draws a sword in a scabbard. He wears breeches of mail, but the legs, from the knees downward, are missing. The head rests upon a cus.h.i.+on, supported by conventional foliage. The occurrence of a cylindrical flat-topped helm in monumental sculpture is, of itself, sufficiently rare to merit a notice. There are two examples of it at Furness Abbey, two at Chester-le-street, one at Staindrop, and one at Walkern,-seven only in all, so far as appears to be known. They occur in the seals of Hen.

III., Edward I., Alexander II. of Scotland, and Hugh de Vere. Actual examples of such headpieces are certainly of the utmost rarity. There is a very genuine one in the Tower, and another at Warwick Castle. Some sham ones were in the Helmet and Mail Exhibition, held in the rooms of the Inst.i.tute in 1880, and are suitably exposed in the ill.u.s.trated catalogue of this interesting collection." "Banded mail," as it is called, has been one of the archaeological difficulties "of the past and present generations, and the late Mr. Burges took great trouble in endeavouring to unravel the mystery of its construction . . . having casts made from the only four then known . . . effigies (with it) at Tewkesbury, Tollard Royal, Bedford, and Newton Solney; but . . . he had to confess, in the end, that he could make nothing satisfactory of it.

Here, at Kirkstead, is the fifth known sculptured example of banded mail in the kingdom, and . . . it is the earliest example of all . . . it resembles most the Newton Solney type; but I can throw no light upon the mail's construction, though I have long considered the subject, and must leave the matter as I found it, twenty years ago, a mystery. If we are to suppose, as the Bishop Suffragan has suggested, that a local lord built Kirkstead chapel, then I am disposed to think, with him, that that lord was Robert de Tattershall and Kirkstead, who died in 1212. The date of that chapel may certainly be of about the same period, namely, a little after the time of St. Hugh of Lincoln, and co-eval with the Early English work of the second period in Lincoln Cathedral. The effigy may very well have been set up to the memory of Robert de Tattershall, a few years after his death."

So far the Bishop and Mr. Hartshorne. We have only to add that, some time in the forties, certain alterations were made, such as removing the thatched roof and covering it with slates, taking away much rotten timber and replacing it with fresh. Some so-called "unsightly beams" were also removed, but they had probably been introduced at a very early period, and it was, probably, also mainly due to them that the walls had not fallen further outward than they had done. Whereas now, without any such support, and with the ma.s.sive stone roof pressing upon them, the destruction of the building must be only a question of time, and that not a very long one, unless some remedy is applied. I have a note, from Baron Hubner's "Travels through the British Empire," {249} that "when the town of Melbourne, in Australia, in 1836, was yet a small scattered village, with wooden houses, wooden church, &c., a tree was the belfry."

At that same period the bell of Kirkstead chapel also hung in a tree, still standing at the south-west corner of the churchyard. Climbing up, a few years ago, to examine the bell, I found the following, cut in the lead under the bell turret: "Thomas Munsall, Nottingham, August, 1849; Edward Gadsby, Nottingham, Aug., 1849. George Whitworth (of Kirkstead), Joiner." The two former slated the roof, and the last was the local carpenter. The history of this church in modern times, as a place of wors.h.i.+p, has bean peculiar. The estate, having been bestowed upon the Fiennes Clintons by Henry VIII., pa.s.sed, in the 18th century, by marriage, to the Disneys and the benefice, being a Donative and, therefore, almost private property, Mr. Daniel Disney, being a Presbyterian, appointed a minister of that persuasion to officiate; also endowing it with lands which produced a stipend of 30 a year in 1720.

This gift was confirmed by his Will. Presbyterian ministers continued to hold it till the death of a Mr. Dunkley in 1794. The manor had then been sold to the Ellison family, and a suit was inst.i.tuted to recover the benefice to the Church of England; the case was tried at Lincoln a.s.sizes in 1812, when, by a compromise, the fabric was restored to the Church of England; but the Presbyterian endowment remained in the hands of trustees, who subsequently erected a Presbyterian chapel at Kirkstead, and in more recent times, a manse was built in connection with it, now occupied by the Rev. R. Holden. Dr. John Taylor, of Norwich, was one of the ministers appointed by Mr. Disney. He held it some 18 years, from 1715, and here composed his Concordance, in 2 vols. In 1876 the church was visited by the Architectural Society, when, in consequence of its dangerous condition, it was closed by order of the Bishop, awaiting restoration, and it awaits it still.

Of this interesting structure no one can get any view of the interior beyond (strange to say) what can be seen through the keyhole. May we hope that the Rontgen Rays may soon be sufficiently developed to enable us to photograph it through the boards of the ancient door, the hinges of which, we may add, are worthy of notice. I conclude these remarks upon it with the words of a former owner, {250a} who was inspired to write of it thus:-

This ancient chanel! Still the House of G.o.d, And boasting still the consecrated sod, 'Neath which, where ancient oaks, wide-spreading, shade, The rude forefathers of the place were laid.

Fair, too, as ancient, is that holy place, Its walls and windows richest traceries grace; While cl.u.s.ters of the lightest columns rise, And beauties all unlooked for, there surprise.

'Twas well, when Ruin smote the neighbouring Pile, It spared this humbler Beauty to defile.

O! 'Tis a gem of purest taste, I ween, Though little it be known, and seldom seen.

The writer may add that he has himself twice made strenuous efforts, backed most earnestly by the late Bishop Wordsworth, and has sent out many hundreds of appeals for aid, to prevent this little gem going to ruin; but, owing to apathy and indifference, where they should not have been found, those efforts proved futile. He can only reiterate the warning words of Mr. Albert Hartshorne:-"I know not whether such aid will be forthcoming; but of two things I am quite certain: if nothing is done the chapel must collapse, and that very soon; and when it does so fall, it will become such an utter ruin that it would be quite impossible to put it up again." {250b}

One more historical incident, of more than local interest, may here just be mentioned. It has already been stated that after the Dissolution the Abbey lands were granted by Henry VIII. to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and that, on the death of his issue the King granted them to the Fiennes Clinton family, in the person of Lord Clinton and Saye, afterwards Earl of Lincoln. In this family they remained for several generations, until by marriage they pa.s.sed to the Disneys. In the time of the unhappy King Charles I., families were often divided, one party remaining true to the Sovereign, and a relative espousing the cause of the Commonwealth. But Henry Clinton, alias Fynes, remained staunch to his King, providing horse and arms for the Royalist cause. This, no doubt, brought him not a few enemies; and in consequence he had the great compliment paid him of being granted a deed of "Protection" by his grateful sovereign. We cannot give the whole here, but it is ent.i.tled "Protection of Mr. Henry Fynes & his Wyfe."

"(Endorsed) by Major Markham of ye Lyfeguards," and is headed "Charles R . . . whereas Wee are informed that Henry Fynes of Christed Abbey . . .

and his wyfe are, and have been, in all these rebellious times, persons very loyall and well affected to us and our service, wee are graciously pleased to grant them this our speciall Protection, &c., &c. . . . given at our Court at Oxford ye 7th day of February, 1643." A fac-simile copy of the original is given in "Linc. N. & Q.," vol. i. (1889), p. 22.

To any of his kith and kin who may still be living among us, and they are not few, it may be a pleasure and a pride to reflect that their ancestor "of Christed" shewed himself a true man in times when it needed some courage to do so. None of them could have a better motto to abide by, in all things, than that of the head of the House, "Loyalte n'a honte,"

Loyalty is not ashamed.

Our lengthy peregrinations have now brought us, once more, within a mile of Woodhall Spa; thither let us proceed, "rest and be thankful."

And now, gentle readers, it would seem we have arrived at a fitting "period, or full stop," in our somewhat arduous undertaking; and here we might well shake hands and finally part company,-we would fain hope, with a hearty "au revoir."

I find myself much in the mood of the Alpine guide who feels that he has had more than one long day with his trusty alpenstock, although with a willing heart in the work, and, we might say, even proud that he has been able to show his party through so many attractive scenes. He stands, as it were, before them, hat in hand {251} awaiting the "pour boire," the due recompense of his services. Freely he has given, freely he hopes to receive, that he may retire to his quiet chalet on the hill, where he may rest awhile, till perchance he finds a fresh engagement. But, at this juncture, he is accosted by one of the party to this effect: "Mon cher Guide Walder, you have taken us through more than one enjoyable round in your interesting country. We have looked with pleasure upon many a long vista in the past, and on many a wide-spreading prospect of varied character. You have, indeed, given us a bonne-bouche, to finish with, in Kirkstead, but we would ask, 'Why have you omitted Somersby, Somersby not so very far away, and hallowed as the birth-place of the Bard of the Century, who is reckoned as one of the High Priests of Poesy, wherever our English tongue is spoken?'" We confess the omission. Our apology is, that our excursions have already, in the more immediate neighbourhood, been only too long. As to Somersby, as its a.s.sociations are _sui generis_, so it lies in a direction of its own; not easily to be combined with other places of interest; but the fault can be remedied.

Quid multa? A short supplementary excursion is arranged; and we are to muster on the morrow for the last, but not least, of our Looks at Lincolns.h.i.+re.

SUPPLEMENTARY.

In the year 1890, an enthusiastic Tennysonian, giving an account in the "Globe" newspaper, of an excursion to Somersby, which he approached from Louth, says that he was somewhat disgusted to find that his Jehu, though familiar with every ragam.u.f.fin on the road, and with the gossip and traditions of the villages through which they pa.s.sed, had never heard the name of Tennyson. Somersby itself, at the time when Tennyson there enjoyed ramble and reverie, was so withdrawn from the outer world that it is said that the battle of Waterloo was not heard of there until a month after it had been fought. But all this has now been changed, and is changing. Not long ago, the proprietor of Somersby (now, alas! an absentee), complained to the writer that his carpets were being worn into holes by the feet of the many pilgrims to this modern poetic "Mecca," who seemed to think they had a right freely to intrude everywhere; with the barren compensation to himself that his paternal home was becoming historical. Sympathising fully with the country squire whose privacy has been thus invaded, we are now ourselves about to make the pilgrimage, which may soon be as common as that to the birthplace of the immortal Bard of Avon.

Having arrived at Horncastle by train, or otherwise, we pa.s.s through the town, by Market-place, Bull Ring, and over the far bridge, where we turn due eastward, by East street. At the end of a mile or so we arrive at High Toynton, with a modern church of Spilsby sandstone on our right, in good condition, but of no special interest; here we turn to the left, and 100 yards further on, again eastward to the right. We are now on the Wolds, and have before us a steady rise, followed by three steepish descents with their corresponding rises, till, as we approach Holbeck Hall, we see before us, to the left, a hill in the shape of an obtuse truncated cone. This is Hoe Hill (Norse 'hof,' holy and so possibly a sacred place for heathen wors.h.i.+p; or, the Norse 'haugr' or 'howe,' a burial place, possibly the resting-place of some Viking chief, the names all round having Danish elements). It has a d.y.k.e, or scarpment, running round it, like a collar, and was probably a British or Danish encampment; geologically it consists of ironstone, quite distinct from the sandstone formation on the lower ground. At Holbeck it is worth the while to turn in at the Lodge gate, and proceed some 250 yards along the drive, when we find ourselves among very pretty scenery; the modern Hall confronting us, built by the late J. Fardell, Esq., who was M.P. for Lincoln for about a week. We pause in a woody dell with a picturesque lake and rocks on each side of us. (N.B.-In these rocks the badger still survives). Retracing our steps into the main road again, and some 200 yards back towards Horncastle, by a guide-post the road turns off southward, and, following this, we arrive at Ashby Puerorum, or Ashby "of the boys," so called to distinguish it from the other two Ashbys, not far off, the name being derived from the fact that certain lands in the parish are appropriated to the maintenance of the choristers of Lincoln Cathedral, the Dean and Chapter being patrons of the benefice. The road here is somewhat tortuous, but we find our way to the church, the chancel of which was restored by the patrons in 1869, and the rest of the building in 1877.

It is a small fabric, consisting of nave, north aisle, chancel, small porch, and western tower. The main building is Early English. A lancet window still remains in the south wall, and at the west end of the aisle.

The other windows of the nave are mostly Perpendicular. On the south side of the chancel is a two-light, square-headed, decorated window. The arcade has two chamfered arches, on low cylindrical piers. The tower is a low, stunted example of Perpendicular, the green sandstone picturesquely patched with brick. The west doorway is well proportioned, and the three-light Perpendicular window above, and the tower arch, are plain but good. There is a plain octagonal font. On the south wall is a bra.s.s to Richard Littlebury, of Stainsby, in the parish (obiit 1521); his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edmund Jenny, of Suffolk (died 1523); and their ten children. The bra.s.s, according to Haines, was not cut till 1560, at the same time with another of a knight in armour, now without inscription, but probably one of the six sons of the above. In the pavement is a the incised slab of blue marble, representing a priest in Eucharistic vestments, with chalice on the breast. The head, hands, chalice, and other portions were of bra.s.s, but these have disappeared.

As has been elsewhere stated, in 1794, a Roman sepulchre was discovered three feet below the surface,-a stone chest, containing an urn of strong gla.s.s of greenish hue. The urn held small pieces of calcined bone, and, among them, a small lacrimatory of very thin green gla.s.s. Sir Joseph Banks thought it not improbable that, some day, the site of a Roman villa might be found near at hand. {254}

We again take to the main road, due eastward, and at the distance of another mile or so, we arrive at a steep descent, embowered in lofty trees; and, at the foot of this, "The Brook," immortalized by the Laureate, winds its musical way beneath the road, under a bridge. To the left we see its course (where the writer has ofttimes "tickled" his trout), through a green meadow, as it issues from the wood named "Holy Well." To the right it speeds onward through low-lying lands until it is lost in the distance.

Proceeding along the narrow lane,-so narrow, indeed, that only at certain points can two vehicles pa.s.s each other, and shut in by banks of sandstone,-we reach, on the right, a well in the rock, the latter green and grey with moss, lichen and fern, the water clear as crystal. It is, indeed, a lonely, quiet spot, fit place for musing meditation, in a poet's wanderings. Just a cottage or two to remind one that there is a population, but not obtrusive. The rectory is the second, and larger, of two houses on the right, though now occupied as a farmhouse. It is a quaint, unpretending, old-time residence, uniting manor house and rectory in one. At its eastern end is a semi-ecclesiastical addition, with pointed windows having coloured gla.s.s of no particular merit. In the ground-floor apartment in this is a carved mantlepiece, the work of the Laureate's father. Just beyond is a brick castellated building, "The Grange," said to have been designed by Vanbrugh. Its construction is ma.s.sive, and its curious cellars and other details make it something of a "Romance in brick." Certainly it is a fair example of that solid style of building which gave rise to his (suggested) epitaph,-

Lie heavy on him, Earth; for he Laid many a heavy weight on thee.

One can hardly help feeling that it must have been a reduction from some original, more ambitious, design; and those gloomy cellars may well have harboured the smuggler, or his illicit h.o.a.rds, in days when not only humbler boards, but the table of parson and squire, boasted unblus.h.i.+ngly of the "Schiedam" which had not paid duty, and was thought the better of it. This house is the reputed home of Tennyson's "Northern Farmer,"

whose dialect, however, as given by the poet, is generally considered by experts, however picturesque, to be considerably overdrawn. {255} In Somersby itself, except for its secluded beauty, there would be little to interest the visitor were it not for its a.s.sociation with the early years of the Tennysons. And one of the present writer's earliest recollections is, as a small boy, driving his sisters, in a donkey cart through the village; when they were accosted by two strollers on the road, one of whom was Alfred Tennyson, then on a visit to the rectory, and not yet Laureate.

The Church of Somersby has little of interest, beyond a small bra.s.s with kneeling figure of George Littlebury, dated 1612; a stoup in the porch, and over the porch a sundial, with the legend "Time pa.s.seth," dated 1751.

The tower, however, has two good mediaeval bells. In repairing the tower in 1883, a fine window in its western face was removed and replaced by an inferior one (Saunders "Hist.," vol. ii., p. 173). The modern restoration, with bright tiling of the floor, gives a brand-new appearance, rather out of keeping with the almost crumbling low tower, and rustic surroundings. The one really interesting feature is the churchyard cross. It is of Perpendicular date, tall, well designed, and with octagonal shaft gracefully tapering from the base to a corona, and having above that a cross, which, possibly owing to the very retired position of the village, has escaped the iconoclast. It has, on one side, the Crucifixion, and on the other the Virgin and Infant Saviour.

It is almost unique in its very good state of preservation, the Puritans having generally ruthlessly mutilated such erections. Several models of it, in bronze, were made some years ago to the order of the late Mr. C.

J. Caswell, and were speedily sold off as memorials of Tennyson. It has also recently been reproduced in the churchyard of Huttoft, in this county, where the church was restored, in 1895, by Mr. W. Scorer, architect, of Lincoln.

One of the places visited should be Holy Well wood. It is a leafy dell, where tower up lofty trees still vigorous, while others are lying rotting on the ground.

Nature in her old wild way, Life blending closely with decay.

The thin stream twines about their roots, or springs over sandstone bars, in sylvan, solitude. The spot was described, years ago, by Howitt in his "Homes and Haunts of English Poets." A local authority says that, once upon a time, a series of steps led down to the well, where an upright post was fixed, and a cross-bar from it was secured to the rock. On this cross-bar was an iron ring and a cable, by which a bather could let himself down for a dip in the well; and an old servant of the Tennyson family could remember when numbers of people came to take the water, which was considered to have health-giving properties. {256}

The manor of Somersby goes with that of Bag Enderby, and the benefices are held together, being barely a mile apart. The church of the latter is rather more interesting than that of Somersby, and it would be a pity not to see it, while we are so far, or near. It was built by Albin de Enderby, who died in 1407. Some of the windows, as the three-light one at the east end of the chancel, and others are Perpendicular; while others are of the Decorated style, but probably of the same date. There is some interesting old iron-work on the original oak door in the porch.

The font is octangular, Perpendicular; on the bowl is carved the figure of the Virgin, supporting on her knees the dead body of the Saviour; a s.h.i.+eld, on which is cut the spear, and hyssop with sponge, crosswise; the cross and crown of thorns; a deer couchant with head turned back, and feeding on the leaves of a tree; and other more ordinary devices. The chancel arch is fine, and there are some remains of a screen. All the windows would seem to have been originally filled with delicately-painted 14th century gla.s.s, of which fragments retrain. In the westernmost window of the south wall of the nave is a s.h.i.+eld bearing the arms of Croyland Abbey. In the central alley of the nave are two fine Purbeck marble slabs, bearing legends on bra.s.s plates. {257} On the north wall of the chancel is a stone mural monument commemorating Andrew and Dorothy Gedney, with their two sons and two daughters, kneeling before two prayer-desks, in the costume of their period. In the churchyard is the base of a cross, the upper part having been removed some years ago. The font stands on a sepulchral slab, which has been ruthlessly cut into for the purpose.

As the name Enderby is sometimes, in old doc.u.ments, written Hinterby, an idea has been broached that the prefix "Bag," means "back," or "hinder-by." But, as we are in the region of sand and sandstone, abounding in burrows, it would seem more likely that the Bag is the badger; after a similar form to Bagshot, in Surrey, _i.e._, Bag or Badger's holt; Bagley, near Oxford; Badgeworth, near Cheltenham (from which last neighbourhood the writer has a badger-skin), &c. An alternative derivation, of course, is the word Bag, or Bage, _i.e._, "turf," for fuel, which might be not unlikely in Lincolns.h.i.+re; but as "Bag" enters into place-names all over the kingdom, where the word "Bag,"

for turf, is not used, this is hardly a likely explanation.

A short extension of our travels eastwards, through pretty scenery, with bold rising ground-Somersby Top, Warden Hill, &c.-capped by woods, brings us to Harrington, where we find an interesting old mansion belonging to Sir H. D. Ingilby, built in the reign of James II. with old-time garden, having parterres and terraces and extensive lawns, but, unfortunately, not at present occupied, and much decayed. There is a very interesting church, almost entirely rebuilt by the late Rector, Rev. R. W. Cracroft, in 1855, but retaining a series of fine monuments of his own connections, the Knightly family of the Coppled.y.k.es; the earliest of these, Sir John de Harrington, temp. Edward I., was a Crusader. His effigy lies on an altar tomb, beneath an arch in the south wall, at the east end of the nave. He is in complete armour, cross-legged, his hands joined in prayer. The next is a slab in the chancel floor, once having bra.s.s effigies, but which, with the inscription, have been removed. It commemorated John Coppled.y.k.e and his wife Margaret Tilney, and bore date 1480. Her effigy is now affixed to the wall of the chancel. The third is that of John Coppled.y.k.e, who died in 1552. Then there is the recessed altar-tomb of his son, also John, who died in 1585. It is in the Tudor style, altar and canopy all of Purbeck marble. Opposite is the monument of his brother Francis and his wife, the former dying in 1590. Then come tombs of the Elizabethan and Jacobean period. This typical series closes with the tomb of Thomas, the nephew of Francis, described in the epitaph as "the last and best of his race." The tower and font are the originals preserved; the latter bears on one of its faces the arms of Tilney impaling Coppled.y.k.e, shewing that it was the joint gift of John and Margaret, towards the end of the fifteenth century.

We have taken these latter two churches because they lie within easy reach from Somersby, the main object of our excursion, and they add to its interest. We now turn homewards again, but by a different route. We might, from Somersby, have visited Salmonby, barely a mile away, where there is a restored church with some interesting features; and we might also have included a visit to Tetford, a large village or small town, equi-distant from Somersby, with a fairly large church, but in a very bad condition and much needing careful restoration. But these we are constrained to omit, as the day's excursion is to be a short one. From Harrington, we turn south-west, and climb a hill of some mile in extent, to the pleasant village of Hagworthingham, where we find a model church, beautifully situated. It has been largely rebuilt, but retains some ancient features, which show that the structure was originally Early English. This style has been retained. The church has nave, chancel, south aisle, tower and south porch. The arcade is of four bays, with arches rising from low cylindrical piers, with moulded capitals, earlier than the arches which they support. These low arches give a kind of "dim religious light" to the fabric. The antiquarian, Gervase Holles, says {259} of this church: "On a gravestone of blue marble, in ye body of ye Church is pourtrayed in bra.s.se one in compleat armour, bearing upon ye manches of his coate of armes on either side 2 crescents. Between his feet a right hand couped. The rest is defaced." At the present time the whole of this is gone. The font has a plain octagonal basin, supported by a group of Early English shafts. The tower is low and square, its greenish sandstone being relieved by an intermixture of brick, and has a good peal of bells. The church is well cared for in every way, and its position perfect. Three-quarters of a mile south there is a very interesting church at Lusby, but, although some of its peculiar features would well repay a visit, it is slightly out of our beat, and we must draw the line somewhere. We have between four and five miles of steep hills and valleys between us and Horncastle, a route which cannot be hurried over, and we must push on. From Greetham Hill, on a clear day, we command a view across the Wash, into Norfolk, to our left, while to our right we again see towering up, 25 miles away, the ma.s.s of Lincoln Minster.

The peculiar feature of this supplementary excursion is that it affords a revelation to those strangers to Lincolns.h.i.+re who imagine the county to be flat as a billiard table. We have been truly travelling, as was said by a Dutch sportsman, 300 years ago (whom I have quoted in a previous chapter), in "Lincolniensi montium tractu" ("Fuller's Worthies," p. 150), "among the mountains of Lincolns.h.i.+re."

Here we bring our Records and excursions to a close. Like Vikings of old (under a figure) we have harried the country round, and (in a sense) ravished its many charms. We have explored shrines consecrated by olden memories, enriched by the a.s.sociations of centuries; but (unlike the Vikings), we have done this in no irreverent spirit, and with no predatory purpose. We have carried off our h.o.a.rds of treasure, but we have left no ill traces behind us of our raid. No burning monasteries or homesteads have marked our track; no orphaned children or widowed wives follow us with their execrations. Enriching ourselves, we have not impoverished others, and the country is still open for further investigation, with, doubtless, many a nook yet unexplored, and many a mushy folio unopened, whence others may extract materials of further interest. On the whole we trust that our readers will endorse the words of a Lincolns.h.i.+re man whom we have already quoted more than once, {260} that, although ours may be "a county which few have defended, still fewer have praised, and too many have depreciated"; yet that it does possess many objects and a.s.sociations of no small interest, and that not the least of these are to be found in the Records of Woodhall Spa, and its neighbourhood.