Records of Woodhall Spa and Neighbourhood Part 17

Sa. an arming sworde pile in poynte arg

Empaled

Arg. 8 bulls pa.s.sant

G. on a chevron arg. 3 pomeis

Empaled

Arg. a fesse daunce betw. 3 talbots heades erased ca.

Arg. a fesse betw. 3 cooks sa.

Harleyan MS., No. 6829, pp. 179 to 182

The font is plain, octagonal, Early English. In the centre of the nave are two slabs, once having had bra.s.ses, but these are no longer _in situ_. Over the porch is a parvis, as a priest's chamber, or school.

The church has a clock and six bells. The curfew, or _ignitegium_, was rung down to within the last thirty years. Among the Rectors have been two poets, one of them the Laureate of his day (1718), the Rev. Laurence Eusden, who died in 1730. A man originally "of some parts," by inordinate flattery he obtained that distinction, which, however, invited criticism; and his mediocre abilities, accompanied by habits somewhat intemperate, provoked ridicule. Among other productions, he translated into Latin Lord Halifax's poem on "The Battle of the Boyne." Pope refers to him, in his "Dunciad," thus:-

Know, Eusden thirsts no more for sack or praise, He sleeps among the dull of ancient days; Safe, where no critics d---n, nor duns molest

Another writer says of him,

Eusden, a laurell'd bard, by fortune raised, By very few men read, by fewer praised;

while the Duke of Buckingham, describing, in a "skit," the contest for the Laureateship, says,

In rushed Eusden, and cryed, "Who shall have it?

But I, the true Laureate, to whom the king gave it?"

Apollo begged pardon, and granted his claim, But vowed that till then he'd ne'er heard of his name.

John Dyer, born 1700, was a much more reputable person. He was educated at Westminster; began life as an itinerant artist, with a keen eye to the beauties of nature, when that taste was little cultivated. He was appointed to the rectory by Sir John Heathcote in 1752, and in 1755 to Kirkby-on-Bain, for which he exchanged Belchford, where he had formerly been. He was the author of "Grongar Hill," "The Fleece," and "The Ruins of Rome." He was honoured with a sonnet by Wordsworth; but his longer poems are somewhat wearisome reading.

The place-names in this parish indicate the condition of woodland and waste which formerly prevailed. Immediately south of the church and its surroundings we find the "Ings," or meadows, the Saxon term which we have noticed in several other parishes. Further off, we have "Oaklands" farm, and "Scrub-hill," "scrub" being an old Lincolnshire word for a small wood; as we have, in the neighbourhood, 'Edlington Scrubs' and 'Roughton Scrubs.' "Reedham," another name, indicates a waste of mora.s.s.

"Toot-hill" might be a raised ground from which a watch, or look-out, was kept, in troublous times; and Dr. Oliver says, in his "Religious Houses,"

Appendix, p. 166, "'Taut' is a place of observation; 'Touter' is a watcher in hiding;" but it is more likely to be from the Saxon "tot," an eminence ("totian," to rise), in which case the second syllable, "hill,"

is only a later translation of the first. However, Toot-hill, Tothill, or Tooter's hill, are not uncommon in other parts, and are said to have been connected with the heathen worship of Taith. Langworth Grange, in this parish, would probably be (as elsewhere) a corruption of Langwath, the long ford over some of the fenny stretches of water. The most peculiar place-name is "Troy-wood." It is possible that, as at Horncastle, this may have been a place where the youths gathered to play the old game of "Troy town"; but is more likely of British origin, a remnant of the Fenland Grirvii. Troy Town is a hamlet near Dorchester, but there are several spots in Wales named Caer-troi, which means a bending, or tortuous town, a labyrinth, such as the Britons made with banks of turf.

We have now about done with Coningsby. We are welcome to enter the rectory, where we notice the large arch, already referred to, of the former refectory. Other objects of interest may be shewn us by the Rector, but we turn to the western window of the drawing-room to gaze upon a sight unparalleled. Not a mile away there rises up before us the stately structure of Tattershall Castle, "the finest piece of brickwork in the kingdom"; and, close by, beneath, as it were, its sheltering wing, the collegiate church, almost, in its way, as grand an object.

_L'appet.i.t vient en mangeant_; and, as we devour the prospect, we hunger and thirst for a closer acquaintance with their attractions.

Leaving Coningsby, and proceeding westward, we reach the bridge which spans the Horncastle ca.n.a.l. Here we pause to turn round and take a look behind us eastward. The ma.s.sive tower of Coningsby rises far above the trees of the rectory precincts, themselves of a considerable height.

Looking along the ca.n.a.l, the eye rests upon a very Dutch-like scene; the sleepy waters of the so-called "Navigation" fringed by tall elms growing on its southern margin, and on its northern by decaying willows, studding the meadows, which are richly verdant from the damp atmosphere which it engenders; a slowly-crawling barge or two might formerly have been seen, with horse and driver on the towing path; but they are now things of the past. The ca.n.a.l, on its opening in 1801, was expected to be a mine of wealth to the shareholder's, but, having been ruined by the railway, it is now disused; in parts silted up and only a bed of water plants; in other parts its banks have given way, and the bed is dry. Its only present utility is to add picturesqueness to a scene of still life.

Following the towing path westward, with the straggling street of Tattershall on the other side of the water, we reach what is called a "staunch," a weir, over which the surplus carnal water discharges itself into what was the original channel of the river Bain, {228} which, between Horncastle and here, has been more than once utilised to replenish the ca.n.a.l. Not far off, down this small stream, are some favourite haunts of the speckled trout; and beneath overhanging willows fine chub may be seen poising themselves in the water sleepily. We now leave the towing path and enter the main street, with church and castle close at hand to our left, but first we will go a hundred yards to the right, and make for the Marketplace. By the gift of "a well-trained hawk," Robert Fitz-Eudo, in 1201, obtained from King John a charter for holding a weekly market; and the shaft and broad base of the market cross, bearing the arms of Cromwell, Tateshall, and D'Eyncourt, with a modern subst.i.tute for the cross on the top, still exists. An old brick building, in a yard on the south side of the Market-place, now used for malting, is traditionally said to have been the original, and smaller, church, before the present one was erected in the 15th century.

As prefatory to our examination of both castle and church, we give here a brief notice of the owners of this barony, and the founder of both these erections. Among the Norman knights who accompanied the Conqueror in his great venture against Harold for the throne of England,-and we can hardly help reflecting on the vast deviation in the stream of English history which would have followed if that "bow drawn at a venture" had not sent a shaft through the eye and brain of Harold at Hastings,-there were, as Camden tells us, {229a} two sworn brothers in arms, Eudo and Pinso, to whom William, as the reward of their prowess, a.s.signed certain territories, to be held by them in common, as they had themselves made common cause in has service. They subsequently divided these possessions, and the Barony of Tattershall, with Tattershall Thorpe and other appendages,-among them two-thirds of Woodhall,-fell to the share of Eudo. He was succeeded, in due course, by his son, Hugh Fitz-Eudo, surnamed Brito, or, the Breton; who, in 1139 founded a monastery for Cistercian monks at Kirkstead. The male line of this family continued for some eight generations. His grandson Philip died, when sheriff of the county, in 1200; his great grandson Robert married, first, Lady Mabel, eldest sister and co-heir of Hugh de Albini, {229b} 5th Earl of Suss.e.x and Arundel, represented now by the Dukes of Norfolk (Earls of Arundel), hereditary Earl-Marshals and Chief Butlers of England; and, secondly, a daughter of John de Grey. This Robert obtained, in 1231, permission from Hen. III. to rebuild the family residence of stone. As to this permission, it may be observed that castle-building had been carried on so extensively in the reign of Stephen, and the powerful barons, backed by their fortified residences, had proved themselves so formidable, that it was deemed politic to prevent further erections of this kind, except with the Royal licence. {229c} This would be the first substantially-fortified structure at this place, but of this building there is not now left one stone upon another; views, however, of the castle, drawn by Buck, in 1727, shew that there were then remaining extensive buildings, whose style would seen to correspond with the date of this licence. This Robert, having married two wives, who were heiresses, would be a wealthy and important personage; he died in 1249.

Two more Roberts succeeded in their turn; the second of them being summoned to Parliament, as 1st Baron de Tateshall, in 1297, died in the year following. On the death of his grandson, another Robert, and 3rd Baron, without issue, in 1305, the estates reverted to his three aunts, Emma, Joan, and Isabella, the second of whom, married to Robert de Driby, inherited Tattershall. Their two sons dying, the property again reverted to a female, viz., their daughter Alice, married to Sir William Bernak, Lord of Woodthorp, co. Lincoln, who died 1339. His son, Sir John Bernak, married Joan, daughter and co-heir of Robert, 2nd Baron Marmyon, who died 1345; and, on the death of his two sons, the property, for a third time, pa.s.sed to a female, in the person of his daughter Maude, who married Sir Ralph Cromwell. He was summoned to Parliament as Baron Cromwell in 1375, and died in 1398. His grandson, the 3rd Baron, also a Ralph, married Margaet, sister and co-heir of William, last Baron D'Eyncourt. These several marriages with heiresses had largely augmented the estates and wealth of the successive families, and this Ralph, being made Lord Treasurer in 1433 by Henry VI., levelled the older castle to the ground, and, having obtained the Royal licence to rebuild, he erected the present majestic pile in 1440, at a cost, as William of Worcester informs us, {230} of 4,000 marks. At this palatial residence, and in London, he lived in great state, his household consisting of 100 persons, and his suite, when he rode to London, commonly comprised 120 hors.e.m.e.n; his annual expenditure being 5,000. In a previous chapter we quoted a charge made upon Lord Clinton, when living at Tattershall, for 1,000 f.a.ggots. At Hurstmonceux Castle, a similar building to Tattershall, the oven is described by Dugdale ("Beauties of England-Suss.e.x," p. 206) as being 14ft. long. In such a furnace the daily consumption of f.a.ggots would not be a trifle.

To speak here for a moment of building in brick. From the ordinarily unsightly character of brick structures it is usual to regard brick-building disparagingly, but we have only to go to Italy, the hereditary land of Art in various forms, to see edifices unsurpa.s.sed for beauty in the world, which are constructed wholly, or in part, of brick.

The Cathedral at Cremona, with its delicately-moulded Rose windows and its Torrazo, 400ft. in height; those of St. Pantaleone, Pavia; of the Broletto, Brescia; or the Ducal Palace at Mantua, with its rich windows; or the Palazzo dei Signori at Verona, with tower 300ft. high; not to mention more, are all splendid specimens of what can be achieved in brick. In England, nothing like these has ever been attempted; the only modern church of brick worth a mention is that of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, with its graceful spire. In the 15th century, and slightly earlier, a few substantial and finely-constructed erections of brick were made, of which one of the earliest, if not the earliest, was the magnificent Gate Tower of Layer Marney in Ess.e.x, built by the 1st Lord Marney, and for which he is said to have imported Italian workmen for the moulded bricks. Owing to his death the entire structure was not completed. But the gateway, flanked by two octagonal towers, each of eight stories; and the summit, chimneys and divisions of windows, with their varied mouldings, are a very fine piece of work. {231a} Another of these brick structures, of about the same date, was Torksey Castle, in our own county; another was Hurstmonceux Castle, in Suss.e.x, said by Dugdale {231b} to be the only one at all rivalling Tattershall; while, by a curious coincidence, its founder was Sir Roger de Fiennes, one of the family, which, at a later period, owned Tattershall.

As we stand before Tattershall Castle and gaze on its stately proportions, we cannot but feel that brick, properly, treated, can rival stone. What remains now is probably barely a third of what the building originally was, and stands, doubtless, on the site previously occupied by the Keep of the earlier castle. It is a type of a particular stage of construction, when the palace was superseding the grim feudal fortress, although retaining several of the warlike features. Besides an inner moat, completely surrounding the castle, there was also an outer one, protecting it on the north and west. {231c} Both these moats were supplied with water from the river Bain, and they had an inter-connection by a cut on the north side of the castle, close by which there was a small machicolated tower, probably connected with a drawbridge. On the s.p.a.ce between the moats were buildings detached, serving for barracks, guardrooms, etc., and one of these, now used as a barn, opposite the north-west angle of the castle, is still fairly perfect. The entrance to the inner castle court, on the north-east, was defended by a lofty gateway, with portcullis, and flanked by two turrets, which were still remaining when Buck's drawings were made, in 1727. This n.o.ble keep, in Treasurer Cromwell's time, had at least five groups of n.o.ble buildings about it; so that we can now hardly conceive the imposing appearance of the whole. What remains is 89ft. in length, by 67ft. in width, rising boldly into the air, slightly sloping inwards as it rises, to give a greater idea of height, until its turret parapets are found to be 112ft.

from the ground; while its ma.s.sive walls, the eastern one 16ft. thick at the base, are in keeping with its large proportions. The variety of outline in the well-set windows, the shadow-casting angle turrets, and the ma.s.sive machicolations, all serve to relieve the structure of monotony. The red bricks, too, are varied by having others of a dark grey tint introduced in reticulated patterns, which relieve without being obtrusive. As I have observed elsewhere, a geologist of experience states that both the bricks and the locally-termed grouting, or mortar, are alike made from local material. {232} The covered gallery on the summit of the keep, surrounded by battlements, pierced with windows, and partly pendent over the machicolations, though said to be unique in this country, is a feature not uncommon in France and Germany. The internal arrangement of four grand apartments, one above another, is similar to that of Kirkby Muxloe, but it is now difficult to a.s.sign to them their particular uses. Nothing remains of these apartments beyond their windows, three beautiful stone mantelpieces, and two or three ma.s.sive oak bauk-beams. Of one of the latter, now gone, the writer has a rather gruesome recollection. In the reckless hardihood of youth, there were few parts of the castle which were not reached by himself and his not less daring companions; and, in a moment of heedless adventure, on jackdaws' eggs intent, he walked across one of these beams from the eastern gallery to the western wall, with nothing but empty s.p.a.ce between him and the ground, 70 or 80 feet below. He performed this feat safely, but a few days afterwards the beam fell. At that time, in the forties, {233} three of the corner turrets had conical roofs covered with lead.

The writer's name was cut in the lead of the most inaccessible of these, as well as on several other places, still to be seen. The lead has been sold, and the roofs removed, long ago. Within these roofs was a complicated network of supporting beams, crossing and re-crossing each other, among which pigeons, and even owls, nested. A schoolfellow of the writer clambered up into one of these, bent on plunder, but the beams were too rotten to bear his weight, and he fell to the floor, some 15 or 18 feet, on to the hard bricks. No bones, fortunately, were broken, but he sustained such a shock that he was confined to his bed for some weeks.

But a more remarkable escape occurred at a later date. Visiting the castle, a dozen or more yeans ago, while the writer was looking down to the bas.e.m.e.nt from the topmost gallery, close to the foot of the small staircase which leads to the flat roof of the south-eastern turret, the son of a farmer in the parish came up to him and said, in the most unconcerned manner, "Sir, my brother fell from here to the bottom yesterday." I replied, with surprise, "Was he not killed on the spot?"

"No," was the answer, "he was only a little shaken." The boy, probably about 10 or 11 years old, was wearing a smock frock, loose below, but fastened fairly tight about the neck. In search of eggs, I presume, he sprang across the open s.p.a.ce below him, from the eastern gallery to a ledge running along the south wall, but, in attempting to do this, his shoulder struck the brickwork of the corner turret, which spun him round, and he fell. His smock frock, however, filled with air, and buoyed him up, thus checking the rapidity of his descent, and he alighted on the ground upon a heap of small sticks and twigs dropped by the jackdaws, and the result was little more than a severe shaking. We have noticed the handsome mantelpieces, which are referred to and engraved in several publications. They are ornamented with the Treasurer's purse and the motto "N'ai j' droit," and other heraldic devices of the Tattershall, Driby, Bernak, Cromwell, D'Eyncourt, Grey of Rotherfield, and Marmyon families, a study for the genealogist. Nor may we forget the vaulted gallery on the third floor, with bosses of cement and beautifully-moulded brickwork in its roof. This fine old ruin has not only suffered from the ravages of time, but the elements have also played havoc with it. On March 29, 1904, at 2.30 p.m., in a violent thunderstorm, it was struck by lightning. The "bolt" fell on the north-east corner tower, hurling to the ground, inside and outside, ma.s.sive fragments of the battlemented parapet. The electric fluid then pa.s.sed downward, through the building, emerging by a window of the third storey, in the western side, tearing away several feet of masonry, and causing a great rent in the solid wall beneath. The writer inspected the damage within a few days of the occurrence, and was astonished at the violence of the explosion.

After the extinction of the Cromwell line the estates probably reverted to the Crown, as we find that Henry VII. granted the manor of Tattershall, and other properties, to his mother, Margaret, Countess of Richmond; and in the following year he entailed them on the Duke. On the Duke dying without issue, Henry VIII., in 1520, granted these properties to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, by letters patent, which were confirmed by Ed. VI. in the year 1547. On the deaths of the two infant sons of the Duke, shortly after the father's decease, Ed. VI., in 1551, granted the estate to Edward, Lord Clinton and Saye, afterwards Earl of Lincoln, whose descendant, Edward, died without issue in 1692, when the property pa.s.sed to his cousin Bridget, who married Hugh Fortescue, Esq., whose son Hugh was created Baron Fortescue and Earl Clinton in 1746; and the estates have continued in that family ever since.

We now pa.s.s to the church. As the castle was a sample of transition from the feudal fortress to the baronial palace, so the church, although of the Perpendicular order, is not quite of the purest type, being of the later Perpendicular period. Begun by the Treasurer Cromwell, it was not completed at his death in 1455, but the work was carried on and finished by his executors, one of whom was William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, the most famous building prelate of his time. It has been noticed, by competent judges, that there is "a remarkable resemblance in points of detail, in the churches built or enlarged by Ralph, Lord Cromwell, at Colly Weston, Northants; Lambley, Notts.; and Tattershall,"

as is the case with other groups of edifices erected by the same parties.

("Archaeolog. Journ.," No. 12, 1846, pp. 2912.) It was established as a collegiate inst.i.tution, with provision for a provost, six priests, six secular clerks, and six choristers. Dedicated to the Trinity, it is a n.o.ble stone structure, in shape cruciform, with nave, aisles, and north and south transepts, chancel, north and south porches, and tower at the west end. There were formerly cloisters on the south side, but they were demolished. The tower is supported by b.u.t.tresses, having six breaks reaching to the base of the embattled parapet, and angle pinnacles, with a square-headed west door; on the whole it is rather heavy. The best external feature of the church is the clerestory. Internally the nave has six lofty bays with very slender pillars and a low-pitched roof. It is very s.p.a.cious. It has been recently supplied with chairs, and the old pulpit revived. But for many years the chancel was the only part used for services, and, indeed, as regards accommodation, the only part needed. The chancel is separated from the nave by a very unusual arrangement,-a ma.s.sive stone rood screen, the upper part of which was, some years ago, used as the singing gallery; and a former old female verger used to refer, with keen enthusiasm, to the time when, under the late Mr. Richard Sibthorpe's ministrations (whose perversions and reversions between Romanism and Anglicanism were, at the least, remarkable), this gallery reverberated with the inspiring strains of the fiddle, the trombone, the hautboy, the clarionet ("harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer"), and other kinds of music, to the hearty enjoyment of all. This ma.s.sive screen was the gift of a member of the collegiate body, one Robert de Whalley, in 1528. Little survives of the original choir but some stalls and sedilia. In the north transept, removed, for preservation, from their original positions, are some of the finest bra.s.ses in the county; only half, however, of the once very fine bra.s.s of the Treasurer Cromwell and his wife remains, remarkable for the ape-like "wild men" on which his feet rest; and in the course of years, since Gervase Holles wrote his "Notes on Churches" (1642), no less than 14 bra.s.ses have disappeared, and only 7 now remain. Gough, in his account, says that, on the bra.s.s of Maud Willoughby (1497), one of the small figures, with book and keys, at the side is inscribed "Sta Scytha."

St. Osyth was the daughter of Frewald, a Mercian prince, was born at Quarrenden, Bucks., and became the virgin wife of an East Anglian king.

She is a saint not often mentioned. "Sithe Lane (says Stow the historian) at the east end of Watling Street, London, is known as St.

Scythe's Lane, so called of St. Sithe's church." {236} The windows of this church were originally filled with beautiful stained gla.s.s of the Perpendicular period, much of which survived the barbarism of the Commonwealth, only to be removed by Earl Fortescue in 1757, and presented to the Earl of Exeter for St. Martin's church in Stamford, where some of it may still be seen, more or less damaged by transit. This spoliation so enraged the parishioners that they, with some justification, raised a riot to prevent it; and the gla.s.s was only, it is said, got away under cover of night. For 50 years afterwards the windows of the chancel remained unglazed, and being thus exposed to the weather, the finely carved oak stalls, rich screens, and other ornamental work, fell into a state of decay. The chancel was restored several years ago, and fitted up in a neat, plain manner by the present Lord Fortescue, at a cost of 800, 1,000 being further spent on the nave. Some very interesting fragments of the old gla.s.s were collected, and they are now chiefly in the east window. In both transepts are piscinas, shewing that they were formerly used as chapels. The north transept was enriched by Edward Hevyn, the agent of Margaret Countess of Richmond, as was evidenced by "a fayre marble within it," when Holles visited the church, bearing this inscription:

Have mercy on ye soule, good Lord, we thee pray Of Edward Hevyn, laid here in sepulture.

Which, to their honour, this chappell did array With ceiling, deske, perclose, portrayture, And pavement of marble long to endure Servant of late to the excellent Princess, Mother of King Henry, of Richmond Countess.

As this is not intended to be a complete guide to the church, and all its beauties, but rather to whet the appet.i.te of the visitor to investigate them further for himself, I shall only make some detailed remarks upon the bra.s.s of Lord Treasurer Cromwell and his wife, which, while entire, was a fine typical specimen. A good engraving of it, from a drawing preserved at Revesby Abbey and made for Sir Joseph Banks, is given in "Lincolnshire Notes & Queries" (vol. iii., p. 193); a description is also given there, taken, it would seem, from the "Notes" of Gervase Holles, as follows:-Cromwell, with hands in prayer, is in armour of plain cuira.s.s, with very short skirt of 'taces,' to the lower end of which are strapped a pair of 'tuiles,' or thigh-pieces, pendent over the cuisses genouillieres, jointed with mail, and having edged plates fastened to them above and below, long pointed 'sollerets' of plate armour, and rowell spurs, very large condieres, cuffed gauntlets of overlapping plates, with little scales to protect each finger separately; sword hanging from his waist in front by a strap; over all a mantle, once thought to be that of the Order of the Garter, but now supposed to be the official robe of Lord Treasurer, reaching to the ground behind, and fastened by cords which spring from rose-like ornaments, with long pendent ta.s.selled ends. The support of the feet are two "Wodehowses," or hairy wild men, armed with clubs. On the remaining portion of the canopy pier, on the right, is the figure of St. Peter, in a cope, wearing the tiara, a key in his left hand and a crozier in the right, with canopied niche. In another, above, is a figure of St. Maurice, in armour of the 15th century, in his right hand a halbert, and in his left a sword.

Corresponding with these, on the left, is a figure of St. George, in similar armour, thrusting his lance into the dragon's mouth. Above is the figure of St. Cornelius, holding a bannered spear in his left hand, and a sword in his right. The lost saints were on the right, St.

Barbara, St. Hubert, and another, not known; on the left, St. Thomas of Canterbury, the Virgin, St. John Baptist, St. Anne with the Virgin kneeling, and a Saint with short spear and ring, probably Edward the Confessor. Beneath the two wild men is the inscription:-

Hic jacet n.o.bilis Baro, Radulphus Cromwell, Miles, dux de Cromwell, quondam Thesaurius Angliae, et Fundator hujus collegii, c.u.m inc.l.i.ta consorte sua, Una herede dni Dayncourt, qui quidm Radulphus obiit quarto die mens Januarii, ano dni Milio CCCC, et p'dicta Margaretta obiit xv die Septebv, ano dni milio CCCC quor. aiab. p. piture Deus. Amen.

Men rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. The founder has pa.s.sed away, and the college also is no more; and the once richly-endowed benefice is now little better than a starveling. But the humble Bede-houses, connected with the college, still remain.

One only further record can we give of Tattershall. Most places have had their characters. Tradition avers, and not so long ago either, that a certain worthy farmer, living in the neighbourhood, used to ride into Tattershall, almost nightly, to his hostel, to play his game of cards with certain boon companions. It was before our toll-bars were abolished, and there stood, near Tattershall bridge, a toll-bar with gate made formidable by a chevaux de frise of iron spikes. At times the play ran high, and our friend would return home without a coin in his pocket wherewith to pay toll. But he was well-mounted, and on a moonlight night he would not hesitate to obviate the difficulty by taking the toll-bar at full speed and landing safely on four legs beyond it. Although I cannot set my seal to this tradition, yet, from the style in which he would follow the hounds, I can well believe that not even a toll-bar, spikes and all, would debar him from his "long clay" and gla.s.s of wholesome "home-brewed" by his own fireside as a "night-cap." {238}

We now bid adieu to Tattershall, prepared, presumably, to endorse the verdict of a writer in the "Quarterly Review," that the castle is indeed "the finest redbrick tower in the kingdom," {239a} and the best example, except, perhaps, Hurstmonceux, of what good brickwork is capable of in architecture; and, further, that the church is not unworthy of a place beside it; and it is not a little remarkable that William of Waynfleet, who completed it, also built the most beautiful college in the world, viz., that of Magdalen, Oxford.

Our itinerary is now approaching its conclusion, yet we shall finish with a _bonne bouche_. We turn our faces northward, and, pa.s.sing by land still called "Tattershall park," though now under cultivation and broken up into fields; and, where formerly were two ancient encampments, British or Roman, but now obliterated, a walk of some three miles brings us in view of a tall fragment of stone-work, two fields distant on our left.

This is the last remaining portion of Kirkstead Abbey. It is now some 50 feet high and 18 feet, or so, in width, but an engraving by Buck gives it as at least double that width; and the writer has conversed with a man whose father was labouring in the Abbey field when he noticed some cattle, which had been standing under the shade of the ruin, suddenly galloping away in alarm, and immediately afterwards a large portion of the stonework collapsed, and, with a loud crash, fell to the ground, leaving the relic much about the size which we see now.

There are mounds and hollows about the Abbey field which show how extensive the buildings at one time were, covering several acres; and a ca.n.a.l can be traced which had connection with the River Witham, which is two fields distant. {239b} We here give a brief account of the Abbey.

The manor of Kirkstead was given by the Conqueror, along with that of Tattershall, as above stated, to the Norman soldier, Eudo; and his son, Hugh Fitz-Eudo, surnamed Brito, founded here a Cistercian monastery, in 1139, dedicated to the Virgin. The Abbey was very richly endowed from more than one source. The Harleyan MSS. (144) give a full account of its possessions (29 Henry VIII.). Its lands were situated in the city of Lincoln, and in Horncastle, Nocton, Blankney, Branston, Metheringham, Canwick, Sheepwash, Billingham, Thimbleby (where the Abbot had gallows), Langton, Coningsby, South Langton, Scampton, Holton, Thornton, Stretton, Wispington, Strutby, Martin, Sudthorpe, Roughton, Haltham, Benniworth, Hedingley, Woodhall (with the advowson), Wildmore Fen (45,000 acres), etc., besides property in the parishes of St. Andrew, Holborn, St.

Botolph, Aldersgate, and St. Nicholas, in the city of London; and the further advowsons of the benefices of Covenham and Thimbleby. The Abbots exercised the rights of hunting, fowling and fishing; an old Cartulary of the Abbey {240a} states that "Robert son of Simon de Driby . . . grants to the Abbot of Kirkstead to have their 'mastiffs' in his warren of Tumby all times of the year, with their shepherds, to take and retake their beasts in the said warren, without any contradiction of the said Robert or his heirs." "Witness Robert, son of Walter de Tatessal." The demesne in Wildmore was granted to the Abbey by Baron Robert Marmyon of Scrivelsby, and William de Romara, Earl of Lincoln, jointly, on condition that he should not allow any other parties to pasture on the lands, but only themselves and their tenants. {240b} This William de Romara also founded the Abbey of Revesby in the 8th year of Stephen, and both to that Abbey and to Kirkstead he granted a Hermitage in Wildmore; and to show the power of the Abbots of Kirkstead, it is recorded that when, in course of time, Ralph de Rhodes, "the Lord of Horncastle," succeeded to the manorial rights in Wildmore, he, contrary to the grants of his predecessors, "did bring in the said Wildmore other men's cattell"; thereupon a plea of covent was sued against him by the Abbot of Kirkstead, with the result that a "fyne" was acknowledged by the said "Ralfe de Rhodes." Similarly, a Marmyon, successor of the one who made the grant, "contrary to the graunt of his ancestors, did bring into Wildmore other men's cattell, whereupon a like plea of covent was sued against him." And in both these cases these secular lords had to yield to the Abbot. "From which time," the old Record states, "the said Abbots have bene Lords of Wildmore, and peaceably and quietly have enjoyed the same as true Lords thereof, without impedimte of any man." {240c}

These successes, however, seem to have elated the spirit of the Abbots of this monastery, and to have led them, in the pride of power, not always to have due regard for the rights of others. As early as the reign of Edward I., it was complained, before Royal Commissioners, that the Abbot was guilty of sundry encroachments; that he obstructed pa.s.sengers on the King's highway; {241a} that he made ditches for his own convenience which flooded his neighbours' lands; and that, from his power, inferior parties could get no redress; {241b} that he prevented the navigation of the Witham by any vessels but his own; {241c} that he trespa.s.sed on the King's prerogative by seizing "waifs and strays" over the whole of Wildmore; {241d} that he had hanged various offenders at Thimbleby; had appropriated to himself, without licence, the a.s.size of bread and beer.

{241e} Further, he refused to pay, on certain lands, the impost called "Sheriff's aid," {241f} or to do suit and service for his land, either in the King's Court or that of the Bishop of Carlisle at Horncastle. {241g} Against none of which charges does it appear that he returned any satisfactory answer. Yet, while thus acting with a high hand, he was not above worldly traffic on a considerable scale, as is shewn by certain Patent Rolls, {241h} where a note is given to the effect that, on May 1st, 1285, a licence was granted, at Westminster, for three years, "for the Abbot of Kirkstead to buy wool throughout the county of Lincoln, in order to satisfy certain merchants, to whom he is bound in certain sacks of wool, his own sheep having failed through murrain;" while it was further alleged that he carried on an extensive system of smuggling, whereby it was calculated that some 2,000 a year were lost to the corporation of Lincoln. Proceedings like these do not give us a very favourable impression as to the virtues of these spiritual lords, their charity, or their standard of morality. Yet, on the other hand, we have to make allowance for the times and circ.u.mstances in which they lived. I quote here a letter written by a Lincolnshire man who had viewed matters from the different standpoints of an Anglican and a Romanist. {241i} "You say 'the monks were not saints.' I have no doubt but a small proportion were. Yet, taking them as a whole, the wonder is they were as respectable as they were. It is not enough considered what the monastic life was for several centuries. It was the refuge of hundreds and thousands who could find no other occupation. There was no Navy as a profession; the Army was not, in the sense we understand it, a profession. Law and medicine were very restricted. What were men to do with themselves? How to pa.s.s life? Where to go to live? There was next to no education, no books hardly to read. How can we wonder that the ma.s.s of monks were a very common kind of men, professedly very religious, of necessity formally so, but taking their duties as lightly as they could? The number of them who outraged their vows was wonderfully small.

The Inquisitions of Henry VIII.'s time, atrociously partial, as they were, to find blame, found comparatively little. Compare the monks of those days with the Fellows of Colleges in the last (18th) century, and down almost to our own day. Were the former much lower in morals, if at all? Less religious, if at all? I think not." Nor should we forget their unbounded hospitality, in an age when there were few inns for the traveller, and no Poor Law for the dest.i.tute; their skill in horticulture and agriculture, which were a national benefit; or their maintenance of roads and bridges; apart from their guardianship of the Scriptures, and their witness to Christianity. It has been said, "From turret and tower sounded the well-known chime, thrice a day, to remind the faithful of the Incarnation, and its daily thrice-repeated memorial" (F. G. Lee, "Pilgrimage of Grace"). The poor were never forgotten in these multiplied services. When ma.s.s was celebrated, it was a rule that the sacristan rang the "sanctus" bell (from its cherished sanct.i.ty often the only bell still preserved in our village churches), "so that the rustics who could not be present might everywhere, in field or home, be able to bow the knee to reverence" (Maskell's "Ancient Liturgy," p. 95.

"Const.i.t.," J. Peckham, A.D. 1281). If the strict rules of their continuous services were occasionally relaxed by exhilarating sport, or even, as the monks of Kirkstead are said to have done, by frequenting fairs, as at Horncastle, their abbots presiding at the pastimes of the people, {242} the Maypole processions and dances; or getting up mystery-plays, or other exhibitions, perpetuated still at Nuremberg, where our most cultivated Christians go to witness them; surely these were comparatively harmless recreations. It must, however, be recognised that, in time, prosperity had its usual corrupting effects. The Aukenleck MS. (temp. Ed. II.) says, "these Abbots and Priors do again their rights. They ride with hawk and hounds, and counterfeit knights."

As the Bishop of Ely attended divine service, leaving his hawk on its perch in the cloister, where it was stolen, and he solemnly excommunicated the thief; or as the Bishop of Salisbury was reprimanded for hunting the King's deer; or as Bishop Juxon was so keen a sportsman that he was said to have the finest pack of hounds in the kingdom; {243a} so the Abbott of Bardney had his hunting box, and the Abbots of Kirkstead excluded others from sporting on their demesnes, that they might reserve the enjoyment for themselves. It is stated by Hallam ("History of the Middle Ages") that, in 1321, "the Archbishop of York carried a train of 200 persons, maintained at the expense of the monasteries, on his road, and that he hunted with a pack of hounds, from parish to parish"; and such an example would naturally be contagious. But it was only when long-continued indulgence and immunity had pampered them to excess, that laxity of morals became flagrant or general. And even when of this very Kirkstead it is recorded that, at the time of the Dissolution, the Abbot, Richard Haryson (1535) was fain to confess, in the deed of surrender, that the monks had, "under the shadow of their rule, vainly detestably, and unG.o.dlily devoured their yearly revenues in continual ingurgitations of their carrion bodies, and in support of their over voluptuous and carnal appet.i.tes." {243b} We cannot but suspect that such language was that of their enemies, put into their mouths, when resistance was no longer possible. They had, however, through long ages, acquired a powerful hold on the respect and affection of the people, and there were hundreds and thousands who were ready to say, what one once said of his country,

England! with all thy faults, I love thee still. {244a}

That the many virtues and the value of the monasteries came to be recognised by many after they were abolished is shewn by the "Pilgrimage of Grace," and similar indications of smouldering discontent among the people whom they had long benefited. Yet there was always the danger arising from the perfunctory observance of multiplied services, that the "opus operatum" might oust the living faith; and there can be little doubt that such a result had largely come about. Though greed and plunder were the main motive of the Royal Executioner and his agents, the parties who suffered had certainly become only fitting subjects for drastic measures. But we pa.s.s from this digressive disquisition to the one interesting relic of Kirkstead Abbey which is still spared to us, in the little chapel standing in the fields, with reference to which I will here quote the words of a writer to whom I have referred before. {244b} He says, "A mile away from Woodhall is one of the loveliest little gems of architecture in the country, a pure, little, Early English church, now dreadfully dilapidated, which belonged, in some unexplained way,-probably as a chantry chapel,-to the Cistercian Abbey of Kirkstead." As this little gem is now locked away from public view, I will here give extracts from the description of it given by the late Bishop Suffragan, Dr. Edwd.

Trollope, one of our greatest authorities, on the occasion of the Architectural Society's visit to it a few years ago; and which was handed to me by him at the time. They are worthy of careful examination.

"The situation of this lovely little chapel, on the south side of the Abbey of Kirkstead, and without its precincts, is most remarkable. It has been surmised that it may have served as the Abbot's private chapel, or for the use of the Abbey tenants; but I can scarcely think that either of these suggestions is likely to be true, as such a chapel, so far from the monastic building, and without its protecting girdle, would not have been convenient for the Abbot's use, and such an elaborately-ornamented structure would scarcely have been erected simply for the monastic churls. Had it been nearer the other buildings, and especially the great Abbey church, we might have thought it had served as the Chapter-House, on which much pains was always bestowed by the Cistercians, so that, in richness of design, this usually ranked second only to the church itself.