A Pipe Roll (14 Henry III., Lincoln) states that "Walter, Bishop of Carlisle, holds certain lands hereditarily of the aforesaid Ralph de Rhodes;" and in a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 34 Edward III., 2nd Nrs., No. 29 (1360), mention is made of "Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby, and John his younger brother, and their heirs," as tenants of the Manor of Horncastle, "and of lands in Over Tynton," which they "hold of the said Bishop." These were scions of the wealthy family of the Thimblebyies, Lords of Poolham, and other estates. One of them married a daughter and co-heir of Sir William Fflete, Knt.; another married a daughter of Sir Walter Tailboys; this Sir Walter being the son of Henry Tailboys and his wife, Alianora, daughter and heir of Gilbert Burdon and his wife, Elizabeth, sister and heir of Gilbert Umfraville, Earl of Angus.

By a Close Roll, 20 Henry VII. (part 2 [No. 367] No. 33), it appears that Sir Thomas Dymmok, Knight, had recently purchased lands in Over Tynton, Nether Tynton, Maring next Horncastle, and other parishes; which he granted to his son Leo, and his heirs for ever.

Further, by a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 24 Henry VII., No. 61, it is found that Humphrey Conyngesby, Sergeant at Law, and others inst.i.tuted a suit on behalf of William Stavely, and others, by which he recovered to them the Manor of (apparently Upper) Taunton, the advowson of the church of Nether Taunton, about 2,700 acres of various land, and the rent of 4 quarters of salt in Over Taunton, Nether Taunton, Tetford, and other parishes.

The Manor, with that of Horncastle, continued for a long period in the hands of the Bishops of Carlisle; who were patrons of the benefice until the creation of a bishopric of Manchester, in 1848, when their patronage in this neighbourhood was transferred to that See. The Manor, however, with that of Horncastle, had previously pa.s.sed to Sir Joseph Banks, and came eventually to his successors, the Stanhopes. The benefice, until late years, was a very poor one, being a perpetual curacy, annexed to Mareham-on-the-Hill; their joint annual value being 160, without a residence. But when the episcopal property (the Bishop being Rector) was transferred to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, they, with the aid of Queen Anne's Bounty, raised the joint benefices to 300 a year; and in 1869 erected a good residence at Toynton, now occupied by the Vicar, the Rev. W. Shaw.

The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was formerly a very mean structure, dating from the 18th century (1772), in the worst of styles, with wooden-framed windows, of large square panes of gla.s.s, and having a flat whitewashed ceiling. The timbers of this had become so decayed that a former curate-in-charge, mounting to the false roof, to examine them, fell through, among the square pews below. This incident led, not too soon, to the rebuilding of the fabric, at a cost of more than 1,200 in 1872, on the site of the previous building, as also of an original 13th century edifice. The present church is a substantial and neat structure in the early English style, thoroughly well kept, and with several pleasing features. It consists of nave, chancel, and porch, with tower and low spire. The nave has, in the north wall, two single-light narrow pointed windows, and at its eastern end a two-light window, having a quatrefoil above. In the south wall there is one single-light and one two-light window, corresponding to the above; the porch, taking place of a window at its western end.

The two-light window in the north wall has coloured gla.s.s, with various devices, one being a small copy of the famous Descent from the Cross, by Rubens, in Antwerp Cathedral; another the Royal Arms, with the initials V.R. below, and date 1848. The corresponding two-light window in the south wall has coloured gla.s.s "In memory of Eliza, wife of the Rev. T.

Snead Hughes, late Vicar, she died March 9, 1872, aged 57." The subjects in the two lights are the Ascension of our Lord, and the three women at the sepulchre, with an angel pointing upward. In the west wall of the nave are two pointed windows beneath a cusped circlet, all filled with coloured gla.s.s; the lower subjects being John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, and the baptism of our Lord by John in the Jordan; the upper subject is the angel appearing to Zachariah; all three having reference to the patron saint of the church. An inscription states that these are a memorial to the late Mark Harrison and his wife Ann, erected by their family.

The font is of stone, octagonal, having four different kinds of crosses on the alternate faces, a circular shaft ending in octagon, and on octagonal pediment. Within the south porch, over the outer and inner doorways are old fragments of ma.s.sive zigzag pattern, all that remains of a whilom Norman structure. The modern doorway arch, externally, has a dog-tooth moulding, with floriated finials. The tower, over the porch, is square below, octagonal above, with small lancet windows in each face, and is surmounted by a low spire; it contains one bell. The roof and sittings are of pitchpine.

The chancel arch is of ma.s.sive stone, plain, and of wide span. In the east wall of the chancel are three narrow windows, the central higher than the other two; they have good coloured gla.s.s by Clayton and Bell.

Beneath is a handsome reredos of Caen stone, erected in memory of the late Mr. Thomas Terrot Taylor. It has one large central device, the Agnus Dei within a circle, and on each side four divisions, containing a dove with olive leaf, Fleur de Lys, ears of corn, a pa.s.sion flower, vine leaves and grapes, a crown, a rose, and a conventional flower. On each side are memorial tablets of the Ball family. In the south wall is a bra.s.s tablet in memory of Mr. Taylor, and a small pointed window. In the north wall is a doorway leading to the vestry. Within the vestry, lighted by a similar small pointed window, are three more Ball tablets, and a priest's door. In the centre of the nave floor, close to the chancel step, is a large slab "In memory of the Rev. William Robinson, 22 years Inc.u.mbent, who died May 8, 1830, aged 56." The register only dates from 1715, and contains no entries of special interest.

In a List of Inst.i.tutions to Benefices, preserved at Lincoln, it is shewn that in 1562, on the resignation of the then Vicar, one John Howsone, Michael West, Clerk, was appointed to this vicarage, along with that of Nether Toynton, by Richard Bertie, Esq., the ancestor of the present Earl of Ancaster. This was probably by some private arrangement with the Bishop of Carlisle, as the Berties (as the Willoughbys are now) were patrons of Low Toynton, but not of Upper, or High, Toynton. He was inst.i.tuted to the two benefices on July 9th of that year.

MAREHAM-ON-THE-HILL.

Of this parish, ecclesiastically annexed to High Toynton, little can be said. The name was anciently written Maringes, {183a} or Marun {183b}; the former probably from the low "marish," or marsh, "ings," _i.e._ meadows, the suffix being the Saxon "ham," a homestead. It lies about two miles south-east from Horncastle, connected with High Toynton by footpath, and bridle road, across the fields barely a mile in length, but for carriages a detour of more than double that distance has to be made.

This parish, like High Toynton and West Ashby, is in the soke of Horncastle. In _Domesday Book_ it is stated that the manor comprised 3 carucates, or about 360 acres of land, with 21 soc-men and 11 bordars, {183c} who had four carucates, or about 480 acres; there were further 60 acres of meadow, and, what no longer exists, 300 acres of underwood; which was a very large proportion, considering that in Scrivelsby, now a well wooded estate, closely adjoining, there were at that time only six acres of underwood.

Sir Lionel Dymoke, a scion of the Scrivelsby family, once resided in this parish. His will, dated 15th April, 1512, is a good specimen of the orthography of the period. The following are portions of it: "I leon Dymoke of maryng of the hill in the Countie of lincolne knyght being of good and hoole mynde make and ordigne my testament and Last will in forme following | First I bequeathe my soule to almyghty G.o.d and to the blessid virgine his mother seint Mary and to all the holy Company of heven | And forasmoch as no man is certeine of the houre of dethe nor what place he shall die in and nothyng so certeine as dethe | and for as moch as I by the kyngl pleasure shall goo in hys warrys in the parties by yonde the see | Therefore my body to be buryed where it shall please almyghty G.o.d | Also that I will that my Executours for the helth of my soule in as hasty tyme as they may after my deceas paye or do to be paid all and singler my detts . . . Also I bequethe and gyve to the Church warke of Maryng of al halowes vjs viijd and to the highe aulter there for tythes and oblacions forgoten xxd and to seint Jamys gild of maryng xxd . . . Also I gyve and bequethe to the Convent of the black Freris of Boston for a trentall {184a} to be song for me and all Christen Soules xs," &c., &c. On 17th August, 1519 (when he was apparently on his death bed), witnesses certify that he added a codicil to be annexed, "saying these words in his mother tongue. I will that Sr John Heron knyght have my landes in nethertynton whether I lyve or dye . . . and if my wif or myne executos thynk there be any thyng expressed in my wille oute of goode ordre I will it be reformed by Anne my wif as she and they thynke most pleasure to G.o.d profytt for my soule." {184b}

As to the owners of the demesne nothing further is told us; but since in Testa de Nevill, already quoted, it is stated that "the churches of Horncastre, Askeby, Upper Thinton, Maringes, &c., are of the gift of the Lord." Gerard de Rhodes was, doubtless, at one time, the common Lord of all those manors, as well as his descendant Ralph de Rhodes. Mr. Weir states that the manor at a later period belonged to Edward Marsh, Esquire, of Hundle House, in the county of Lincoln; by a descendant of whom it was sold to William Hudson, Esquire, of Gray's Inn. In 1659 it was sold to one Duncombe, of whom it was purchased in 1688 by Sir Edmund Turnor, of Stoke Rochford, Knight; in whose family it still continues.

Other proprietors are Richard Ward, Esq., and Dr. Parkinson.

In _Domesday Book_ there is mention of "a church and priest," the latter, therefore, being doubtless resident in the parish; although for many years there has been no residence for an inc.u.mbent. In 1830 the benefice was held, with High Toynton, by the Rev. E. R. H. G. Palmer, a relative of Viscount Halifax, who resided in Horncastle; in 1863 by the Rev. Isaac Hall, who did the same; and it was not till 1869 that a residence was erected at High Toynton for the united benefices.

Of the church, All Saints, we can only say that it stands in a good position, on high ground; that its walls are substantial, but that its style is of the meanest; it having been rebuilt in the early part of the 19th century (1813); and beyond a piscina, now in the north wall, it has no features of interest; having wooden-framed windows, square painted pews, walls whitewashed within and without, and a flat ceiling. It greatly needs renovation, being now almost a solitary representative, in the neighbourhood, of that very worst period of architectural decadence.

With fairly good sandstone in the present walls, and probably more in the foundations of an earlier church, to be exhumed, and an abundance _in situ_ not far away, restoration, or even re-erection, might be effected, at a moderate outlay.

The one bell hangs in a shabby bell turret. While repairs were being carried out in 1813 two n.o.bles of Edward IV., two angels of Henry VII., and several silver coins of different reigns, contained in a leathern purse, were found concealed in the wall. {185a}

LOW TOYNTON.

Low Toynton lies about a mile from Horncastle to the north-east. It is approached through rich meadows, watered by the river Waring. {185b} The Rector is the Rev. J. W. Bayldon, M.A., of Sidney Suss.e.x College, Cambridge. Overseers, G. E. Read and W. Scholey. Letters _via_ Horncastle arrive at 8.30.

The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small structure with no pretention to architectural beauty, and almost entirely covered with ivy.

It was rebuilt in 1811, a period when architectural taste was at its lowest ebb, and barbarisms in stone, brick, and mortar were very generally perpetrated. It was re-seated in 1863, during the inc.u.mbency of the Rev. E. M. Chapman. It consists of chancel, nave, vestry, and open belfry containing one bell. The chancel arch is the only remnant of a former Norman structure. The font is apparently a 14th century one, almost a replica of that in Huttoft Church, which is engraved in _Lincs.

Notes & Queries_, vol. iii, p. 225. The bowl is octagonal, its faces filled with figures representing the Holy Trinity, the virgin and child, and the 12 apostles. The bowl is joined to the shaft by angelic figures round the lower part of it. The octagonal shaft has figures of St. Paul, Mary Magdalen, a bishop with chalice, another with scourge, and other subjects much mutilated, at the base are the winged lion, ox, man, and eagle, emblematical of the evangelists. The walls of the church are relieved by some coloured designs, and borders of ecclesiastical patterns, running round the windows, &c., originally executed by that genuine artist the late Rev. C. P. Terrot, Vicar of Wispington. These decorations have been recently (1898) renewed by Mr. C. Hensman, of Horncastle, when the church was thoroughly repaired, both inside and out; new panelling placed in the nave, and a new window in the vestry; and in the following year (1899) a new harmonium was purchased from Messrs.

Chappell and Co., London.

The east window is filled with modern coloured gla.s.s, the subjects being the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, and the Ascension. On the sill of the east window are placed, over the communion table, two handsomely carved old oak candlesticks, presented by the Rev. C. P. Terrot. On the north wall of the nave there is a small oval bra.s.s tablet, which was found in 1888, face downwards in the vestry floor. It bears the following inscription: "Here lyeth the body of Edward Rolleston, Esquir, who departed this life the 23rd of July, in the thirtey-fourth year of his age; interr'd underneath this place the 4th of August, A.D. 1687."

As 12 days elapsed between death and burial it is probable that he died abroad. The manor and whole parish, except the glebe, still belongs to the Rolleston family; the benefice being in the patronage of the Earl of Ancaster.

In the floor of the chancel are two memorial slabs, one of the Rev. R.

Spranger, D.C.L., late Rector of Low Toynton and Creeton, who enlarged the rectory house, and was a munificent benefactor to the neighbourhood.

Among other good deeds he built the bridge over the river Waring, on the road from Low Toynton to Horncastle. {186} He was a member of a family of some distinction; had a residence in London, as well as his rectory here; he was popularly said to drive the handsomest pair of horses in London; and there exists a portrait in oil of an ancestor, Chancellor Spranger, in one of the great galleries in Florence. Dr. Spranger was an intimate friend of J. Keble, the author of _The Christian Year_, and his son the Rev. Robert J. Spranger, Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, spent the greater part of his life in Mr. Keble's parish, Hursley, Hants, as a voluntary a.s.sistant in his clerical work.

The companion slab marks the last resting place of another rector, the Rev. J. Hutchinson, who died in 1788. His history is singular. Although well educated, he enlisted as a private in the army for foreign service; a commission however was subsequently obtained for him by his friends.

He presently became attached to a lady who refused to marry a soldier.

He then determined to take holy orders. Chance threw him in the way of a party of gentlemen at Manchester, one of them being the agent of Lord Willoughby. The latter stated that he had it in power, at that moment, to bestow a benefice, and that he would give it to anyone who could solve for him a particular problem. Mr. Hutchinson succeeded in doing this, and was eventually appointed Rector of Low Toynton. He held it, however, only 18 months, dying at an early age. Whether he married the lady is not stated.

In the List of Inst.i.tutions to Benefices, preserved at Lincoln, it is recorded that in 1562 Michael West, Clerk, was appointed Rector of Nether Toynton and Vicar of Upper Toynton, by Richard Bertie, Esq., ancestor of the Earl of Ancaster. This must have been by some private arrangement with the Bishop of Carlisle, who was patron of High Toynton; the Berties (as the Willoughbies are now) being only patrons of Low Toynton. From Liber Regis we learn that the Earl of Lindsey appointed to the benefice in 1692, the Duke of Ancaster in 1778, Sir Peter Burrell and Lady Willoughby d' Eresby in 1783.

The register dates from 1585. Under date 1717, Feb. 2nd, occurs the following entry: "Robert w.i.l.l.y, of Upper Toynton, did penance in the parish church of Lower Toynton, for the heinous and great sin of adultery." A note in the baptismal register states that on July 18th, 1818, Bishop George (Tomline) confirmed at Horncastle 683 candidates, among them being five from Low Toynton. Confirmations were not held so frequently then as they now are. In this parish Mr. Thomas Gibson, Vicar of Horncastle, when turned out of his preferment by the Puritans, lived for some "two years but poorly, teaching a few pupils."

Little is known of the early history of this parish or of its proprietors. In a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 11 Henry VII., No.

123, taken at Partney, after the death of Isabella, wife of Richard Sapcote, Knight, the said Isabella is declared by the jurors to have died seized of the Manor of Nether Toynton, and of the advowson; and Joan, wife of William Nevill, of Rolleston, Notts., and others are declared to be daughters and heirs of the said Isabella; she herself being kinswoman and heir of William Plesington, son of Henry Plesington, Knight. {187a}

In a list of Lincolnshire names contained in the visitation of 16656, by William Dugdale, Esq., are Agnes Goodrick, daughter of Robert Goodrick, of Toynton, and Bridget and Elizabeth Rolston, daughters of Edward Rolston, of Toynton. {187b}

[Picture: St. Peter's Church, Low Toynton]

By a Chancery Inquisition of 38 Henry VIII. (1546), it was found that Thomas Dymoke, Esq., was seized of land in Over Toynton, Nether Toynton, Maring-upon the-Hill, and other parishes; and by an Inquisition of 36 Elizabeth, it was found that Robert Dymock, Esq., was seized of the Manors of ffuletby and Belchforde, and lands in Horncastle, Nether Tointon and Upper Tointon, and several other parishes. He died without issue 13th Sept., 1594, and his only sister, Anne, widow of Charles Bolle, of Haugh, succeeded to his property in Nether Toynton and elsewhere; and thus the connection of the Dymokes with Low Toynton ceased. {187c}

There is rather a curious feature in the following record. By a Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 24 Henry VII., No. 61, it is found that Humphrey Conyngsby, Sergeant at Law, and others, inst.i.tuted a suit on behalf of William Stavely, and others, by which he recovered to them, among other properties, "the advowson of Nether Taunton, and the rent of 4 quarters of salt, in Nether Taunton, Over Taunton, and other parishes."

We now find another ancient name connected with this parish. The Newcomens (originally Le Newcomen, or the newcomer) of Saltfleetby, were one of our oldest Lincolnshire families. They are named in Yorke's "Union of Honour," and their pedigrees given in four Lincolnshire Visitations. The number of branches into which the race spread is remarkable. {188a} Andrew Newcomen lived in the time of Richard I., resident at Saltfleetby, where the headquarters of the family continued for many generations. Robert Newcomen (1304) married Alice, daughter of Sir William Somercotes, Knight. His son, also Robert, married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Hardingshall, Knight. Another Robert (1452) married Joane, daughter of Robert Craycroft, of Craycroft Hall. A daughter Katharine, of Brian Newcomen, married (1559) George Bolle, of Haugh, a family already mentioned as, a few years later, connected with Low Toynton. In 1540 we find Richard Newcomen residing at Nether Toynton. By his will, dated 3rd Sept., 1540, he requests that he may be buried in the church of St. Peter, Nether Toynton. He appoints the right worshipful Edward Dymoke, supervisor. His grandson, Samuel Newcomen, of Nether Toynton, married Frances, daughter of Thomas Ma.s.singberd, of Braytoft Hall, M.P. for Calais (1552). This branch of the family seems to have died out in the person of Thomas Newcomen (1592); {188b} but other branches spread over the neighbourhood, and were established at Bag Enderby, East Kirkby, Withern, and other places, and flourished throughout the 17th century. Another Newcomen early in the 18th century married a daughter of Sir Robert Barkham, Bart.

A renewal of connection with Low Toynton was made when the widow of Nicholas Newcomen married, circa 1700, the Honble. Charles Bertie, son of Robert, 4th Earl of Lindsey, patron of the benefice of Nether Toynton.

Arthur Bocher, Esq., of Low Toynton, was in the Lincolnshire Rebellion of 1536, being brother-in-law of Thomas Moygne, one of the leaders in the movement.

Thus the parish of Low Toynton has had residents, proprietors, and rectors, to whom its present inhabitants may look back with some degree of pride and pleasure, although "their place now knoweth them no more."

ROUGHTON.

This village stands on the west bank of the river Bain, about 4 miles to the south of Horncastle. It is bounded on the north by Thornton and Martin, on the east by Haltham and Dalderby, on the south by Kirkby-on-Bain, and on the west by Kirkstead, Kirkby, and Woodhall. The area is 1020 acres, rateable value 945, population 137, entirely agricultural. The soil is loam, on kimeridge clay, with "Bain terrace"

gravel deposits.

The nearest railway stations are at Horncastle and Woodhall Spa, each about four miles distant. There is an award and map of Haltham and Roughton in the parish, and a copy at the County Council office, Lincoln.

Three roads meet in the middle of the village, one from Horncastle, one to Woodhall Spa and Kirkstead, one to Kirkby-on-Bain, Coningsby and Tattershall.

Sir Henry Hawley, Bart., of Tumby Lawn, in the adjoining parish of Kirkby, is Lord of the Manor, but Lady Hartwell (daughter of the late Sir Henry Dymoke, the King's Champion), and the executors of the Clinton family (now Clinton Baker) and the Rector own most of the soil; there being a few small proprietors. Roughton Hall, the property of Lady Hartwell, is occupied by F. G. Hayward, Esq.

The register dates from 1564. Peculiar entries are those of 43 burials for the years 16312, including those of the Rector and his two daughters, who died within a few days of each other; this was from the visitation called "The Plague," or the "Black Death." For some years before 1657 only civil marriages were valid in law, and Judge Filkin is named in the register as marrying the Rector of Roughton, John Barcroft, to Ann Coulen. In 1707 Mary Would is named as overseer of the parish, it being very unusual at that period for women to hold office. Another entry, in the overseer's book, needs an explanation. "Simon Grant, for 1 day's work of bages, 2s. 6d.;" and again, "Simon flint, for 1 day's work of bages, 2s. 6d." "Bage" was the turf, cut for burning; in this case being cut from the "church moor," for the church fire. It was severe labour, often producing rupture of the labourer's body, hence the high pay.