Revesby Show used to be in the grounds of this place and I was always fascinated by the ruins of…read morethe beautiful house that stood here. It was the Home of Sir Jospeph Banks and close to the original Abbey..known as Revesby Abbey or Hall. I am hoping it is being saved for future generations. Potted history: The abbey of Revesby was founded in 1142 by William de Romara, lord of Bolingbroke, and son of Lucy countess of Chester by a former husband. William de Romara himself ended his days as a monk, and was buried in the house of his foundation. The first monks of Revesby were sent from Rievaulx by St. Ailred. The benefactions of the founder were confirmed and increased by his grandson and by Ranulf earl of Chester. After the Lincoln Rebellion that monks of Revesby, as well as those of Bardney and Kirkstead, were seen in the field among the insurgents but none of them was brought to trial. The last notice of the house is in 1538, when the Duke of Norfolk wrote to Cromwell that it was in great ruin and decay. This was before the reformation. There was a large cruciform church with a nave of seven bays, an aisled presbytery and numerous chapels. South of this stood the domestic buildings, arranged around two cloisters. This core was surrounded by gardens, fishponds, orchards, barns, guesthouses, stables, a farmyard and industrial buildings. A wall protected the monastic grounds and entry was controlled by gatehouses. There are no standing remains, although the earthworks define not only the church and cloister, but also an extensive precinct Revesby Hall was built around 1660 by Craven Howardabout a mile east of the village, near the site of the ancient abbey. It was later enlarged by the Banks family. The new hall, Revesby Abbey, was built in 1849 to replace the older one. Sir Joseph BANKS, baronet, born in London, was the son of William BANKS of Revesby Abbey, who died in 1743. In 1763, Joseph made a voyage to the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador as an explorer and scientist. In 1768, he accompanied Captain COOK on his voyage to the South Sea islands. In 1777, he was elected President of the Royal Society, and held that position until his death in 1820. He spent much of his early life at the family home Revesby Abbey near Horncastle. This Country house and stable block was built in 1845. It is approached from the south by a 1km drive and set in a medieval deer park, landscaped in the late C18. It is unfortunately in very bad condition. English Heritage funded temporary emergency repairs and the Revesby Abbey Preservation Trust formed was formed a few years ago. The building is now in private ownership and the current owner has apparently made considerable progress with repairs to the Abbey. I have heard though that it is decaying faster than the repairing.

I have been fascinated for many years by the Abbey when viewing it from the big iron gates at the…read moremain A155 so I decided one day to try and tack down the current owners and ask if I could cheekily 'go and have a look' at the grand old house. My search for the current owners proved fruitful and threw up a name to which I also got an email address. I sent a polite email but after a week or so had gone by I gave up too much hope as I never got a reply. Just a few days after that, Bingo, I had contact from that person sitting in my inbox. I opened the email with some hesitation but to my delight I was invited to meet the owners at the Abbey at an amicable time and date. I couldn't believe it, a grand building I had admired from far for so many years was now going to be viewed close up. The BIG day arrived, my partner and I set off for the Abbey with instructions on how to access it. The weather was a bit damp and miserable but never mind. We found our way through the vast wooded area and there she stood, one amazing building. We were met by the very friendly owners who were only too keen to show off their pride and joy home, but what a task they had in front of them. The elements had not been kind to the magnificent building nor the owners before them, leaving it sadly in some state of disrepair albeit restorable. The renovation work they had already carried out on the adjoining Brew house and stables though was just brilliant, bringing back the feel of what was once, and by all accounts what will be again a beautiful residence. We were there for three and a half hours being shown around by the rightfully so, proud owners. Our thanks go to Malcolm and Linda for giving up their time to show us around their amazing property and allowing us to take photographs, which I will not publish out of courtesy. We wish them all the success for the mammoth task that lies ahead of them.

This village and parish lies south of Barnetby le Wold and northwest of Caistor…read more I went here to my cousins wedding. It was in the church and the reception in the grounds and the church hall held the food. Wonderful outdoor reception. The church is similar to many in the area but I pretty much missed the wedding entirely..all I saw were the tombs: and erk my cousin noticed..said Yyou don't expect it in a hamlet like this do you? One of the brasses had a hole cut in where a name was removed..disgraced family member? Anyway the tombs and history of the people. All Saints contains monuments and effiges of the TYRWHITT and SKIPWORTH families. One TYRWHITT tomb dates to 1581. Of old Lincolnshire stock, Robert Tyrwhitt inherited a tradition of service to the crown: his grandfather had been a knight of the body and his father, who received his knighthood at Tournai, was an outstanding figure in his shire. Through his grand-mother Tyrwhitt could claim to be linked by marriage with Henry VIII's mistress Elizabeth Blount and their son the Duke of Richmond. Tyrwhitt was brought up at court. An esquire of the body by 1525, he was an early and large recipient of monastic lands, especially in his own shire: between 1536 and 1547 he acquired some two dozen grants and leases from the augmentations. His first acquisition had been the dissolved monastery of Stainfield in Lincolnshire, which was suppressed on the orders of the King despite a recent decision in favour of its exemption. It was such episodes which provoked the Lincolnshire rebellion. Tyrwhitt's father was one of the subsidy commissioners first attacked by the rebels, and as soon as news reached the court he himself was despatched with orders for John Hussey, Lord Hussey. His part in the suppression of the rebellion and of the Pilgrimage of Grace is scarcely to be disentangled from that of his many namesakes. The dissolution of Stainfield was promptly carried through, and after leasing them in 1537 Tyrwhitt was granted the house, site and 662 acres of land in fee in the following year.In 1536 Bardney Abbey was threatened with closure and forfeiture of all assets by King Henry VIII, a fate to be met by all the abbeys and priories in the country around this time. Six monks from Bardney, implicated in the rebellion, were hanged, drawn and quartered at Lincoln in Mar 1537. After the Lincolnshire Rising, the monastery surrendered to the King and was dissolved in 1538. Following the Dissolution the land was acquired by Sir Robert Tyrwhitt. He demolished the church and used the stone to convert the other monastic buildings into a fine house for himself and his family. He moved into the abbot's lodgings and converted the cloister into a walled garden. The rest, he left to fall into ruin. By 1540 Tyrwhitt's advance at court saw him promoted to be a gentleman of the privy chamber and acting vice-chamberlain on the King's side. He survived a rebuke by the Privy Council in Sep 1540 for being one of those guilty of causing a disturbance in the presence chamber, and he was given custody of several royal properties previously under Cromwell's charge. In 1542 he obtained, jointly with Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland, a grant of the priory of Belvoir, and also of Eagle in Lincolnshire, which had been a commandery of the Knights Templars, who had it of the grant of well Haughe, King Stephen; and from whom it had passed to the Hospitalars Tyrwhitt was elected first knight for Lincolnshire to the Parliament of 1545 The monuments of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt of 1581 and his wife Elizabeth Oxenbridge are in Bigby church. The twenty two children of Sir Robert and Elizabeth can be seen around the base of the monument, and what is described as a large hairy man can be clearly seen laid across Sir Robert's feet. Also Bridget MANNERS Died: 24 Jul 1604: Buried: Bigby Church The tomb of Sir George Manners and his wife Anne : He went to court at the age of thirteen to be one of Queen Elizabeth's maids of honor. This was a good appointment, especially since at this age Bridget's only accomplishment was her ability to play the lute. Her mother was reluctant even to buy her the appropriate clothes; but the Bridget Hussey, Countess of Bedford, who had been the wife of the second Earl of Rutland, her grand father, and after whom lady Bridget was named, was so charmed with Bridget that she decided to sponsor the girl in spite of her deficient education. To make a long story short, although Bridget's family persisted in believing that she would disgrace them all, the Countess of Bedford's confidence in her proved justified; Bridget eventually became the Queen's carver, a post of high honor. Thus her patron protected her interests much more objectively and much more strongly than Bridget's own mother would have. Had the girl remained at home, she have remained ignorant, uneducated, and unmarriageable.

Laceby lies at the juncion of the A46 and A18, approached from Grimsby by turning right off the A46…read morebefore reaching Laceby Crossroads. The church is in the village centre, near the market place. I have been to funerals here and to family weddings and a more beautiful setting could not be imagined for a wedding. Laceby is an old old Viking village (Lus-BY) is steeped in history and contains many monuments dedicated to historic people. Although Grimsby is now much larger than Laceby, many years ago the Baron of Laceby sent his army into Grimsby and took over the town, taking prisoner the high officials and putting them in dungeons in Laceby! The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Margaret and is built from Ancaster stone. It may date back, in total, to prior to 1424, some time in the late Norman period. It seats about 300 from the days when all the village went to church on a Sunday. In 1583, the rector of this church, John WHITGIFT was appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury by Queen Elizabeth I. He had been born at Grimsby in 1530. St Margaret's church stands prominently in the centre of the village. The tower and the nave date from the 11th century and other Norman features include the doorway inside the porch with two window openings either side, dedicated to St John and St Margaret. Records show that a church and a rector have been at Laceby since 1172. The lower part of the tower dates from this period, and carries a ring of five bells. 19th century restoration and additions were made by James Fowler. John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canerbury in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , was rector from 1572 - 77 and also Dean of Lincoln Catherdral. He is commemorated in stained-glass windows in the vestry and chancel. I annually spent many a happy hour, as a child visiting relatives, at the church garden fete which was in the grounds of the vicarage. A huge victorian building with massive gardens. No longer happens I believe. I oddly lectured on cemetaries and public health in the area..tried to make it gory and amusing all at once..a bit of trivia for those interested about here.(abbreviated:) Article in the Grimsby Observer and Humber News 24th June, 1874 LACEBY: From statements made concerning this parish it would seem that its sanitary condition is in a most alarming state.some startling disclosures in regard to the neglect of sanitary precautions at Laceby, in consequence of which the village is rarely free from disease. He found two cases of typhoid fever, the sufferers being both of the butchers. There had been eight interments in six weeks, and the inhabitants of some of the houses surrounding the churchyard bitterly complained of its state. There had been eleven deaths in nine weeks in a population of about 1000, that the fever was hushed up by the doctors, and again called his attention to the state of the churchyard In discussion it was mentioned that an order had already been issued from the Home Office for the closure of the churchyard as a burial ground on the 24th December next The Chairman said it was their duty to put an immediate stop to such practices Mr W Iles said when the weather was wet and warm too the ooze from the churchyard was dreadful. It was explained that the surface had been lowered 2ft 6 in or 3 ft, and that the remaining soil was saturated with decomposing animal matter. As to fever never being free of the place, he knew from certain and reliable information that there had been 100 cases of typhoid fever in the village in one year, and if it was not of a low kind to cause deaths it would create pauperism. Tuesday, July 28, 1874 Bad Condition of Laceby Churchyard. Some time previously, during work of restoration of the church, soil had been removed from the churchyard to a depth of 2ft 6in, and it was declared that further soil had been removed since. This was, indeed, admitted by the Rector. It was this removal of soil that had led to unsanitary conditions as it meant that many of the buried bodies were now much nearer the surface than was desirable. A Mr Watson, druggist, of Laceby told the committee that he had noticed a bad smell on the north side of the churchyard when soil was removed. He took up a handful of earth, found it was heavy and did not really look like soil. He carried it away and boiled it and a froth collected round the pan. The experiment put him against his food for some days afterwards..(wonder if he used the same pan for food?) A Mr Youhill expressed the belief that the removal of soil at the time the church was restored was injurious, and was still so. While walking over the churchyard he put his foot on a grave and it slipped into a coffin This coffin was not more than four inches from the surface. John Audiss, who had been gravedigger from 1869 to 1872, said he resigned the job because he dug up many skulls and skeletons. Once when digging a grave, and about three feet down, the side of

I have walked past this church many times but never been in…read more It isn't very attractive being of brick but my mother and aunt went to a jumble sale there and came back with 4 very nice bentwood chairs. Some centuries ago, a large part of the parish, including its church, were washed away by the sea. For many years the ruins of the parish church could be seen at very low water.It is sometimes a nasty thing when one is swimming in the sea and gets a scape from the wreck bits of wood and stone sticking out of the sea bed. The church was rebuilt in 1819 and again in 1860. The present church, which was consecrated in 1818, is on the site of an older church and has rather a strange appearance with its most striking feature being its leaning tower. The attractive lych gate is a war memorial, as it is dedicated to a man who died in World War 1 The church was rebuilt in 1819 and again in 1860. It seats 200.

Hard to say where this is in Qype. It is just outside Sutton-on-Sea on the way to Mablethorpe…read more This is a tiny thatched church. Very rare. Markby was once a priory and the church is all that is left apart from stones making up the nearby farmhouse. The priory of St. Peter at Markby was founded during the reign of Henry II. Ok I lecture in history too so for anyone interested here is the ref: (From: 'Houses of Austin canons: The priory of Markby', A History of the County of Lincoln: Volume 2 (1906), pp. 174-176. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38025 . ) Markby church is cute! and I love it. Many accounts of monks having to be wheeled home from the inn in a wheelbarrow and of gossiping etc. I think you can still be christened or buried there but not sure if it has services. It is usually open, however, to visit and look around.

Wellow Abbey is long gone. So this is for my ghost guide and a bit of history…read more The abbey of Wellow was founded, like the priory of Dunstable, by King Henry I and dedicated to St. Augustine and St. Olaf. During the Scottish wars of Edward II the abbot was required to supply the king with wheat, malt, and sheep to the value of £18, and had £12 10s. 8d besides exacted from him, but these sums were repaid by Edward III. The house was seriously in debt in 1325, and a secular was appointed to take charge of its affairs for awhile and again, in 1359, arrangements had to be made by the bishop to reduce the expenses of the canons' maintenance. Later on, in 1372, the abbot, John Utterby, was accused of having sold, alienated, and dissipated the goods of the house and brought it almost to ruin. There are wonderful accounts of Bishops Visitations about the kept women and the washing of underwear etc which are really very funny. In 1534 Robert Whitgift, the abbot, with ten canons, signed the acknowledgement of royal supremacy. The abbey at this time had a clear revenue of only £95; it consequently fell within the range of the first Act of Suppression. It was dissolved before Michaelmas, 1536. I have held the abbey seal in my hand when I worked in Archeology. A later Victorian House was built on the site. This was the HQ of the RAFA. Before that it was a private house. This is where the ghost tales begin. The family often saw monks and knights. Much was dug up in the garden of a knightly interest. They also regularly heard a carriage come down the drive and pull up at the front door but no-one was there. Ok my personal stuff. A few years ago I had a shop on Abbey land very close to the abbey. It was always cold in there even on the hottest day and once I thought I saw a monk as I looked up from reading. I also did the same in the car park..look up and he was gone. I had afireplace from the building..bought on demolishion. A few times I woke to a monkly shape that immediately vanished. Did he come with the fireplace. The weirdest was..visiting grimsby as a child..the boy next door and I loved to explored. We crawled under the hedge into the abbey grounds. We sat with our feet in the pond and watched a frog on the lilypads. 2 days later we went back and there was no pond but a small open air swimming pool. The monks had a pond.

This is a beautiful building which, when I was lecturing in Local History, I was invited to visit…read more The Ark was opened and it's beautiful objects beheld. The windoes are lovely too making the inside a myriafd of reflected lights. In 1276 when Grimsby was only a small settlement, valued only for the tidal creek of the River Humber, there was mention of 'the Jew, Ben of Grymesby' (sic) which demonstrates the length of time members of the Jewish faith have been living in the area. The Jewish cemetery, which I didn't realise existed, in Grimsby, was consecrated by the Reverends J.Goldsmith and B. Rosengard in March 1886,and the foundation stone for the Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue in Heneage Road, which still stands as a Grade II listed building, was laid in July 1885, with the Synagogue finally opening in 1888. The synagogue in Grimsby is situated in Heneage Road, which at one time was close to the centre of the busy fishing industry. Not far away was the fish docks and the corporation docks, and it would have been surrounded by housing. It certainly would have been within 2000 cubits of many of the population in accordance with Jewish Law of the Sabbath. Members of the Jewish community have served on both Cleethorpes and Grimsby Councils and in 2001 President of the Synagogue Leo Solomon (who was once my music and maths teacher..I was in his choir)was made an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of North East Lincolnshire for his involvement in community issues. It still has a regular attendance.

Until the dissolution of religious houses under Henry VIII, a Benedictine Abbey occupied the site…read more The present church is from 1722. It is not the interesting part. What is interesting are the lumps and bumps in the surrounding friends and chidrens playground. The Abbey remains. I was sent here, when working in the archeology dept. to measure and record for a future dig. Excavation of Humberston Abbey (1965-1970) revealed fragments of medieval painted glass, monks' coffins, bronze buckles and many other items of interest. Some lovely rainbow glass fragments and metal book furniture are my favourites. The thing is they were mainly amature archeologists and once they had uncoved some high walls (I was impressed at what was under those lumps and bumps when I saw the photos) they stopped. The thing is the archeology would have been below that! Anyway we didn't get permission because of the graveyard and playground. Worth a look if you are interested though. A few stones, some worked, are above ground. There is also a huge mound, behind the church, which is an ice house. Possible to get in on the other side but unfortunately in the garden of the manor. I knocked and asked and they let me go in and take photos.