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A History of Horncastle from the Earliest Period to the Present Time/Chapter 2

< A History of Horncastle from the Earliest Period to the Present Time
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CHAPTER II.

RECORDS OF THE MANOR, &c., FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

A RECENT historian[1] has said "In the 13th century the northern counties of England were so unsettled that there was little security north of the Humber, and in 1250 the powerful Bishop of Carlisle found it necessary to buy the manor of Horncastle (his own residence in the north, Rose Castle, having been destroyed by marauders), and the Pope granted him the Parish Church (of Horncastle) for his use;"[2] but we can carry our history back to a considerably earlier period than this. As a former Roman station, doubtless, and of even earlier origin than that, Horncastle had become a place of some importance, and so, even before the Norman conquest the manor was royal property, since Domesday Book states that King Edward the Confessor bestowed it upon his Queen, Editha. Edward died January 5, 1066, and his possessions naturally passed to his successor, the Conqueror. Its subsequent history for a few years we do not know, but in the reign of Stephen the manor was held by Adelias, or Adelidis, (Alice or Adelaide) de Cundi, daughter of William de Cheney[3] (a name still known in the county), who was Lord of Glentham and Caenby, two parishes near Brigg. She had a castle in this town, the site of which is not now known, but it was probably a restoration in whole, or in part, of the old fortress. She took part against the King in his quarrel with the Empress Maud, and her estates were confiscated by Stephen, they were, however, subsequently restored to her on condition that she should demolish her castle.

On her death the manor reverted to the crown and was granted by Henry II. to a Fleming noble, Gerbald de Escald, who held it for one knight's ​fee.[4] He was succeeded by his grandson and heir, Gerard de Rhodes,[5] whose son, Ralph de Rhodes, sold it to Walter Mauclerk,[6] Bishop of Carlisle, and Treasurer of the Exchequer under Henry III. In the reign of Richard II. Roger la Scrope and Margaret his wife, with Robert Tibetot and son, his wife, as descendants of Gerbald de Escald,[7] put in a claim for the manor and obtained letters patent, by which the episcopal possessor was bound to do them homage, but this was only for a brief period, and they then disappear from the scene.

The manor remained a possession of the bishops of Carlisle until the reign of Edward VI., when, by licence of the King, it was sold by Bishop Aldrich in 1547 to Edward, Lord Clinton.[8] In the reign of Mary he was compelled to re-convey it to the see of Carlisle.[9] Queen Elizabeth took a lease of it under the then possessing bishop, in which she was succeeded by James I. He assigned it to Sir Edward Clinton, knt., but through neglect of enrolment this became void.[10] In the reign of Charles II. the former charters were renewed,[11] and the bishops of Carlisle remained lords of the manor until 1856, when it was transferred, with the patronage of some of the benefices within the soke, to the Bishop of Lincoln. Thus from the reign of Edward the Confessor to that of Charles II., a period of about 600 years, broken by brief intervals of alienation, Horncastle was connected with royalty.

The lease of the manor was held, under the bishops of Carlisle by Sir Joseph Banks and his ancestors for nearly a century, the lease of Sir Joseph himself being dated 21 March, 1803, and renewed 1 June, 1811. He died in 1820 and was succeeded by his relative the Honble. James Hamilton Stanhope and, three years later, by James Banks Stanhope, Esq., then a minor, who, at a later period (in 1885) transferred all his rights to his cousin, the late Right Honble. Edward Stanhope, whose widow became lady of the manor and at whose death, in 1907, the lordship reverted to the Honble. Richard Stanhope, son of the present Earl Stanhope. Mr. Banks Stanhope died January 18th, 1904, aged 82, having been a generous benefactor to Horncastle and the neighbourhood.

We have here given a very condensed account of the ownership of this manor from the reign of Edward the Confessor to the present time, a period of nearly 840 years. Having had access to the episcopal archives of Carlisle, so long connected with Horncastle, we are able to confirm several of the above details from documents still existing, which we now proceed to do.

It has been stated that the manor of Horncastle was conferred upon Queen Editha by her husband, Edward the Confessor. In confirmation of this we find the following: In the reign of Charles I. the Vicar of Horncastle, Thomas Gibson, presented a petition claiming tithe for certain mills called "Hall Mills," with a close adjoining called "Mill Holmes," as belonging to the glebe. The tenant, William Davidson, resisted, arguing that he had paid no tithes to the previous vicar, Robert Holingshed, that the mills were erected ​before the conquest and were part of the jointure of Queen Editha, as stated in Domesday Book, and were therefore part of the manor, not of the vicar's glebe. The result is not recorded, but doubtless the tenant was right.[12] The passage here quoted from Domesday Book is the following: "In Horncastre Queen Editha had 3 carucates of land, free of gelt. This land is now 4 carucates. The King has there 2 carucates in demesne (i.e. as his manor), with 29 villeins and 12 bordars, who have (among them) 3 carucates. There are 2 mills worth 26s. yearly, and 100 acres of meadow. In King Edward's time the annual value was £20, now it is £44."[13] These two mills and the meadow were doubtless those in dispute between the vicar and tenant in the reign of Charles I., the date of Domesday being about 1085, or 540 years earlier. They were plainly part of the royal manor and not at all connected with the glebe.

All this, however, proves that the manor of Horncastle belonged to King Edward the Confessor before the conquest, and 360 acres of it were assigned to his consort, Queen Editha. The expansion of the 3 carucates into 4, mentioned in Domesday Book, was probably (as in many other recorded cases) due to the reclamation of land hitherto waste in flood or forest.

On the death of King Edward in 1066 the royal demesnes naturally passed to his successor and kinsman, William the Conqueror, and in due course to the successive Norman kings of his line.

The connection of Horncastle with the sovereign is shown in various ways. Documents relating to the earlier kings are naturally rare, since for many years law courts were hardly yet established, the royal power being rather that of "might" than of "right."[14] Even the sale, or devising, of property could only be legally effected by the king's licence. Among the Carlisle papers connected with Horncastle is one which shows that a matter which in modern times would be settled by the parish overseers, or more recently by the Urban Council, was to be formerly carried out only by the royal sanction. There is a Patent Roll of the 13th year of King Richard II. (pt. 1, m. 3) entitled "Concerning the paving of Horncastre," and running as follows:—"The King to the Bailiff and proved men of the vill of Horncastre, greeting. Know, that in aid of paving your said vill, of our special grace we have granted to you, that from the day of the making of these presents to the end of 3 years, you may take, for things coming to the said vill for sale, the customs underwritten." Then follows a long list of articles for sale, of which we can only specify a few here, viz.: "For every horse load of corn, ¼d., for every dole of wine, 2d.; for every pipe of ditto, 1s.; for every hide, fresh, salt, or tanned, ¼d.; for 100 skins of roebucks (it seems that there were wild deer in those days), hares, rabbits, foxes, or squirrels, ½d.; for every horse load of cloth, ½d.; for every cloth of worstede, called 'coverlyt,' value 40s., 1d.; for every 100 of linen web of Aylesham, 1d.; for every chief of strong cendal (silk) 1d.; for 100 mullets, salt or dry, 1d.; for every cart of fish, 1d.; for every horse load of sea fish, ¼d.; for every salmon, ¼d.; for every last of herrings (12 barrels), 6d.; for every horse load of honey, 1d.; for every wey of tallow (256 lbs.), 1d.; for every milstone, ½d.; for 1,000 turfs, ¼d. For every other ​kind of merchandise not here specified, of value 5s. and over, ¼d.; and the term of 3 years being ended, the said customs shall cease. Witness the King, at Westminster, 9 Nov., 1389."

Truly the kingly government was a paternal one to take cognizance of such petty local matters. The "coggle" pavement of Horncastle is often complained of, but at least it had the royal sanction.

A Roll of the 18th year of Edward III. (m 8), dated Westminster, 28 June, 1344, is directed "to his very dear and faithful John de Kirketon, Fitz Hugh de Cressy," (and others) assigning them "to choose and array 100 men at arms in the County of Lincoln," and (among others) "6 hoblers in the vill of Horncastre, to be at Portsmouth, to set out with the King against Philip VI., de Valesco (Valois)." This was the beginning of the campaign of Edward and his son the Black Prince, which terminated with the glorious battle of Cressy and the capture of Calais. "Hoblers" were a sort of yeomanry who, by the terms of their tenure of land were bound to keep a light "nag" for military service.

A Domestic State Paper of Queen Elizabeth (Vol. 51, No. 12, III) contains the "Certificate of the town and soke of Horncastle to the artycles of the Queen's Majesty's most Honorable Pryvye Councell," dated 27 June, 1569, shewing what "soldiers were furnished and went forth under Captaine Carsey." These were formerly the well-known local troops called "trainbands." The paper contains, further, accounts of payments for "towne common armour, jerkyns, swords, daggers, corslettes, 1 caline (piece of ordnance), conduct money (i.e. hire money), pioneers, victuals," &c. Accounts rendered by Thomas Hamerton, Arthur Patchytt, Thomas Raythbeake (all formerly well known names in the town), and others.

The head of the Carsey family was the owner of the Revesby Abbey Estate, and as such was lesse of the manor of Horncastle under the Bishop of Carlisle. They sold their property, in 1575, to Thomas Cecil, son of Lord Treasurer Burleigh.

There is another Carlisle document in connection with these trained bands among the same Domestic State Papers of Queen Elizabeth (Vol. 199, No. 7), in which the Earl of Rutland writes to Anthony Thorold, sheriff, that he has instructions "from the Lords of the Counsaile to put in strength the power of the realme for the maritime counties," and he asks him to "choose captaines for the yet untrained companies, and to supply the place of Mr. John Savile for Horncastle." N.B.—The Saviles owned Poolham Hall in Edlington. On this (State Papers, Eliz., Vol. 199, No. 72) the Earl writes to Mr. Valentine Brown that he thinks him "meete to supply the place for Horncastle," dated London, 29 March, 1586-7. Sir Valentine Brown was of Croft and East Kirkby, and Treasurer of Ireland; he married the daughter of Sir John Monson, ancestor of the present Lord Oxenbridge.

Among the Domestic State Papers of Charles I. (Vol. 376, No. 123), is a petition from the inhabitants of Horncastle to Sir Anthony Irbie, Knt., sheriff of the county, complaining that the town was over-rated for the payment of "ship-money," and praying for a reduction of the same. The county was charged £8,000. This rate, levied to maintain the navy, created widespread dissatisfaction and eventually led to the revolution. It was included among the grievances against which public protests were made in 1641. The five judges who pronounced in its favour were imprisoned, and Hampden received ​
​a wound in a skirmish with Prince Rupert, from which he died, June 24, 1643. Petitions were also presented to Sir Edward Hussey, sheriff, 1636-7, as given in Domestic State Papers, Charles I., Vol. 345, No. 42.

It has been already stated that in the reign of Stephen this manor was held by Adelias, or Adelidis, de Cundi. How this came about is not quite clear, whether it was inherited from her father, William de Cheney, who was probably among the Normans invited to immigrate by Edward the Confessor, since it would seem that at the time of the conquest he was already a large owner in the county, or from her husband, Robert de Cundi, a Fleming, probably named from the town and fortress of Conde on the frontier of France, situated on the Scheldt, in the department du Nord. There is, however, evidence to show that she had other possessions of considerable value apparently in her own right in Nottinghamshire and Kent, as well as Lincolnshire.[15] She is described by the old chronicler, Geoffrey Gairmar,[16] as a great patroness of learning and literature.

The Cheneys, or Chesneys, were apparently of foreign extraction, as implied by their appellation "de Casineto." They had considerable influence at various periods, one of them being knighted, another made a baron by Queen Elizabeth.[17] One, Robert de Cheney, was a powerful Bishop of Lincoln (A.D. 1147-67) and built one of the finest castles in England, the ruins of which still remain in the Palace grounds at Lincoln.[18] The Cheney pedigree is given in The Genealogist of July, 1901. They seem to have settled in Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as in Lincolnshire. Sir Thomas Cheney, K.G., was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in the latter part of the 16th century. The Cheneys fell into decay towards the end of the 17th century, and at the beginning of the 18th century we find them in trade at Boston. About 1750 William Garfit of Boston married Mary, daughter of Thomas Cheney, and the name, as a christian name, still survives in that family. The Cheneys, we may add, were among the ancestors of the Willoughbys [19] and the parish of Cheneys, in Bucks., doubtless named after them, is now the property of the Duke of Bedford.

The granddaughter of Adelias de Cundi, Agnes,[20] married Walter, son of Walter de Clifford of Clifford Castle, Hereford. Walter Clifford is named in the first great charter of Henry III. (A.D. 1216), along with the great nobles Walter de Lacy, William de Ferrars, Earl of Derby, William, Earl of Albemarle, and others.

​William de Cheney, already mentioned as father of Adelias de Cundi, was "Lord of Caenby and Glentham," and Walter de Clifford also is mentioned in the charters of Barlings Abbey as giving to that monastery lands in Caenby and Glentham, along with the above Walter de Lacy. The great feature of the reign of Stephen was the large number of castles erected by lords who were almost more powerful than their sovereign, and Adelias built her castle at Horncastle, where she resided in great state until, on her favouring the cause of the Empress Maud, daughter of the previous king, Henry I. (whereas Stephen was only his nephew), her lands were confiscated, and, as we have already seen, only restored on condition that her castle was demolished.[21] This restoration was, however, only for life and on her demise the manor reverted to the crown.

The manor was next granted by Henry II. to Gerbald de Escald, a Flemish noble,[22] This is shewn by a record still preserved at Carlisle, dated 1274-5. In the reign of Edward I. an inquisition was made at Lincoln, before 12 jurors of the soke of Horncastle, among the Commissioners being John de Haltham, Anselm de Rugthon (Roughton), Thomas de Camera (i.e. Chambers) of Horncastre, the King's Justices and others, when it was declared that "the Lord Henry III., the father of King Edward who now is, once had the manor of Horncastre, and he enfeoffed Gerbald de Escald, a knight of Flanders, thereof, for his service, viz., by doing one knight's fee for the Lord the King."

Gerbald was succeeded by his grandson and heir, Gerard de Rhodes. This is shewn by a Carlisle document.[23] A dispute arose between Hugh, son of Ralph (surname not given) and Gerard de Rhodes, concerning the manor and soke of Horncastle, the advowson of the church, &c., which were claimed by the said Hugh; but a compromise was effected, 400 marks being paid to Hugh, and Gerard de Rhodes left in undisputed possession.

It has been thought probable that this Ralph, father of Hugh, was Ranulph, Earl of Chester, who was lord of the manors of Revesby and Hareby, and had other possessions in the neighbourhood. He, it is supposed, held the manor of Horncastle, as trustee, during the minority of Gerard. Gerard was, in due course, succeeded by his son and heir, Ralph de Rhodes, in the reign of Henry III. This again is proved by a Feet of Fines,[24] which records an "agreement made in the court of the Lord King at Westminster (3 Feb., A.D. 1224-5), between Henry del Ortiay and Sabina his wife on the one part, and the said Ralph de Rhodes on the other part," whereby the former acknowledge certain lands and appurtenances in Horncastle and its soke to be the property of the said Ralph, and he grants to them, as his tenants, certain lands; they, in acknowledgement, "rendering him therefor, by the year, one pair of gilt spurs at Easter for all service and exactions."

We have now reached another stage in the tenure of this manor and find ourselves once more at the point where the present chapter opened. Hitherto the manor had been held "in capite" (or "in chief") of the king by lay lords, or, in the two cases of Queen Editha and Adelias de Condi, by a lady; ​but in this reign Walter Mauclerk, the third Bishop of Carlisle, purchased the manor from Ralph de Rhodes. He was himself a powerful Norman and held the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer (a common combination of civil and ecclesiastical duties in those days), but now he and his successors were bound "to do suit and service to Ralph and his heirs." This purchase is proved by a Lincoln document called a "Plea Quo Warranto," which records a case argued before the Justices Itinerant, in the reign of Edward I., when it was stated that Ralph de Rhodes "enfeoffed Walter Mauclerk to hold the church, manor and appurtenances in Horncastre, to him and his heirs, of the gift of the said Ralph."[25] That the Bishop, although an ecclesiastic, was bound to do service to the heirs of Ralph is shown by another document,[26] in which John, son of Gerard de Rhodes, a descendant of Ralph, makes a grant to certain parties of "the homage and whole service of the Bishop of Carlisle, and his successors, for the manor (&c.) of Horncastre, which Gerard, son of Gerard my brother, granted to me." This is dated the 13th year of Edward I., 1285, whereas the actual sale of the manor took place in the reign of Henry III., A.D. 1230, and was confirmed by the king in the same year.[27]

We have called this another stage in the tenure of this manor and for this reason, an ecclesiastic of high rank, with the authority of the Pope of Rome at his back, was a more powerful subject than any lay baron, and this influence soon shewed itself, for while the lay lords of the manor had been content with doing their service to the king, and exacting service from those holding under them, the Bishop of Carlisle, in the first year of his tenure, obtained from the king three charters, conferring on the town of Horncastle immunities and privileges, which had the effect of raising the town from the status of little more than a village to that of the general mart of the surrounding country. The first of these charters gave the bishop, as lord of the manor, the right of free warren throughout the soke[28]; the second gave him licence to hold an annual fair two days before the feast of St. Barnabas (June 11), to continue eight days; the third empowered him to hang felons. An additional charter was granted in the following year empowering the bishop to hold a weekly market on Wednesday (die Mercurii), which was afterwards changed to Saturday, on which day it is still held; also to hold another fair on the eve of the Feast of St. Laurence (Aug. 10th), to continue seven days.[29]

We here quote a few words of the original Carlisle charter, as shewing the style of such documents in those days: "Henry to all Bishops, Bailiffs, Provosts, servants, &c., health. Know that we, by the guidance of God, and ​for the health of our soul, and of the souls of our ancestors and descendants, have granted, and confirmed by this present charter, to God, and the church of the blessed Mary of Carlisle, and to the Venerable Father, Walter, Bishop of Carlisle," &c. It then goes on to specify, among other privileges, that the bishop shall have "all chattells of felons and fugitives, all amerciaments and fines from all men and tenants of the manor and soke; that the bishop and his successors shall be quit for ever to the king of all mercies, fines (&c.), that no constable of the king shall have power of entry, but that the whole shall pertain to the said bishop, except attachments touching pleas of the crown, and that all chattells, &c., either in the king's court, or any other, shall be the bishop's." Then follow cases in which chattells of Robert Mawe, a fugitive, were demanded by the bishop, and £24 exacted from the township of Horncastle in lieu thereof; also 40s. from William, son of Drogo de Horncastre, for trespass, and other fines from Ralph Ascer, bailiff, Robert de Kirkby, &c., &c. The same document states that the bishop has a gallows (furcæ) at Horncastle for hanging offenders within the soke; and, in connection with this we may observe that in the south of the town is still a point called "Hangman's Corner."

These extensive powers, however, would hardly seem (to use the words of the charter) to have been "for the good of the souls" of the bishop or his successors, since they rather had the effect of leading him to the abuse of his rights. Accordingly, in the reign of Edward III., a plea was entered at Westminster, before the King's Justices,[30] by which John, Bishop of Carlisle, was charged with resisting the authority of the king in the matter of the patronage of the benefice of Horncastle. That benefice was usually in the gift of the bishop, but the rector, Simon de Islip, had been appointed by the king Archbishop of Canterbury and, in such circumstances, the crown by custom presents to the vacancy. The bishop resisted and proceeded to appoint his own nominee, but the judgment of the court was against him.

A somewhat similar case occurred a few years later. [31] Thomas de Appleby, the Bishop of Carlisle, and John de Rouseby, clerk, were "summoned to answer to the Lord the King, that they permit him to appoint to the church of Horncastre, vacant, and belonging to the king's gift, by reason of the bishopric of Carlisle being recently vacant." It was argued that John de Kirkby, Bishop of Carlisle, had presented Simon de Islip to that benefice, afterwards created Archbishop of Canterbury, and that the temporalities (patronage, &c.) of the Bishopric of Carlisle therefore (for that turn) came to the king by the death of John de Kirkby, bishop. The said bishop, Thomas de Appleby, and John de Rouseby brought the case before the court, but they admitted the justice of the king's plea and judgment was given for the king.

We have said that although Walter Mauclerk, as Bishop of Carlisle, bought this manor from Ralph de Rhodes, he and his successors were still bound to "do suit and service" to Ralph and his heirs, and in the brief summary with which this chapter opened we named Roger le Scrope and Margaret his wife, with Robert Tibetot and Eva his wife, among those descendants of Ralph de Rhodes. We have fuller mention of them in documents which we here quote. In a Roll of the reign of Edward I.,[32] John, son ​of Gerard de Rhodes, says "Know all, present and future, that I, John, son of Gerard, have granted, and by this charter confirmed, to the Lord Robert Tibetot and Eva his wife (among other things) the homage and whole service of the Bishop of Carlisle, and his successors, for the manor of Horncastre, with appurtenances, &c., which Gerard, son of Gerard my brother, granted to me, &c., to have and to hold of the Lord the King .... rendering for them annually to me and my heirs £80 sterling." While in another Roll[33] of the reign of Richard II., the king states that having inspected the above he confirms the grants, not only to the said "Robert Tybetot and his wife Eve," but also "to our very dear and faithful Roger le Scrope and Margaret his wife," recognizing them, it would seem, as descendants of the earlier grantee, Gerbald de Escald, from whom they all inherited.

Of these personages we may here say that both Tibetots and Le Scrope were of high position and influence. The name of Thebetot, or Tibetot, is found in the Battle Abbey Roll, as given by the historians Stow and Holinshed;[34] with a slight variation of name, as Tibtofts, they were Lords of Langer, Co. Notts., and afterwards Earls of Worcester.[35] According to the historian, Camden, John Tibtoft was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland under Henry VI., created by him Earl of Worcester, but executed for treason.[36] His successor, John, was Lord Deputy under Edward IV.[37] The last of the Tibetots, Robert, died without male issue; his three daughters were under the guardianship of Richard le Scrope, who married the eldest daughter, Margaret, to his son Roger. This is the one named above in connection with Horncastle. The Tibetot property of Langer, Notts., thus passed to the Le Scropes, and continued in that family down to Emanuel, created Earl of Sunderland by Charles I., A.D. 1628.[38] Castle Combe in Wiltshire was one of their residences,[39] but their chief seat was Bolton in Richmondshire.[40] William le Scrope was created Earl of Wiltshire by Richard II., but beheaded when that king was dethroned and murdered, in 1399.[41] Richard le Scrope was Archbishop of York, but condemned by Henry IV. for treason.[42] The name Le Scrope also appears in the Battle Abbey Roll of the Conqueror. Thus in both Tibetots and Scropes Horncastle was connected with families who played a considerable part in public life.

In the reign of Edward VI. there was a temporary change in the ownership of this manor. Among the Carlisle Papers is one[43] by which that king grants permission to Robert Aldrich, Bishop of Carlisle, to sell to our very dear and faithful councellor, Edward Fynes, K.G., Lord Clinton and Saye, High Admiral of England, the lordship and soke of Horncastre, with all rights, appurtenances, &c., to hold to himself, his heirs and assigns for ever," and that he, the said Edward, "can give and grant to the said Robert, bishop, an ​annual rent of £28 6s. 8d." We have, however, in this case an illustration of the instability even of royal decrees, in that on the demise of that worthy prince, to whom the realm and Church of England owe so much, his successor, Queen Mary, in the very next year, A.D. 1553, cancelled this sale, and a document exists at Carlisle[44] showing that she "granted a licence," probably in effect compulsory, to the same Lord Clinton and Saye, "to alienate his lordship and soke of Horncastle and to re-convey it to Robert Aldrich, Bishop of Carlisle."

His Lordship would, however, appear to have continued to hold the manor on lease under the bishop, and to have acted in a somewhat high-handed manner to his spiritual superior, probably under the influence of the change in religious sentiment between the reigns of "the bloody Mary," and her sister Elizabeth of glorious memory. For again we find a document [45] of the reign of the latter, in which the Bishop of Carlisle complains to Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen's Commissioner, of a "book of Horncastle," which the Earl of Lincoln (the new title of Lord Clinton and Saye) had sent to him "to be sealed," because (he says) the earl, by the words of the grant, had taken from him "lands and tithes of the yearly value of £28 6s. 8d.," the exact sum, be it observed, above specified as the rent to be paid by Lord Clinton and Saye to the bishop, Robert Aldrich. Of this, he asserts, "the see of Carlisle is seized and the earl is not in legal possession by his lease now 'in esse.'"[46] He wages his suit "the more boldly, because of the extraordinary charges he has been at, from the lamentable scarcity in the country, the great multitude of poor people, and other charges before he came had made him a poor man, and yet he must go on with it ... the number of them which want food to keep their lives in their bodies is so pitiful. If the Lord Warden and he did not charge themselves a great number would die of hunger, and some have done so," dated Rose Castle, 26 May, 1578.

His lordship, however, did one good turn to the town of Horncastle in founding the Grammar School, in the 13th year of the reign of Elizabeth, A.D. 1571, although (as we shall show in our chapter on the school) this was really not strictly a foundation but a re-establishment; as a grammar school is known to have existed in the town more than two centuries earlier.

We have one more record of Lord Clinton's connection with the town, from which it would appear that the Priory of Bullington, near Wragby, and Kirkstead Abbey also had property in Horncastle. A Carlisle document[47] shows that in the reign of Edward VI. Lord Clinton and Saye received a grant of "lands, tenements and hereditaments in Horncastle, late in the ​tenure of Alexander Rose and his assigns, and formerly of the dissolved monastery of Bollington; also two tenements, one house, two 'lez bark houses' (Horncastle tanners would seem even then to have flourished), one house called 'le kylne howse,' one 'le garthing,' 14 terrages of land in the fields of Thornton, with appurtenances lying in Horncastle, &c., and once belonging to the monastery of Kyrkestead."

As in other places the Clinton family seem to have been succeeded by the Thymelbys, of these we have several records. An Escheator's Inquisition of the reign of Henry VIII.,[48] taken by Roger Hilton, at Horncastle, Oct. 5, 1512, shewed that "Richard Thymylby, Esquire, was seized of the manor of Parish-fee, in Horncastre, held of the Bishop of Carlisle, as of his soke of Horncastre, by fealty, and a rent of £7 by the year." He was also "seized of one messuage, with appurtenances, in Horncastre, called Fool-thyng, parcel of the said manor of Parish-fee."[49] The said Richard died 3 March, 3 Henry VIII. (A.D. 1512). This was, however, by no means the first of this family connected with Horncastle. Deriving their name from the parish of Thimbleby, in the soke of Horncastle, we find the first mention of a Thymelby in that parish in a post mortem Inquisition of the reign of Edward III.,[50] which shews that Nicholas de Thymelby then held land in Thimbleby under the Bishop of Carlisle, A.D. 1333; but nearly a century before that date a Lincoln document[51] mentions one Ivo, son of Odo de Thymelby, as holding under the Bishop in Horncastle, in the reign of Henry III., A.D. 1248.

Further, in the reign of Edward I., as is shewn by a Harleian MS., in the British Museum,[52] Richard de Thymelby was Dean of Horncastle; Thomas, son of the above Nicholas de Thymelby, presented to the benefice of Ruckland in 1381, John de Thymelby presented to Tetford in 1388, and John again to Somersby in 1394,[53] and other members of the family presented at later periods. The family continued to advance in wealth and position until in the reign of Edward VI. it was found by an Inquisition[54] that Matthew Thymelby, of Poolham (their chief residence in this neighbourhood), owned the manor of Thymbleby, that of Parish-fee in Horncastle and five others, with lands in eight other parishes, and the advowsons of Ruckland, Farforth, Somersby and Tetford. He married Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Hussey. Other influential marriages were those of John Thymelby, "Lord of Polum" (Poolham), to Isabel,[55] daughter of Sir John Fflete, Knt. (circa 1409); William (probably) to Joan, daughter of Sir Walter Tailboys (circa 1432),[56] a connection of the Earl of Angus; Matthew's widow marrying Sir Robert Savile, Knt.[57]

​

Plan of Horncastle, 1908—from the Ordnance Survey.

​In connection with the marriage of William to Joan Tailboys we may mention that the base, all that now remains, of the churchyard cross at Tetford bears on its west side the Thimbleby arms "differenced" with those of Tailboys, the north side having the Thimbleby arm pure and simple.[58]

Another important marriage was that of Richard Thimbleby (A.D. 1510) to Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Godfrey Hilton of Irnham Manor near Grantham, through which alliance that property passed to the Thimblebys. It had been granted to Ralph Paganel by the Conqueror, afterwards passed to Sir Andrew Luterel, Knt., and later to Sir Geoffrey Hilton, Knt. Richard Thimbleby built Irnham Hall; he was succeeded by his son and heir, Sir John Thimbleby, who thus became the head of the family, which has in later times become almost extinct. This fine mansion, in the Tudor style of architecture, standing in a deer park of more than 250 acres, was destroyed by fire, Nov. 12, 1887, being then owned by W. Hervey Woodhouse, Esq., who bought it of Lord Clifford's son.[59]

Turning again to the Carlisle documents we find one of the reign of Edward III.,[60] giving an agreement made in the King's Court at Westminster (20 Jan., 1353-4), "between Thomas, son of Nicholas de Thymelby, plaintiff, and Henry Colvile, knt., and Margaret his wife, deforciants," whereby, among other property, the latter acknowledge that certain "messuages, one mill, ten acres of land (i.e. arable), two pastures, and £7 of rent, with appurtenances, in Horncastre, Thimilby, and Bokeland (i.e. Woodhall), are of the right of the said Thomas; and for this the said Thomas gives to the said Henry and Margaret 200 marks of silver."

Another document of the same reign,[61] of date 1360-1, states that Gilbert de Wilton, Bishop of Carlisle, "gives 60s. for the King's licence to remit to Thomas son of Nicholas de Thymelby, and John his younger brother, the service of being Reeve (i.e. Bailiff) of the Bishop, and other services, which are due from him to the said Bishop for lands and tenements held of the said Bishop in Horncastre," and elsewhere. Another document,[62] dated a few years later, shews an agreement made at Westminster, between Thomas Thymelby and his brother John, on the one part, and Frederick de Semerton and Amice his wife, deforciants," concerning four tofts, certain land, and £7 of rent, with appurtenances, in Horncastre and contiguous parts, by which "the said Frederick and Amice acknowledge these (properties) to be of the right of the said Thomas and his brother," and for this Thomas pays them 100 marks of silver. Two other Carlisle documents of considerably later date refer to members of this same family of Thymelby, but are chiefly of value as introducing to us a new name among Horncastle owners of land.

A Chancery Inquisition[63] taken at Horncastle, 24 Sept., 1612, shews that "John Kent, of Langton, was seized in his manor of Horncastell, with the appurtenances, called Parish-fee, and certain messuages, cottages, land and meadows in Horncastell (and elsewhere), lately purchased of Robert Savile and Richard Thymelby," and "held under the Bishop of Carlisle by fealty," ... that "the said John Kent died 19 Sept., 1611, and that William Kent, his son, is next heir."

​We have already seen that, about 60 years before, the widow of Matthew Thymelby had married Sir Robert Savile; he belonged to an old and influential family now represented by Lord Savile of Rufford Abbey, Notts., and the Earl of Mexborough, Methley Park, Yorkshire. By the aforesaid marriage the bulk of the Thymelby property passed to the Saviles, and like the Thymelbys they had their chief residence, in this neighbourhood, at Poolham Hall, owning among many other possessions the aforesaid sub-manor of Parish-fee in Horncastle, which, as we have seen, was sold by their joint action to John Kent of Langton. We have already had mention of a John Savile who was apparently captain of the "trained band" connected with Horncastle in the reign of Elizabeth, AD. 1586 (see p. 14); Gervase Holles mentions this John Savile as joint lord of Somersby with Andrew Gedney, and lord of Tetford in the same reign. (Collectanea, vol. iii, p 770).

From another document[64] it would seem that, some 10 or 11 years later, Richard Thymelby and Robert Savile were involved in a more than questionable transaction with regard to the property thus transferred. Among the Carlisle papers is a Petition in Chancery, of which we here give the text, slightly abridged, as it is remarkable, and fittingly brings to a close our notices of the Thymelbys in connection with Horncastle.

To the Right Honble. Sir Francis Bacon, Knt., Lord Chancellor of England. Complainant sheweth, on the oath of your petitioner, Evan Reignolds, of St. Catherine's, Co. Middlesex, gent., and Joan his wife, that, whereas Richard Thymelby, some time of Poleham, Co. Lincoln, Esq., deceased, was seized of the manors of Poleham, Thimbleby, Horsington, Stixwold, Buckland, Horncastle, Edlington (&c.), and tenements in Langton, Blankney, Baumber, and in one pasture inclosed for 1000 sheep, called Heirick (High-Rig, in Woodhall, near Poolham) pasture, &c., whereof Robert Savile was seized for life, conveyed the same to his father-in-law Robert Savile ... the said Richard Thymelby, going up to London, negotiated to sell the property to one Richard Gardiner, and for £2,300 engaged, at his desire, to convey all to John Wooton, the £2,300 was paid to Richard Thymelby and bargain settled July 15, 6 Elizabeth (A.D. 1564).[65] A dispute arose in the following year between Richard Thymelby and Robert Savile, which was submitted to arbitrators (Feb. 15, 7 Elizabeth), who ordered Richard Thymelby to pay Robert Savile £1,500, and Robert Savile should then convey all to Richard Thymelby. The £1,500 was paid and afterwards the two "confederated to defraud the said Richard Gardiner and conveyed the said manors to John Kent." The judgment of the court is not given, but neither of the defendants, surely, cut a very creditable figure, and Richard Thymelby, suitably, we must admit, passes from the scene.

Of the Saviles we may here give a few more particulars. Gervase Holies, the antiquary, mentions in his Collectanea (vol. iii, p. 770) John Savile, Esq., as Lord of the Manor of Tetford, in this neighbourhood, in the reign of Elizabeth, and as joint Lord of Somersby with Andrew Gedney, Esq. (of the latter and his wife there is a very fine sepulchral monument in the church of the adjoining parish of Bag Enderby). The most distinguished literary member of the family was Sir Henry Savile, a learned mathematician, Fellow and Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton; a munificent patron of ​learning, founding Professorships of Astronomy and Geography at his University; he wrote a Treatise on Roman Warfare, but his great work was a translation of the writings of St. Chrysostom, a monument of industry and learning; he was knighted by James I., and his bust is carved in stone in the quadrangle of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, among those of other benefactors. Charles I. conferred the Earldom of Sussex on Thomas, Lord Savile of Pontefract. Several members of the family were Seneschals, or Stewards, of Wakefield. George was created Marquis of Halifax, another was Baron of the Exchequer. The name is given in the Conqueror's Roll of Battle Abbey (A.D. 1066), Hollinshed's version, as Sent Ville, in Stow's version as Sant Vile, while a Chancery Inquisition (of 18 Henry VII., No. 46, Architectural Society's Journal 1895, p. 17) gives it as Say-vile, and on the analogy of Nevill, formerly de Novâ-villâ, we may perhaps assume that the original form was de Sanctâ-villâ (or "of the Holy City"); which may well have been adopted by one who had made a pilgrimage to Cantebury, Rome, or Jerusalem itself.

I should, however, add that a member of the family, Miss Elizabeth J. Savile, who has herself dug to the roots of the genealogical tree, gives a different version of their origin. According to her they are descended from the Dukes de Savelli, who again trace their lineage from the still more ancient Sabella in Italy. When John Savile, 2nd son of Sir John Savile, travelled in Italy in the time of James I., the then Duke de Savelli received him as a kinsman. Of this family were the Popes Honorius III. and Honorius IV. A MS. Visitation in the British Museum says "It is conceived, that this family came into England with Geoffrey Plantagenet, rather than with the Conqueror, because there are two towns of this name on the frontiers of Anjou, both of which were annexed to the crown of England when the said Geoffrey married Maud, sole daughter and heir of Henry I." This is said to have been taken from the Savile pedigree in the keeping of Henry Savile of Bowlings, Esq., living in 1665. The Saviles of Methley trace their descent, in the male line, from this Sir John Savile of Savile Hall. One branch, the Saviles of Thornhill, are now represented in the female line by the Duke of Devonshire, and the Savile Foljambes, one of whom is the present Lord Hawkesbury. The Saviles of Copely, now extinct, are represented by the Duke of Norfolk, and a younger branch by the Earls of Mexborough. The opinion that they came from Anjou is generally accepted, the authorities being Yorkshire Pedigrees, British Museum Vistations, Gregorovius, uno frio, Panvinio, and other chroniclers.

We now proceed to notice the other persons, of more or less repute, who were at various periods owners in Horncastle. In the 3rd year of King John we find Gerard de Camville paying fees for land in Horncastle by his deputy, Hugo Fitz Richard, to the amount of £836, which was a large sum in those days.[66] He was sheriff of the county, A.D. 1190, along with Hugo.[67] The name, however, is more known for the celebrated defence of Lincoln Castle by Nicholaia de Camville against Henry III., assisted by Louis, Dauphin of France. An ancestor of William de Camville is named in the Battle Abbey Roll, among those Normans who came over with the Conqueror.

William de Lizures and Eudo de Bavent are also named as paying similar fees, though to smaller amounts. The de Lizures were a powerful Yorkshire ​family, who inter-married with the De Lacys of Pontefract Castle and inherited some of their large estates.[68] Among these, one was the neighbouring manor of Kirkby-on-Bain, which would seem to have passed to the Lady Albreda Lizures;[69] they probably derived their name from the town of Lisieux, near Harfleur in Normandy. We soon lose sight of this family in England, and they seem to have migrated northward and to have acquired lands in Scotland. The name De Lizures is common in Scottish Cartularies, for instance in the Cartulary of Kelso, p 257 (Notes & Queries, series 2, vol. xii, p. 435). In 1317 William and Gregory de Lizures were Lords of Gorton, and held lands near Roslyn Castle, Edinburgh (Genealogie of the Saint Claires of Roslyn, by Father Augustin Hay, re-published Edinburgh, 1835), [Notes & Queries, 3rd series, vol. i, p. 173].

The De Bavents were also a distinguished family, their connection with Horncastle survives in the name of a field in the south of the parish, on the Rye farm, which is called "Bavent's Close." A few particulars of this family may not be without interest. The earliest named are Richard de Bavent in 1160,[70] and Eudo de Bavent in 1161,[71] as holding the manor of Mareham-le-Fen, in the extreme south of the Horncastle soke, under Henry II., "by service of falconry."[72] Eudo (about 1200) gave "to God, the Cathedral, and Chapter of Lincoln," his lands in the north fen of Bilsby.[73] The family seem to have gradually increased their possessions in this neighbourhood. In 1290, under Edward I., we find Jollan de Bavent holding lands in Billesby and Winceby, as well as Mareham.[74] In 1319, under Edward II., Robert de Bavent holds his land in Billesby of the King by the service of supplying "3 falcons for the royal use,"[75] and, under Edward III., certain trustees of Peter de Bavent, by his will, transfer the manor of Mareham to the convent of Revesby, to provide a monk who shall daily throughout the year say masses "for the souls of the said Peter and Catherine, his wife, for ever."[76] Truly "L'homme propose, et Dieu dispose," for from this time forward we hear little of the Bavents. They may "call their lands after their own names," "Bavent's Close" survives, but of the whilom owner we can only say, in the words of Coleridge:

The knight's bones are dust,
And his good sword rust,
His soul is with
The saints, we trust.

Another family of distinction connected with Horncastle was that of the Angevines. Among the Carlisle documents is one[77] shewing that a trial was held at Horncastle (A.D. 1489-90), in which Sir Robert Dymoke, Knt., and William Angevin, Esq., recovered possession of 400 acres of land, with tofts ​and appurtenances, in Horncastle and its soke, from John Hodgisson and his wife, John Cracroft, Gervase Clifton (of Clifton) and others. This family probably acquired their name thus: William the Conqueror brought to England from Normandy a body of troops called the "Angevine auxiliaries" (from the province of Anjou), and their descendants were granted lands in various parts of the kingdom. One family especially seems to have adopted this name, which was variously spelt as Angevine, Aungelyne, Aungeby, &c.; they settled in various parts of this county at an early period, and Horncastle being a royal manor they naturally were located in this neighbourhood. We find traces of them at Whaplode in the south, Saltfleetby in the north, and Theddlethorpe midway, in the 12th and 14th centuries.[78] Among Lincoln records is the will of Robert Angevin, Gent.,[79] of Langton by Horncastle, dated 25 April, 1545, in which he requests to be buried in the Church of St. Margaret (then a much larger edifice than the present); he leaves to his son land in Hameringham, and to his widow, for life, and his four daughters, lands in Burnsall, Hebden, Conyseat and Norton, in the County of York. His brother, John Angevin, resided at West Ashby, then a hamlet of Horncastle. William Angevin, Gent., of Theddlethorpe[80] is named in the official list of Lincolnshire freeholders made in 1561, and the name also appears in the Visitation of 1562, but all traces of the family disappear before the time of the commonwealth.

The same Carlisle document[81] mentions Thomas Fitz-William as concerned in the said dispute, as being a Horncastle proprietor; while, further, another Carlisle document of the time of Henry VIII., shows that Thomas Fitz-William, Esq., was seized of one capital messuage, 6 other messuages, 4 tofts and 100 acres of land in Horncastle, held of the Prior of Carlisle, and John Fitz-William was his heir.[82] The Fitz-Williams again were a very ancient and distinguished family, the name is found in the Battle Abbey Roll of William the Conqueror. The family claim descent from Sir William Fitz-Goderic, cousin of King Edward the Confessor. His son, Sir William Fitz-William, has been said (as the name might imply) to have been really a natural son of William the Conqueror himself,[83] but the more generally accepted version is that Fitz-Goderic was his father. Sir William Fitz-William accompanied the Duke of Normandy to England as Marshal of his army, and for his bravery at the battle of Hastings the Conqueror gave him a scarf from his own arm. A descendant, in the reign of Elizabeth, was thrice Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; he was also Governor of Fotheringhay Castle when the unfortunate Queen Mary of Scotland was imprisoned there, and before she was beheaded she gave him a portrait of herself, which is still preserved at Milton House, near Peterborough, one of the seats of the Earls Fitz-William, who now represent the family, Baron of Milton being their second title. A Patent of Edward IV. (A.D. 1461)[84] shows that Richard Fitz-William had the privilege granted to him by that King of "free warren" at Ulceby, near Alford.

​An Inquisition in the reign of Henry VII.[85] (A.D. 1502) shows that Thomas Fitz-William held the manors of Mavis Enderby, Maidenwell and Mablethorpe. The list of magistrates for the county in the reign of Henry Vlll.[86] contains the name of George Fitz-William along with Lionel Dymoke, Lord Willoughby, and others; while an Inquisition held five years later[87] shews that Thomas Fitz-William held the aforementioned manor of Ulceby, by the "service of 1 falcon annually to the King." Sir William Fitz-William in the same reign[88] was Lord High Admiral. John Fitz-William is named in the Herald's list of county gentry in the 16th century as residing at Skidbrook, a hamlet of Saltfleet Haven,[89] and William Fitz-William, Esq., supplied "one lance and two light horse" when the Spanish Armada was expected to invade England, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.[90] William Fitz-William of Mablethorpe[91] married, in 1536, Elizabeth daughter of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, of Kettlethorpe, a member of a very old Lincolnshire family, still owning property in this neighbourhood; and in 1644 Sir William Wentworth,[92] a scion of a younger branch, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Savile, of Wakefield, whose family we have already mentioned as connected with Horncastle.

In 1620 the head of the Fitz-William family was created an Irish Peer; in 1742 the 3rd Baron was made Baron Milton in the peerage of Great Britain; and, 4 years later, Earl Fitz-William. In 1782, on the death of his uncle, the last Marquis of Rockingham, the Earl of that day succeeded to the Yorkshire and Northamptonshire estates of the Wentworths, and in 1807 they took the name of Wentworth as an affix. In the early part of the 19th century the name became again connected with Horncastle, when Earl Fitz-William, grandfather of the present Earl, hunted the local pack of foxhounds, which were kept in Horncastle, in what is still called Dog-kennel Yard, at the back of St. Lawrence Street. An old friend, formerly practicing as a Doctor in Horncastle, but lately deceased, has told the writer that he remembered seeing the Earl's hounds breaking cover from Whitehall Wood, in the parish of Martin.

There is one more Carlisle document deserving of quotation as it is of a peculiar nature. A Patent Roll of the reign of Elizabeth,[93] A.D. 1577, records that a "pardon" was granted to "Sir Thomas Cecil, Knt., for acquiring the manor of Langton (by Horncastle) with appurtenances, and 30 messuages, 20 cottages, 40 tofts, 4 dove-cotes, 40 gardens, 30 orchards, 1,400 acres of (cultivated) land, 100 acres of wood, 100 acres of furze and heath, 200 acres of marsh, 40s. of rent, and common pasture, with appurtenances, in Horncastle, Thimbleby, Martin, Thornton and Woodhall, from Philip Tylney, Esq., by fine levied without licence." This was a somewhat extensive acquisition. We have already recorded a more than questionable transaction in the transfer of land by Richard Thymelby and Robert Savile, A.D. 1564, and this ​transaction of Sir Thomas Cecil, 13 years later, seems also to have been in some way irregular, since it needed the royal "pardon."

There is nothing to show who this Philip Tylney was, who acted on this occasion as vendor, but Sir Thomas Cecil was the son of the great Lord Treasurer Burghley, who was Secretary of State under Edward VI., and for 40 years guided the Councils of Queen Elizabeth. Sir Thomas himself was a high official under Elizabeth and King James I.; he was knighted in 1575, received the Order of the Garter in 16ot; under James I. he was made Privy Councillor, and having succeeded his father as Baron Burghley, was created by James Earl of Exeter. His brother Sir Robert also held high office and was made in 1603 Baron Cecil, in 1604 Viscount Cranbourne, in 1605 Earl of Salisbury. Thomas Cecil died Feb. 7, 1622, aged 80, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He married 1st Dorothy, daughter of John Nevil, Lord Latimer, and 2nd, Frances, daughter of Lord Chandos. He was, doubtless, a man of large ideas and great ambition, his royal mistress was herself Lady of the manor of Horncastle, and Horncastle having thus been brought under his notice, he may have been too grasping in compassing his purposes. The Revesby Charters[94] show that he purchased that estate in 1575.

We may add that the Cecils were descended from an ancient family located in Wales soon after the Norman Conquest, and acquired large possessions in the reign of King Rufus; the 14th in descent was David Cecil of Stamford, Sergeant at Arms to King Henry VIII., he was grandfather to the 1st Lord Burghley.[95] The present representatives of this old family are the Marquis of Exeter of Burghley House, Stamford, and the Marquis of Salisbury of Hatfield House, Herts.

We have now reached the end of a somewhat lengthy series of owners formerly connected with Horncastle, its manor, and its soke, bringing us down to the early part of the 17th century, and we think that few towns, of its size, could show such a record of distinguished names. The information available as to more recent periods is more meagre. The Bishops of Carlisle continued to hold the manor down to the year 1856, and various parties held leases of it under them, they themselves residing here from time to time,[96] until the episcopal palace was demolished in 1770, when the present Manor House was erected on its site.

We have already stated that Queen Elizabeth leased the manor from the Bishop of Carlisle of that date, she was succeeded in the lease by King James I., who transferred it to Sir Henry Clinton, but owing to a legal error in that transaction, it proved void. One of the said Bishops in the next reign was Dr. Robert Snowden, whose family were located in this neighbourhood, his son being Vicar of Horncastle. Abigail Snowden married Edward, son of Sir Edward Dymoke, Knt., in 1654, and Jane Snowden married Charles Dymoke, Esq., of Scrivelsby Court; the former belonged to the, so called, Tetford branch of the Dymokes, who have of late years also succeeded to the Scrivelsby property. Bishop Robert Snowden granted a lease of the Horncastle manor to his kinsman, Rutland Snowden, and his assignees for three lives; but this ​would appear to have been afterwards cancelled, owing to the "delinquency" of the first grantee.[97] The name of this Rutland Snowden appears in the list of Lincolnshire Gentry who were entitled to bear arms, at the Herald's Visitation of 1634.[98]

A break in the continuity of the sub-tenure of the manor here occurs, but not of long duration. The family of Banks are next found holding the lease, under the said bishops; the most distinguished of them being Sir Joseph Banks, the eminent naturalist, and patron of science in almost every form; who visited Newfoundland in pursuit of his favourite study; accompanied Captain Cook in his voyage to the South Seas; visited Iceland with Dr. Solander, the pupil of Linnæus; made large natural history and antiquarian collections;[99] became President of the Royal Society; and was largely instrumental in forming the schemes for the drainage and inclosure of the fens; and other works of public utility. His family acquired the Revesby Abbey estates in 1714, and were closely connected with Horncastle for more than a century, as he died in 1820.

One of his ancestors, also Joseph, was M.P. for Grimsby and Totnes; another, also Joseph, had a daughter, Eleonora, who married the Honble. Henry Grenville, and was mother of the Countess Stanhope. Through this last connection, on the demise of Sir Joseph, the leased manor passed, as the nearest male relative, to Col. the Honble. James Hamilton Stanhope, who served in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo. He died three years later, in 1823, and was succeeded by the late James Banks Stanhope, Esq., then a minor, and afterwards M.P. for North Lincolnshire; who, some years ago, transferred all his manorial rights to the Right Honble. Edward Stanhope, 2nd son of the 5th Earl Stanhope, and M.P. for the Horncastle Division. He died 22 December, 1898, and his widow, the Honble. Mrs. Stanhope of Revesby Abbey, became Lady of the Manor; this, on her decease in 1907 reverting to the family of the Earl Stanhope, of Chevening Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, in the person of his son, the Honble. Richard Stanhope, now residing at Revesby Abbey.

In 1856 the manoral rights of the Bishops of Carlisle were transferred to the See of Lincoln, and the Bishop of Lincoln is now ex officio Patron of the Benefice. The head of the Stanhope family is still the chief owner of property in Horncastle; other owners being the Vicar with 92 acres, the representatives of the late Sigismund Trafford Southwell with 67 acres, representatives of the late W. B. Walter (now Majer Traves) with 58 acres; while Coningtons, Clitherows, Rev. Richard Ward, and about 100 other proprietors hold smaller portions. We have mentioned the influence of Sir Joseph Banks in the drainage and enclosure of the fens, and on the completion of that important work in Wildmore Fen, in 1813, some 600 acres were added to the soke of Horncastle, about 80 acres being assigned to the manor, while the glebe of the Vicar was increased so that it now comprises 370 acres.

We conclude this chapter with another record of the past, which should ​not be omitted. It is somewhat remarkable that although Horncastle has been connected with so many personages of distinction as proprietors, and for about 600 years (as already shewn) with royalty itself, as an appanage of the crown, it has only once been visited by royalty in person. History tells[100] that "on Sep. 12, 1406, Henry IV. made a royal procession" from this town (probably coming hither from Bolingbroke Castle, his birthplace), "with a great and honourable company, to the Abbey of Bardney, where the Abbot and monks came out, in ecclesiastical state, to meet him," and he was royally entertained by them. We may perhaps assume that as his father, John of Gaunt, had a palace at Lincoln,[101] he was on his way thither, where also his half brother, Henry Beaufort, had been Bishop, but was promoted two years before this to the See of Winchester.

The nearest approach to another royal visit was that of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, which however was of a private character. Although historians do not generally relate it, it is locally understood that, after the Battle of Winceby, on Oct. 11, 1643, Cromwell personally came to Horncastle to see that proper honours were paid, by the churchwarden, Mr. Hamerton, to the body of Sir Ingram Hopton, slain on that eventful day in single combat with Cromwell himself, who pronounced him to be "a brave gentleman," he having, indeed, first unhorsed Cromwell. This visit would seem to be further proved by the fact that a man, named John Barber, died in Horncastle, aged 95, A.D. 1855 (or 1856), whose grandfather remembered Cromwell, on that occasion, sleeping in the house now called Cromwell House, in West Street (or rather an older house on the same site); while in the parish register of West Barkwith there is an entry of the burial of Nicholas Vickers, in 1719, with the additional note that he "guided Cromwell over Market Rasen Moor," in his journey northward after the battle. He may well, therefore, have taken Horncastle on his way.

  1. ↑ Dr. Mansell Creighton, late Bishop of London. Essays, edited by Louisa Creighton, 1904, pp. 278-9.
  2. ↑ The palace of the Bishop was on the site of the present Manor House.
  3. ↑ Dugdale, vol ii, p. 336. Monast. Angl., vol. ii, p. 646.
  4. ↑ Hundred Rolls, Lincoln, No. 14, m. 1.
  5. ↑ Hundred Rolls, Lincoln, No 14, m. 1, 3 Edward I, 1274-5.
  6. ↑ This sale was confirmed by the King, as shewn by a Charter Roll, 14 Henry III., pt. i, m. 12
  7. ↑ Patent Roll, 14 Richard II., pt. i, m. 3. A.D. 1390.
  8. ↑ Patent Roll, 6 Edward VI., pt. iii, m. 1.
  9. ↑ Patent Roll, 1 Mary, pt. 8, m 2, (44) 28 Nov., 1553.
  10. ↑ Memoirs of Sir Henry Fynes Clinton. Annual Register, 1772, p. 2.
  11. ↑ Coram Rege Roll, Portsmouth, April 20, 14 Chas. II.
  12. ↑ Exchequer Bills and Answers, 11 Charles V., Lincoln, No. 185.
  13. ↑ The carucate varied in different parts of the country, in Lincolnshire it was 120 acres. Gelt was a land tax, first imposed by the Danes in the reign of Ethelred, about A.D. 991, being 2s. on the carucate. Villeins and bordars were under-tenants of two different classes, bordars being superior to villeins. (Introd. Domesday Book, by C. Gowen Smith, 1870).
  14. ↑ Barristers are said to have been first appointed by Edward I., A.D. 1291.
  15. ↑ Among the Lincoln Cathedral Charters is an imperfect one, which mentions her "Castle of Tornegat (can this be a corruption for Horncastle?), her land at Wicham in Chent (Kent?), at Carlton and Torleby (Thurlby) in Lincolnshire," Architectural Society's Journal, 1901, p. 22. There is a notice of her in the Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 1.
  16. ↑ This Geoffrey Gairmar is himself rather an interesting figure in local history. He is mentioned in the Rolls Series, 91, i, ii (Ed. Hardy and Martin, 1888-9), as the author of L'estorie des Engles, a rhyming chronicle, based chiefly on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and Geoffrey of Monmouth (between A.D. 1135 and 1147). He undertook his work at the request of Custance, wife of Ralph Fitz Gilbert; the latter held the manor of Scampton near Lincoln, and Geoffrey was probably a Norman who lived in that parish. He quotes The Book of Washingborough and The Lay of Haveloc the Dane, relating to Grimsby. He does not directly mention Horncastle, but shews acquaintance with the neighbourhood by celebrating the burial of King Ethelred at Bardney.
  17. ↑ Camden's Britannia, pp. 45, 288, 529.
  18. ↑ History of Lincoln, 1816, p. 138.
  19. ↑ Camden, p. 88. A Lincoln Chancery Inquisition (Oct. 31, 1503) shows that on the death of Anne, daughter and heir of Edmund Cheney, owning the manors of Tothill, Gayton, Riston, and Theddlethorpe, Robert Willoughby, Lord Broke, was declared to be her kinsman and heir.
  20. ↑ Dugdale, vol. ii, p. 336. D. Mon, ii, p. 646. (Architectural Society's Journal, 1895, p. 23).
  21. ↑ Dugdale Baronage, p. 39.
  22. ↑ Hundred Rolls, Lincoln, No. 14, m. 1, 3 Ed. I., A.D. 1274-5. A Pipe Roll also, 1 Richard I., A.D. 1189-90, mentions "Gerbod de Escalt as paying a tale of £80 in Horncastre."
  23. ↑ Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 37 Henry III., No. 36. (3 Nov. 1252), and ditto, No. 38, same date. Gerard de Rhodes is also named in a Chancellor's Roll, 3 John, A.D. 1201-2, as paying certain fees for Horncastle. He is also named in the document above quoted (Hundred Rolls, Lincoln, 14, m. 1) as succeeding to the manor on the demise of Gerald de Escald.
  24. ↑ Feet of Fines, 9 Henry III., No. 52, Lincoln.
  25. ↑ Quo Warranto Roll, 9 Ed. I., 15 June, 1281, quoted Lincolnshire Notes & Queries, vol. v, p. 216.
  26. ↑ Coram Rege Roll, 13 Ed. I., m. 10, 12 May, 1285. Lincs. Notes & Queries, pp. 219-20.
  27. ↑ The transfer of the manor to the bishop is further proved by a Carlisle document, a chancery inquisition post mortem, dated Dec. 11, 1395, which states that a certain John Amery, owner of a messuage in the parish 'by fealty and the service of 16d. of rent, by the year, holds of the Bishop of Carlisle, and the said Bishop holds of the King."
  28. ↑ The bishops of those days were sportsmen. It is recorded of a Bishop of Ely that he rode to the Cathedral "with hawk on wrist," and left it in the cloister while doing "God's service." There it was stolen and he solemnly excommunicated the thief. Aukenleck MS., temp. Ed. II., British Museum. The extensive woods in the soke of Horncastle abounded in game, as we have already shown by the tolls charged on roebuck, hares, &c., brought into the town. The punishment for killing a wild boar, without the king's licence, was the loss of both eyes. These feræ naturæ became extinct about A.D. 1620.
  29. ↑ These and other privileges granted to the Bishop are first specified in a Cartulary Roll, 14-15 Henry III.; they are renewed in a Memoranda Roll of 4 Ed. III.; again in the 25th year of Henry VI., and further in a Roll attested by Charles II., in his court at Westminster, Feb. 26, 1676. The August Fair was, in late years, altered by the Urban Council to begin on the 2nd Monday in the month, and to end on the following Thursday, it really however begins on the previous Thursday.
  30. ↑ Roll 104, Hilary Term, 24 Ed. III. (1350). County Placita, Lincoln, No. 46.
  31. ↑ De Banco Roll, Michaelmas, 41 Ed. III., m. 621, Aug. 3, 1368, Lincoln.
  32. ↑ Coram Rege Roll, Trinity, 13 Ed. I., m. 10, Westminster, 13 May, 1285. Given in Lincolnshire Notes & Queries, vol. v., p. 220.
  33. ↑ Patent Roll, 14 Richard II., pt. 2, m. 47, 8 Dec., 1390. Lincs, Notes & Queries, vol. v., p. 221.
  34. ↑ Fuller's Church History of Britain, vol. i, pp. 240, 242.
  35. ↑ Camden's Britannia, p. 484.
  36. ↑ Camden's Britannia, p. 522.
  37. ↑ Ibid, p. 978. The name of Tibetot may possibly still survive in the family of Tibbot, who till quite recently held the manor of Thimbleby in the soke of Horncastle.
  38. ↑ Ibidem, p. 489.
  39. ↑ Ibidem, p. 88.
  40. ↑ Ibidem, p. 760. This castle was built by Richard, Baron le Scrope, Chancellor of England under Richard II.
  41. ↑ Ibidem, p. 99.
  42. ↑ Ibidem, p. 722.
  43. ↑ Patent Roll 6 Ed. VI., pt. 3, m. 1, 21 Nov., 1552, witnessed by the king at Westminster.
  44. ↑ Patent Roll, 1 Mary, pt. 8, m. 2 (44), 28 Nov., 1553.
  45. ↑ Historical MS. Commission. Calendar of MS. of the most Honble. the Marquis of Salisbury, K.G., &c., p. 179.
  46. ↑ This Earl of Lincoln would seem to have been of a particularly hot temperament. I have mentioned in another volume (Records of Woodhall Spa, pp. 140, &c.) several of his actions of gross violence against the Saviles of Poolham Hall, in this neighbourhood, about the same date (1578). I will merely state here that he, with a party of followers, attacked Sir Robert Savile, when on a hunting excursion, seized several of his hounds and hanged them, as Sir Robert says, "upon my own tree within my own ground." He forced his way into the parlour at Poolham and challenged Sir Robert to fight "six to six" of their dependents. After an entertainment at Horncastle his followers, at his instigation, got hold of an unfortunate tailor, "drew their swords and sore wounded him," saying he should "have that and more, for his master's sake," Sir Robert Savile's son. One Robert Fullshaw, of Waddingworth, prayed the justices for (protection against his "horrible outrages," and it was said that his conduct "savoured of insanity." (Illustrations of English History by Lodge. Lansdown MS., Brit. Mus., 27, art. 41.)
  47. ↑ Patent Roll, 6 Ed. VI., pt. i, m. 11. Date 8 Dec., 1554.
  48. ↑ Esch. Inquis. post mortem, 3-4 Henry VIII., No. 14.
  49. ↑ It does not appear where this "Parish-fee" was situated, doubtless it was subordinate to the main manor of Horncastle, such "fees" were generally named after the owners once "enfeoffed" of them, as we have at Spalding Ayscough-fee Hall, once owned by the Ayscoughs, Beaumont-fee at Lincoln, owned by the Beaumonts, Panell-fee by the Paganels, Nevill-fee by the Nevills in Middle Rasen, &c. Architectural Society's Journal 1895, p. 19. There is a family named Parish at Horncastle but they are a modern importation.
  50. ↑ Inquis. post mortem, 6 Edward III., held at Haltham, Sep. 21, 1333.
  51. ↑ Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 32 Henry III., 21 July, A.D. 1248. Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iv., p. 120. This is repeated in a Final Concord of the same date between Silvester, Bishop of Carlisle, and other parties. Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. vii., p. 114.
  52. ↑ Cottonian Charter, v., 61, quoted Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii., p. 245.
  53. ↑ Architectural Society's Journal. 1896, pp. 254-257.
  54. ↑ Court of Wards Inquis. post mortem, 3, 4 and 5 Ed. VI., vol. v., p 91. Architectural Society's Journal, 1896, p. 258.
  55. ↑ Chancery Inquis. post mortem, 20 Henry VI., No. 25. Architectural Society's Journal, 1899, p. 257.
  56. ↑ Ibidem.
  57. ↑ Ibidem, p. 258.
  58. ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vols. i., p. 183, and ii., p. 219.
  59. ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. i., p. 47.
  60. ↑ Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 27 Edward III., No. 158.
  61. ↑ Originalia Roll, 34 Edward III., m. 35, A.D. 1360-1.
  62. ↑ Feet of Fines, Lincoln, 41 Edward III., No. 94.
  63. ↑ Inquis. post mortem, 10 James I, pt. i., No. 11.
  64. ↑ Chancery B. and A., James I., R., r, 10, 1, 8 October, 1623.
  65. ↑ These details are all taken from Camden's Britannia, Gibson's Edition, 1695.
  66. ↑ Chancellor's Roll, A.D. 1201-2.
  67. ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, pp. 244-5.
  68. ↑ Ibidem.
  69. ↑ Camden's Britannia, p. 712.
  70. ↑ Pipe Roll, 1160-1.
  71. ↑ Pipe Roll, 1161-2.
  72. ↑ Testa de Nevill, folio 348. He also held the advowson of Mareham, which was transferred to the Bishop of Carlisle, as Lord of Horncastle, in 1239 (Final Concords, p. 304) by his successor, William de Bavent.
  73. ↑ Cathedral Charters (Calcewaith), folio 106 (a), quoted Architectural Society's Journal, No. xxvii, p. 14.
  74. ↑ Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 18 Ed. I., No. 34.
  75. ↑ Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 12 Ed. II., No. 22.
  76. ↑ Chancery Inquisition post mortem, 44 Ed. III., No. 32. These trustees were John Amery of Horncastle; Simon, Parson of Wilksby; John of Claxby Pluckacre; and others.
  77. ↑ De Banco Roll, 5 Henry VII., Hilary, M., A.D. 1490.
  78. ↑ Architectural Society's Journal, 1894, p. 190. Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iii, p. 204, vol. vii, p. 3.
  79. ↑ Maddison's Wills, 1st series, p. 360, No 96.
  80. ↑ Lansdown MS., British Museum, 54, 62, &c., quoted in Old Lincolnshire, vol. i p. 118. In All Saint's Church at Theddlethorpe is a fine brass of an Angevin and his wife of the 16th century
  81. ↑ De Banco Roll, 5 Henry VII., Hilary, M., A.D. 1490.
  82. ↑ Chancery Inquisition post mortem, taken at Alford, April 28, 14 Henry VIII., A.D. 1522.
  83. ↑ Bridge's History of Northamptonshire, quoted Architectural Society's Journal, 1879, p. 45, note.
  84. ↑ Patent 1 Ed. IV., pt. 2, m. 59, quoted Old Lincolnshire, vol. i, p. 124.
  85. ↑ Chancery Inquisition, 18 Henry VII., No. 34, taken at East Rasen, 26 Oct., 1502.
  86. ↑ Commission of Peace, 13 July, 15 10, quoted Lincs. Notes & Queries Jan. 1896, p. 15.
  87. ↑ Inquisition post mortem, 6 Henry VIII., 20 Jan., A.D. 1515. Old Lincolnshire vol. i, p. 221.
  88. ↑ Circa A.D. 1536. Architectural Society' s Journal, 1895, p. 14.
  89. ↑ Architectural Society's Journal 1894, p. 192.
  90. ↑ Architectural Society's Journal 1894» p. 215.
  91. ↑ Architectural Society's Journal 1894, p. 221.
  92. ↑ Architectural Society's Journal 1879. Pedigree of Fitz-Williams p. 44, &c. A Douglas Tyrwhitt of this family, daughter of George Tyrwhitt, Esq., in 1703 left a dole of 10/-, charged on land at Belchford, to the poor of Horncastle.
  93. ↑ Patent Roll, 19 Elizabeth, pt. iv, m. 13, a May, 1577.
  94. ↑ Privately printed, from Burghley Papers, by Right Hon. Edward Stanhope of Revesby Abbey, 1892.
  95. ↑ Works of Thomas Becon, Parker Society, p. 480, note.
  96. ↑ Bishop Aldricb died at Horncastle in March, 1555, he was a distinguished graduate of King's College, Cambridge, Provost of Eton, a correspondent of the great Dutch scholar Erasmus; afterwards made Archdeacon of Colchester, Canon of Windsor, Registrar of the Order of the Garter, and consecrated to the See of Carlisle 18 July, 1537.
  97. ↑ Exchequer Bills and Answers, Chas. I., Lincoln, No. 36. Among the charges brought against Rutland Snowden (as already stated elsewhere) one was, that, besides having aided the forces of the Parliament, he had more than one wife. The Snowden Arms are given in "Yorks. Union of Honour," Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. iv., p. 16.
  98. ↑ Lincs. Notes & Queries, vol. i., p. 106.
  99. ↑ The valuable collections of Sir Joseph Banks are still carefully preserved at Revesby Abbey, and form in themselves almost a museum.
  100. ↑ Leland's Collectanea, 66, p 300.
  101. ↑ The stables of John of Gaunt's House still exist adjoining the High Street.
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