A History of Horncastle from the Earliest Period to the Present Time/Chapter 4
CHAPTER IV.
THE CHURCH OF HOLY TRINITY
AS built in the years 1847 and 1848, as a Chapel of Ease to St. Mary's Church, in the vicariate of the Rev. T. J. Clarke, at a cost of about £2,500; £500 having been bequeathed towards that purpose by his predecessor, Dr. Clement Madely, and the rest being raised by public subscriptions. The foundation stone was laid April 6, in the former year, by Sir Henry Dymoke, Bart., the Queen's Champion. The roof of the nave was reared Oct. 12, and the cross on the east end of the chancel erected Nov. 25, in the same year. The church and churchyard were consecrated by Dr. Kaye, Bishop of Lincoln, April 27, 1848; his Lordship preaching at the opening
service in the morning, and Dr. Percy, Bishop of Carlisle (as Patron[1] of the Benefice) in the afternoon. The architect was Mr. Stephen Lewin, of Boston (author of Churches of the Division of Holland, 1843, &c.) Mr. Hind, of Sleaford, being the contractor for the work.
It was a condition of Dr. Madely's bequest that the church should be commenced within two years of his death, which occurred on Good Friday, March 21, 1845. This fortunately was just (but only just) effected[2] in time to secure the bequest.
When the churchyard of Holy Trinity was consecrated that of St. Mary's was closed, with the exception of some private vaults; both these burial grounds being closed in 1888, when the public cemetery was opened; the church part of which was consecrated on Nov. 7th, in that year, by the Bishop of Lincoln, Dr. King.
The church is in the Early English style, consisting of nave, chancel, north and south aisles, north porch, high open belfry with one bell, and has sittings for 400 persons. The materials of the structure are white brick, with dressings of Ancaster stone. It was considerably improved in 1887, and, more recently, in 1895.
The windows in the north and south aisles are plain small lancets, in pairs; 5 pairs on the south side, and 4 pairs, with porch door, on the north. The north and south arcades have 5 bays, with narrow perpendicular arches, except the easternmost, on both sides, which are wider, with a view to future transepts; the octagonal columns of brick have nicely carved stone capitals. The clerestory windows above, 5 on each side, are alternately quatrefoils and inverted triangles. The roof is of a very high pitch, slated externally, and internally of deeply stained deal. The principals of the chancel roof are ornamented with deeply cut dog-tooth pattern. The choir is rather narrow, and without aisles. At the east end of the north aisle is the vestry, the doorway leading to it having a richly carved arch, supported by twin pilasters, with carved capitals; the porch doorway has also a richly carved arch, with dog-tooth moulding, and clusters of pillars below.
The east window in the chancel is of 3 lights, and is an enlarged copy of the beautiful Early English east window of Kirkstead Abbey Chapel; with triple columns between, and, on either side of the lights, having richly carved capitals; the wall space above being also elaborately carved with floriated pattern. It was fitted with coloured glass, by an anonymous donor, in memory of the Rev. T. J. Clarke, in whose vicariate, as has been stated, the church was built. The subjects are, running across and in the centre, the Nativity, the Crucifixion, and Transfiguration; above being the Resurrection, and Christ sitting in glory; and in the lower row, our Lord as the Good Shepherd, the Man of sorrows and the Light of the world.
In the chancel walls, north and south, are triple windows in the same style, but with plain columns and white glass. Below the east window is a stone Reredos, having four panels with decorated arches on each side, north and south; with a central canopy of 3 compartments, nicely carved, and plain cross in the centre. This was carved and designed by Messrs. F. Bell & Son, of Horncastle. The Reredos was due to a movement originating with the Girls' Club, then under the management of Miss Agnes Armstrong; assisted by contributions from members of the choir, a considerable sum of money being raised by them, for altar frontals and other fittings in the chancel. These, and other additions, were dedicated by the late vicar. Prebendary E. F. Quarrington, on All Saints' day, Nov. 1, 1895.
The Organ, on the north side of the choir, is a good instrument. In the early days of the church an old organ was transferred from St. Mary's Church and placed at the west end, but this was sold in 1869, and for some years a harmonium was used in the choir. The present instrument was the work of Messrs. Foster & Andrews, of Hull, and has one manual, with pedals.
The Pulpit, on the south of the lofty chancel arch, is of stone, having 5 panels with dog-tooth borders, illuminated in gold and various colours; and having, within central circles, figures of SS. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the fifth having the cross with the inscription "Feed my sheep." The Reading Desk, on the north, is part of the chancel sedilia; this, with the Lectern, slightly carved, in front of it, and all the sittings, are of pitch pine, stained.
At the west end of the south aisle is a plain lancet window of one light. The window corresponding to this, in the north aisle, has good coloured glass, in memory of the late Hugh George, M.D., who died in 1895. It has two subjects (1) The healing of the lame man by SS. Peter and John, at the beautiful gate of the temple, and (2) Luke, the beloved physician, ministering to St. Paul, in prison at Rome.
The west window is of two lights, narrow lancets with circular window above, having quatrefoil tracery. These are filled with coloured glass, given by the late Miss Lucy Babington of The Rookery, Horncastle, in memory of her parents, brothers and sister. The subject in the upper "Rose" window is the Holy Dove descending; those in the window below are (1) our Lord's
Holy Trinity Church.
Baptism, (2) His commission to the disciples, "Go ye, and baptize all nations;" (3) The baptism of a Jew (St. Paul), and (4) The baptism of a Gentile (Cornelius).[3]
Below this window, and in keeping with the subjects above, stands the Font, on a plain octagonal base. The bowl is circular and larger than that in St. Mary's Church. It is supported by 8 carved pilasters at the angles, with a central one; rising from these are narrow arches with dog-tooth moulding.
In the eastern part of the churchyard lie the remains of four successive vicars of Horncastle, and the wife of a fifth. A coffin-shaped stone, adorned with a full-length floriated cross, has this inscription: "Thomas James Clarke, M.A., Vicar of Horncastle, died 14th May, 1853. Is any among you afflicted, let him pray." This stone was put down by the Rev. Edmund Huff, who was curate at the time of Mr. Clarke's death, and afterwards Rector of Little Cawthorpe near Louth.
An upright stone, the head forming an inverted overhanging arch, ornamented with dog-tooth pattern (copied from a panel in the church pulpit), has the inscription: "W. H. Milner, Vicar of Horncastle, died October 3rd, 1868, aged 64." Within the arch is a Calvary Cross, on the steps of which are these words "He that believeth in Me hath everlasting life." On the base, of the stone is a quotation from the Burial Service," Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord, &c." Near this a massive decorated cross bears the inscription: "Robert Giles, Vicar of Horncastle, died July 12th, 1872. Jesu, Mercy." This is an exact reproduction of a granite cross in Willoughby churchyard, erected to the memory of the late Archdeacon Giles, the vicar's brother.
A grass grave, surrounded by a kerb, has resting upon it a full-length plain Latin cross, along the arms of which is inscribed "Jesu Mercy." Surronding the kerb is the inscription "Arthur Scrivenor, M.A., Vicar of Horncastle, born January 13th, 1831, died August 27th, 1882." "Never resting, never tiring, in the endless work of God;" the latter words being a quotation from Dr. Mansell's Life of Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford and Winchester.
Very near the last tomb is the grave of the wife of the late Vicar of Horncastle, Prebendary E. F. Quarrington, now Rector of Welby, near Grantham; the plain slab bears the inscription "At rest, Nov. 25, 1888."
The following biographical notes may not be without interest. The Rev. T. J. Clarke was a remarkable man; born in this neighbourhood, in a humble rank of life (his widowed mother occupying a cottage in Woodhall, where, to his honour, he frequently visited her, and supported her, during his vicariate), he was apprenticed as a boy to a tradesman in Leeds. A lady upon whom he attended, as she made purchases in the shop, noticed his intelligence; the result being that she sent him, at her own expense, to be educated at a good school, and, in due time, assisted him to enter at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he took Double Honours, and obtained a Fellowship. He was afterwards appointed to the Vicarage of Penrith, Cumberland, thus coming under the notice of the Bishop of Carlisle, who, as Patron, presented him to the Vicarage of Horncastle, on the death of Dr. Madely in 1845. With Mr. Clarke's arrival in Horncastle it was felt that a new era in church life had begun. He threw himself with characteristic energy into every kind of work, and at one time had 3 curates. To him was due the erection of Holy Trinity Church, and a great multiplication of Church services. The old vicarage, a poor house close to St. Mary's churchyard, was pulled down, and he rented the house in South Street, with extensive gardens, which afterwards became the residence of Major Armstrong and now occupied by Mrs. Howland. Notwithstanding his heavy parochial work Mr. Clarke (as the present writer can testify) kept up his classical and mathematical studies. He was also devoted to music, and a very skilful performer on the flute. Although these were relaxations from his more serious parochial labours, the amount of mental work involved eventually told upon his health, and in the 8th year of his vicariate it became perceptible, even in his pulpit utterances, that his mind was affected. He had married a Cumberland lady, but all her care and attention was unavailing; he gradually collapsed into a condition of melancholy, scarcely roused by anything except the music of his piano.[4] The end inevitable was seen to be approaching, but unfortunately Mr. Clarke by his own act anticipated it. Being accidentally left alone for a few moments he took a pistol, which he had concealed in a drawer, walked out into the garden and shot himself, the overwrought brain rendering him no longer accountable for his actions.
Of his successor, the Rev. Prebendary W. H. Milner, who, like Mr. Clarke, had held preferment in the diocese of Carlisle, we have only to say that he was an able man of business, carried on the work of the church with great energy, and introduced many reforms. He built the present vicarage. He was the last vicar nominated by the Bishop of Carlisle. Of the next two vicars it may be said that their tenure of office was all too short, hard faithful labour cutting off the Rev. Robert Giles (as we have before stated) in 1872, after a vicariate of only 4 years; while the Rev. Arthur Scrivenor died, after 10 years work in the parish, in his 51st year, in 1882. Canon E. Fowler Quarrington succeeded him, and held the vicarage during 18 years, when he was transferred, in 1900, to the Rectory of Welby, near Grantham. The Rev. Prebendary Alfred Edgar Moore, formerly Vicar of Messingham, near Brigg, began his vicariate in 1900, being inducted into the benefice on August 24, in that year.
Horncastle, we may here add, has been well served by its Curates. "Comparisons are (proverbially) odious," we will not therefore refer to any of these in recent years; but we may take three typical cases of men whose memory is still green and redolent of good work.
In the latter years of the amiable vicar, Dr. Madely, he needed an active assistant, and such was the Rev. William Spranger White, of Trinity College, Cambridge, a member of a family of position, the head of which was his uncle. Sir Thomas Wollaston White, of Wallingwells Park, Worksop, High Sheriff 1839, and formerly of the 10th Hussars. Mr. White possessed independent means and was very generous He was of a most sympathetic nature, and became greatly beloved by all classes. He worked hard in the parish from his ordination in 1833 to 1849.[5] In that year he was selected by the Marchioness of Lothian, to take charge of an Episcopalian Church, which her Ladyship built and endowed at Jedburgh, Roxburghshire. The church was opened with an octave of services, which were attended by the great Doctor Hook of Leeds, who had recommended Mr. White to her Ladyship. The father of the present writer, and many leading clergymen from this neighbourhood, and various parts of England and Scotland, attended the opening services. Mr. White remained there for some years, and married the eldest daughter of Lord Chancellor Campbell, who resided at Hartrigg House, near Jedburgh. This
marriage led to his subsequent return to England, being appointed by the Lord Chancellor to the Rectory of St. Just, near Land's End, Cornwall; at a later date promoted to the Vicarage of Chaddesley Corbett, near Kidderminster, Worcestershire; and finally in 1859 to the Rectory of Potterhanworth, near Lincoln, of which cathedral he was made an Honorary Canon, in recognition of his generous gifts towards cathedral improvements. Here he did excellent work until his death in 1893.[6]
We next take two of the well chosen curates of the Vicar, T. J. Clarke, who were contemporaries at Horncastle; Charles Dashwood Goldie of St. John's College, Cambridge, where he took Mathematical Honours in 1847, was ordained as Curate of Horncastle in 1848. An able preacher and indefatigable worker in the parish, he at once made his mark, not only in the town, but in the neighbourhood; he and his beautiful wife being welcome guests in many a rectory and vicarage. He was also a man of good social position and private means, and occupied a good house with large garden on the north side of West Street (then called Far Street), belonging to the late Mrs. Conington, within some 120 yards of the railway station, now occupied by Mr. Sills, and named "The Chestnuts." Mr. Goldie being curate at the time when Holy Trinity Church was built presented the carved oak chairs within the communion rails. After leaving Horncastle he was appointed to the vicarage of St. Ives, in the diocese of Ely. The Goldies were an old Manx family; Col. Goldie, his brother, of the Scotts Guards Regiment, being President of the House of Keys, the local parliament. Their residence in that island is "The Nunnery," near the town of Douglas, so called from the ruin close at hand of an ancient priory, said to have been founded by St. Bridget in the sixth century. Mr. Goldies' nephew is the present Sir George Dashwood Tanbman Goldie, Privy Councillor, K.C.M.G, F.R.G.S., &c, formerly of the Royal Engineers, but latterly holding various Government appointments, director of several expeditions in West Africa, having travelled in Egypt, the Soudan, Algiers, Morocco, &c., and attended the Berlin Conference in 1884, as an expert on questions connected with the Niger country, where he founded the Royal Chartered Company of Nigeria. His latest honour (1905) is the Presidency of the Royal Geographical Society, in succession to Sir Clements P. Markham, K.C.B., &c.
The Rev. Thomas Castle Southey (a relative of the poet) was Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford, where he took Classical and Mathematical Honours in 1847. He was ordained in the same year, and held the curacy of Horncastle from that year till 1849. He was an able and scholarly preacher and persevering worker in the parish. On leaving Horncastle he became Incumbent of the Episcopal Church at Montrose, N.B., which he held for six years, when he became Assistant Curate of St. Paul's Church, Brighton, under the Rev. Arthur Wagner; then Curate of the church of St. Thomas the Martyr at Oxford; then Vicar of Wendron, Cornwall, and afterwards of Newbold Pacey, near Leamington, in 1868 After leaving Horncastle he was invited by the Governors, as an able scholar, to examine the Horncastle Grammar School, then a considerably larger school than it has been in later years, with a large number of day boys, and also boarders from London, many distant parts of the country, and even from Jersey and the continent.
As this is the last chapter in which we shall deal with church matters, we may here say that a Clerical Club, with valuable library and news room, was established in the town in the year 1823. At that time there was a numerous community of country clergymen living in the town; a dozen, or more, villages in the neighbourhood having no official residence in their parishes; thus a Clerical Club became a convenient institution for social intercourse, and valuable papers were often read at their meetings. This ceased to exist at the close of the 19th century, when the books were transferred to the Diocesan Library at Lincoln. In order to enable these country incumbents to maintain a town residence, they, in several cases, held a plurality of benefices, which would hardly be allowed in the present day. Even the Vicar of Horncastle, Dr. Madely, also held the Vicarage of Stickford, distant more than a dozen miles; another clergyman was Rector of Martin, Vicar of Baumber, and Rector of Sotby, several miles apart; while a third held the Perpetual Curacy of Wood Enderby, 4 or 5 miles to the south-east of the town, with the Curacy of Wilksby adjoining, and the Chapelry of Kirkstead, 5 or 6 miles to the west. Further, to eke out the family income, his daughter found employment of a somewhat novel kind in the service of the late Queen Victoria. Being in figure the exact size of the Queen, her Majesty's dresses were all tried on this lady by the royal dressmaker; and, as a portion of her remuneration, the castoff clothing of the Queen became her perquisite. On the occasion of the wedding of one of her friends at Horncastle, the bride and her bridesmaids were all attired in Queen's dresses.
In connection with the church is the "Young Churchmen's Union," of which the Vicar is President. They have fortnightly meetings, in the Boys' National School, at 8.15 p.m. There is also a Church Lads' Brigade, No. 1951, attached to the 1st Battalion, Lincoln Regiment, B 51. This was enrolled Oct. 1st, 1901. The members are youths between the ages of 13 and 19; the present Lieutenant being H. V. Sharpe; Chaplain, the Vicar; Assistant Chaplain and Correspondent, the Senior Curate. Entrance fee 1/6, subscription 1d. per week.
The Church National Schools are good substantial buildings, erected at various periods, the Girls' School in 1812, the Infants' in 1860, and the Boys' (at a cost of £1,000) in 1872; the total accommodation is for 300 children, the average attendance being about 250. The schools were taken over by the Lindsey County Council, on April 1st, 1903.
- ↑ The patronage and manorial rights (as already stated) were transferred to the Bishop of Lincoln, on the death of the Bishop of Carlisle in 1856.
- ↑ We may add that Dr. Madely also left a bequest of £50 towards a much needed church at Woodhall Spa; where through the energy of the Rev. E. Walter, Vicar of the parent parish of Woodhall St. Margaret, and Rector of Langton, the Church of St. Andrew was built before that of Holy Trinity, Horncastle, the foundation stone being laid by Sir H. Dymoke, April 2, 1846, and the consecration by Bishop Kaye taking place Sep. 14, 1847; the architect in this case also being Mr. Stephen Lewin, of Boston, a vicarage being built at the same time.
- ↑ All the coloured windows are by Messrs. Clayton & Bell.
- ↑ The sister of the present writer, who was a brilliant pianist, frequently went to play to Mr. Clarke, and, as she touched the piano, he would rouse himself and take his flute and try to accompany her. It is not a little remarkable, that Mr. Clarke's widow, after a few years married again, a Medical Practitioner, near Windsor, and committed suicide by placing herself on the railway line, near that place, her mangled remains being afterwards found on the line. Whether her mind had been affected by her first husband's tragic death, who can say?
- ↑ To show Mr. White's energy of character the writer may mention that he frequently, as a healthy diversion from his professional work, walked up to Langton Rectory before breakfast, and plied his spade in the garden, and then enjoyed a hearty breakfast with the Rector, returning to Horncastle in time for the daily service at 11 a.m. As an instance of his kindly nature we may give the following: At Horncastle a poor girl was suffering from a "white swelling" in the knee. The doctor declared that her life could only be saved by the leg being amputated above the knee. She dreaded the operation, but consented, if Mr. White would support her in his arms during the process. He was greatly averse to painful scenes, but reluctantly consented. Those were not the days of anæsthetics, when such operations can be performed without the patients feeling it; but he said to her "Let us pray," and while the doctors were at work they prayed so fervently that she was too much absorbed to notice what was done. At length she said, "Dear Mr. White will they never begin?" His reply was "My good girl, your leg is off, and the Lord has spared you all the pain." She lived to be a strong healthy woman and always blessed the curate.
- ↑ The writer had the privilege of visiting Mr. White at Jedburgh, and retaining his valued friendship through life, visiting him a short time before his death, and receiving many kindnesses from him.