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Alexander
Alexander "The Magnificent" - 3rd Bishop of Lincoln
Alexander "The Magnificent" - 3rd Bishop of Lincoln

"Alexander of Lincoln (died February 1148) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln, a member of an important administrative and ecclesiastical family.

He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England under King Henry I, and he was also related to Nigel, Bishop of Ely.

Educated at Laon, Alexander served in his uncle's diocese as an archdeacon in the early 1120s.

Unlike his relatives, he held no office in the government before his appointment as Bishop of Lincoln in 1123.

Alexander became a frequent visitor to King Henry's court after his appointment to the episcopate, often witnessing royal documents, and he served as a royal justice in Lincolnshire ...

Alexander's nickname, "the Magnificent", reflected his ostentatious and luxurious lifestyle"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Lincoln  

Image shows a Tournai marble burial slab on the north side of the nave in Lincoln Cathedral.

Identified in C19 as belonging to Remigius the 1st Bishop of Lincoln 1072-1092 it is now believed on stylistic grounds to belong to Alexander "the Magnificent" 3rd Bishop of Lincoln 1123-1148.

DB 11 October 2018 

Lincoln Cathedral, Nave, Bishop Alexander, Tomb Slab, Tree of Jesse
Alford, Viscount - Member of Parliament
Alford, Viscount - Member of Parliament
Alford, Viscount - Member of Parliament

Installed 1851 by 1st Earl Brownlow, in Belton Park, Londonthorpe, to commemorate his eldest son Viscount Alford (1812-51). Alford, born John Hume Cust, was MP for Bedfordshire.

The Grade II listed Monument is now just within the bounds of Belton Park Golf Club.

DB 8 December 2017
Londonthorpe, Viscount Alford, John Hume Cust
Angell, Norman - Nobel Peace Prize winner
Angell, Norman - Nobel Peace Prize winner
Angell, Norman - Nobel Peace Prize winner

Norman Angell (1872-1967), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933, was born in the Mansion House at Holbeach. This blue plaque is mounted there.

He was an author, lecturer, journalist and energetic pacifist.

At one time MP for Bradford North, he served on the Executive Committee of the League of Nations after the First World War.

Ken Redmore, 2011

Holbeach, Norman Angell, Mansion House, Nobel Peace prize
Angell, Norman - Nobel Peace Prize winner
Angell, Norman - Nobel Peace Prize winner
Angell, Norman - Nobel Peace Prize winner

This is the Mansion House at Holbeach where Angell was born in 1872.

The blue plaque is fixed to the facade of the house facing the street.

July 2011

Holbeach, Angell
Baker, Tom - Museum Director & Historian
Baker, Tom - Museum Director & Historian
Baker, Tom - Museum Director & Historian

Elm House, Willis Terrace, the birthplace of Tom Baker. 

Reported October 2109 "At a meeting in the Blue Room, The Lawn, Lincoln on Sunday 20 October former friends and colleagues of Tom Baker (1911-1998) recalled the large contribution he made to many aspects of heritage and cultural life in Lincoln and the County.

He was Director of Libraries and Museums in Lincoln, Chairman of Lincoln Civic Trust and was an influential figure in many local organisations, including SLHA".

http://slha.org.uk/news/index.php?year=2019#apm1_8

DB 16 September 2019

Lincoln, Tom Baker
Baker, Tom - Museum Director & Historian
Baker, Tom - Museum Director & Historian
Baker, Tom - Museum Director & Historian

"ELM HOUSE BIRTHPLACE OF TOM BAKER (1911-1998) WHO DEVOTED HIS WHOLE LIFE TO THE STUDY AND PRESERVATION OF LINCOLNSHIRE'S HISTORY"

DB 16 September 2019

Lincoln, Tom Baker
Ball, Albert - Victoria Cross
Ball, Albert - Victoria Cross
Ball, Albert - Victoria Cross
Blue Plaque located on the outer wall of King's School and visible from Brook Street, Grantham.

"Captain Albert Ball VC, DSO & 2 bars, MC 1897-1917 attended this school in 1906 & 1907.
 
He was awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous & consistent bravery in 26 combats during which he destroyed 11 enemy aircraft & forced several others to land.

He was killed in action in May 1917 at the age of 20"

DB 11 March 2017
Grantham, Albert Ball, Victoria Cross, Blue Plaque
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer

Millennial tribute in Lincoln Cathedral to Sir Joseph Banks who was a Lincolnshire landowner.

"Banks made his name on the 1766 natural history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador.

He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage (1768-1771), visiting Brazil, Tahiti, and, after 6 months in New Zealand, Australia, returning to immediate fame.

He held the position of President of the Royal Society for over 41 years.

He advised King George III on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and by sending botanists around the world to collect plants, he made Kew the world's leading botanical gardens.

He is credited for bringing 30,000 plant specimens home with him; amongst them he discovered 1,400"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Banks 

DB 10 January 2019

Lincoln Cathedral, Joseph Banks, Britain-Australia Society
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Carrera bust of Sir Joseph Banks by John Nost.
 
Surmounting his sarcophagus in the north aisle of Revesby, St Lawrence's Church

DB 19 April 2019
Revesby, Sir Joseph Banks, John Nost
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer

Banks took a leading role in several significant developments in the Horncastle area, including the Enclosure of the town and the building of the Canal between Horncastle and the Witham at Tattershall.

He built this large house for himself on High Street and the corner of the Market Place in 1775.

Horncastle,
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
Banks, Joseph - Naturalist & Explorer
This plaque is on the High Street wall of Banks' house.
Horncastle,
Barnard, Charlotte Alington (
Barnard, Charlotte Alington ("Claribel") - Poet and Composer
Barnard, Charlotte Alington ("Claribel") - Poet and Composer

The tower of All Saints, West Ashby was restored in 1873 in memory of Mrs. Barnard, well known, under the name of "Claribel," as a musical composer.

"Charlotte Alington Pye Barnard (23 December 1830 in Louth, Lincolnshire - 30 January 1869 in Dover) was an English poet and composer of ballads and hymns, who often wrote under the pseudonym Claribel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Alington_Barnard 

DB 31 August 2019 

West Ashby, Charlotte Alington Barnard, Claribel
Bass, George - Naval Surgeon & Explorer
Bass, George - Naval Surgeon & Explorer
Bass, George - Naval Surgeon & Explorer

A memorial to George Bass, explorer, who was baptised in the St Denis's church, Aswarby in 1771.

The inscription reads:

In Remembrance of / GEORGE BASS / Naval Surgeon and Explorer // He discovered the Straits separating /  Southern Australia and Tasmania, / now named after him. // Born at Grange Farm, Aswarby, / he was baptised in this Church / FEBRUARY 1771

Mark Acton, 2017


Aswarby, St Denis, George Bass
Bass, George - Naval Surgeon & Explorer
Bass, George - Naval Surgeon & Explorer
Bass, George - Naval Surgeon & Explorer

A plaque at the site of the Crown & Anchor Tavern, London Road, Boston reads :-

"THE SITE OF THE CROWN & ANCHOR TAVERN, POSSIBLY KNOWN AS THE ROPE & ANCHOR TAVERN, WAS THE HOME OF GEORGE BASS, SURGEON AND NAVIGATOR (1771-1803) WHO DISCOVERED BASS STRAIT AND PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT PART IN THE HISTORY OF TASMANIA AND VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA"

George Bass attended school in Boston and later trained in medicine at the local hospital.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bass

DB 5 June 2019

Boston, Crown & Anchor, George Bass
Bavin, Nickel - Prizefighter
Bavin, Nickel - Prizefighter
Bavin, Nickel - Prizefighter

A signpost in Billinghay remembering villager Nickel Bavin.

'During the 1920s local prizefighter Nickel Bavin would always oblige if called upon for a fight. His contests happened in the Market Place, on raw stones and gravel. He was a popular attraction at the annual October Fair.'

Mark Acton, 2018


Billinghay, Nickel Bavin
Beechey brothers - First World War casualties
Beechey brothers - First World War casualties
Beechey brothers - First World War casualties

All eight sons of Revd P W T Beechey and his wife Amy served in World War I.

The five who died in service - ranging in age from 26 to 39 - are commemorated in this plaque in St Peter's church Friesthorpe.

August 2020
Friesthorpe, St Peter, Beechey
Beechey brothers - First World War casualties
Beechey brothers - First World War casualties
Beechey brothers - First World War casualties

A commemorative window for the five Beechey brothers was created by Andrew Seddon of the Stained Glass Company Ltd and installed in St Peter's church, Friesthorpe in 2016.

The phrase 'I did not give them willingly' is attributed to their mother, Amy.

August 2020
Friesthorpe, Beechey, Andrew Seddon, stained glass, Amy
Beechey, Amy - WW1 Mother
Beechey, Amy - WW1 Mother
Beechey, Amy - WW1 Mother

Memorial Plaque in Lincoln Arboretum to Amy Beechey and her family. 

Amy Beechey is buried in Newport Cemetery where local signage states :-

"Also buried in this cemetery is Amy Beechey, the mother of eight sons who all fought in the First World War, though only three returned after the Armistice.

When presented to the King and Queen and honoured for her great sacrifice she said to Queen Mary: "It was no sacrifice, Ma'am, I did not give them willingly"

DB 30 December 2019

Lincoln, Arboretum, Green Plaque, Amy Beechey
Bell, Harold Idris - Museum Curator & Papyrologist
Bell, Harold Idris - Museum Curator & Papyrologist
Bell, Harold Idris - Museum Curator & Papyrologist

Birthplace in Epworth of Sir Harold Idris Bell.

"Sir Harold Idris Bell CB OBE (2 October 1879 - 22 January 1967) was a museum curator, a British papyrologist (specialising in Roman Egypt) and a scholar of Welsh literature ...

In 1903, he joined the British Museum as an assistant in the Department of Manuscripts and remained there his entire working life, becoming Deputy Keeper of the Department in 1927 and Keeper in 1929 ... 

Bell was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours for his wartime services as editor of the Food Supplement of the Daily Review of the Foreign Press.

He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1936 and was knighted in 1946.

He was president of the International Association of Papyrologists from 1947 to 1955.

He was elected corresponding member of several Continental and American learned societies, and was awarded honorary degrees by the Universities of Wales, Liverpool, Michigan and Brussels.

In 1932 the British Academy elected him a Fellow, and he was President from 1946 to 1950"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idris_Bell 

DB 9 August 2019

Epworth, Sir Harold Idris Bell, museum curator, papyrologist
Bell, Harold Idris - Museum Curator & Papyrologist
Bell, Harold Idris - Museum Curator & Papyrologist
Bell, Harold Idris - Museum Curator & Papyrologist

Blue plaque at the birthplace of Sir Harold Idris Bell in Church Street, Epworth now Weldricks Pharmacy.

"Birthplace of / SIR HAROLD IDRIS BELL / C.B. O.B.E. / Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum 1929 - 44"

DB 9 August 2019

Epworth, Sir Harold Idris Bell, museum curator, papyrologist
Birdwood, William - Field Marshal
Birdwood, William - Field Marshal
Birdwood, William - Field Marshal

Listed on the Thurlby Roll of Honour. He was married to Janetta Bromhead, daughter of Sir Benjamin Bromhead of Thurlby Hall.

"William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, CIE, DSO (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer.

He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener.

He saw action again in the First World War as Commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915, leading the landings on the peninsula and then the evacuation later in the year, before becoming commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army on the Western Front during the closing stages of the war.

He went on to be general officer commanding the Northern Army in India in 1920 and Commander-in-Chief, India, in 1925.

DB 16 June 2018 

Thurlby, Saint Germain, Church, Roll of Honour, William Riddell Birdwood
Birks, Anthony - Mathematician
Birks, Anthony - Mathematician
Birks, Anthony - Mathematician

Wall plaque in the south aisle of Donington (Holland) church. Anthony Birks was co-author of :-

"Arithmetical collections and improvements. Being a complete system of practical arithmetic.

By Anthony and John Birks, Late Masters of a Boarding-School at Gosberton, and now of the Free Writing-School at Donington, Lincolnshire"

Copies are available in facsimile edition and free to download.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FEtgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PR1&lpg=PR1&dq=donington+school+birks+arithmetic&source=bl&ots=p5vq0jtrJm&sig=t797WSCQH1kKCBgxo51Mw0TqYoc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiByYy49eHaAhWBV8AKHbK3CG4Q6AEIaTAG#v=onepage&q=donington%20school%20birks%20arithmetic&f=false  

DB 23 April 2017


Donington, Church, St Mary & the Holy Rood, Anthony Birks, Arithmetical Collections and Improvements
Blissett, Arthur - Antarctic Explorer
Blissett, Arthur - Antarctic Explorer
Blissett, Arthur - Antarctic Explorer

Blue Plaque placed by the Grantham Civic Society at the birth place of Arthur Harry Blissett a Royal Marine who volunteered for service on Scott's British Antarctic Expedition 1901-04.

Holder of the Polar Medal (silver).

https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum/shackleton/biographies/Blissett,_Arthur_Harry/

DB 3 June 2019

Grantham, Arthur Harry Blissett, Blue Plaque, Antarctic, Royal Marine, Explorer
Blissett, Arthur - Antarctic Explorer
Blissett, Arthur - Antarctic Explorer
Blissett, Arthur - Antarctic Explorer

Blue Plaque placed at a house on Manthorpe Road by the Grantham Civic Society. 

"BIRTH PLACE OF ARTHUR HARRY BLISSETT 1878-1955

ROYAL MARINE AND ANTARCTIC EXPLORER DISCOVERY EXPEDITION WITH CAPT. ROBERT FALCON SCOTT 1901-1904"

DB 3 June 2019

Grantham, Arthur Harry Blissett, Blue Plaque, Antarctic, Royal Marine, Explorer
Bloet, Robert - Chancellor of England & Bishop of Lincoln
Bloet, Robert - Chancellor of England & Bishop of Lincoln
Bloet, Robert - Chancellor of England & Bishop of Lincoln

Wall painting by Vincenzo Damini 1728, in Lincoln Cathedral, of four early Bishops of Lincoln with Robert Bloet furthest to the right.

"Robert Bloet (sometimes Robert Bloett; died 1123) was Bishop of Lincoln 1093–1123 and Chancellor of England.

Born into a noble Norman family, he became a royal clerk under King William I.

Under William I's son and successor King William II, Bloet was first named chancellor then appointed to the See of Lincoln.

Continuing to serve the king while bishop, Bloet remained a close royal councillor to William II's successor, King Henry I.

He did much to embellish Lincoln Cathedral, and gave generously to his cathedral and other religious houses.

He educated a number of noblemen, including illegitimate children of Henry I.

He also was the patron of the medieval chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, and was an early patron of Gilbert of Sempringham, the founder of the Gilbertine monastic order"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bloet

DB 18 October 2018

Lincoln Cathedral, Wall Painting, Vincenzo Damini
Boole, George - Mathematician
Boole, George - Mathematician
Boole, George - Mathematician

George Boole (1815-1864), born in Lincoln, was an outstanding mathematician. Though his upbringing was modest, his early talent was nurtured and he became a schoolmaster.

His outstanding achievement was to develop the algebraic logic which underpins computer science.

He is commemorated by this window in the north aisle of the nave at Lincoln Cathedral.

Boole, Cathedral, computer
Boole, George - Mathematician
Boole, George - Mathematician
Boole, George - Mathematician

A plaque commemorating George Boole is mounted horizontally on a low stone plinth or informal seat at the junction of High Street and Silver Street just above the Stonebow in Lincoln.

It was unveiled in November 2015 to mark the bicentenary of Boole’s birth.

January 2020
Streets, George Boole, High Street
Boucherett, Emilia Jessie - Women's Rights Campaigner
Boucherett, Emilia Jessie - Women's Rights Campaigner
Boucherett, Emilia Jessie - Women's Rights Campaigner

Emilia Jessie Boucherett, women’s rights campaigner, writer and editor was born at Willingham Hall, near Market Rasen. in 1825.

Jessie was inspired in her life’s activities by reading the English Woman’s Journal and an article about the many ‘superfluous’ women in England’s population.

In 1859 she helped found the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women. With others she began in 1865 to campaign for votes for women. She also supported the Married Women’s Property Act.

In 1866 she founded the Englishwomen’s Review which she edited until 1870, when she co-founded the Women’s Suffrage Journal.

She died in 1905 and is buried in the churchyard of St Thomas in North Willingham.

Jean Howard, September 2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Boucherett
 



North Willingham, Jessie Boucherett, Suffrage, votes for women
Bouyer, Reynold Gideon - Priest, Reformer
Bouyer, Reynold Gideon - Priest, Reformer
Bouyer, Reynold Gideon - Priest, Reformer

Reynold Gideon Bouyer (1741-1826) began his career as Domestic Chaplain at Grimsthorpe Castle under the patronage of the Duke of Ancaster, who then appointed him to his parish at Willoughby near Alford.

He soon became a high-profile clergyman-activist in late eighteenth-century south Lindsey; his reputation extended not just to Lincoln, but also to London and the royal court.

He founded the Lincolnshire Stuff Ball, at which all who attended were supposed to wear Lincolnshire worsteds, and he established a network of parish ‘spinning schools’ in more than one hundred parishes.

He defended the Church of England against what he saw as ignorant and fanatical itinerant preachers. He was hand-picked by the Bishop of Durham to promote education in that diocese, where he rose to prominence and is buried in the Choir of the Nine Altars in Durham Cathedral.

On his appointment to Willoughby he built a new parsonage just south of the church (shown here), a fact noted in the diaries of John Byng, Lord Torrington.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynold_Bouyer

Jean Howard, July 2016

Willoughby, Reynold Gideon Bouyer, Rectory, John Byng, Lord Torrington
Brackenbury, Robert Carr - Methodist Philanthropist
Brackenbury, Robert Carr - Methodist Philanthropist
Brackenbury, Robert Carr - Methodist Philanthropist

Brackenbury, Robert Carr 1752-1818:
Born into an affluent family at Panton, Lincolnshire in May 1752, Brackenbury’s father’s early death forced the sale of that property.

He entered St Catharine's College, Cambridge with a view to Anglican ordination, but was influenced by Methodist preaching, met John Wesley in 1776 and travelled with him in England, Scotland and Holland.

Sent by Wesley to the Channel Isles in 1783, he established societies and built chapels in both Jersey and Guernsey. On returning to England in 1790, he continued this work, notably on Portland, Dorset.

A modest, educated and generous man, he worked throughout his life for Methodism though he never sought to be an ordained itinerant. In spite of this, Wesley included him in 1784 in his Legal Hundred.

He suffered poor health and a nervous disposition that led to periods of depression.

The work he began was continued by his second wife Sarah (née Holland, d.1847). In accordance with his wishes, she destroyed his papers after his death on 11 August 1818.

At the property he bought in 1770s at Raithby by Spilsby he built a chapel over the stables and this was opened by John Wesley in July 1779.

Though in private ownership, this is still in use and is the venue for an annual Brackenbury Memorial Lecture each July.

(The photograph shows the memorial plaque above the chapel entrance.)

July 2012
Raithby By Spilsby, Chapel, Robert Carr Brackenbury
Bradley, Edward - Writer
Bradley, Edward - Writer
Bradley, Edward - Writer

St Peter's Church, Lenton where Edward Bradley was incumbent from 1883 until his death in 1889.

"Edward Bradley (25 March 1827 – 12 December 1889) was an English clergyman and novelist.

He was born in Kidderminster and educated at Durham University from which he took his pen name Cuthbert Bede.

His most popular book was The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, on the experiences of an Oxford undergraduate. There was a sequel, Little Mr Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green. Tales of College Life (often bound with it), introduces the character of Mr Affable Canary. The celebrated illustrations to the Verdant Green books were the work of the author"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bradley_(writer) 

In Lenton "he was indefatigable as a parochial organiser, establishing a free library, a school bank, winter entertainments, and improvement societies". His personal gifts to St Peter's Chuch included a new reredos, a service book for the communion table and a frontal for the reading desk. 

DB 21 June 2023 

 


Lenton, Edward Bradley, writer
Bradstreet, Anne - Poet and Feminist
Bradstreet, Anne - Poet and Feminist
Bradstreet, Anne - Poet and Feminist

This window commemorating Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) is in the north aisle of Boston Stump.

Anne Bradstreet’s father was Thomas Dudley, steward for the Earl of Lincoln’s estates.  It is thought she shared the tutors of the Earl’s children at Tattershall Castle.

At sixteen she married Puritan Simon Bradstreet and the whole family sailed in 1630 aboard the Arbella to Boston, Massachusetts.

She wrote poetry for her own amusement and was unaware that a relative had taken her manuscripts to London to have them printed.  She thus became the first American settler to be published and is a feminist icon in the United States.

The window design shows her in Puritan dress holding a nest of eight hatchlings.   This is a reference to the opening lines of her poem about her children:

    I had eight birds hatched in one nest,

    Four cocks there were, and hens the rest.

Jean Howard, October 2012

http://www.americanrealities.com/bradstreet-anne.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Bradstreet#:~:text=Anne%20Bradstreet%20(n%C3%A9e%20Dudley%3B%20March,American%20colonies%20to%20be%20published.
Boston, Anne Bradstreet, Thomas Dudley, Tattershall Castle, Simon Bradstreet, Arbella
Bramley, Frank - Artist
Bramley, Frank - Artist
Bramley, Frank - Artist

Plaque at the west end of Sibsey, Saint Margaret's Church.

"Frank Bramley RA (6 May 1857 – 9 August 1915) was an English post-impressionist genre painter of the Newlyn School"

"Bramley was born in Sibsey ... From 1873 to 1878 Bramley studied at the Lincoln School of Art.

He then studied from 1879 to 1882 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where Charles Verlat was his instructor.

He lived in Venice from 1882 to 1884 and then moved to Newlyn, Cornwall"

"Along with Walter Langley and Stanhope Forbes, he was considered to be one of the "leading figures" of the Newlyn School"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Bramley 

DB 3 August 2019 

Sibsey, Frank Bramley, Artist
Broadbent, Jim - Actor
Broadbent, Jim - Actor
Broadbent, Jim - Actor

This small theatre, formerly a Methodist chapel, is named after Roy Broadbent, father of Jim Broadbent the celebrated actor.

Jim was born in the neighbouring parish of Holton cum Beckering in 1949. His father, along with other conscientious objectors in the local community, formed a theatre group, 'The Holton Players'. The chapel was bought and converted under Roy's direction in 1970.

April 2017

Wickenby, Jim Broadbent, Roy Broadbent, Holton Players
Bromhead, Gonville - Victoria Cross
Bromhead, Gonville - Victoria Cross
Bromhead, Gonville - Victoria Cross

East window of Thurlby Church in memory of Major Gonville Bromhead V.C. 24th Regiment.

"Major Gonville Bromhead VC (29 August 1845 – 9 February 1891) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces.

He received the medal for his part in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879 where a small British garrison of 139 soldiers successfully repulsed an assault by some 4,000 Zulu warriors.

Bromhead was portrayed by Michael Caine in the film Zulu, which depicted the battle"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonville_Bromhead

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Wales_Borderers

DB 16 June 2018

Thurlby, Saint Germain, Church, Stained Glass, Gonville Bromhead, Rorke's Drift
Brooke, Frances - Novelist
Brooke, Frances - Novelist
Brooke, Frances - Novelist

St Denys' Church, Sleaford burial place of Frances Brooke.

"Frances Brooke (née Moore; 12 January 1724 – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist, essayist, playwright and translator. She was the author of the first English novel to be written in Canada"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Brooke 

DB 29 October 2017

Sleaford, Frances Brooke, novelist, essayist, playwright and translator.
Brownlow, John - Builder Belton House
Brownlow, John - Builder Belton House
Brownlow, John - Builder Belton House

Monument to Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet in St Peter & St Paul's Church, Belton.  

"Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet (26 June 1659 – 16 July 1697) of Belton House near Grantham in Lincolnshire, was an English Member of Parliament.

He built the grand mansion of Belton House, which survives today ...

As he died without surviving male issue, he was succeeded in his title and in most of his estates, including Belton, by his younger brother Sir William Brownlow, 4th Baronet (1665-1701), who received Belton House on condition that John's widow Alice Sherard should retain possession of it during her lifetime.

As she outlived Sir William, it therefore passed on her death in 1721 to William's son John Brownlow, 1st Viscount Tyrconnel (1690-1754)"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_John_Brownlow,_3rd_Baronet 

DB 13 September 2018

Belton House, St Peter & St Paul, church, memorial, Sir John Brownlow
Burnett, John Chaplyn - Soldier & Mathematician
Burnett, John Chaplyn - Soldier & Mathematician
Burnett, John Chaplyn - Soldier & Mathematician

Brass plaque attached to the organ blower in St Nicholas Church, Barkston.

Information from the sale of John Chaplyn Burnett's medals :-

"John Chaplyn Burnett was born at Alton, Hampshire in December 1863 and educated at Epsom College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1884, he was serving as a Captain at the outbreak of the Boer War. Serving initially in the Pom-Pom section, he would later be posted as a Staff Officer at the Dynamite Factory at Middlefontein. Having seen action in the Transvaal, May-June 1900, and east of Pretoria, July-November 1900. He finished the war on the Zululand frontier. The Grantham Journal in an obituary notice gives further detail on one enagement of particular note:

'At Witport, in 1900, he was in command of the Eastern Hills, with Major Munn in command of the Western. The Boers started shelling early morning and a message had to be dispatched calling for help, which was not sent untill dusk. Captain Burnett kept off the Boers all day, although the position on the Eastern Hills was constantly assailed. With a Vickers Maxim the foe was kept at bay, and when the gun could no longer fire, the locks were removed to a place of safety. The gun and carriage bore the marks of 14 bullets at the conclusion of the action.'

Besides the award of his D.S.O., which was presented by the King at Buckingham Palace on 18 December 1902, Burnett was advanced Major, 1 October 1902 and mentioned in the despatches (London Gazette, 10 September 1901, refers).

Having retired in 1909, he was residing in Khartoum, Sudan at the outbreak of the Great War and was re-engaged, '...where he undertook the training of the Camel Corps.'

Invalided home later that year, he served in the Ministry of Munitions as Safety Service Officer based at Leeds. In this position he '...was awarded the O.B.E., was was whilst engaged on this work that on one occasion he missed death through explosion by a few seconds.' (Sole entitlement to the B.W.M. confirmed)

Retired for a second time, Burnett relocated to Barkston, Lincolnshire and became a published mathmetician - indeed 13 Volumes of his work are in the library of University College, London (MS ADD 108, refers). Appointed to the Command of the Barkston Home Guard at the outbreak of the Second World War, he died in the summer of 1943"

https://www.spink.com/lot/1900100541A 

He published 'Easy methods for the construction of magic squares' (London, 1936). 

DB 10 September 2022

Barkston, Saint Nicholas Church, image, organ, John Chaplyn Burnett
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist

This Georgian house, 6 Minster Yard, stands on the site of the property occupied by William Byrd when he worked at the Cathedral.

October 2012

 

Buildings, William Byrd,
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist

William Byrd (c.1540-1623) was an outstanding composer of the renaissance period. He produced sacred music for Anglican services though he himself became a Roman Catholic in later life.

He was organist and master of choristers at Lincoln Cathedral between 1563 and 1572, residing at what is now No.6 Minster Yard.

This commemorative plaque is at No,6 Minster Yard, Lincoln. 

October 2012

Buildings, William Byrd,
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist
Byrd, William - Composer & Organist

Image shows a memorial plaque in the North Choir aisle of Lincoln Cathedral placed in 1923.

He was organist and master of the choristers at the Cathedral.

Born about 1543 nothing definite is known about him until his appointment at the early age of 20. His annual salary was £13 6s 8d making him nearly the highest paid practitioner in England.

His home was on the site of No.6 Minster Yard.

He left lincoln in 1572 to become a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal but continued to receive regular payments from Lincoln in return for new compositions.

A Roman Catholic it was not until 1586 that he was first arraigned for recusancy.

A litigious man and voluminous composer who wrote at least 525 pieces anthems, motets, services etc.

Died in 1623 and probably buried in Stondon Massey, Essex. 

DB 17 October 2019

Lincoln Cathedral, William Byrd, Organist, Composer
Cantilupe, Thomas de - Bishop, Lord Chancellor & Saint
Cantilupe, Thomas de - Bishop, Lord Chancellor & Saint
Cantilupe, Thomas de - Bishop, Lord Chancellor & Saint

St Thomas de Cantilupe in the east window of Coleby Church where he was Rector 1265-1275.

"Thomas de Cantilupe (c. 1218 – 25 August 1282; also spelled Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe, Latinised to de Cantilupo) was Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford. He was canonised in 1320 by Pope John XXII"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_de_Cantilupe 

DB 26 July 2022 

 

Coleby, Kesteven, Church, All Saints, Image, window stained glass, St Thomas de Cantilupe
Cecil, William - Elizabethan Statesman
Cecil, William - Elizabethan Statesman
Cecil, William - Elizabethan Statesman

William Cecil (1520-1598), English statesman and chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I, was born in Bourne.

This plaque is fixed to the west facade of the Burghley Arms inn facing the major road junction in the centre of the town.

October 2020
Bourne, William Cecil, Burghley Arms
Cecil, William - Secretary of State & Lord High Treasurer
Cecil, William - Secretary of State & Lord High Treasurer
Cecil, William - Secretary of State & Lord High Treasurer

Image shows the Burghley Arms, Bourne birthplace of William Cecil.

"William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley KG PC (13 September 1520 – 4 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1572"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cecil,_1st_Baron_Burghley 

The Burghley Arms "Formerly the Bull Hotel. Birthplace of William Cecil, Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I (13 September 1520)"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1241949

DB 20 August 2020 

Bourne, Bull Hotel, Burghley Arms, William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth I
Chaplin, Henry - Politician and Racehorse Owner
Chaplin, Henry - Politician and Racehorse Owner
Chaplin, Henry - Politician and Racehorse Owner
Henry Chaplin (1840-1923), Squire of Blankney, was buried at St Oswald's Church in the village on 1 June 1923.
 
He had been a politician of cabinet rank, Derby winning racehorse owner, fox hunter & deer stalker. His extravagant lifestyle had cost him the Blankney estate in the 1890s.

Postcard by Frisby of Lincoln
Blankney, Henry Chaplin
Charlesworth, Edward - Physician & Psychiatrist
Charlesworth, Edward - Physician & Psychiatrist
Charlesworth, Edward - Physician & Psychiatrist

Edward Parker Charlesworth (1783-1853) was a physician and innovator in psychiatric treatment.

He acquired a large practice in Lincoln as a young man and played a leading role in both the Lincoln County [General] Hospital and the newly opened Lincoln Lunatic Asylum.

This statue, at the corner of Lincoln's Union Road and Carline Road, is by Thomas Milnes and was unveiled in 1854.

August 2014

Buildings, Edward Charlesworth, Lincoln lunatic asylum, Thomas Milnes
Christison, Robert - Explorer and Cattle-breeder
Christison, Robert - Explorer and Cattle-breeder
Christison, Robert - Explorer and Cattle-breeder

This plaque on the north wall of the chancel of Burwell St Michael's church commemorates a Scot who spent most of his life in Australia.

Robert Christison (1837-1915) explored and established a successful ranching business and a frozen meat export company.

However his English wife found it difficult to settle in Australia so he sold up and retired to Burwell Park in 1910. He paid for the restoration of Burwell church but died of tuberculosis in 1915. His mortal remains are buried with other family members in Foulden near Edinburgh.

The plaque reads:
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
ROBERT CHRISTISON
EXPLORER AND PASTORAL PIONEER OF NORTH WEST QUEENSLAND
SON OF THE REV ALEXANDER CHRISTISON – FOULDEN
AND NEPHEW OF SIR ROBERT CHRISTISON BART – EDINBURGH
BORN JANUARY 8TH 1837
ENTERED A WIDER SPHERE OCTOBER 25TH 1915
BURIED AT FOULDEN, BERWICKSHIRE
‘Nor should those pioneers be forgotten who, for many years,
endured the greatest privations carrying their lives in their
hands and in the teeth of difficulties and disappointments

opened up the country and proved its resources.’

Jean Howard, August 2020 

Burwell, St Michael, Robert Christison
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
Francis Jonathan Clarke (1842-88), son of a Lincoln druggist, achieved wealth and fame through the creation of ‘Blood Purifier’. This patent medicine, like many others, claimed to be a certain cure for a wide variety of complaints and conditions.
 
F J Clarke was Mayor of Lincoln on three occasions and a Justice of the Peace. Bracebridge Hall - shown here - was built for him in 1883 by Albert Vicars.
 
https://www.lincolnshirelife.co.uk/posts/view/clarkes-world-famed-blood-mixture
 

Bracebridge Hall is currently known as Grosvenor Hall and is a private nursing home.

DB 19 February 2019 


Buildings, Bracebridge hall, J F Clarke, blood mixture, Albert Vicars
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer

Lincoln's Arboretum on Monks Road was created in 1872 and the bandstand built in 1884 at a time when F J Clarke was Mayor of the City.

April 2021 

Buildings, Arboretum, Clarke, bandstand
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
Clarke, Francis J - Patent Medicine Manufacturer
A noted local philanthropist, Clarke donated the Coade stone lion to Lincoln's Arboretum when it was opened in 1872.
 
April 2021 
Buildings, F J Clarke, Coade stone, lion,
Clayton, Nathaniel - Engineer
Clayton, Nathaniel - Engineer
Clayton, Nathaniel - Engineer

Nathaniel Clayton (1811-1890), co-founder of Lincoln's engineering giants Clayton and Shuttleworth, laid the foundation stone of St Swithin's church in 1879.

January 2019

Churches, Nathaniel Clayton
Clayton, Nathaniel - Engineer
Clayton, Nathaniel - Engineer
Clayton, Nathaniel - Engineer

The foundation stone below the east window of St Martin's church Withcall reads as follows:

THIS STONE WAS LAID BY/ NATHANIEL CLAYTON/ OWNER OF THE ESTATE/ JULY 22ND 1882/ HENRY MORRIS RECTOR/ THOMAS SOWERBY CHURCHWARDEN

Nathaniel Clayton, engineer, of East Cliff House, Lincoln, had recently bought the Withcall estate which had previously been in the ownership of George Tomline Esq. of Orwell Park, Suffolk and Riby, Lincolnshire.

Jean Howard, January 2021

Withcall, St Martin, foundation stone Nathaniel Clayton
Cobbett, William - political writer
Cobbett, William - political writer
Cobbett, William - political writer
Spital in the Street, Ostrich or Spital Inn, Blue Plaque

Plaque unveiled October 2016 as reported in Market Rasen Mail :-

"The important former coaching inn at Spital in the Street now has a blue plaque, recording how political writer William Cobbett stayed there in April 1830 and wrote part of his celebrated Rural Rides"

https:////www.marketrasenmail.co.uk/lifestyle/plaque-unveiled-at-historic-spital-inn-1-7631117 

DB 30 June 2018

Spital In The Street, Ostrich, Spital Inn, blue plaque, William Cobbett, Rural Rides
Cobbett, William - political writer
Cobbett, William - political writer
Cobbett, William - political writer
Spital in the Street, Ostrich or Spital Inn

"political writer William Cobbett stayed there in April 1830 and wrote part of his celebrated Rural Rides"

https:////www.marketrasenmail.co.uk/lifestyle/plaque-unveiled-at-historic-spital-inn-1-7631117 

"William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, farmer, journalist and member of parliament, who was born in Farnham, Surrey.

He believed that reforming Parliament including abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers.

Relentlessly he sought an end to the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters".

He was against the Corn Laws, which imposed a tax on imported grain.

Early in his career, he was a loyalist supporter of King and Country: but later he joined and successfully publicised the radical movement, which led to the Reform Act 1832, and to his being elected that year as one of the two MPs for the newly enfranchised borough of Oldham.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cobbett 

DB 30 June 2018

Spital In The Street, Ostrich, Spital Inn, William Cobbett, Rural Rides, Corn Laws, Reform Act 1832
Connolly, John - psychiatrist
Connolly, John - psychiatrist
Connolly, John - psychiatrist

Dr John Connolly (1794-1868), of Irish parentage, was born in Market Rasen. His birthplace, a house at the end of Church Street has long been demolished and replaced.

His father died when John was still a child and the family did not stay long in the town. John trained as a doctor and became an important pioneer in the treatment of mental health.

This information sheet has been posted at the end of Church Street close to Connolly's birthplace by Rase Heritage Society as a stopping point on their town trail.

September 2019

 

Market Rasen, Dr John Connelly
Corbet, Matthew Ridley - Painter
Corbet, Matthew Ridley - Painter
Corbet, Matthew Ridley - Painter
An external memorial mounted on the south nave wall of Saint Martin's Church, South Willingham.
 
"MATTHEW RIDLEY CORBET BORN HERE AT THE RECTORY XX MAY MDCCCL DIED AT HIS HOME AT ST JOHNS WOOD LONDON XXV JUNE MDCCCCII

SO LONG A WORSHIPPER OF NATURE HITHER CAME UNWEARIED IN THAT SERVICE"

"Matthew Ridley Corbet ARA (20 May 1850 – 25 June 1902) was a Victorian neoclassical painter"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Ridley_Corbet
 
"Corbet was born on 20 May 1850 at South Willingham, Lincolnshire, the son of the Rev. Andrew Corbet and Marianne Ridley. He was educated at Cheltenham College.

He attended classes at the Slade School of Art under Alexander Davis Cooper and later at the Royal Academy Schools under Frederic Leighton, President of the Academy. Corbet travelled to Italy in 1880 and met the painter Giovanni Costa, a friend of Leighton's living in Rome. Corbet stayed in Italy, and spent the next three years there, where he lived, and painted with Costa, becoming one of the leading figures of the Macchiaioli school.

He concentrated on Italian landscapes and exhibited his new works at the Grosvenor Gallery, the New Gallery, the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon.

His paintings Sunrise, awarded a bronze medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1889; Morning Glory (1894), and Val d'Arno Evening (1901), bought under the terms of the Chantrey Bequest, are now in the Tate Gallery.

Corbet lived for a period in Kensington, where in 1876 he had a house, Peel Cottage, built to be his artists’ studio and residence. Later, Corbett relocated to St John's Wood. He died of pneumonia at his residence there on 25 June 1902"

DB 30 October 2023
South Willingham, Saint Martin Church, image, Matthew Ridley Corbet, painter
Cordeaux, Edward Cawdron - High Sheriff
Cordeaux, Edward Cawdron - High Sheriff
Cordeaux, Edward Cawdron - High Sheriff

Memorial to Edward Cawdron Cordeaux in All Saints Church, Goulceby.

He was High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1963.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Sheriff_of_Lincolnshire 

Cordeaux Academy in Louth was "named after Captain Edward Cawdron Cordeaux, D.S.O., O.B.E., R.N., (born 24 July 1894, Caistor), a surgeon who lived at Goulceby House, Goulceby"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordeaux_Academy 

DB 9 September 2018

Goulceby, Edward Cawdron Cordeaux
Cotton, John - Theologian Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Cotton, John - Theologian Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Cotton, John - Theologian Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Picture displayed in St Botolph's Church, Boston where John Cotton was a former vicar.

"John Cotton (4 December 1585 – 23 December 1652) was a clergyman in England and the American colonies and was considered the preeminent minister and theologian of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

He studied for five years at Trinity College, Cambridge, and another nine at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

He had already built a reputation as a scholar and outstanding preacher when he accepted the position of minister in 1612 at St. Botolph's Church, Boston in Lincolnshire.

As a Puritan, he wanted to do away with the ceremony and vestments associated with the established Church of England and to preach in a simpler manner.

He felt that the English church needed significant reforms, but he was adamant about not separating from it; his preference was to change it from within.

Many ministers were removed from their pulpits in England for their Puritan practices, but Cotton thrived at St. Botolph's for nearly 20 years because of supportive aldermen and lenient bishops, as well as his conciliatory and gentle demeanor.

By 1632, however, the church authorities had greatly increased pressure on non-conforming clergy, and Cotton was forced into hiding.

The following year, he and his wife boarded a ship for New England"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cotton_(minister) 

DB 17 August 2019

Boston, St Botolph, Church, John Cotton, Vicar, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Puritan
Coulby, Harry - British American Businessman
Coulby, Harry - British American Businessman
Coulby, Harry - British American Businessman

Harry Coulby was born in Claypole and the Village Hall was erected at his expense in 1923.

"Harry Coulby (January 1, 1865 – January 18, 1929) was a British American businessman known as the "Czar of the Great Lakes" for his expertise in managing the Great Lakes shipping fleet of Pickands Mather & Company and the Pittsburgh Steamship Company.

After retiring, he served as the first mayor of the newly incorporated town of Wickliffe, Ohio.

His former home, Coulallenby, now serves as the city hall of Wickliffe.

He chose the design for Great Lakes ore carriers in 1905 that became the standard for the next 65 years, and was elected to the National Maritime Hall of Fame in 1984"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Coulby 

DB 24 September 2018 

Claypole, Harry Coulby, Businessman
Cromwell, Ralph - Treasurer of England
Cromwell, Ralph - Treasurer of England
Cromwell, Ralph - Treasurer of England

Great Tower of Tattershall Castle was built for Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell.

The hall on the second floor of the castle has a fine chimney-piece on the west wall. Heraldic shields are carved in a band above the opening and this representation of a purse appears in the panel tracery, reflecting Ralph Cromwell's office, Treasurer of England.

"Ralph de Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell (c. 1393 – 4 January 1456) was an English politician and diplomat.

A Privy Councillor from 1422, he served as Treasurer of England (1433–1443) and twice as Chamberlain of the Household (1425–1432 and 1450–1455) during the reign of Henry VI"

"He inherited Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire, which became his primary residence"  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Cromwell,_3rd_Baron_Cromwell 

DB 28 August 2019 

Tattershall Castle, Treasurer, Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell, purse
Crookshank, Harry - Lord Privy Seal
Crookshank, Harry - Lord Privy Seal
Crookshank, Harry - Lord Privy Seal

Monument in the South Choir Aisle of Lincoln Cathedral to Harry Crookshank who was Lord Privy Seal 1952-55.

"Harry Frederick Comfort Crookshank, 1st Viscount Crookshank, CH, PC (27 May 1893 – 17 October 1961), was a British Conservative politician.

He was Minister of Health between 1951 and 1952 and Leader of the House of Commons between 1951 and 1955 ...

In the First World War, he joined the Hampshire Regiment and served as a captain in the Grenadier Guards. On one occasion he was buried alive by an explosion for twenty minutes, and on another in 1916 he was castrated by shrapnel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Crookshank 

DB 7 August 2020

Lincoln Cathedral, Harry Frederick Comfort Crookshank, 1st Viscount Crookshank
Curzon, George Nathaniel - Viceroy of India
Curzon, George Nathaniel - Viceroy of India
Curzon, George Nathaniel - Viceroy of India

George Nathaniel Curzon, Lord Curzon (1859–1925) was born into an aristocratic dynasty at Kedleston, Derbyshire, and educated at Eton and Oxford.

He began a political career while also travelling in Asia and the Far East, writing extensively on countries he had visited.

He achieved his greatest ambition when he was made Viceroy of India where he energetically reformed many aspects of Indian life from the army and police to railways and education. He became an admirer of the great buildings of India, restoring, among other structures the Taj Mahal.

Back in Britain he turned that interest to historic buildings in this country. Hearing that Tattershall Castle’s stone fireplaces had been removed for export from Tilbury docks, he brought them back and restored the great keep. (One of the three surviving fireplaces at Tattershall is shown here.)

Publicity of such potential loss of our historic buildings created the support for the Ancient Monuments Act to be passed, paving the way for further statutory protection of built heritage.

Curzon gave Tattershall Castle to the National Trust who still maintain it.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lord-Curzon/Last-years
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kedleston-hall/features/who-was-george-nathaniel-curzon


Tattershall, Castle, Lord Curzon, fireplaces
Cust, Emmeline - Sculptor
Cust, Emmeline - Sculptor
Cust, Emmeline - Sculptor

Marble effigy of her husband Henry Cust by Emmeline 'Nina' Cust (1867–1955) in the church of St Peter & St Paul, Belton (Kesteven).

"Emmeline 'Nina' Cust (1867–1955) was an English writer, editor, translator and sculptor.

She was a member of The Souls, an upper class circle that challenged the conventions and attitudes of their class in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries ...

On 11 October 1893, Cust married another member of The Souls, Henry John Cockayne-Cust.

She supported her husband in much of his work, including correspondence for the Central Committee for National Patriotic Organisations.

Cust was devoted to her husband, despite a reputedly unhappy marriage that lasted until his death in 1917.

Cust was a direct neighbour of sculptor Jacob Epstein when they both lived at Hyde Park Gate in London"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_Cust 

DB 13 September 2018

Belton, St Peter & St Paul, church, memorial, Emmeline Cust
Cust, John - Speaker House of Commons
Cust, John - Speaker House of Commons
Cust, John - Speaker House of Commons

Portrait of "Speaker Cust" by Sir Joshua Reynolds hanging in his former home Belton House.

"Sir John Cust, 3rd Baronet PC (29 August 1718 – 24 January 1770), of Belton House near Grantham in Lincolnshire, was a British politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1761 to 1770"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_John_Cust,_3rd_Baronet 

DB 11 September 2019 

Belton House, Sir John Cust, Speaker House of Commons, Joshua Reynolds
Cust, John - Speaker House of Commons
Cust, John - Speaker House of Commons
Cust, John - Speaker House of Commons

Memorial in the chancel of St Peter & St Paul's Church, Belton.

The Church Guide states :-

"Sir John Cust, 3rd Bt of Stamford (1718-1770) by William Tyler, R.A. (d 1801).

The monument is descriptive of Sir John's office as Speaker of the House of Commons, with the Speaker's throne and mace, accompanied by a figure of Fidelity gesturing towards a volume of the Journal of the House of Commons which records Cust's re-election as Speaker in 1768"

DB 13 September 2018

Belton, St Peter & St Paul, church, Memorial Speaker Cust, William Tyler
De La Haye, Nichola - Constable Lincoln Castle
De La Haye, Nichola - Constable Lincoln Castle
De La Haye, Nichola - Constable Lincoln Castle
Effigy of Nichola de la Haye in St Michael's Church, Swaton. As Constable of Lincoln Castle, she was vital in winning the 1217 Battle of Lincoln.
 

The effigy's identity was in doubt "but local research has established that she was Nichola de la Haye, wife of Gerald de Camville, who was lord of the Manor at Swaton early in the 13th century.  Her father, and later her husband, were both constables at Lincoln Castle, and when Gerald died in 1214 Nicholaa kept the guardianship of the castle and defended it for King John (c.1167-1216).  She met the King in 1216, retired in 1226 and died in her sixties in 1230"

https://www.heckingtonandhelpringhamgroup.org.uk/swatonstmichael.htm 

DB 20 June 2022
Swaton, Saint Michael church, image, Nicholaa de la Haye, Constable Lincoln Castle
De Wint, Peter - Watercolour Artist
De Wint, Peter - Watercolour Artist
De Wint, Peter - Watercolour Artist

On the corner of Union Road and Drury Lane in Lincoln is Hilton House, one time residence of Peter de Wint.

The house was built by Wiliiam Hilton, de Wint's brother-in-law, c.1814 and the two men lived here together.

November 2019



Buildings, Lincoln, Hilton House, Peter de Wint, William Hilton
De Wint, Peter - Watercolour Artist
De Wint, Peter - Watercolour Artist
De Wint, Peter - Watercolour Artist

De Wint (1784-1849), a successful artist who favoured water colour, was of Dutch extraction.

He married Harriet, the sister of his friend William Hilton, in 1810 and spent a considerable time in the the Lincoln area.

This plaque commemorating the two artists is on the west wall of Hilton House at the corner of Union Road and Drury Lane in Lincoln

November 2019

Buildings, Lincoln, Peter de Wint, Harriet Hilton
Dee, John - Mathematician, Astronomer, Astrologer & Occult Philosopher
Dee, John - Mathematician, Astronomer, Astrologer & Occult Philosopher
Dee, John - Mathematician, Astronomer, Astrologer & Occult Philosopher

John Dee was asked to cast a horoscope for Elizabeth I's coronation day, and was rewarded with the Rectory of Leadenham.

Image shows St. Swithin's Church, Leadenham of which John Dee was Rector from 1559 to c. 1584.

"John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an Anglo-Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and occult philosopher, and an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I.

He spent much time on alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy.

He also advocated turning England's imperial expansion into a "British Empire", a term he is generally credited with coining"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dee 

DB 21 May 2018 

Leadenham, Saint Swithin, Church, John Dee, astrologer
Dennis, William - potato grower
Dennis, William - potato grower
Dennis, William - potato grower

William Dennis (1841-1921), 'Potato King', made his fortune as a potato grower in the Lincolnshire fens. He pioneered the use of light railways to carry the crops from his extensive fields to the public rail network.

The statue, made of bronze on a Portland stone plinth, was sculpted by Philip Lindsey Clark (1889-1977) and stands in front of the town hall at Kirton in Holland.

September 2011

Kirton in Holland, William Dennis statue, Philip Lindsey Clark
Dickens, Charles - writer and social critic
Dickens, Charles - writer and social critic
Dickens, Charles - writer and social critic
Located at the former George Hotel now the George Shopping Centre, Grantham.

"Charles Dickens 1812-1870 stayed here at the George Hotel and in "Nicholas Nickleby" described it as 'one of the best inns in England'"

DB 11 March 2017
Grantham, Charles Dickens, writer, social critic, blue plaque
Dixon, Annie - Artist
Dixon, Annie - Artist
Dixon, Annie - Artist

Blue plaque unveiled, July 2018, at 40 East Street, Horncastle where Annie once lived.

https://www.horncastlenews.co.uk/news/society-honours-a-forgotten-royal-favourite-1-8570969 

DB 19 December 2018

Horncastle, Annie Dixon, Artist
Dixon, Annie - Artist
Dixon, Annie - Artist
Dixon, Annie - Artist

Blue Plaque at 40 East Street, Horncastle.

Blue Plaque at 40 East Street, Horncastle.

Annie Dixon (1817-1901) was a 19th-century English miniature portrait painter. She moved from Horncastle to London in 1840 and studied under Sir William Charles Ross.

She returned to Hormcastle briefly between 1844 and 1845 and later spent time in Hull (1852-53) and the Isle of Wight (1854-55). From 1859, she was commissioned for numerous royal portraits by Queen Victoria.

She exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1844 to 1893.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Dixon 

DB 19 December 2018 

Horncastle, Annie Dixon, Artist
Dixon, James G - landowner & philanthropist
Dixon, James G - landowner & philanthropist
Dixon, James G - landowner & philanthropist

The 1859 memorial stone at Caistor Church of England School is a tribute to James Green Dixon (1789-1879) who was a corn, coal and seed merchant in the town.

He was a member of the well-to-do landowning Dixon family of Holton le Moor.

The inscription reads: "This school was erected / by the friends of / Mr James Green Dixon [as a] / memorial of his long and valuable services / in the cause of religious education 1859"

Caistor, James Green Dixon, Holton le Moor
Doughty, George - Ship-Owner & Politician
Doughty, George - Ship-Owner & Politician
Doughty, George - Ship-Owner & Politician
Sir George's headstone in Waltham, All Saints, Churchyard.
 
"Sir George Doughty JP (13 March 1854 – 27 April 1914) was a British ship-owner and politician from Grimsby in Lincolnshire. He sat in the House of Commons for most of the period from 1895 to 1914 ...
 
He was educated at the Wesleyan Higher Grade School in Grimsby, and became a merchant, a ship-owner, and a partner in the Grimsby-based firm of Hagerup, Doughty and Company Ltd.

He became an alderman of Grimsby, and was twice Mayor of the town, and was a Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for the Lindsey area of Lincolnshire"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Doughty_(politician) 

DB 4 February 2023
Waltham, All Saints Churchyard, Sir George Doughty
Eleanor of Castile - Queen of England
Eleanor of Castile - Queen of England
Eleanor of Castile - Queen of England

Image shows the Visceral Tomb of Queen Eleanor in Lincoln Cathedral. 

Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290), wife of Edward I, died at Harby near Lincoln.

Eleanor's viscera were buried in Lincoln Cathedral.

The rest of her body was taken down to London in stages and Edward I ordered a stone cross to be erected at each stopping-place on the journey to London, ending at Charing Cross.

The "Eleanor crosses" stood at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Hardingstone near Northampton, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St Albans, Waltham, Westcheap, and Charing 

Her heart was buried in the Dominican priory at Blackfriars in London and her body in Westminster Abbey.

Lincoln tomb's original stone chest survives; its effigy was destroyed in the 17th century and has been replaced with a 19th-century copy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Castile  

DB 13 September 2018

Lincoln Cathedral, Angel Choir, Visceral Tomb, Eleanor of Castile, Queen, Edward I
Elliott, Francis - Colonial Governor
Elliott, Francis - Colonial Governor
Elliott, Francis - Colonial Governor

Elliott was born in Gainsborough on 1 January 1881; his father was Revd Canon J R Elliott, former headmaster of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in the town.

After fighting in the Boer War he served as a soldier in east Africa, becoming Superintendent of Police in Jubaland (in modern Somalia) in 1908 and later District Commissioner.

In 1913 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Gainsborough, Francis Elliott,
Ellison, Charles Christopher - Pomologist
Ellison, Charles Christopher - Pomologist
Ellison, Charles Christopher - Pomologist

Memorial to Charles Christopher Ellison (1834-1912) in All Saints Church, Bracebridge.

A member of the Ellison family of Boultham Hall.

"An accomplished rose grower. He laid out 4 acres of garden at Bracebridge with thousands of roses. 

In 1905 He crossed a Cox's Orange Pippin to create Ellison's Orange"

http://www.itsaboutlincoln.co.uk/ellison.html 

"Ellison’s Orange is a connoisseur's mid-season eating apple, described as 'once tasted, never forgotten' on account of its rich flavour and unique aniseed undertones.

It's an Edwardian variety, dating back to 1904 when it was raised by Rev Charles Ellison of Bracebridge Manse, Lincoln and Mr Albert Wipf, head gardener to Rev Ellison’s brother-in-law, Joseph Shuttleworth, at Hartsholme Hall in nearby Skellingthorpe.

Charles Ellison was a renowned pomologist with more than 1,500 fruit trees in his gardens ...

Ellison’s Orange achieved an RHS Award of Merit in 1911 and RHS First Class Certificate in 1917"

https://www.waterfurlonggardens.com/single-post/2018/09/17/Our-Apple-for-September-Ellisons-Orange

DB 27 July 2019

Lincoln, Bracebridge, All Saints, Church, pomologist, Charles Christopher Ellison, Ellison's Orange
Ellys, William - Cromwell's Solicitor-General
Ellys, William - Cromwell's Solicitor-General
Ellys, William - Cromwell's Solicitor-General

Monument in Nocton Church.

In the north porch, under the tower, is the memorial to Sir William Ellys of Nocton Hall, who was solicitor-general to Oliver Cromwell.
 
https://nocton-church.blogspot.com/p/test-2.html 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellis_(solicitor-general) 
 
DB 7 December 2019
 

Nocton, All Saints, Church, monument, Sir William Ellys, solicitor-general
Field, Paul - Children's Family Trust founder
Field, Paul - Children's Family Trust founder
Field, Paul - Children's Family Trust founder

Memorial to Paul Field founder of The Children’s Family Trust in Linwood Church, near Market Rasen.

"In 1945, our Founder, Paul Field, had a vision. He wanted all children to have the opportunity to have home where they could feel safe, supported and loved.

Paul decided to leave his work with the Waifs and Strays Society to found The Children’s Family Trust and to take into his own family the same kinds of children he had looked after previously but now, however, they were to stay within his family for life – on equal terms with his own children"

Paul Field and his wife Ruby lived at Lynwode Manor.

https://thecft.org.uk/who-we-are/ 

DB 12 May 2018


Linwood, Paul Field, Children's Family Trust
Finch-Hatton, George - Duellist
Finch-Hatton, George - Duellist
Finch-Hatton, George - Duellist

Burial slab of George William Finch-Hatton and his third wife Fanny Margaret in Ewerby churchyard.

"George William Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, 5th Earl of Nottingham (19 May 1791 – 8 January 1858) was an English politician known for duelling with the then Prime Minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Finch-Hatton,_10th_Earl_of_Winchilsea

"The Catholic Relief Bill of 1829 encountered his most vehement hostility, and ultimately led to a duel with the Duke of Wellington.

Lord Winchilsea, in a letter to the secretary of King's College London, wrote that the duke, "under the cloak of some coloured show of zeal for the Protestant religion, carried on an insidious design for the infringement of our liberties and the introduction of popery into every department of the state".

The duke replied with a challenge. The meeting took place in Battersea Fields on 21 March 1829, the duke being attended by Sir Henry Hardinge, and his opponent by Edward Boscawen, 4th Viscount Falmouth.

The duke fired and missed; he claimed he did so on purpose. However, the duke was known as a poor shot and accounts differ as to whether he purposefully missed.

Winchilsea kept his arm by his side at the command to "fire" then quite deliberately raised his arm in the air and fired. He then apologised for the language of his letter.

It is almost certain that Winchilsea and Falmouth had agreed on their course of action, as the letter of apology was already prepared". 

DB 26 April 2021

Ewerby St Andrew Churchyard Image George William Finch-Hatton Earl Winchilsea Nottingham duellist
Flinders, Matthew - explorer
Flinders, Matthew - explorer
Flinders, Matthew - explorer

This memorial window is in the parish church at Donington. Flinders was born in Donington where his father was a surgeon.

"Captain Matthew Flinders RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was an English navigator and cartographer, who was the leader of the first circumnavigation of Australia and identified it as a continent.

Flinders made three voyages to the southern ocean between 1791 and 1810. In the second voyage, George Bass and Flinders confirmed that Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) was an island"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Flinders 

DB 29 April 2018


Donington, Matthew Flinders
Flinders, Matthew - explorer
Flinders, Matthew - explorer
Flinders, Matthew - explorer

A cast metal memorial in the church of St Nicholas, Partney where Captain Matthew Flinders married Ann Chappelle, step daughter of Rev William Tyler, of Partney on 17 April 1801.

Mark Acton, 2015



Partney, Matthew Flinders, St Nicholas
Foster, Charles Wilmer - Founder Lincoln Record Society
Foster, Charles Wilmer - Founder Lincoln Record Society
Foster, Charles Wilmer - Founder Lincoln Record Society

Memorial in Lincoln Cathedral to Charles Wilmer Foster (1866-1935) Canon of Lincoln and founder of the Lincoln Record Society.

http://www.lincoln-record-society.org.uk/ 

"The Lincoln Record Society was established in October 1910.The principal initiator was Canon C. W. Foster (1866–1935), who since 1906 had served as secretary of the diocesan Records Committee.

Foster became the first general editor of the new society, as well as its secretary and, from 1918, its treasurer, running it largely single-handedly until his death in 1935.

He personally edited 12 of its volumes".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Record_Society 

DB 7 August 2020

Lincoln Cathedral, Charles Foster, Lincoln Record Society
Foster, William - Engineer and Machine Maker
Foster, William - Engineer and Machine Maker
Foster, William - Engineer and Machine Maker

William Foster (1816-1876) began business as a miller and moved on to become an agricultural machine maker.

His firm made threshing machines and steam engines at the Wellington Works in Lincoln.

His grave is in the Eastgate Cemetery in Lincoln.  

Occasions, William Foster
Foster, William - Engineer and Machine Maker
Foster, William - Engineer and Machine Maker
Foster, William - Engineer and Machine Maker

William Foster was born in Potterhanworth, about 6 miles south-east of Lincoln.

He served as Mayor of Lincoln in 1863.

Occasions, William Foster
Fowler, James - Architect
Fowler, James - Architect
Fowler, James - Architect

James Fowler (1828-1892), born in Lichfield, spent 38 years as an architect based in Louth. Most of his work was within Lincolnshire.

He designed or restored over 200 churches (including four in London). He was also responsible for 40 vicarages or rectories, 13 schools and 4 almshouses.

This plaque is on his house in Westagte, Louth.

November 2020
Louth, James Fowler
Fowler, James - Architect
Fowler, James - Architect
Fowler, James - Architect

Memorial in St James Church, Louth "In loving Memory of JAMES FOWLER J.P. F.R.I.B.A. Five times Mayor of this Town. Born at Lichfield Dec. 11th 1828. Died at Louth Oct. 10th 1892. In coelo quies."

"Best known as a Victorian English church architect and associated with the restoration and renovation of churches. However, he was also the architect of a wide variety of other buildings. A listing of his work compiled in 1991 traced over 210 buildings that he designed or restored"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Fowler_(architect) 

DB 5 December 2021 

 

Louth, Saint james Church, James Fowler, architect
Fowler, James - Architect
Fowler, James - Architect
Fowler, James - Architect

Fowler moved to Louth in 1849 at the age of twenty and went into partnership with Joseph Maughan.

He married Marianne Sheen in 1861 and, after 8 years in Gospelgate, moved to this house, 54 Westgate (Grove House).  

Fowler served as Mayor of Louth on five occasions.

November 2020

Louth, James Fowler, Joseph Maughan, Marianne Sheen, Grove House
Fox (or Foxe), Richard - Bishop of Winchester & Lord Privy Seal
Fox (or Foxe), Richard - Bishop of Winchester & Lord Privy Seal
Fox (or Foxe), Richard - Bishop of Winchester & Lord Privy Seal

Peacock Farmhouse formerly the Peacock Inn birthplace of Richard Foxe.

"Richard Foxe (sometimes Richard Fox) (c. 1448 – 5 October 1528) was an English churchman, successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, Lord Privy Seal, and founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Foxe  

DB 6 August 2018

Ropsley, Peacock Inn, Richard Foxe, Richard Fox, Bishop, Corpus Christi College
Fox (or Foxe), Richard - Bishop of Winchester & Lord Privy Seal
Fox (or Foxe), Richard - Bishop of Winchester & Lord Privy Seal
Fox (or Foxe), Richard - Bishop of Winchester & Lord Privy Seal
Peacock Farmhouse formerly the Peacock Inn.

"On this site

RICHARD FOX

Bishop of Winchester

and founder of

Corpus Christie College

Oxford

was born in 1447 - 8" 

DB 6 August 2018

Ropsley, Peacock Inn, Richard Foxe, Richard Fox, Bishop, Corpus Christi College
Foxe, John - Martyrologist
Foxe, John - Martyrologist
Foxe, John - Martyrologist

Former Rum Puncheon public house and site of John Foxe's birthplace.

John Foxe (1516/17 – 18 April 1587) was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of Actes and Monuments (popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs), an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the 14th century through the reign of Mary I.

Widely owned and read by English Puritans, the book helped to mould British popular opinion about the Catholic Church for several centuries"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Foxe 

DB 1 May 2019

Boston, Rum Puncheon, Public House, John Foxe, Actes and Monuments, Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Foxe, John - Martyrologist
Foxe, John - Martyrologist
Foxe, John - Martyrologist

Blue plaque on the wall of the former Rum Puncheon public house.

"HERE STOOD THE BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN FOXE THE MARTYROLOGIST 1516 -1587"

DB 1 May 2019

Boston, Rum Puncheon, Public House, John Foxe, Actes and Monuments, Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Franklin, James - Cartographer and Naturalist
Franklin, James - Cartographer and Naturalist
Franklin, James - Cartographer and Naturalist
Franklin, James  1784 -1834
Cartographic Surveyor, Geologist, Naturalist

A monument for James Franklin (1784-1834) is erected on the south wall of the tower in St James's Church, Spilsby. It is unusual in design as the main body of the tablet carries only a shield and sword, while the inscription is on a large plinth beneath.

James was born in Spilsby, an elder brother of the more famous John. He joined the East India Company as an army cadet in 1805 and was engaged in the Third Anglo-Maratha War (1816-18). His later achievements include surveying parts of India for the production of accurate maps, studying the geology of the sub-continent and collecting large numbers of bird specimens.

His scientific work led to his being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. His bird specimens were given to the Zoological Society of London; his paintings of those birds, which formed the content of the book he published, were given to the Asiatic Society in Calcutta.

The inscription reads:

SACRED / TO THE MEMORY OF / MAJOR JAMES FRANKLIN FRS
A NATIVE OF SPILSBY / WHO DIED ON 31ST AUGUST 1834 IN THE 50TH YEAR OF HIS AGE, / AND LIES BURIED AT ST JOHN’S CHAPEL, ST MARYLEBONNE, / HE ENTERED THE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE HONOURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY IN THE YEAR 1805, AND WAS IN SEVERAL ENGAGEMENTS IN THE PINDAREE WAR, /  HE WAS SOME TIME ASSISTANT QUARTER MASTER GENERAL OF THE BENGAL ARMY, AND / WAS EMPLOYED BY THE BENGAL GOVERNMENT IN CONDUCTING A VERY EXTENSIVE SURVEY OF THE COUNTRY, WHICH WITH HIS OTHER SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS PROCURED / FOR HIM THE HONOR OF BEING ELECTED FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, HAVING REVISITED HIS NATIVE COUNTRY HE WAS ABOUT TO RESUME HIS DUTIES IN / INDIA, WITH THE RANK OF MAJOR OF CAVALRY WHICH HE HAD JUST ATTAINED, WHEN HE WAS CALLED FROM A MORTAL TO AN IMMORTAL STATE / HE DEPARTED IN PEACE AND CHARITY WITH ALL MANKIND, AND IN THE FERVENT / HOPE OF SALVATION, THROUGH THE MERITS OF HIS REDEEMER JESUS CHRIST.
http://slha.org.uk/search/publications.php?id=246&zoom_highlightsub=James+Franklin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Franklin_(naturalist)
https://www.kolkatabirds.com/articles/birdmenpioneers.html
 

Spilsby, James Franklin,
Franklin, John - explorer
Franklin, John - explorer
Franklin, John - explorer

John Franklin (1786-1847) was born in Spilsby. As a naval officer he led expeditions to northern Canada in 1819 and 1825 before being appointed Governor of Tasmania (1836-1843).

His final expedition, to search for the North-West Passage in 1845, famously ended in disaster for him and his entire crew - there were no survivors - but, as in similar circumstances for other explorers, it did elevate him to lasting fame.

(The statue in Spilsby Market Place is in bronze on a polished stone ashlar base, 1861)

September 2011


Spilsby, John Franklin statue
Franklin, John - explorer
Franklin, John - explorer
Franklin, John - explorer

Detail of the lettering on the Franklin statue in Spilsby Market Place.

September 2011

Spilsby, Sir John Franklin statue
Freshney, Frederick - Boer War casualty
Freshney, Frederick - Boer War casualty
Freshney, Frederick - Boer War casualty

The village pump at Satfleet was built to commemorate the courage of a local man, Frederick Freshney, who was a volunteer in the Boer War, and served as a trooper in the Imperial Light Horse.

He was severely wounded in the British defeat at Colenso in 1899, and was brought back to Saltfleet paralysed.  He died in 1906 at the age of only thirty two.

Undated postcard


Saltfleet, Frederick Freshney
Frewer, John - Bishop North West Australia
Frewer, John - Bishop North West Australia
Frewer, John - Bishop North West Australia

Memorial in the chancel of St Andrew's Church, Fulletby. 

John Frewer was born and baptised in Fulletby in 1883. He was the son of Canon G.E. Frewer who was then Rector of Fulletby.

"He was ordained in 1909 and, after being a curate in Boston, he emigrated to Australia where he became domestic chaplain to the Bishop of Bunbury-eventually becoming a canon of the diocese.

A member of the Brotherhood of St Boniface, he was their warden from 1919 until his ordination to the episcopate.

He served as second bishop of North West Australia from 1929 to 1965"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frewer 

DB 18 February 2020

Fulletby, Saint Andrew, Church, John Frewer, Bishop North West Australia
George III - English king
George III - English king
George III - English king

This bust of a rather smug looking George III stands in Lincoln Castle grounds.

Originally, this was part of a full height statue set up in 1810 on the top of Dunston Pillar.

In 1941 the statue was judged to be a hazard to aircraft - RAF Coleby Grange was close by - and taken down.

Frank Robinson, May 2011

Buildings, Lincoln Castle, George III, Dunston Pillar
Gilbert of Sempringham - Saint & Founder Gilbertine Order
Gilbert of Sempringham - Saint & Founder Gilbertine Order
Gilbert of Sempringham - Saint & Founder Gilbertine Order

St Gilbert of Semperingham (c.1083-1189) founder of the only English monastic order.

Physically deformed from birth.

A Clerk in the household of Bishop Bloet, ordained priest by Bishop Alexander & as an old man would have known St Hugh.

He built 13 monasteries of which 9 were double monasteries for nuns & canons.

Canonised in 1202.

Depicted in the stained glass of Grimsby Minster. 

DB 7 March 2020 

Grimsby, St James, Church, Gilbert of Sempringham, Stained Glass
Gilbert of Sempringham - Saint & Founder Gilbertine Order
Gilbert of Sempringham - Saint & Founder Gilbertine Order
Gilbert of Sempringham - Saint & Founder Gilbertine Order

Plaques on the south side of St Andrew's Church, Sempringham commemorating Saint Gilbert and the Gilbertine Order.

"ST. GILBERT OF SEMPERINGHAM (CIRCA 1083 - 4TH FEBRUARY 1189), VICAR OF THIS PARISH, FOUNDER OF A RELIGIOUS ORDER FOR WOMEN AND MEN, WAS BORN, LIVED AND WAS BURIED HERE"

DB 8 August 2020 

Sempringham, Saint Andrew, church, Saint Gilbert, Gilbertine
Gilbert, Bernard - poet and author
Gilbert, Bernard - poet and author
Gilbert, Bernard - poet and author

Bernard Samuel Gilbert was a poet, playwright, novelist and journalist who reflected on life in Lincolnshire, especially during the First World War.

He wrote series of articles for the Lincoln Gazette. Some of his poems are in Lincolnshire dialect.

This plaque is in St Michael's church Billinghay, the village in which Gilbert was born and spent much of his life.

April 2018



Billinghay, Bernard Gilbert
Gilbert, Fred - piano teacher
Gilbert, Fred - piano teacher
Gilbert, Fred - piano teacher

A signpost in Billinghay remembering villager Fred Gilbert.

'Fred Gilbert was a piano teacher who rode around the village on an old-fashioned bicycle. He was so short-sighted that he wore up to three pairs of spectacles on his nose at the same time. Lessons were spent looking for lost pairs.'

Mark Acton, 2018


Billinghay, Fred Gilbert
Goulding, Richard William - Antiquarian, Collector, Naturalist
Goulding, Richard William - Antiquarian, Collector, Naturalist
Goulding, Richard William - Antiquarian, Collector, Naturalist

Son of John William and Sarah Ann Goulding, Richard (1868-1929) was expected to inherit the family printer’s and bookseller’s concern in Mercer Row, Louth.  But his intelligence and application were to lead him beyond Lincolnshire’s boundaries.

He attended Louth’s British School where he won a scholarship to King Edward VI Grammar School in the town. In 1884 he founded with four other teenage boys a naturalists’ club which became Louth Naturalists’, Antiquarian & Literary Society, the organisation which founded and still maintains Louth Museum. (The tympanum over the museum's entrance is shown here.)

After schooling, in tandem with learning his father’s trade he transcribed early documentation to publish Louth Old Corporation Records, the first of a series of publications about Louth and beyond.In 1902 he was invited to take the post of librarian at Welbeck Abbey in Notts.

His researches here resulted in a number of books including his still significant work on Welbeck’s collection of portrait miniatures.  He remained at Welbeck until his early death.

His collection of books and local material was left to Louth although it is split largely between Louth Library and the County Archives.

https://www.louthmuseum.org.uk/blog/2013-12-06-richard-william-goulding

Jean Howard, October 2020

Louth, Broadbank Museum, Richard William Goulding
Grosseteste, Robert - Bishop of Lincoln
Grosseteste, Robert - Bishop of Lincoln
Grosseteste, Robert - Bishop of Lincoln

Robert Grossteste was Bishop of Lincoln from 1225 until his death in 1253 at the age of about 78.

Grosseteste was an outstanding scholar and scientist.

This stained glass image of Robert Grosseteste is in the south aisle of the St James' Minster, Grimsby. 

Grimsby, Robert Grosseteste
Grosseteste, Robert - Bishop, Statesman, Philosopher, Theologian, Scientist
Grosseteste, Robert - Bishop, Statesman, Philosopher, Theologian, Scientist
Grosseteste, Robert - Bishop, Statesman, Philosopher, Theologian, Scientist

Robert Grosseteste's tomb in the southeast transept of Lincoln Cathedral is marked by a raised ledger stone, designed by W.H.Randoll Blacking, and placed here in 1953. 

Bishop of Lincoln 1235-1253. 

First Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Grosseteste is best known as an original thinker for his work concerning what would today be called science or the scientific method.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Grosseteste 

DB 18 October 2018

Lincoln Cathedral, Robert Grosseteste, Bishop
Gwenllian of Wales - Princess
Gwenllian of Wales - Princess
Gwenllian of Wales - Princess

A monument to Princess Gwenllian of Wales located near the site of the former Gilbertine Priory at Sempringham - National Grid Reference TF108326.

"Gwenllian of Wales or Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn (June 1282 – 7 June 1337) was the only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales ... 

A few months after Gwenllian's birth, north Wales was encircled by the English army of King Edward I.

On 11 December 1282 her father, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was killed in battle ...

Gwenllian's uncle, Dafydd ap Gruffudd, assumed her guardianship, but on 21 June 1283, he was captured with his family at Nanhysglain, a secret hiding place in a bog by Bera Mawr in the uplands of north Wales ...

Gwenllian and the daughters of her uncle Dafydd ap Gruffudd were all confined for life in remote priories in Lincolnshire and never allowed freedom.

Gwenllian was placed in the Gilbertine Priory at Sempringham, where she remained until her death 54 years later"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwenllian_of_Wales 

DB 2 June 2020

Sempringham, Gwenllian of Wales, Monument, Princess
Hales, George Henry - Athlete
Hales, George Henry - Athlete
Hales, George Henry - Athlete

East Window of St. Luke's Church, Stickney in memory of George Henry Hales.

A Lincoln Record Society news review states :-

"Another remarkable athlete among the Lincolnshire parish clergy was George Henry Hales, Rector of Stickney from 1883 until 1922.

An athletics blue at Cambridge and President of the University Athletics Club, he was universally known as ‘Hammer Hales’, holding for twenty years the world record for throwing the hammer"

http://www.lincoln-record-society.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Lincoln-Record-Society-News-Review-8.pdf 

The Window was designed and executed by Messrs. Burlison and Grylls, Great Ormond Street, London. 

DB 1 September 2019

 

Stickney,
Hannah, John - Victoria Cross
Hannah, John - Victoria Cross
Hannah, John - Victoria Cross

Rose garden in the churchyard of St John the Baptist, Scampton.

Local signage states "John Hannah was the youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross in the Second World War.

He trained as a wireless operator/air gunner and was posted to 83 Squadron at RAF Scampton. 

On 15 September 1940, he and his crew took part in the Battle of the Barges. This was an operation to disable German barges that were preparing for an invasion of Britain.

Flak struck their aircraft and it quickly caught fire. The navigator and rear gunner bailed out but Hannah stayed aboard, fighting the fire.

The pilot, Clare Connor, brought the very badly damaged aircraft back to Scampton.

Hannah was awarded the VC at just 18 years of age. He had suffered serious burns and never fully recovered. He died in 1947 and was buried in Leicester.

To keep his memory alive at Scampton, the Hannah Rose variety was developed. It grows in a bed on the left as you enter the churchyard"

DB 13 November 2020 

Scampton, Saint John Baptist, church, image, war memorial, John Hannah VC
Harrison, Edward - physician
Harrison, Edward - physician
Harrison, Edward - physician

Edward Harrison's home and base for his medical practice in West Street, Horncastle.

September 2016

Horncastle, William Harrison, West Street
Harrison, Edward - physician
Harrison, Edward - physician
Harrison, Edward - physician

Edward Harrison (1766-1838), born in Lancashire, practised as a physician in Horncastle for 30 years. He founded the Horncastle dispensary and the Lincolnshire Medical Benevolent Society.

He also founded the first infirmary for spinal diseases in London and was a notable advocate for medical reform on the national scene.

September 2016

Horncastle, Edward Harrison,
Hassall, John - Illustrator Skegness Jolly Fisherman
Hassall, John - Illustrator Skegness Jolly Fisherman
Hassall, John - Illustrator Skegness Jolly Fisherman

Blue plaque at Skegness Railway Station.  

"John Hassall (21 May 1868 – 8 March 1948) was an English illustrator, known for his advertisements and poster designs"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hassall_(illustrator) 

"It has been said with some truth that Skegness rose to fame on a poster.

The Jolly Fisherman Poster and its accompanying slogan is probably the most famous holiday advertisement ever drawn.

It has been circulated hundreds of times in almost every newspaper in the land, and the dancing salt has been imitated by thousands of visitors.

John Hassall drew the picture in 1908. It had been commissioned by the Great Northern Railway Company and for this masterpiece he received twelve guineas ...

He visited Skegness only once in his life. That was in 1936 when the town which he had put on the map presented him with an illuminated address and "the freedom of the foreshore""

https://www.skegness.gov.uk/jolly-fisherman.html/ 

DB 30 October 2019 

 

Skegness, Railway Station, Blue Plaque, Jolly Fisherman, John Hassall
Henry IV - King of England
Henry IV - King of England
Henry IV - King of England

View of Bolingbroke Castle, birthplace of Henry IV, with part of the village visible in the background.

"Henry IV (15 April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413.

He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of France.

Henry was the son of John of Gaunt (the fourth son of Edward III) and Blanche of Lancaster. John enjoyed a position of considerable influence during much of the reign of his cousin King Richard II, whom Henry eventually deposed.

Henry founded the Lancaster branch of the House of Plantagenet.

He was the first King of England since the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was English rather than French"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV_of_England 

DB 13 October 2017  

Old Bolingbroke, Henry IV, castle
Hilton, William - Portrait Artist
Hilton, William - Portrait Artist
Hilton, William - Portrait Artist

William Hilton (1786-1839), son of an artist, was a successful portrait painter who became a member of the Royal Academy.

This plaque is on the west wall of Hilton's house on the corner of Union Road and Drury Lane in Lincoln.

November 2019

Buildings, Lincoln, William Hilton
Honywood, Michael - Bibliophile
Honywood, Michael - Bibliophile
Honywood, Michael - Bibliophile

Monument in Lincoln Cathedral on the south side of the nave. 

"Michael Honywood D.D. (1597 to 7 December 1681) was an English churchman, Dean of Lincoln from 1660 ...  

Honywood's major work contribution to Lincoln Cathedral was to spend £780 of his own money on the library which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, on the site of the ruined north walk of the cloister.

In this building he placed 5,000 of his own books, which he presented to the chapter.

Honywood's books were in two collections.

His first collection was gathered in England and it had been seized by Parliamentary forces when he was abroad. His brothers are thought to have interceded as his eldest brother was a Parliamentarian colonel.

The second part of the collection consisted of the books that Honywood had purchased whilst he was in Holland before the Restoration.

The collection contained (2014) a series of rare seventeenth-century tracts, including the first issue of John Milton's Lycidas, his Tetrachordon, and Smectymnuus.

Early printed books of William Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde and others, which originally formed part of Honywood's library, were sold by the chapter at the suggestion of Thomas Frognall Dibdin, with his Lincolne Nosegaie"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Honywood#:~:text=Michael%20Honywood%20D.D.,funded%20the%20Lincoln%20Cathedral%20Library. 

DB 7 August 2020

Lincoln Cathedral, Dean Michael Honywood Library
Hornsby, Richard - Engineer
Hornsby, Richard - Engineer
Hornsby, Richard - Engineer

Hornsby family memorials in Grantham Cemetery with Richard Hornsby (1790-1864) founder of the firm Richard Hornsby & Sons on the left

"Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918.

The company was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil engine developed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart, which was marketed under the Hornsby-Akroyd name.

The company developed an early track system for vehicles, selling the patent to Holt & Co. (predecessor to Caterpillar Inc.) in America.

In 1918, Richard Hornsby & Sons became a subsidiary of the neighbouring engineering firm Rustons of Lincoln, to create Ruston & Hornsby"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hornsby_%26_Sons 

DB 8 January 2019

Grantham, Cemetery, Richard Hornsby, Herbert Akroyd Stuart, Holt & Co, Caterpillar, Ruston
Hornsby, Richard - Engineer
Hornsby, Richard - Engineer
Hornsby, Richard - Engineer

Memorial to Richard Hornsby in Grantham Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Finkin Street - now known as ChristChurch.

"Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918.

The company was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil engine developed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart, which was marketed under the Hornsby-Akroyd name.

The company developed an early track system for vehicles, selling the patent to Holt & Co. (predecessor to Caterpillar Inc.) in America.

In 1918, Richard Hornsby & Sons became a subsidiary of the neighbouring engineering firm Rustons of Lincoln, to create Ruston & Hornsby"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hornsby_%26_Sons 

DB 8 January 2019

Grantham, Richard Hornsby
Hudson, Charles - mountaineer
Hudson, Charles - mountaineer
Hudson, Charles - mountaineer

Charles Hudson (1828-1865) was a very accomplished mountaineer. In fact it was probably his main interest in life and it is said that he spent little time in Skillington where he was vicar.

He achieved some outstanding climbing feats in the French and Swiss Alps and died in tragic circumstances when descending the Matterhorn in July 1865. He is buried in Zermatt.

A memorial window was created in the church of St James, Skillington. This two-light window includes the section shown here which illustrates some of the mountain climber's equipement.

Beneath the window is a brass plaque listing the contributors to the window; many are leading mountaineers of the day.

See more images of the memorial window

September 2016

 

Skillington, Charles Hudson, mountaineer
Hugh of Lincoln - Little Saint Hugh
Hugh of Lincoln - Little Saint Hugh
Hugh of Lincoln - Little Saint Hugh

Image shows tomb chest and remains of the shrine of Little St Hugh in the South Choir Aisle of Lincoln Cathedral.

Hugh of Lincoln (1246 – 27 August 1255) was an English boy whose death was falsely attributed to Jews.

He is sometimes known as Little Saint Hugh or Little Sir Hugh to distinguish him from Hugh of Lincoln, an adult saint.

Hugh became one of the best known of the blood libel 'saints'; generally children whose deaths were interpreted as Jewish sacrifices.

Little Sir Hugh was never canonised, so "Little Saint Hugh" is a misnomer.

It is likely that the Bishop and Dean of Lincoln steered events in order to establish a profitable flow of pilgrims to the shrine of a martyr and saint.

Hugh's death is significant because it was the first time that the Crown gave credence to ritual child murder allegations, through the direct intervention of King Henry III.

As a result, in contrast to other English blood libels, the story entered the historical record, medieval literature and popular ballads that circulated until the twentieth century"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Saint_Hugh_of_Lincoln 

DB 19 September 2019

Lincoln Cathedral, Little Saint Hugh, shrine
Hugh of Lincoln - Saint & 6th Bishop of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln - Saint & 6th Bishop of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln - Saint & 6th Bishop of Lincoln

Prior to the Reformation Saint Hugh's head (which was separate from the body) was housed in a head reliquary kept under a movable cover on top of this stone shrine base.

Hugh was responsible for rebuilding Lincoln Cathedral following the earthqauke of 1185 which destroyed most of the original Norman Cathedral.

He was canonised by Pope Honorius III on 17 February 1220.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_of_Lincoln 

DB 27 August 2018

Lincoln Cathedral, Saint Hugh, Bishop
Hugh, St, of Lincoln - bishop and saint
Hugh, St, of Lincoln - bishop and saint
Hugh, St, of Lincoln - bishop and saint

This figurine of St Hugh is on the east wall of the chancel of Holy Trinity church in Bilsby.

St Hugh (1135-1200) was appointed Bishop of Lincoln in 1186. He is depicted here carrying a model of the Lincoln Cathedral, which he was instrumental in restoring.

Bilsby, St Hugh, Bilsby
Hunt, John - Methodist Missionary
Hunt, John - Methodist Missionary
Hunt, John - Methodist Missionary

John Hunt (1812-1848) was a very early missionary for the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Fiji.

His birthplace at Hykeham Moor is about 2 miles east of the Methodist chapel at Thorpe on the Hiil which was dedicated to his memory and carries this plaque.

March 2021
Thorpe on the Hill, John Hunt, Methodist missionary
Hunt, John - Methodist Missionary
Hunt, John - Methodist Missionary
Hunt, John - Methodist Missionary

The Wesleyan Methodist chapel at Thorpe on the Hiil, built in 1909, was dedicated to John Hunt.

He served as a missionary for the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Fiji from 1838 until his death in 1848.

March 2021

Thorpe on the Hill,
Ingelow, Jean - Poet and Novelist
Ingelow, Jean - Poet and Novelist
Ingelow, Jean - Poet and Novelist

A window commorating Jean Ingelow (1820-97) is in the north aisle of Boston Stump.

Born at Boston in 1820, daughter of a banker, Jean Ingelow began writing as a girl, contributing verse and stories to magazines. Her first volume of poetry was considered ‘charming’ by Alfred Tennyson and the two poets were to become friends.

In 1850 Ingelow’s supporters hoped Queen Victoria would create her the first female Poet Laureate, but Tennyson was given the role.

Perhaps her best known poem is the narrative ‘The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire (1571)’.  In it the mayor of Boston exhorts his bell-ringers to sound the alarm for flooding: three bells are depicted round her shoulders.

Jean Howard, October 2012

https://minorvictorianwriters.org.uk/ingelow/
Boston, Jean Ingelow
Ingram, Herbert - MP & newspaper founder
Ingram, Herbert - MP & newspaper founder
Ingram, Herbert - MP & newspaper founder

Herbert Ingram (1811-60), born in Boston, founded The Illustrated London News.

He represented Boston as a Liberal MP for four years until his early death in a shipping accident in Canada.

His statue, designed by Alexander Munro in 1862, stands in the Market Place in Boston.

March 2013

Boston, Herbert Ingram, Illustrated London News, Alexander Munro
Ingram, Herbert - MP & newspaper founder
Ingram, Herbert - MP & newspaper founder
Ingram, Herbert - MP & newspaper founder

Ingram memorial in Boston Cemetery. 

"There are several memorials of particular interest within the original cemetery, the most notable of which is the burial site of Sir Herbert Ingram MP for Boston, the founder of the London Illustrated News, who came from the Boston area and drowned along with his young son on Lake Michigan, North America in 1860.

Sir Herbert's body was returned for burial to Boston and the grave is marked by a granite obelisk set with a cast of the face of his son, whose body was never recovered"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000935 

DB 1 May 2019

Boston, Cemetery, Sir Herbert Ingram
Insall, Gilbert - Victoria Cross
Insall, Gilbert - Victoria Cross
Insall, Gilbert - Victoria Cross

Headstone of Group Captain Gilbert Stuart Martin Insall, VC, MC (14 May 1894 - 17 February 1972) in Nocton churchyard.

"On 7 November 1915 near Achiet-le-Grand, France, Second Lieutenant Insall, on patrol in Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus No. 5074 with 1st Class Air Mechanic T. H. Donald, engaged an Aviatik two-seater and forced the German pilot to make a rough landing in a ploughed field.

Seeing the air crew scramble out and prepare to fire, Insall dived to 500 ft and his gunner opened fire, whereupon the Germans fled.

After dropping an incendiary bomb on the downed German aircraft, Insall flew through heavy fire at 2000 ft over enemy trenches.

The Vickers' petrol tank was hit, but Insall brought the plane 500 yards back inside Allied lines for an emergency landing.

Insall and Donald stayed by the Gunbus through a bombardment of about 150 shells while awaiting nightfall.

After dark, they then set to work by torch light to salvage their plane. After they repaired the machine overnight, Insall flew them back to base at dawn"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Insall 

DB 18 December 2019

Nocton, All Saints, Churchyard, Group Captain Gilbert Stuart Martin Insall, VC, MC
John II (John the Good) - King of France
John II (John the Good) - King of France
John II (John the Good) - King of France

Somerton Castle where King John II of France was imprisoned between 1359 and 1360, having been taken prisoner after the Battle of Poitiers

"John II (French: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: Jean le Bon), was King of France from 1350 until his death.

When John II came to power, France was facing several disasters: the Black Death, which killed nearly half of its population; popular revolts known as Jacqueries; free companies (Grandes Compagnies) of routiers who plundered the country; and English aggression that resulted in catastrophic military losses, including the Battle of Poitiers of 1356, in which John was captured" 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II_of_France

DB 15 November 2020

Boothby Graffoe, Somerton Castle, King John II of France
Johnson, Samuel - Writer & Lexicographer
Johnson, Samuel - Writer & Lexicographer
Johnson, Samuel - Writer & Lexicographer
Wall display in the White Hart Inn, Tetford celebrating a visit by Dr Johnson who was entertained by the "Tetford Club", a gentleman's society, in 1764.
  
"Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor, and lexicographer ... 
 
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes Johnson as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history".
 
He is the subject of James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson, described by Walter Jackson Bate as "the most famous single work of biographical art in the whole of literature"
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson 
 
DB 18 January 2020 
Tetford, White Hart, Inn, Public House, Samuel Johnson, writer, lexicographer
Johnson, Samuel - Writer & Lexicographer
Johnson, Samuel - Writer & Lexicographer
Johnson, Samuel - Writer & Lexicographer

White Hart Inn, Tetford visited by Dr Johnson.

Reported in the Horncastle News that :- 

"The White Hart is one of Lincolnshire's oldest inns, and onetime venue for the " Tetford Club", a gentleman's society, which had the honour of entertaining Dr Samuel Johnson in 1764, and the membership of Alfred Lord Tennyson"

https://www.horncastlenews.co.uk/lifestyle/a-gentle-ramble-through-lovely-tennyson-country-1-848600 

DB 18 January 2020

Tetford, White Hart, Inn, Public House, Samuel Johnson, writer, lexicographer
Kalvos, Andreas - National Poet of Greece
Kalvos, Andreas - National Poet of Greece
Kalvos, Andreas - National Poet of Greece

Born in Zakythos in April 1792, Kalvos moved with his father and brother to Leghorn, Italy in 1805 when his parents parted. His first job was as secretary and travelling companion to poet Ugo Foscolo from whom he parted in England. Here he became a private tutor and was briefly married to Maria Theresa Thomas who died young along with their small daughter.

Around 1826 he settled on Corfu, teaching privately and at university until 1852 when he returned to London. He married Charlotte Augusta Wadams at St Pancras church in February 1853.

For reasons unknown the couple moved in 1865 to Louth where they took over a school for girls in High Holme Road. Kalvos died in 1869, Charlotte in 1888 and both were buried at Keddington.

He had written plays and verse of which two volumes were printed. He is feted in Greece as a National Poet.

In 1960 a commemorative marble plaque, now in Louth Museum, was erected in Keddington St Margaret’s church following exhumation for return to a mausoleum on his native island. His original gravestone now serves as a cenotaph where a footpath enters Keddington churchyard. It reads:

Sacred
to the memory of
Andrea Kalvo PhD
late of Corfu
Who departed this life
Novr 3rd 1869
in his 78th year
Deeply beloved and lamented by his wife and friends

He is not dead but sleepeth
He is but gone to rest :
And Christ our Loy'd one keepeth
Now and forever blest

https://www.louthmuseum.org.uk/blog/2014-06-26-andreas-kalvos

https://katalogia.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/from-lincolnshire-to-zakynthos.pdf

Jean Howard, November 2020


Keddington, Andreas Kalvos, Greek National Poet
Keyworth, Leonard James - Victoria Cross
Keyworth, Leonard James - Victoria Cross
Keyworth, Leonard James - Victoria Cross

War memorial from the former United Methodist Chapel, Silver Street, Lincoln.

The chapel closed after a final service on 29 September 1940 and the building was demolished in the 1970's.

The memorial was found buried in a garden in Cherry Willingham! Subsequently moved to All Saints Church, Monks Road, Lincoln and re-dedicated Sunday 25th November 2007.

http://www.thelincolnshireregiment.org/silverstreetmemorial.shtml 

One of the names is that of Leonard James Keyworth VC :-

"For most conspicuous bravery at Givenchy on the night of 25-26th May, 1915.

After the assault on the German position by the 24th Battalion, London Regt, efforts were made by that Unit to follow up their success by a bomb attack, during the progress of which 58 men out of a total 75 became casualties.

During this very fierce encounter Lance-Cpl Keyworth stood fully exposed for 2 hours on the top of the enemy's parapet, and threw about 150 bombs amongst the Germans, who were only a few yards away.

* London Gazette, 2 July 1915

He later achieved the rank of Corporal, but was killed in action at Abbeville, France, on 19 October 1915"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_James_Keyworth

DB 1 August 2019


Leonard James Keyworth, Victoria Cross
Kilham, Alexander - founder, Methodist New Connexion
Kilham, Alexander - founder, Methodist New Connexion
Kilham, Alexander - founder, Methodist New Connexion

Alexander Kilham (1762-1798) was born in Epworth, son of a linen weaver, and achieved fame as founder of the Methodist New Connexion.

This branch of the church joined others to form the United Methodist Church in 1907 which in turn became part of the one Methodist Church in 1932.

This chapel in High Street, Epworth, opposite the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, was built as a memorial to Kilham in 1860. It was converted for use as Epworth's Youth Centre in 1944.

The building is Grade II listed.

October 2016

 



Epworth, Alexander Kilham, memorial chapel
King, Edward - Bishop of Lincoln
King, Edward - Bishop of Lincoln
King, Edward - Bishop of Lincoln

Grave of Edward King (1829-1910) 61st Bishop of Lincoln in the Cathedral's Cloisters.

Born 1829 the 2nd son of Walker King, Archdeacon of Rochester. Educated privately by his father's curate and then at Oriel College Oxford.

Chaplain of Cuddesdon Theological College for 5 years before being made its Principal. Built a reputation as a preacher and conductor of retreats.

Became Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford; Chair offered by the Prime Minister Mr Gladstone whose son he had taught at Cuddesdon.

In 1885 the sees of London,Lincoln & Exeter were vacant; Gladstone wished to appoint at least one high church bishop and King was nominated for Lincoln even though that was a low church diocese.

He was the first Church of English Bishop to wear a mitre on his head since the reformation also the first Bishop to use vestments.

In 1887 he celebrated communion at St Peter-at-Gowts church; on the altar were lighted candles, he faced east, he mixed water with wine in the chalice. Although such practices were used in many churches he was prosecuted by the Church Association for ritual offenses.

Archbishop Benson held substantially for King and in the points where he went against him King at once and publicly promised obedience. The diocese rallied round him but the trial took a heavy toll.

Devoted all his time and effort to the diocese. Moved the bishop's house from Riseholme to the Old Bishop's Palace in Lincoln. Gave doors to the restored arcade of the chapter house.

DB 13 May 2019

Lincoln Cathedral, Cloisters, Edward King, Bishop
King, Edward - Bishop of Lincoln
King, Edward - Bishop of Lincoln
King, Edward - Bishop of Lincoln

Bronze statue in the south transept of Lincoln Cathedral - 1913 by William Blake Richmond with lettering by Eric Gill.

The statue shows the bishop in the act of confirmation and was originally intended to stand in the open. 

Edward King is remembered as a teacher and pastor in the Church's calendar on the 8th March every year. 

DB 7 August 2020

Lincoln Cathedral, Edward King, Statue, William Blake Richmond, Eric Gill
Kirk, Charles - Builder and Architect
Kirk, Charles - Builder and Architect
Kirk, Charles - Builder and Architect

Charles Kirk's grave in St Botolph's churchyard, Quarrington.

"The architect and builder Charles Kirk was born on 10 March 1791 at Wigston Magna, Leicestershire.

The Kirk family had long been connected with the building trade and Charles' father, William (1749-1823), was a builder and architect in Leicester.

Charles Kirk came to Sleaford in 1829 to undertake the building of the new Sessions House at Sleaford which had been designed by the London architect H E Kendall and when the work was completed he decided to stay in Sleaford.

In the years that followed, Kirk's building business and architectural practice flourished and he was involved in the construction or planning of many of Sleaford's new buildings, including Carre's Hospital, Carre's Grammar School (1834) and the Gasworks (1838).

He formed a partnership with Thomas Parry, who had been an articled clerk with Kirk's firm.

In 1841, Parry married Charles Kirk's daughter, Henrietta. Following Charles Kirk's death in 1847, the firm was taken over by his son, also called Charles in partnership with Parry.

The business continued to prosper and Kirk and Parry established a countrywide reputation for their railway buildings and church restorations.

Kirk was buried at Quarrington near Sleaford"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kirk_(architect) 

DB 18 November 2019

Quarrington, Saint Botolph, churchyard, Charles Kirk, architect
Lambert, Daniel - Heaviest Man
Lambert, Daniel - Heaviest Man
Lambert, Daniel - Heaviest Man

Daniel Lambert (13 March 1770 – 21 June 1809) renowned as the heaviest man in England weighing 52 stone 11 lbs (335 kgs).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Lambert 

Gravestone in St Martin's Old Churchyard, Stamford.

DB 3 July 2019 

Stamford, Daniel Lambert
Langton, Stephen - Archbishop of Canterbury
Langton, Stephen - Archbishop of Canterbury
Langton, Stephen - Archbishop of Canterbury

In St Giles' church Langton by Wragby the south aisle window depicts Stephen Langton (c. 1150 – 9 July 1228).

"Archbishop of Canterbury between 1207 and his death in 1228. The dispute between King John of England and Pope Innocent III over his election was a major factor to the crisis which produced Magna Carta in 1215.

Cardinal Langton is also credited with having divided the Bible into the standard modern arrangement of chapters used today"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Langton 

Langton was probably born next door to the church in the moated manor.

DB 2 May 2018


Langton by Wragby, Stephen Langton
Lawrence of Arabia - Archaeologist, Soldier, Diplomat & Writer
Lawrence of Arabia - Archaeologist, Soldier, Diplomat & Writer
Lawrence of Arabia - Archaeologist, Soldier, Diplomat & Writer

"Browns Pie Shop was originally a pub called the Fox and Hounds ...

The name of the pub was changed to the Bessy Bedlam in 1828 after a famous racehorse ...

the pub’s license was withdrawn in 1898 ...

In 1925 the building was occupied  by Lawrence of Arabia whilst he was serving at RAF Cranwell"

https://www.brownspieshop.co.uk/history/  

DB 20 June 2019

Lincoln, Steep Hill, Browns Pie Shop, Fox and Hounds, Bessy Bedlam, Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia - Archaeologist, Soldier, Diplomat & Writer
Lawrence of Arabia - Archaeologist, Soldier, Diplomat & Writer
Lawrence of Arabia - Archaeologist, Soldier, Diplomat & Writer

Plaque on Brown's Pie Shop, Steep Hill, Lincoln

"LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 1888 - 1935  

ON THIS SITE IN 1925 SOLDIER AND AUTHOR T E LAWRENCE LODGED WHILST SERVING AT RAF CRANWELL, AROUND THIS TIME HE WROTE HIS BOOK SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM THE LEGENDARY ACCOUNT OF HIS LEADERSHIP OF ARAB INSURGENCE AGAINST THE TURKS IN SYRIA DURING WORLD WAR 1"
 
DB 20 June 2019 
Lincoln, Steep Hill, Browns Pie Shop, Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence, T E - diplomat & writer
Lawrence, T E - diplomat & writer
Lawrence, T E - diplomat & writer

One of several fine portraits in the main building at RAF Cranwell is this painting of T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) in arabic dress by Augustus John OM.

Lawrence enlisted in the RAF as aircraftman under the pseudonym John Hume Ross in 1922. Later, between 1925 and 1926, he enrolled as a cadet officer at Cranwell and during this period completed the subscriber's edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Cranwell, T E Lawrence, portrait, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Augustus John
Lewcock, Connie - suffragette
Lewcock, Connie - suffragette
Lewcock, Connie - suffragette

Constance (Connie) Mary Lewcock, nee Ellis (1894-1980), was born in West Street, Horncastle and attended Horncastle Grammar School (where this new plaque is located).

She joined the Women's Social and Political Union as a 19-year-old  and was actively involved as a suffragette, notably in acts of arson.

She later joined the Independent Labour Party and was a long-standing member of Newcastle city council. In 1966 she was awarded OBE for her political service.

December 2019

Horncastle, Connie Lewcock, Grammar School
Lister, Thomas - Regicide
Lister, Thomas - Regicide
Lister, Thomas - Regicide

Thomas Lister's family home Coleby Hall viewed from Coleby Low Fields.

"Thomas Lister (1597–1668) was colonel in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War and an MP. He was appointed a judge at the trial of Charles I, but on the restoration escaped with a light punishment"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lister_(regicide) 

DB 15 Novemeber 2020 

Coleby, Thomas Lister, Coleby Hall, English Civil War, MP, Regicide
Logsdail, William - Painter
Logsdail, William - Painter
Logsdail, William - Painter

Memorial in the south wall of Lincoln Cathedral cloisters where his father George had been a Verger for 53 years.

"William Logsdail (25 May 1859 – 3 September 1944) was a prolific English landscape, portrait, and genre painter.

He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Grosvenor Gallery, the New Gallery (London), and others.

He is notable for his realistic London and Venice scenes and his plein air style"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Logsdail 

DB 4 July 2019

Lincoln Cathedral, William Logsdail, painter
Logsdail, William - Painter
Logsdail, William - Painter
Logsdail, William - Painter

Commemorative plaque on the house in the Cathdral Close, Logsdail's birthplace in 1859.

February 2020

 

Buildings, William Logsdale
Logsdail, William - Painter
Logsdail, William - Painter
Logsdail, William - Painter

Logdail's birthplace in The Close opposite the west end of the Cathedral, where his father, George, was Chief Verger.

February 2020

Buildings, William Logsdale
Longden, Henry Errington - Adjutant-General India.
Longden, Henry Errington - Adjutant-General India.
Longden, Henry Errington - Adjutant-General India.

Monument to General Sir Henry Errington Longden KCB CSI (14 January 1819 – 29 January 1890) in Lincoln Cathedral.

"Longden was commissioned into the 10th Regiment of Foot on 16 September 1836.

He fought at the Battle of Sobraon in February 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh War as well as the Siege of Multan in Autumn 1848 and the Battle of Gujrat in February 1849 during the Second Anglo-Sikh War.

He also took part in the Siege of Lucknow in Autumn 1857 and the subsequent relief of Azamgarh during the Indian Rebellion.

He became Adjutant-General in India in January 1866 before retiring in 1880.

He was given the colonelcy of the Hampshire Regiment in 1883, transferring in 1888 to be Colonel in Chief of the Lincolnshire Regiment until his death"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Errington_Longden 

15 August 2019 

Lincoln cathedral, General Sir Henry Errington Longden
Lucan, Arthur - comedy actor
Lucan, Arthur - comedy actor
Lucan, Arthur - comedy actor

A plaque marking the birthplace in Sibsey of Arthur Lucan (1885-1954), born Arthur Towle, star of stage, screen & radio.

Mark Acton, 2017

Sibsey, Arthur Lucan, Arthur Towle, Old Mother Riley
Lucan, Arthur - comedy actor
Lucan, Arthur - comedy actor
Lucan, Arthur - comedy actor

The birthplace of Arthur Lucan, born Arthur Towle, famous for his role as Old Mother Riley on stage, screen and radio.

Born the son of a groom on 16 September 1885. Married his co-star Kitty McShane in 1913.

He died at the Tivoli Theatre, Hull on 17 May 1954 and is buried in the Eastern Cemetery, Hull.

Mark Acton, 2017

Sibsey, Arthur Lucan
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Sir Henry Simpson Lunn (1859-1939) was born to a Methodist family in Horncastle. His father developed a successful and long lasting grocery business in the town; this is his warehouse behind Bridge Street.
 
Lunn attended Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in the town and then took degrees in both theology and medicine.
 
After graduation, he undertook missionary work in India but had to return to England due to illness.  He openly criticised his church’s missionary policy, ultimately resigning from the ministry.
 
Directing his energy into journalism and working for Christian unity, he organised church conferences in Grindelwald and Murren; the travel and accommodation requirements led to the foundation of Lunn Travel Company, which survives as part of Lunn Poly.
 
A friend of Asquith’s, he stood unsuccessfully twice for Parliament, including for Boston in 1910.
 
Jean Howard, February 2021 
 
http://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=1764 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lunn 
Horncastle, Henry Lunn
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Lunn wrote a number of religious works and two volumes of autobiography. In the first ‘Chapters from My Life’ he recalls moving with his family to West Ashby House (shown here) in 1876.
 
The house is Grade II* listed and originally served as the vicarage. It stands behind All Saints' Church in the village.
 

Jean Howard, February 2021

West Ashby, Henry Lunn
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer
Lunn, Henry Simpson - Methodist & Travel Pioneer

The impressive grocer's shop in Bridge Street, Horncastle, was built for Henry Lunn's father (also Henry) in 1854.

Henry's early life was spent in the rooms above the shop.

February 2021 

Horncastle, Lunn & Dodson, Henry Lunn
Mackinder, Halford J - Geographer
Mackinder, Halford J - Geographer
Mackinder, Halford J - Geographer

Substantial town house of red brick C18 in Caskgate Street, Ggainsborough.

" The birthplace of Sir Halford J Mackinder, the geographer, 1861-1947"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063547 

Gate piers are also a listed feature.

DB 29 December 2018

Gainsborough, Elswitha Hall, Sir Halford J Mackinder, geographer
Mackinder, Halford J - Geographer
Mackinder, Halford J - Geographer
Mackinder, Halford J - Geographer

Plaque on the wall of Elswitha Hall, Caskgate Street, Gainsborough.

"Sir Halford John Mackinder PC (15 February 1861 – 6 March 1947) was an English geographer, academic, politician, the first Principal of University Extension College, Reading (which became the University of Reading) and Director of the London School of Economics, who is regarded as one of the founding fathers of both geopolitics and geostrategy"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halford_Mackinder  

DB 29 December 2018

Gainsborough, Elswitha Hall, Sir Halford J Mackinder, geographer
Magee, John - Poet & Aviator
Magee, John - Poet & Aviator
Magee, John - Poet & Aviator

War grave located in Scopwick Church Burial Ground.

"John Gillespie Magee Jr. (9 June 1922 – 11 December 1941) was a World War II Anglo-American Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot and poet, who wrote the poem High Flight"

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth ... Put out my hand, and touched the face of God"

"High Flight has been a favourite poem amongst both aviators and astronauts.

It is the official poem of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force and has to be recited from memory by fourth class cadets at the United States Air Force Academy, where it can be seen on display in the Cadet Field House"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gillespie_Magee_Jr. 

DB 2020

Scopwick, Church Burial Ground, cemetery, war grave, John Gillespie Magee Jr., poet
Manning, Frederick - poet & novelist
Manning, Frederick - poet & novelist
Manning, Frederick - poet & novelist

Frederick Manning (1882-1935), poet and novelist, was born in Sydney, Australia and moved to UK to live with his friend Rev Arthur Galton in the rectory at Edenham in 1903.

He served in the First World War and, after Galton’s death, lived some of the time at the Bull Hotel in Bourne, where this plaque is located.

July 2011

Bourne, Frederick Manning, Bull Hotel, Arthur Galton
Marendaz, Donald M K - car and aeroplane designer
Marendaz, Donald M K - car and aeroplane designer
Marendaz, Donald M K - car and aeroplane designer

Donald Marcus Kelway Marendaz (1897-1988), ‘Captain Marendaz’ as he was always known, was born in Glamorgan to a Swiss family.  He flew with the Royal Flying Corps from 1916 until invalided out with the rank of Lieutenant.

He began a career constructing cars and planes in 1918 when, with others, he formed Alvis, but soon left to start another car production company Marseel. By 1926 he had founded a company carrying his own name, the Marendaz Special being used for racing. He drove several of his own constructions at Brooklands.

In 1936 he turned to light aircraft production as Marendaz Aircraft Ltd and, although few planes were produced, he did, at government request, train about 500 pilots for the imminent war.  He was briefly jailed in 1940 on security charges for supporting Oswald Mosley.

Post-war he emigrated to South Africa where his company built small diesel engines until 1972 when he returned to England, buying a pair of cottages in Asterby that he timbered and called Asterby Hall (shown here). He became well-known in the area for his autocratic manner. He died in 1988 and is buried in Goulceby churchyard.

He was one of the few people who built and raced cars bearing their own name.
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Marendaz_Special_Cars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marendaz

Asterby, Marendaz, Alvis, Brooklands, Goulceby
Marendaz, Donald M K - car and aeroplane designer
Marendaz, Donald M K - car and aeroplane designer
Marendaz, Donald M K - car and aeroplane designer

Marendaz was buried in the graveyard of All Saints' Church, Goulceby. (At the time of his death the church and yard in neighbouring Asterby were closed.)

Jean Howard, November 2020

Goulceby, Marendaz
Markham, John -  Chief Justice of the King's Bench  (the
Markham, John - Chief Justice of the King's Bench (the "upright judge")
Markham, John - Chief Justice of the King's Bench (the "upright judge")

Sir John Markham (died 1479) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench - the "upright judge".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Markham 

Image shows his chantry chapel in Sedgebrook, St Lawrence church. 

DB 6 February 2019 

Sedgebrook, St Lawrence, church, Sir John Markham
Marriner, Neville - Musician
Marriner, Neville - Musician
Marriner, Neville - Musician

House in Grafton Street, Lincoln where Sir Neville Marriner was born marked by a blue plaque.

"Neville Marriner, CH, CBE (15 April 1924 - 2 October 2016) was an English violinist who became "one of the world's greatest conductors".

He founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and his partnership with them is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor.

Marriner was born in Lincoln, England, the son of Herbert Marriner, a carpenter, and his wife Ethel (née Roberts).

He was educated at Lincoln School (then a grammar school), where he played in a jazz band with the composer Steve Race"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Marriner 

DB 26 February 2019

Lincoln, Sir Neville Marriner, Grafton Street, violinist, conductor, musician
Marriner, Neville - Musician
Marriner, Neville - Musician
Marriner, Neville - Musician

Blue plaque on house in Grafton Street, Lincoln where Sir Neville Marriner was born.

DB 26 February 2019

Lincoln, Sir Neville Marriner, Grafton Street, violinist, conductor, musician, blue plaque
Martin, Guy - Motorbike Racer & Television Presenter
Martin, Guy - Motorbike Racer & Television Presenter
Martin, Guy - Motorbike Racer & Television Presenter

Born in Grimsby in 1981 and raised in Kirmington, Guy inherited a passion for racing motorbikes from his dad, an admirer of Guy Gibson.

An enthusiast for all things mechanical, Guy has presented a number of television programmes on subjects including hovercraft and Spitfires.

In 2017 the village pub at Kirmington (shown here) came up for sale and Guy bought it for his sister Sally to run.

The pub was started in 1871 by T M Frankish, the village butcher, who named it to reflect his other occupation. It displays memorabilia about RAF Kirmington but also about Guy’s racing career.

Jean Howard, August 2020

https://www.guymartinracing.co.uk/who-is-guy-martin/

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/guy-martin-buys-village-pub-72869

Kirmington, Marrowbone and Cleaver
Marwood, William - hangman
Marwood, William - hangman
Marwood, William - hangman

The tiny workshop occupied by William Marwood in Church Lane, Horncastle. The door to his premises, to the right of the frontage, has been bricked in.

 

Horncastle, William Marwood, Cobbler shop, public hangman, long drop executioner
Marwood, William - hangman
Marwood, William - hangman
Marwood, William - hangman

William Marwood (1818-1883) was the official hangman or principal exectioner from 1874.

He developed the 'long drop' technique of hanging, a relatively speedy and humane process.

Marwood lived in Church Lane Horncastle where he had a cobbler's workshop. This plaque is mounted on the building.

Horncastle, William Marwood, blue plaque, public hangman, long drop, executioner
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver

This fine memorial in Well Head Field off South Street, was erected in 1999 to commemorate Bourne's association with British motor racing and especially the contribution of Raymond Mays. The wording on the plaque is as follows:

To commemorate The Motor Racing Heritage of Bourne celebrating the Centenary of the birth of Raymond Mays CBE (1899-1980). A veritable giant of motor sport, he put the Town on the World Map of Motor Racing.

65 years of E.R.A. (1934-1999)
These voiturette racers became renowned worldwide for success in the classes for which they
were designed and built, Successes which continued into the 21st century with Historic Events.

50 years of B.R.M. (1949-1999)
The natural successor to the E.R.A. the B.R.M. was aimed at the Formula One World Championships in a determined effort to put British cars in the front line of racing. In 1962, Graham Hill OBE won the Formula One Drivers World Championship in the P57/8 Model. This brought the Formula One Constructors' World Championship to The Town. testament to the dedication and professionalism of a workforce comprised mainly of local people. The Company was acquired by the Rubery Owen Group on November 1, 1952. Sir Alfred and Ernest Owen, along with their sister Jean Stanley took much personal interest in its running. Mrs Stanley and husband Louis later assumed full management of The Company.
On August 29th 1999, Bourne saw the return of the Cars associated with the Town. The occasion was marked with a Celebration Dinner and roads were closed off to allow demonstrations of The Racing Cars.

Eric Newton, 2019


 

Bourne,
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver

Eastgate House in Eastgate, Bourne, home of Raymond Mays and his family for many years.

The workshop where Mays undertook development work on the BRM is close by the house.

Eric Newton, 2019

Bourne, Raymond Mays, Eastgate House
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver
Mays, Raymond - Motor Racing Driver

Plaque on the wall outside Eastgate House, Eastgate, Bourne.

Raymond Mays (1899-1980), son of a local businessman, had a successful career of 30 years as a racing driver. He is particularly associated with the ERA (English Racing automobiles).

He was a key man in the development of the BRM (British Racing Motors) which won the World Championship, with Graham Hill at the wheel, in 1962.

Eric Newton, 2019

 

Bourne, Raymond Mays, Eastgate House, ERA, BRM
McCallin, Shona - Olympic Gold Medalist
McCallin, Shona - Olympic Gold Medalist
McCallin, Shona - Olympic Gold Medalist

Dry Doddington birthplace of Shona McCallin.

"Shona McCallin, MBE (born 18 May 1992) is a member of Great Britain women's national field hockey team and an Olympic gold medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shona_McCallin 

DB 5 September 2018 

Dry Doddington, Shona McCallin, hockey, Olympic gold medalist
McLaren, Francis - MP War Casualty
McLaren, Francis - MP War Casualty
McLaren, Francis - MP War Casualty

Foundation stone laid by the Honourable Francis McLaren M.P. on 20th February 1913 at the entrance to Spalding Drill Hall.

"He volunteered at the outbreak of war and was commissioned with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve ...

McLaren was a second lieutenant and trainee pilot in Number 18 Training Squadron (RNVR) when he died on 30 August 1917, following a flying accident during training at RAF Montrose ...

He is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs that died during World War I to be named on that memorial.

McLaren is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_McLaren 

DB 2 October 2019

Spalding, Drill Hall, Haverfield Road, Francis McLaren
Montanari, Augusta - Wax Doll Maker
Montanari, Augusta - Wax Doll Maker
Montanari, Augusta - Wax Doll Maker

Blue Plaque placed by the Grantham Civic Society at Montanari Court, Avenue Road near the site of Madam Montanari's childhood home.

http://www.granthamcivicsociety.co.uk/public/plaque_montanari.php

Madam Montanari was born Charlotte Augusta Dalton, in Grantham, the daughter of the landlord of the Nag’s Head, and later achieved fame as a wax doll maker.

Medal winner at the the Great Exhibition in 1851.

https://www.granthammatters.co.uk/montanari-augusta-gvvv/ 

DB 9 March 2019

Grantham, Montanari Court, Blue Plaque, Augusta Montanari, Doll, wax
Montanari, Augusta - Wax Doll Maker
Montanari, Augusta - Wax Doll Maker
Montanari, Augusta - Wax Doll Maker

Blue Plaque placed by the Grantham Civic Society at Montanari  Court, Avenue Road Grantham.

"MADAME AUGUSTA MONTANARI 1818 -1864

PIONEER MAKER OF WAX DOLLS LIVED AT 9 AVENUE ROAD AND WAS BORN IN GRANTHAM AS AUGUSTA DALTON.

SHE GAVE HER MARRIED NAME TO A PARTICULARLY FINE TYPE OF POURED WAX DOLLS"

DB 9 March 2019

Grantham, Montanari Court, Blue Plaque, Augusta Montanari, Doll, wax
Mowbray, William de - Magna Carta Baron
Mowbray, William de - Magna Carta Baron
Mowbray, William de - Magna Carta Baron

This Epworth blue plaque reads :-

"EPWORTH MAGNA CARTA 800 SOCIETY

THE 12TH CENTURY MANOR HOUSE OF WILLIAM DE MOWBRAY (1173-1224) STOOD HERE ON THE VINEGARTH ESTATE HE WAS ONE OF THE 25 BARONS ENTRUSTED WITH THE ENFORCEMENT  OF THE TERMS OF MAGNA CARTA"

He was described as being as small as a dwarf but very generous and valiant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Mowbray 

DB 9 August 2019 

Epworth, William De Mowbray, Vinegarth, Magna Carta
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Blue Plaque located outside The George Shopping Centre and visible from High Street, Grantham.

"Sir Isaac Newton 1642 - 1727 site of a house owned by Mr. Clark the apothecary.

Isaac Newton lodged here whilst attending the Grammar School, Grantham, between 1655 and 1660.

Universally regarded as one of the world's greatest scientists"

DB 11 March 2017
Grantham, Isaac Newton, Scientist, Mathematician, Blue Plaque
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Located on the wall of King's School and visible from Church Street, Grantham.

"In the hall of this school Sir Isaac Newton was taught"

DB 11 March 2017
Grantham, Isaac Newton, Scientist, mathematician, blue plaque
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist

Signature visible upper left in this image. 

"Isaac Newton was a King's School scholar between 1655 and 1660.

As was customary in his time, he carved his signature on the wall of what is today's school side hall, although the signature has never been confirmed as authentic; visitors from around the world come to view this indication of Newton's education"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King%27s_School,_Grantham 

DB 11 March 2017

Grantham, Kings School, Isaac Newton, Signature, mathematician, scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist

Isaac Newton (1642-1726), one of the most influential mathematicians and scientists of all time, was born at Woolsthorpe near Grantham.

He was educated at the King’s School, Grantham and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he spent much of his working life.

This statue, cast in bronze by William Theed the younger and completed in 1858, stands on St Peter’s Hill in Grantham.

August 2014

Grantham, Isaac Newton, statue, St Peters Hill, William Theed
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist

Newton's sundial. 

Located in St John the Baptist's Church, Colsterworth on the north wall behind the organ.

"NEWTON: AGED 9 YEARS: CUT WITH HIS PENKNIFE THIS DIAL: THE STONE WAS GIVEN BY C.TURNOR ESQ AND PLACED HERE AT THE COST OF THE RT HON SIR WILLIAM ERLE A COLLATERAL DESCENDENT OF NEWTON 1877"

DB 17 May 2018

Colsterworth, Isaac Newton, mathematician, scientist, sundial
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist
Newton, Isaac - mathematician & scientist

Woolsthorpe Manor in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, is the birthplace and was the family home of Sir Isaac Newton.

He was born there on 25 December 1642 (old calendar).

At that time it was a yeoman's farmstead, principally rearing sheep.

Newton returned here in 1666 when Cambridge University closed due to the plague, and here he performed many of his most famous experiments, most notably his work on light and optics.

This is also said to be the site where Newton, observing an apple fall from a tree, was inspired to formulate his law of universal gravitation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolsthorpe_Manor 

DB 17 May 2018

Woolsthorpe Manor, Sir Isaac Newton
Nicholson, William Adams - Architect
Nicholson, William Adams - Architect
Nicholson, William Adams - Architect
Memorial to the noted Lincoln architect William Adams Nicholson (1803–1853) in St Benedict's Church, Lincoln.
 
A founding member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. 

"Possibly Nicholson's most important contribution was in the design of Workhouses.
 
His pioneering Southwell Workhouse (1824) was important forerunner of the radially planned workhouses of the New Poor Law ...

As well as working in the Gothic revival style of architecture, Nicholson could also work very effectively in classical styles.

He designed the Mansfield Town Hall in a Grecian style portico with Doric columns.

More striking is the Corn Exchange of 1847 in the Cornhill Lincoln. Here he has a projecting portico with Corinthian columns at Piano nobile level ... "
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_Nicholson

DB 20 October 2018
Lincoln, Saint Benedict, Church, William Adams Nicholson
Odling, Charles William - Water Engineer
Odling, Charles William - Water Engineer
Odling, Charles William - Water Engineer

Charles William Odling was born in Buslingthorpe Manor, son of a well to do farmer. This memorial plaque is in St Michael's church in the village.

Odling is included in the 1915 Indian Biographical Dictionary. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India for public works.

One of his appointments in India involved being chief engineer and secretary for irrigation in Bengal which accounts for the biblical quotation. "The wilderness shall blossom as the Rose.” is a paraphrase of Isaiah Ch 35 v1.

The tablet includes a carved rose at each lower corner.

See: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Charles_William_Odling

and also : http://odlingfamily.com/bionotes.php

Jean Howard, July 2020 





Buslingthorpe, Charles William Odling, Star of India,
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Located inside the former George Hotel now the George Shopping Centre, Grantham.

"Thomas Paine political writer 1737-1809.

He stayed here in the George Hotel from 1762 until 1764 whilst employed as an excise officer.

His writing inspired great passions. His grand vision of society advocated a world peace organisation, social security for the poor and elderly and freedom from slavery"

DB 11 March 2017
Grantham, Thomas Paine, political writer, blue plaque
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer

Paine spent a little over a year in Alford as an excise officer following his spell in Grantham. He received a salary of £50 p.a.

He was abruptly dismissed from the Alford post on 27 August 1765 following disagreement about his handling of local smugglers.

November 2018

Alford, Thomas Paine
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer

The Windmill Hotel in Alford's South Market Place is built on the site of the office used by Paine when he worked in Alford.

November 2018

Alford, Thomas Paine, Windmill Hotel
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer
Paine, Thomas - political writer

Blue plaque placed by Grantham Civic Societ inside former George Hotel now the George Shopping Centre, Grantham.

http://www.granthamcivicsociety.co.uk/public/plaque_paine.php 

Plaque just visible behind the Pizza Express sign. 

just visible

Grantham, Thomas Paine, political writer, blue plaque
Parker, Walter - Victoria Cross
Parker, Walter - Victoria Cross
Parker, Walter - Victoria Cross

War memorial in St Wulfram's churchyard. 

Plaque commemorating Walter Parker VC (20 September 1881 – 28 November 1936), who was born in Grantham.

"On the night of 30 April/1 May 1915 at Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli, Turkey, Lance-Corporal Parker, a volunteer stretcher-bearer, went out with a party of NCOs and men to take ammunition, water and medical stores to an isolated trench containing about 40 men and several wounded.

There were no communication trenches leading to the trench, and several men had already been killed in an attempt to reach it.

After crossing an area of about 400 yards swept by machine-gun and rifle fire, Lance-Corporal Parker was alone, the rest of the party having been killed or wounded.

On his arrival he gave assistance to the wounded and when the trench was finally evacuated early the next morning, he helped to remove and attend the casualties, although he himself was seriously wounded"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Richard_Parker 

DB 2 July 2018

Grantham, Walter Richard Parker, Victoria Cross, War Memorial
Parsons, Nicholas - Actor
Parsons, Nicholas - Actor
Parsons, Nicholas - Actor

Nicholas Parsons birthplace 1 Castlegate, Grantham where his father Paul was a general practitioner whose patients included the family of Margaret Thatcher.

"Christopher Nicholas Parsons CBE (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter.

He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show Just a Minute and hosted the game show Sale of the Century during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Parsons was born and grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and was educated at St Paul's School, London.

He became a full-time actor following the Second World War and began appearing in various theatre, film and television roles, including support to Arthur Haynes.

He began presenting Just a Minute in 1967 and never missed a show until 2018.

In addition to his well-known roles on this and Sale of the Century, he appeared as a guest on other television shows, including Doctor Who and Have I Got News for You"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Parsons 

DB 22 February 2020

Grantham, Nicholas Parsons, Actor
Penrose, Elizabeth - Writer
Penrose, Elizabeth - Writer
Penrose, Elizabeth - Writer

Memorial plaque in Lincoln Cathedral.

"Elizabeth Penrose (3 August 1780 – 24 January 1837), known by her pseudonym Mrs Markham, was an English writer ...

The best known of her books was A History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans to the End of the Reign of George III (1823), which went through numerous editions. In 1828, she published a History of France. Both these works enjoyed a wide popularity in America as well as in England"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs_Markham 

DB 23 August 2022

Lincoln Cathedral, Slype, Elizabeth Penrose, Mrs Markham
Peters, William - Painter & Clergyman
Peters, William - Painter & Clergyman
Peters, William - Painter & Clergyman

"Matthew William Peters (1742 – 20 March 1814) was an English portrait and genre painter who later became an Anglican clergyman and chaplain to George IV.

He became known as "William" when he started signing his works as "W. Peters" ...

On 27 February 1769, Peters became a freemason, and he was made the grand portrait painter of the Freemasons and the first provincial grand master of Lincolnshire in 1792"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Peters_(painter)

Image shows the Annunciation by William Peters hanging in Lincoln Cathedral - until 1855 it was part of the Reredos behind the High Altar but is now on the west wall of the Northeast Transept. 

DB 18 October 2018 

 

William Peters, Artist, painter, clergyman
Pick, Frank - Transport Administrator
Pick, Frank - Transport Administrator
Pick, Frank - Transport Administrator

Blue plaque placed by Spalding & District Civic Society outside the Halifax Bank, 25 Bridge St, Spalding.

"Pick had a strong interest in design and its use in public life.

He steered the development of the London Underground's corporate identity by commissioning eye-catching commercial art, graphic design and modern architecture, establishing a highly recognisable brand, including the first versions of the roundel and typeface still used today.

Under his direction, the UERL's Underground network and associated bus services expanded considerably reaching out into new areas and stimulating the growth of London's suburbs.

His impact on the growth of London between the world wars led to his being likened to Baron Haussmann and Robert Moses"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Pick 

DB 2 October 2019

Spalding, Frank Pick, London Underground
Pitman, Isaac - inventor of shorthand
Pitman, Isaac - inventor of shorthand
Pitman, Isaac - inventor of shorthand

Isaac Pitman was master at this school in Queen Street, Barton upon Humber, between 1832 and 1835.

August 2010

Barton Upon Humber, Isaac Pitman
Pitman, Isaac - inventor of shorthand
Pitman, Isaac - inventor of shorthand
Pitman, Isaac - inventor of shorthand

Isaac Pitman (1813-1897) taught at a Free School in Barton upon Humber as a newly qualified teacher from 1832 until his marriage in 1835.

August 2010

Barton Upon Humber, Isaac Pitman
Pleasence, Donald Henry - Actor
Pleasence, Donald Henry - Actor
Pleasence, Donald Henry - Actor

The father of Donald Pleasence (1919-1995) was a railway station master whose career brought him to Grimoldby and a home in the stationmaster’s house. The family moved on to Scunthorpe where Donald went to Crosby Junior School.

Like many of his family he began work as a railway clerk but decided on an acting career just before the outbreak of WWII.

Initially a Conscientious Objector, he volunteered after the London blitz and flew as wireless operator on nearly 60 operations with 166 Squadron from RAF Kirmington before being shot down and taken POW.

After the war he acted in repertory theatre, adding television work from 1946 and film from 1954. He was made OBE for services to the acting profession in 1994.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Pleasence

Jean Howard, December 2020 


Grimoldby, Railway Station, Donald Pleasence
Remigius - First Bishop of Lincoln 1072-1092
Remigius - First Bishop of Lincoln 1072-1092
Remigius - First Bishop of Lincoln 1072-1092


Victorian stained glass in the rose window at the west end of Lincoln Cathedral depicts Remigius (Bishop of Lincoln 1072-1092) holding a model of the original Norman Cathedral which he had built in Lincoln.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remigius_de_Fécamp 

Designed by J.G.Crace and made by the firm of Heaton, Butler & Bayne in 1858.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gregory_Crace_(designer) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaton,_Butler_and_Bayne 

DB 12 August 2015

Lincoln Cathedral, Stained Glass, Window, John Gregory Crace, Heaton, Butler & Bayne, Remigius
Roberts, Nesta Mary - Journalist, Author, Francophile
Roberts, Nesta Mary - Journalist, Author, Francophile
Roberts, Nesta Mary - Journalist, Author, Francophile

Nesta Roberts (1913-2009), daughter of a merchant seaman, was brought up in north Wales.

She began a career in journalism on a Welsh weekly newspaper, moving to the Grimsby Telegraph and the Nottingham Evening Post, while also contributing to the paper then called the Manchester Guardian. She joined their staff in 1947 and in eleven years worked her way up from the reporters’ room to become deputy news editor.

When the paper moved to London in 1961 Nesta was put in charge of the London news desk – the first woman to take that role on a national newspaper.

Returning to writing after a couple of years she specialised in health and welfare, writing five books on the subject. In 1965 she was sent to Paris where she was correspondent for seven years.

Now passionate about all things French she remained for some years to write The Face of France (1976) and The Companion Guide to Normandy (1980).

She retired to George Street, Louth (shown here) as her brother lived there briefly, and became a part of the community, loving the parish church and volunteering in the Museum. Here she would startle and delight any French visitors with her fluency in their language.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jan/19/the-guardian-press-and-publishing 

Jean Howard, November 2020

Louth, Nesta Roberts, George Street
Roberts, James - seaman
Roberts, James - seaman
Roberts, James - seaman

James Roberts (1752-1826) sailed on the Endeavour with Captain James Cook and Joseph Banks.

Roberts was a tenant farmer on Banks' Revesby estate and, along with his near neighbour Peter Briscoe, he was employed to give general support to Banks in the collection and recording of plants.

Roberts lived the last 30 years of his life in Mareham le Fen, the village adjoining Revesby. This plaque is in St Helen's church Mareham le Fen.

June 2013

Mareham le Fen, James Roberts, Peter Briscoe, James Cook, Joseph Banks
Robertson, William, Sir - WW1 Field Marshal
Robertson, William, Sir - WW1 Field Marshal
Robertson, William, Sir - WW1 Field Marshal

Sir William Robertson, who was born in Welbourn, was the first and only British Army soldier to rise from Private to Field Marshal. 

He served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War.

This memorial is inside the church of St Chad, Welbourn.

DB 24 March 2018


Welbourn, Sir William Robertson, field marshal, St Chad church
Robertson, William, Sir - WW1 Field Marshal
Robertson, William, Sir - WW1 Field Marshal
Robertson, William, Sir - WW1 Field Marshal

Sir William Robertson, who was born in Welbourn, was the first and only British Army soldier to rise from Private to Field Marshal. 

He served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War.

This memorial is in the north transept of Lincoln Cathedral. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_William_Robertson,_1st_Baronet

DB 23 August 2018

Cathedral, Field Marshal, Sir William Robertson
Robey, Robert - Engineer
Robey, Robert - Engineer
Robey, Robert - Engineer

Monument to Robert Robey, founder of Robey & Co, who died in 1876. Located in Canwick Road Old Cemetery, Lincoln.

"Robeys rapidly became an important employer in Lincoln and by 1865 were employing 114 men. The works covered a total area along Canwick Road of seven acres and around 1870 the name of Perseverance Ironworks was changed to the Globe Works"

"Robeys were makers of steam motor wagons, tractors and ploughs and in the First World War manufactured aircraft. The company was purchased by Babcock International in 1984"

"In the firm's last years before final closure in February 1988, production was mainly of boilers in oil, gas or solid fuel fired versions which were made in larger numbers"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robey_%26_Co 

DB 2 February 2019

Lincoln, Canwick Road Old Cemetery, Robert Robey
Robinson, Frederick John - Prime Minister & 1st Earl of Ripon
Robinson, Frederick John - Prime Minister & 1st Earl of Ripon
Robinson, Frederick John - Prime Minister & 1st Earl of Ripon

Monument in Nocton Church to the 1st Earl of Ripon carved by Matthew Noble.

"Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, PC (1 November 1782 – 28 January 1859), styled The Honourable F. J. Robinson until 1827 and known as The Viscount Goderich between 1827 and 1833 ...

A member of the rural landowning aristocracy, Robinson entered politics through family connections.

In the House of Commons he rose through junior ministerial ranks, achieving cabinet office in 1818 as President of the Board of Trade.

In 1823 he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, a post he held for four years.

In 1827 he was raised to the peerage, and in the House of Lords was Leader of the House and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

When the Prime Minister, George Canning, died in 1827 Goderich succeeded him, but was unable to hold together Canning's fragile coalition of moderate Tories and Whigs.

He resigned after 144 days in office, the shortest in history for any British prime minister who did not die in office"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._J._Robinson,_1st_Viscount_Goderich

DB 7 December 2019

Nocton, All Saints, Church, monument, Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, Matthew Noble
Robinson, John - Pilgrim Father
Robinson, John - Pilgrim Father
Robinson, John - Pilgrim Father

The United Reform Church in Gainsborough was erected as a memorial to John Robinson (1576-1625), sometimes known as "the Pastor to the Pilgrim Fathers. The church, built in 1897, was first known as the Robinson Memorial Congregational Church.

Robinson was in fact born at Sturton-le-Steeple over the Trent in Nottinghamshire but he became heavily involved with the group of non-conformists centred on Gainsborough.

John Robinson was hugely instrumental in preparing for the voyage of the Pilgrim Fathers, a group of Separatists, who settled in Plymouth Colony in the U.S. in 1620.

DB June 2019



Gainsborough, John Robinson, United Reform Church
Rollett, Richard - sailmaker
Rollett, Richard - sailmaker
Rollett, Richard - sailmaker

Rollett was a master sailmaker from Gainsborough who served under Capt James Cook on his second voyage round the world in 1772.

His grave, originally marked by this inscribed stone, is in the churchyard of All Saints Church, Gainsborough.The stone was restored in 1980 and brought inside the church. 

Gainsborough, Richard Rollett, sailmaker, Captain James Cook
Rose, William - Inventor First Packaging Machine
Rose, William - Inventor First Packaging Machine
Rose, William - Inventor First Packaging Machine

William Rose's (1857-1929) grave, center image, in Gainsborough General Cemetry on Cox's Hill.

"Another area of Gainsborough's industry is Rose Brothers, after William German Rose and Walter Rose, the co-founders.

In 1893 William Rose invented the world's first packaging machine, and two years later bought the Trentside Works site and started to rapidly expand his packaging machine business.

Rose's diversified into many other areas, and for many years they were associated with many household brands which produced the demand items of the day, including starch, razor blades and sweets, including Cadbury's chocolates after which the Roses selection is named.

They produced seaside rock-making machines, cigarette-making machines and bread-slicing and wrapping machines.

When the company closed, A.M.P Rose bought the confectionery packaging side of the business"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainsborough,_Lincolnshire

See also

http://www.bphs.net/GroupFacilities/R/RoseBrothersGainsborough/index.htm 

DB 6 August 2019 

 

Gainsborough,
Ruddock, John Greenfield - Author
Ruddock, John Greenfield - Author
Ruddock, John Greenfield - Author

Wall plaque at Lincoln Central Station.

"JOHN GREENFIELD RUDDOCK 

1916 - 1997

THIS PLAQUE IS PLACED IN MEMORY OF JACK RUDDOCK, FORMER COUNCILLOR OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN. RESPECTED LOCAL BUSINESSMAN AND ENTHUSIASTIC RAILWAY HISTORIAN, AUTHOR AND COLLECTOR. 

UNVEILED 17 OCTOBER 1998 ON THE 150" ANNIVERSARY OF LINCOLN CENTRAL STATION"

Author of  Lord Willoughby’s Railway, The Railway History of Lincoln, Boothby Graffoe and Somerton Castle, Clayton Wagons Ltd: Manufacturers of Railway Carriages and Wagons 1920 to 1930 & Alesia de Lacy, 1281-1348.

DB 30 July 2019

Lincoln Central railway station, John Greenfield Ruddock
Rudkin, Ethel - Writer, Historian, Archaeologist & Folklorist
Rudkin, Ethel - Writer, Historian, Archaeologist & Folklorist
Rudkin, Ethel - Writer, Historian, Archaeologist & Folklorist

Blue Plaque at the entrance to a property on Long Lane, Willoughton. 

Ethel Rudkin (1893 - 21 September 1985) was an English writer, historian, archaeologist and folklorist from Lincolnshire. She pioneered the collection of folk material, particularly from Lincolnshire, and her collections are now part of several public institutions, including the North Lincolnshire Museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Rudkin 

DB 8 March 2022 

Willoughton, Ethel Rudkin
Rundle, Reverend Harness
Rundle, Reverend Harness
Rundle, Reverend Harness

Harness Rundle (1870-1943) was Curate of Coningsby from 1901-13 and Vicar of New Bolingbroke from 1913-43.

His son John began an agricultural engineering company in New Bolingbroke which continues to this day.

New Bolingbroke, Rundle, Harness
Russell, John - Bishop & Lord Chancellor
Russell, John - Bishop & Lord Chancellor
Russell, John - Bishop & Lord Chancellor

Bishop Russell's tomb in Lincoln Cathedral.

John Russell 26th Bishop of Lincoln 1480-1494.

A fellow of New College, Oxford he was described by Sir Thomas More as "one of the best-learned men... that England had in his time".

Employed by Edward IV and Richard III on embassies to the court of the Duke of Burgundy, as Keeper of the Privy Seal and ultimately as Lord Chancellor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Russell_(bishop)

DB 4 October 2018

Lincoln Cathedral, John Russell, Bishop
Russell, Rex - Tutor & Local Historian
Russell, Rex - Tutor & Local Historian
Russell, Rex - Tutor & Local Historian

Rex Russell (1916-2014) was a local historian whose interests focused on issues such as enclosure, labourers’ movements, Methodism, friendly societies, education, teetotalism and 19th century cultural changes.

He was an accomplished artist and draughtsman and an inspiring teacher. He lived in Barton upon Humber and worked for most of his adult life in north Lincolnshire.

The blue plaque is at 11 Priestgate, Barton upon Humber.

March 2016

Barton Upon Humber, Rex Russell
Russell, Rex - Tutor & Local Historian
Russell, Rex - Tutor & Local Historian
Russell, Rex - Tutor & Local Historian

The blue plaque is fixed to this house, 11 Priestgate, Barton-upon-Humber, where Rex Russell lived and worked as an adult education tutor and author for more than 60 years.

March 2016

Barton Upon Humber, Rex Russell
Ruston, Joseph - Engineer, Industrialist & Politician
Ruston, Joseph - Engineer, Industrialist & Politician
Ruston, Joseph - Engineer, Industrialist & Politician

Portrait of Joseph Ruston from the book "One hundred years of good company" by Bernard Newman.

This portrait used to hang in the Old Board Room, Ruston Works, Waterside South, Lincoln but is now in the Usher Gallery collection.

"On completing his apprenticeship in 1856 with a good commercial training and having a modest inheritance from his father's estate he went into business with Burton and Proctor of Lincoln.

He thus became head of the firm of Ruston, Proctor and Company, agricultural implement makers and engineers.

The company grew in size until it employed some 2000 people and in his lifetime produced 20,800 engines, 19,700 boilers, 10,900 threshing machines, and 1350 corn mills.

Ruston was a J.P. and was elected Mayor of Lincoln for 1869-70.

He was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln in a by-election in June 1884.

He was re-elected at the 1885 general election but did not stand again in 1886 because he disapproved of Gladstone's proposals for Home Rule.

His decorations included the Cross of the Legion of Honour and the Order of Osmanieh.

He was appointed High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1891.

He was a benefactor to the town of Lincoln, funding the building of the drill-hall for the local volunteers, a children's ward at the Lincoln County Hospital, and the restoration of the monument in Lincoln Cathedral to the memory of Queen Eleanor"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ruston 

DB 31 July 2019 

Joseph Ruston
Ruston, Joseph - Engineer, Industrialist & Politician
Ruston, Joseph - Engineer, Industrialist & Politician
Ruston, Joseph - Engineer, Industrialist & Politician

Joseph Ruston's memorial in Eastgate Cemetery.

"Ruston was the son of Robert Ruston a farmer of Chatteris, Isle of Ely and his wife Margaret Seward.

He was educated at Wesley College, Sheffield and became an apprentice at the Sheffield cutlery firm of George Wostenholme.

On completing his apprenticeship in 1856 with a good commercial training and having a modest inheritance from his father's estate he went into business with Burton and Proctor of Lincoln.

He thus became head of the firm of Ruston, Proctor and Company, agricultural implement makers and engineers.

The company grew in size until it employed some 2000 people and in his lifetime produced 20,800 engines, 19,700 boilers, 10,900 threshing machines, and 1350 corn mills.

Ruston was a J.P. and was elected Mayor of Lincoln for 1869-70.

He was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln in a by-election in June 1884.He was re-elected at the 1885 general election but did not stand again in 1886 because he disapproved of Gladstone's proposals for Home Rule".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ruston 

DB 31 July 2021

Lincoln, Eastgate Cemetery, Joseph Ruston
Ryder, Dudley - Chief Justice King's Bench
Ryder, Dudley - Chief Justice King's Bench
Ryder, Dudley - Chief Justice King's Bench

Detail from his monument in Saint Wulfram's Church, Grantham.

"Sir Dudley Ryder PC (4 November 1691 – 25 May 1756), of Tooting Surrey, was a British lawyer, diarist and politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1733 until 1754 when he was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench ...

A patent creating him a peer was signed by the King on 24 May 1756, but Ryder died the following day and was in no position to kiss hands to take it up"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Ryder_(judge) 

DB 21 January 2020

Grantham, Saint Wulfram, Sir Dudley Ryder, Chief Justice of the King's Bench
Sargent, Sir Malcolm - Conductor & Composer
Sargent, Sir Malcolm - Conductor & Composer
Sargent, Sir Malcolm - Conductor & Composer

Sir Malcolm Sargent (1895-1967) was a celebrated conductor, especially remembered for his flamboyant performances at the Last Night of the Proms.

He was born in Ashford, Kent and spent his early life in Stamford and attended Stamford School.

This plaque is located in the south aisle of the church of St John Baptist where Sargent was a chorister.

October 2020

Stamford, Malcolm Sargent
Scorer, Sam - architect
Scorer, Sam - architect
Scorer, Sam - architect

The garage designed by Sam Scorer on Brayford Wharf, Lincoln, was built in 1959-61 for the Lincolnshire Motor Company as a car showroom

In 1974 it was acquired by Lincolnshire County Council and used as the library headquarters.

Following extensive internal refurbishment, It is now a Prezzo Restaurant.

Buildings, Sam Scorer garage
Scorer, Sam - architect
Scorer, Sam - architect
Scorer, Sam - architect

Sam Scorer (1923-2003), Lincoln architect, was a leading exponent of concrete shell design, especially in hyperbolic paraboloid form.

Examples of his distinctive work can be seen in the city and at several locations in the east midland region.

November 2012

Buildings, Sam Scorer plaque, hyperbolic paraboloid
Scott, Peter - naturalist & artist
Scott, Peter - naturalist & artist
Scott, Peter - naturalist & artist

Sir Peter Markham Scott (1909-1989) lived at the East Bank Lighthouse near the mouth of the river Nene from 1933-1939.

He was attracted to the place by the quiet location and the abundance of birds in the Fenland.

Rod Callow, 2007

Sutton Bridge, Peter Scott
Scott, Peter - naturalist & artist
Scott, Peter - naturalist & artist
Scott, Peter - naturalist & artist

The East Bank Lighthouse, Sutton Bridge, one of a pair on the banks of the Nene close to its outfall in the Wash. The plaque commemorating Peter Scott's occupancy of the building is mounted on the external wall.

Rod Callow, 2007

Sutton Bridge, Peter Scott
Sharpe, Charles - Victoria Cross
Sharpe, Charles - Victoria Cross
Sharpe, Charles - Victoria Cross

Headstone in Newport Cemetery, Lincoln. 

Charles Richard Sharpe VC (2 April 1889 – 17 February 1963) originally from Pickworth.

"He was an Acting Corporal in the 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, British Army and 26 years old when the following deed took place during the Battle of Aubers Ridge in First World War for which he was awarded the VC.

On 9 May 1915 at Rouges Bancs, France, Corporal Sharpe was in charge of a blocking party sent forward to take a portion of the German trench.

He was the first to reach the enemy's position and using bombs with great effect he himself cleared them out of a trench 50 yards (46 m) long.

By this time all his party had fallen and he was then joined by four other men with whom he attacked the enemy with bombs and captured a further trench 250 yards (230 m) long"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Richard_Sharpe 

DB 21 December 2019 

Lincoln, Newport Cemetery, Charles Sharpe, VC, Victoria Cross
Shepherd, George - Politician
Shepherd, George - Politician
Shepherd, George - Politician

Former home of George Shepherd at 3 New Road, Spalding.

"In 1920, Shepherd became Labour Party District Organiser for the London and Southern area.

He served as Assistant National Agent for from 1924 to 1929 and National Agent from 1929 to 1946 ...

When Sir Winston Churchill requested that Clement Attlee and the Labour Party enter into a wartime coalition, he negotiated the terms of the coalition agreement with George Shepherd.

On 28 June 1946 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Shepherd, of Spalding in the County of Lincoln, becoming one of the few Labour peers in the House of Lords.

Shepherd then served in the Labour administration of Clement Attlee as a Lord-in-waiting (government whip) from 1948 to 1949, as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords) in 1949 and as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (Chief Whip in the House of Lords) from 1949 to 1951.

The latter year he was also sworn of the Privy Council"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Shepherd,_1st_Baron_Shepherd  

DB 2 October 2019

Spalding, George Shepherd, Politician
Shepherd, George - Politician
Shepherd, George - Politician
Shepherd, George - Politician

Blue plaque placed at 3 New Road by Spalding & District Civic Society.

"George Shepherd (1881-1954)

First Baron Shepherd of Spalding 1946

Labour Party National Agent 1929- 1946

Government Chief Whip and Privy Counsellor 

grew up here" 

Spalding, George Shepherd, Politician
Shuttleworth, Alfred - Engineer
Shuttleworth, Alfred - Engineer
Shuttleworth, Alfred - Engineer

Picture of Alfred Shuttleworth, a major benefactor of All Saints Church, Monks Road, Lincoln, on display in the north aisle.

"Clayton & Shuttleworth was an engineering company located at Stamp End Works, Lincoln"

"In 1870 the company's workforce in Lincoln numbered 1,200.

The export trade was important to the firm; a branch in Vienna (Austria) was established early on, and other branches followed in Pest (Hungary), Prague (now Czech republic), Cracow (Poland) and Lemberg (now Ukraine).

The firm became a limited company in 1901, and Alfred Shuttleworth (1843-1925), son of the founder, became chairman"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_%26_Shuttleworth 

DB 1 August 2019

Churches,
Shuttleworth, Joseph - Engineer
Shuttleworth, Joseph - Engineer
Shuttleworth, Joseph - Engineer

St Swithun's church in Lincoln, built by James Fowler in the 1870s and 80s, was largely funded by Alfred Shuttleworth (1843-1925), the successful local industrialist.

Alfred dedicated the church to his father, Joseph Shuttleworth (1819-1883), joint founder of the Lincoln engineering firm, Clayton and Shuttleworth.

The dedication is carried in the frieze at the top of the tower. The full inscription reads: Erected to the Glory of God and in / Memory of Joseph Shuttleworth, JP & DL / by his son Alfred Shuttleworth of Hartsholme / near to this City, Anno Domini 1886

November 2019

Churches, St Swithun, Joseph Shuttleworth
Smith, Alfred - X-Ray Pioneer
Smith, Alfred - X-Ray Pioneer
Smith, Alfred - X-Ray Pioneer

Alfred Smith is almost unknown despite his selfless career.  He was unsentimental and refused to be called a hero. ‘We worked in ignorance and we suffered for it.’

His memory lived on in Legbourne as his youngest son, Alex, continued to live in their home until his death. A local residential road close to their bungalow is named after him.

https://sites.google.com/view/lincolnshirelass/alfred-smith-a-man-with-x-ray-vision

Jean Howard, September 2020

Legbourne, Alfred Smith Way
Smith, Alfred - X-Ray Pioneer
Smith, Alfred - X-Ray Pioneer
Smith, Alfred - X-Ray Pioneer

Alfred Smith (1872-1933), X-ray pioneer, was a native of the Grimsby who later lived in Legbourne.

Alfred began his career in medicine at the Grimsby hospital, studying pharmacy and dentistry, but he became fascinated by Rontgen’s discovery of X-rays. He was one of the first in this country to learn how to use them, becoming director of a new unit at Coventry and Warwickshire hospital.

Unaware of the dangers, his damaged body forced retirement and he spent almost all he had on his medical problems, ultimately losing his right leg.

Having lived in the old army hut (on the left in the photo) the monies from a newspaper appeal and a small allowance from the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust paid for a modest bungalow in Legbourne, where he kept poultry for a living.

Jean Howard, September 2020



Legbourne, Alfred Smith, X-Ray pioneer
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Reported by the BBC on 19 October 2014 that :-

"A blue plaque honouring the first female police officer with the power of arrest has been unveiled in the Lincolnshire town where she worked.

Midwife Edith Smith came to Grantham in 1915 to help tackle prostitution after the billeting of 14,000 soldiers in the area during World War One.

She resigned from the force in 1918 and died five years later, having dealt with more than 380 incidents.

The plaque was placed on the wall of the old town police station"
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-29664720

DB 11 March 2017
Grantham, Edith Smith, Policewoman
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman

Blue plaque honouring Edith Smith on wall of the Town Lock Up 

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1062466 

Lock up is now part of the Guildhall Centre.

DB 2 July 2018


Grantham, Town Lock Up, Police, Edith Smith
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Smith, Edith - Pioneer Policewoman
Contemporary photograph of Edith Smith in uniform.
Grantham, Edith Smith
Smith, John - New World settler
Smith, John - New World settler
Smith, John - New World settler

Captain John Smith (1580-1631), eminent figure in New England's development, was born at Willoughby, near Alford.

August 2013


Willoughby, John Smith
Smith, John - New World settler
Smith, John - New World settler
Smith, John - New World settler

There are two windows at St Helen's church, Willoughby, with scenes depicting John Smith's life in America.

August 2013

Willoughby, John Smith
Smith, Richard - school founder
Smith, Richard - school founder
Smith, Richard - school founder

Dr Richard Smith (c.1533-1602) was born at Welton by Lincoln and became a wealthy medical doctor in London.

He endowed a Bluecoat School in Lincoln which was built on what became known as Christ's Hosptial Terrace in 1623.

His name and the foundation date were carried above the entrance door of the replacement building of 1784.

August 2019

Lincoln Buildings, Christ's Hospital Terrace, Richard Smith, Bluecoat school
Smith, Richard - school founder
Smith, Richard - school founder
Smith, Richard - school founder

The Bluecoat School on Christ's Hospital Terrace viewed from the west. This was the school founded by Richard Smith.

The endowment was transferred to the Christ's Hospital Girls' High School when the new school was built on Lindum Road in 1883.

The bullding on Christ's Hospital Terrace was occupied by the Lincolnshire College of Art and Design for much of the twentieth century.



Lincoln Buildings, Christ's Hospital Terrace
Smith, William - Bishop & Co-Founder Brasenose College, Oxford
Smith, William - Bishop & Co-Founder Brasenose College, Oxford
Smith, William - Bishop & Co-Founder Brasenose College, Oxford

Reproduction Brass of Bishop William Smith (1494-1513) in the Narthex of Lincoln Cathedral.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Smyth 

Given to the Cathedral by the fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford, because the Bishop was co-founder of their college.

With two small exceptions all the Cathedral's original brasses were destroyed by Parliamentarian Troops during the English Civil War 1642-1651.

DB 14 December 2018

Lincoln Cathedral, Narthex, Brass, Bishop Smith, Brasenose College Oxford, Smyth
Spring, Frederick - Brigadier-General
Spring, Frederick - Brigadier-General
Spring, Frederick - Brigadier-General

Wall plaque in the Soldiers' Chapel, Lincoln Cathedral :-

"IN PROUD MEMORY OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL FREDERICK GORDON SPRING CB CMG DSO THE LINCOLNSHIRE REGIMENT

Born 25 July 1878 Died 24 Septr. 1963

Commissioned into the Lincolnshire Regiment 7 May 1898 Commanded the Mounted Infantry contingent South African War 1900-02 Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion 1904-07 Command of the 1st Battalion 1923-27

Devoted to his Regiment a born leader and a true friend to All Ranks"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Spring 

DB 18 June 2022


Lincoln Cathedral, Soldiers Chapel, Brigadier-General Frederick Gordon Spring
Stanhope, Edward - Member of Parliament
Stanhope, Edward - Member of Parliament
Stanhope, Edward - Member of Parliament

The memorial to Edward Stanhope, MP, was erected in the Market Place in Horncastle in 1894.

It is composed of a mixture of materials: limestone ashlar, red sandstone, pink and grey streaked marble and metal. It was designed by E H Lingen Barker.

May 2012



Horncastle, Edward Stanhope,
Stanhope, Edward - Member of Parliament
Stanhope, Edward - Member of Parliament
Stanhope, Edward - Member of Parliament

Edward Stanhope (1840-93) was Conservative MP for Mid-Lincolnshire and then Horncastle between 1974 and his death in 1893.

He had a distinguished parliamentary career, serving as President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for War.

His Lincolnshire home was Revesby Abbey and he was well regarded for his charitable work in Horncastle and local area.

May 2012
Horncastle, Edward Stanhope
Steere, Edward - Bishop of Zanzibar
Steere, Edward - Bishop of Zanzibar
Steere, Edward - Bishop of Zanzibar

Memorial in St Andrews' Church, Little Steeping. 

"IN THANKFUL MEMORY OF EDWARD STEERE DD DCL CURATE IN CHARGE OF SKEGNESS AD 1858 - 1859 RETOR OF THIS PARISH AD 1859 - 1872 WHO IN 1862 WENT OUT WITH BISHOP TOZER TO CENTRAL AFRICA. SUCCEEDED HIM AS BISHOP OF ZANZIBAR IN 1874 AND DYING THERE AUGUST 27TH 1882 WAS BURIED BEHIND THE ALTAR OF HIS OWN CATHEDRAL ... "

"Steere was a considerable linguist and published works on several East African languages and dialects, including Shambala, Yao, Nyamwezi, and Makonde. But he is especially known for his work on Swahili, publishing a Handbook of Swahili in 1870, and he also translated or revised the translation into Swahili of a large part of the Bible"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Steere

DB 4 September 2022 

 

Little Steeping, Saint Andrew church image, memorial, Edward Steere, Bishop of Zanzibar
Steere, Edward - Bishop of Zanzibar
Steere, Edward - Bishop of Zanzibar
Steere, Edward - Bishop of Zanzibar

East window in the chancel of St Andrew's Church, Little Steeping.

"This Window is dedicated to the Glory of GOD and in memory of Edward Steere, Bishop, and Mary his wife, by her sole surviving sister Emily. Easter 1913"

Edward Steere who early in his career was Rector of Little Steeping became Bishop of Zanzibar "Steere spent several periods in Zanzibar, 1864–68, 1872–74, and 1877–82. In 1873 he placed the foundation stone at Christ Church, Zanzibar, in Stone Town, Zanzibar. The cathedral was based on his vision; its concrete roof shaped in a barrel vault was Steere's idea. He also worked with David Livingstone to abolish slavery in Zanzibar"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Steere

DB 4 September 2022

Little Steeping, Saint Andrew church image, window stained glass, Edward Steere
Storer, Arthur - Astronomer & Mathematician
Storer, Arthur - Astronomer & Mathematician
Storer, Arthur - Astronomer & Mathematician

Blue plaque located on the wall of King's School and visible from Church Street, Grantham. 

"Arthur Storer (c. 1648 – 1686)* was America's first colonial astronomer.

He came to Calvert County, Maryland, from Lincolnshire, England.

He was among the first observers to sight and record data about a magnificent comet that passed over Patuxent skies in 1682.

Storer's work shows up in a number of Newton's writings.

The comet became known as Storer's Comet, until Edmund Halley later predicted the comet's return; thereafter this celestial marvel was known as Halley's Comet.

His observations of the great comet of 1680 are mentioned twice in Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

A planetarium bearing Storer's name is located in Prince Frederick, Maryland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Storer 

* Local historian Ruth Crook confirms that he was born in 1645 (parish record held privately by the Tollemache family of Buckminster, where he was born) and died in 1687 (record of death in Maryland, US)

DB 2 July 2018

Grantham, Blue Plaque, Arthur Storer, Astronomer, King's School, Mathematician
Storer, Arthur - Astronomer & Mathematician
Storer, Arthur - Astronomer & Mathematician
Storer, Arthur - Astronomer & Mathematician

Blue plaque placed by Grantham Civic Society in honour of Arthur Storer.

Visible in this image on the wall of King's School which he attended together with Isaac Newton.

http://www.granthamcivicsociety.co.uk/public/plaque_storer.php

DB 2 July 2018

Grantham, Blue Plaque, Arthur Storer, Astronomer, King's School, Mathematician
Stukeley, William - Pioneer Antiquarian
Stukeley, William - Pioneer Antiquarian
Stukeley, William - Pioneer Antiquarian

Blue plaque located in Castlegate, Grantham. 

"William Stukeley (7 November 1687 – 3 March 1765) was an English antiquarian, physician, and Anglican clergyman.

A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire.

He published over twenty books on archaeology and other subjects during his lifetime"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stukeley 

DB 12 December 2018

Grantham, Castlegate, Blue Plaque, William Stukeley
Stukeley, William - Pioneer Antiquarian
Stukeley, William - Pioneer Antiquarian
Stukeley, William - Pioneer Antiquarian

Blue plaque in Castlegate erected by Grantham Civic Society.

http://www.granthamcivicsociety.co.uk/public/william_stukeley.php 

DB 12 December 2018

Grantham, Castlegate, Blue Plaque, William Stukeley
Sully, Thomas - Portrait Artist
Sully, Thomas - Portrait Artist
Sully, Thomas - Portrait Artist

A blue plaque commemorating Thomas Sully (1783-1872) was erected on a wall of Horncastle's Co-op store car park, adjacent to Dog Kennel Yard, in 2021.
 
Horncastle born Thomas and his parents, actors Matthew Sully and Sarah Chester, emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina in March 1792. They joined Thomas's uncle, Thomas Wade West who managed a theatre.
 
Young Thomas appeared on stage as a tumbler at the age of 11. His artistic talent was recognised by the insurance broker who took him as apprentice, so he began painting aged 12, turning professional at 18.
 
By 1806 he had settled in Philadelphia where he lived for the rest of his long life. Having painted a portrait of President John Quincy Adams in 1824 his success was assured.
 
Many of his 2,631 paintings are held in museums and public galleries throughout the USA. The WWII Liberty Ship SS Thomas Sully was named in his honour.

Jean Howard, 19 April 2022

Horncastle, Thomas Sully, Portrait Artist
Sutton, Thomas - Founder London Charterhouse & Charterhouse School
Sutton, Thomas - Founder London Charterhouse & Charterhouse School
Sutton, Thomas - Founder London Charterhouse & Charterhouse School

Font in St Mary's Church, Knaith where Thomas Sutton was christened.

"Thomas Sutton (1532 – 12 December 1611) was an English civil servant and businessman, born in Knaith, Lincolnshire ... 

Sutton died on 12 December 1611 ... He was then considered one of the richest individuals in England, with an estate worth approximately £4,836 per annum; and his accounts showed that he was personally worth over £50,000, mostly in the form of outstanding obligations and recognizances from the many people in debt to him ...

Sutton left part of his fortune to be invested in establishing an almshouse for 80 impoverished gentlemen, combined with a school for 40 boys, on the site of his house off Charterhouse Square, on the outskirts of the City of London ...

The almshouse survives on the original site; while the school, now Charterhouse School, relocated to Godalming, Surrey, in 1872. The London buildings were badly damaged by bombs during the Second World War, but were restored during the 1950s"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sutton 

DB 15 May 2022

Knaith, Saint Mary Church, image, font, Thomas Sutton
Sutton, Thomas - Founder London Charterhouse & Charterhouse School
Sutton, Thomas - Founder London Charterhouse & Charterhouse School
Sutton, Thomas - Founder London Charterhouse & Charterhouse School
Wall tablet near the font in St Mary's Church, Knaith.
 
"THOMAS SUTTON FOUNDER OF CHARTERHOUSE BORN IN THIS PARISH OF KNAITH 1532 & CHRISTENED AT THIS FONT DIED 12TH DECEMBER 1611" 

DB 15 May 2022
Knaith, Saint Mary Church, image, Thomas Sutton, Charterhouse School
Sweyn Forkbeard - King of England & Denmark
Sweyn Forkbeard - King of England & Denmark
Sweyn Forkbeard - King of England & Denmark

Image shows The Sweyn Forkbeard, Public House, Silver Street, Gainsborough.

This pub's name is a reminder that Gainsborough was briefly the capital of England.

Sweyn was declared King of England on Christmas Day 1013 and was based in Gainsborough.

He died in Gainsborough on 3 February 1014 having ruled England for only five weeks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweyn_Forkbeard

DB 19 August 2014


Gainsborough, Sweyn Forkbeard, King of England & Denmark
Swynford, Katherine - Duchess of Lancaster
Swynford, Katherine - Duchess of Lancaster
Swynford, Katherine - Duchess of Lancaster

Katherine Swynford's tomb on the south side of the sanctuary in Lincoln Cathedral.

"Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, c. 1350 – 10 May 1403), also spelled Katharine or Catherine, was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, a son of King Edward III.

She had been the Duke's lover for many years before their marriage.

The couple's children, born before the marriage, were later legitimated during the reign of the Duke's nephew, Richard II"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Swynford 

DB 4 October 2018

Lincoln Cathedral, Katherine Swynford
Tapsell, Peter - Father of the House
Tapsell, Peter - Father of the House
Tapsell, Peter - Father of the House

Sir Peter's grave in Roughton churchyard. 

"Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell (1 February 1930 – 18 August 2018) was a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth and Horncastle. He served in the House of Commons continuously from 1966 until 2015, and was also previously an MP from 1959 to 1964. He was Father of the House between 2010 and 2015"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tapsell_(British_politician) 

DB 23 September 2022

Roughton, Saint Margaret, Churchyard, Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell
Tapsell, Peter - Stockbroker & Politician
Tapsell, Peter - Stockbroker & Politician
Tapsell, Peter - Stockbroker & Politician

Peter Tapsell (1930-2018) read Modern History at Merton, Oxford and began a political career acting as personal assistant to Sir Anthony Eden in the 1955 election.

He was MP for Nottingham West from 1959-64 but lost his seat.

In 1966 he was chosen for the Horncastle constituency, continuing to serve this part of Lincolnshire through a number of boundary changes until he retired in 2015, by which time he had been ‘Father of the House’ for five years.

A Eurosceptic he opposed the 1993 Maastricht Treaty and said in an interview in 2014 ‘Everything that has gone wrong in Britain dates from us joining the European Union.’

He was twice married and his only son James died in 1985 aged 18 years.

He lived in his constituency here at Roughton Hall but also had homes in Paris, Gstaad, Morocco and Barbados.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/19/sir-peter-tapsell-obituary

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tapsell_(British_politician)

Jean Howard, February 2021  


Roughton, Peter Tapsell, Roughton Hall
Taverner, John - Musician
Taverner, John - Musician
Taverner, John - Musician

Memorial in the tower floor of St Botolph's Church, Boston.

"John Taverner (c. 1490 - 18 October 1545) was an English composer and organist, regarded as one of the most important English composers of his era. He is best-known for Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas and The Western Wynde Mass, and Missa Corona Spinea is also often viewed as a masterwork ... 

He is buried with his wife under the belltower at Boston Parish Church"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taverner 

DB 14 March 2022

Boston, John Taverner, composer organist musician
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate

Alfred Tennyson attended Louth Grammar School, which was on the east side of Schoolhouse Lane. (The current building dates from the late 1860s.)

This plaque is mounted on the eighteenth century brick wall on the opposite side of the street. It is possibly much as it was when Tennyson observed it as a schoolboy.

This well known quotation is from the memoirs of his son, Hallam.

September 2020



Louth, Schoolhouse Lane, Alfred Tennyson
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate

Buildings, Tennyson statue
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) was born at Somersby in the Lincolnshire Wolds, son of the rector. He became a popular and long-serving poet laureate.

This statue by George Frederick Watts, erected in 1905, stands on the Cathedral Green.

March 2004


Buildings, Tennyson statue, Geroge Frederick Watts
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate

This bronze head of Tennyson is on display in the chancel of St Margaret's church, Somersby, where his father was rector.

May 2009

Somersby, Alfred Tennyson, St Margaret church
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate
Tennyson, Alfred - poet laureate

This bust of Alfred Tennyson is the work of Thomas Woolner RA (1825-1892), created in 1857 when the sculptor was relatively unknown.

The bust is in Lincolnshire County Council's The Collection, the Usher Gallery.

January 2020

Buildings, Tennyson, Thomas Woolner
Thatcher, Margaret - Prime Minister
Thatcher, Margaret - Prime Minister
Thatcher, Margaret - Prime Minister

On the corner of North Parade and Broad Street.

Birthplace of the Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher, MP first woman Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

"Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on 13 October 1925, in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Her parents were Alfred Roberts (1892–1970), from Northamptonshire, and Beatrice Ethel (née Stephenson, 1888–1960), from Lincolnshire.

She spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned two grocery shops"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher 

DB 26 November 2018

Grantham, Margaret Thatcher, Margaret Hilda Roberts, Birthplace, Prime Minister
Thatcher, Margaret - Prime Minister
Thatcher, Margaret - Prime Minister
Thatcher, Margaret - Prime Minister

Plaque on Margaret Thatcher's birthplace.

"Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, DStJ, PC, FRS, HonFRSC (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.

She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold that office.

A Soviet journalist dubbed her "The 'Iron Lady'", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

As Prime Minister, she implemented policies known as Thatcherism"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher 

DB 26 November 2018

Grantham, Margaret Thatcher, Margaret Hilda Roberts, Birthplace, Prime Minister
Thorold, Ernest Hayford - Chaplain-General
Thorold, Ernest Hayford - Chaplain-General
Thorold, Ernest Hayford - Chaplain-General
Tablet by Edmund Ware to Ernest Hayford Thorold in St Mary's Church, Marston.
 
He was Assistant Chaplain-General, Western Command from 1924 and an Honorary Chaplain to the King from 1926 – 1935.

He was then from 1935 – 1939 successively Chaplain to Kings George V, Edward VIII and George VI.

After further commands with the Southern Command and the Aldershot Command he was Chaplain-General to the British Armed Forces (and also Chaplain of the Tower of London) from 1931 to 1939.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Thorold 

DB 23 July 2018 

Marston, Saint Mary, Church, Monument, Ernest Hayford Thorold
Todd, Richard - actor
Todd, Richard - actor
Todd, Richard - actor

In the churchyard at Little Ponton is the grave of Richard Todd Oscar-nominated actor best known for war dramas like "The Dam Busters", "The Longest Day", "Yangtse Incident" and "The Hasty Heart".

An officer in the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion he was one of the first to land in Normandy in advance of the main D-Day landings. 

DB 25 February 2012 


Little Ponton, St Guthlac, Richard Andrew Palethorpe Todd, Gravestone
Tollemache, Frederick - Politician
Tollemache, Frederick - Politician
Tollemache, Frederick - Politician
Frederick James Tollemache (16 April 1804 – 2 July 1888, Ham House) was a British gentleman and politician.
 
He was the fifth son of William Tollemache, Lord Huntingtower and Catherine Gray.
 
Through the interest of his father, he was several times Member of Parliament for Grantham from 1826 to 1874.
 
He was a director of the New Zealand Company, and Manners Street, in Wellington, New Zealand is named for him. (His family did not adopt the surname of Tollemache until 1821)
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Tollemache 
 
The statue on St Peter's Hill, Grantham, is the work of George Blackall Simonds (1843-1929), eminent sculptor and artist of the Arts and Crafts movement.
 
The inscription on the plaque beneath the figure also says: 'Erected in 1891 by the friends who revered his memory irrespective of political opinions'

DB 2 July 2018 
Grantham, Frederick James Tollemache, statue, New Zealand Company, Manners Street
Tombs, Joseph - Victoria Cross
Tombs, Joseph - Victoria Cross
Tombs, Joseph - Victoria Cross
Blue Plaque located on the outer wall of King's School visible from Brook Street, Grantham.

"Lance Corporal Joseph Tombs VC 1888 - 1966 Attended this school in the early 1900s.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry on 16 May 1915 on his own initiative he crawled 100 yards under heavy shell and machine-gun fire to rescue four wounded men"

DB 11 March 2017
Grantham, Joseph Tombs, Victoria Cross, Blue Plaque
Tritton, William - engineer / designer
Tritton, William - engineer / designer
Tritton, William - engineer / designer

William Ashbee Tritton (1875-1946) achieved fame through the design and production of the first tanks at William Foster & Co's works in Lincoln.

He was appointed General Manager at Foster's in 1906 and was Managing Director from 1911 to 1939.

This plaque is at the entrance to Morrison's supermarket on Tritton Road, Lincoln, adjacent to the site of Foster's Wellington Works.

November 2019



IA and Bridges, Lincoln William Tritton
Trollope, Edward - Antiquary and Anglican Bishop of Nottingham
Trollope, Edward - Antiquary and Anglican Bishop of Nottingham
Trollope, Edward - Antiquary and Anglican Bishop of Nottingham

Bust of Edward Trollope, above a blocked doorway, in Leasingham, St Andrew's Church where he was rector for 50 years.

"Edward Trollope (15 April 1817 – 10 December 1893) was an antiquary and an Anglican Bishop of Nottingham in the Victorian era"

https://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Trollope 

"Trollope was particularly interested in architecture and antiquities.

He became a member of the Lincolnshire Diocesan Architectural Society in 1855, and became its editorial secretary in 1857 and its Chairman in 1867.

He was an active writer and researcher with several books and many articles published.

He is now mainly remembered as the author of Sleaford and the Wapentakes of Flaxwell and Aswardhurn in the County of Lincoln (1872).

He also wrote a life of Pope Adrian IV (1856), a manual of sepulchral memorials (1858), a work on ancient and medieval labyrinths and turf mazes (1858), and genealogies of the Thorold and Trollope families (1874 and 1875)"

DB 16 July 2019 

Leasingham,
Usher, James Ward, Businessman and Philanthropist
Usher, James Ward, Businessman and Philanthropist
Usher, James Ward, Businessman and Philanthropist

Usher Art Gallery, Lincoln made possible by a bequest from James Ward Usher.

"James Ward Usher (1845-1921) was a businessman and philanthropist in Lincoln.

Usher's father, also James, opened a Jewellers and Watchmakers in High Street, Lincoln in 1837. His son, James Ward, was born on 1 January 1845. Leaving school in 1860 the younger James entered the family business in 1860, taking sole control of the business 14 years later.

Usher was an enthusiastic collector of fine clocks, watches, porcelain and paintings. His personal collection became the basis for the Usher Gallery which was founded after his death using a legacy he left for the purpose ... 

Usher was a successful businessman, who acquired in the late 19th century the rights to reproduce in jewellery the Lincoln Imp using the image on tie clips and spoons which sold in huge numbers.  Usher is reported to have given a pin to the Prince of Wales, who was seen wearing it".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ward_Usher   

DB 12 August 2019 

Lincoln, James Ward Usher, Art Gallery
Usher, James Ward, Businessman and Philanthropist
Usher, James Ward, Businessman and Philanthropist
Usher, James Ward, Businessman and Philanthropist

Wall plaque inside the usher Art Gallery, Lincoln.

"JAMES WARD USHER A LOVER OF THE BEAUTIFUL IN ART MADE POSSIBLE BY A BEQUEST TO HIS NATIVE CITY THE ERECTION AND ENDOWMENT OF THIS BUILDING OPENED BY HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES KG MAY 25 1927".

DB 13 December 2018 

Lincoln, James Ward Usher, Art Gallery
Van der Elst, Violet - Anti-hanging Campaigner
Van der Elst, Violet - Anti-hanging Campaigner
Van der Elst, Violet - Anti-hanging Campaigner

Violet Anne Dodge was born into a working family in Feltham, Middlesex in 1882. She was twice married: to Henry Arthur Nathan, a civil engineer, and after his death, to Jean Julien Romain Van der Elst, a manager in her cosmetics company.

Her development of Shavex, the first brushless shaving cream, was significant in her financial success. This allowed her in 1937 to buy Harlaxton Manor (shown here), which she called Grantham Castle.

She was a vocal campaigner and writer against capital punishment and stood three times as a parliamentary candidate in the hope of pursuing her reforms.  Her wealth was greatly reduced by her campaigns and she sold Harlaxton in 1959.

Sadly her life ended in a mental hospital in Ticehurst, Sussex in 1966.

https://livingwithdying.leeds.ac.uk/2019/10/25/violet-van-der-elst-on-the-gallows/

https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-bombshell-and-the-battle-axe-two-women-who-killed-the-uk-death-penalty-2f873cfdec23

DB, July 2016

Harlaxton Mnaor, Violet van der Elst, anti-hanging campaigner
Varah, Chad - founder of The Samaritans
Varah, Chad - founder of The Samaritans
Varah, Chad - founder of The Samaritans

Chad Varah was born in the vicarage of St Peter's, Barton upon Humber in 1911. His father was Canon William Edward Farah.

He was ordained priest after studying at Lincoln Theological College and achieved fame in founding The Samaritans in 1953.

September 2018

Barton Upon Humber, Chad Varah, The Samaritans
Varah, Chad - founder of The Samaritans
Varah, Chad - founder of The Samaritans
Varah, Chad - founder of The Samaritans

This is the house in Barton upon Humber where Chad Varah was born in 1911. His father was Canon William Edward Varah, vicar of St Peter's.

September 2018

Barton Upon Humber, Chad Varah
Wallis, Thomas Wilkinson - wood carver
Wallis, Thomas Wilkinson - wood carver
Wallis, Thomas Wilkinson - wood carver

Thomas Wilkinson Wallis (1824-1903) was born in Hull to parents whose impoverished state meant he had only three years elementary education before he was required to work.

His intelligence was such that he later took a 7-year apprenticeship with carver and gilder Thomas Ward. His superior talent at the end of the period was remarked upon by his employer, perhaps encouraging the student to move away.

Wallis heard of a similar business in Louth needing help and was soon to take the practice over. He carved pieces in limewood for display in the shop window and gained a patron in George Tomline MP.

His medal-winning piece for the Great Exhibition of 1851 marked the start of a 20-year carving career until his love of astronomy injured his sight.

He then taught himself surveying and became the town’s Borough Surveyor, also working for a number of canal companies. In retirement he painted in oils and water-colour, collected insects and edited his journals into an autobiography.

He lived at 10 Gospelgate (now 22) from 1851 until his death. (The plaque is mounted on this house.)

Examples of his extraordinary talent can be seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum, Lincoln’s Usher Collection and at Louth Museum who have the biggest collection of his work.


https://www.louthmuseum.org.uk/blog/2013-12-07-thomas-wilkinson-wallis-1821-to-1903

https://www.artuk.org/discover/artists/wallis-thomas-wilkinson-18221903

https://feltabulous.blogspot.com/2014/08/may-i-introduce-mr-thomas-wilkinson.html

Jean Howard, October 2020


Louth, Thomas Wallis, wood carver
Wallis, Thomas Wilkinson - wood carver
Wallis, Thomas Wilkinson - wood carver
Wallis, Thomas Wilkinson - wood carver

No. 22 Gospelgate, Louth was the home of Thomas Wilkinson Wallis a man of extraordinary talents and self-motivation. His skill as a woodcarver led to his being called the Grinling Gibbons of the nineteenth century.

He produced a limewood sculpture entitled ‘Trophy of Spring’ for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and, his being awarded a medal for it, gave him the confidence to ‘purchase a good house in Gospelgate for £300’.

He lived in the house shown here for the rest of his life.

Jean Howard, October 2020 

Louth, Thomas Wilkinson Wallis, wood carver,
Wand, William - Archbishop
Wand, William - Archbishop
Wand, William - Archbishop

Manthorpe Road, Grantham birthplace of William Wand.

"John William Charles Wand, KCVO, PC (25 January 1885 – 16 August 1977) was an English Anglican bishop.

He was the Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia before returning to England to become the Bishop of Bath and Wells before becoming the Bishop of London"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wand 

DB 22 February 2020

Grantham, Manthorpe Rd, Blue Plaque, William Wand
Wand, William - Archbishop
Wand, William - Archbishop
Wand, William - Archbishop

Blue Plaque in Manthorpe Road placed by the Grantham Civic Society. 

"WILLIAM WAND 1885 -1977

JOHN WILLIAM WAND LIVED HERE.

ARCHBISHOP OF BRISBANE 1934 - 1943

BISHOP OF LONDON 1945 - 1955

HIS BISHOP'S CROZIER IS IN ST. WULFRAM'S CHURCH"

DB 22 February 2020

Grantham, Manthorpe Rd, Blue Plaque, William Wand
Watson, Colin - Author
Watson, Colin - Author
Watson, Colin - Author

Colin Watson's headstone in Folkingham churchyard.

"John Colin Watson (1 February 1920 – 18 January 1983) was a British writer of detective fiction and the creator of characters such as Inspector Purbright and Lucilla Teatime.

Born in Croydon, Surrey, he is best remembered for the twelve Flaxborough novels, typified by their comic and dry wit and set in a fictional small town in England which is closely based on Boston, Lincolnshire.

He worked as a journalist in Lincolnshire and the characters in his books are said to be highly recognisable caricatures of people he encountered in his work.

His 1971 study of interwar thrillers 'Snobbery With Violence', made the phrase popular for describing such authors as Dornford Yates.

Watson was the first person to successfully sue Private Eye for libel, for an article in issue 25 when he objected to being described as: "the little-known author who . . . was writing a novel, very Wodehouse but without the jokes”. He was awarded £750"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Watson_(writer)#:~:text=John%20Colin%20Watson%20(1%20February,Inspector%20Purbright%20and%20Lucilla%20Teatime. 

DB 23 June 2020

Folkingham, Saint Andrew, Church, Colin Watson, Author
Waynflete, William - Bishop of Winchester
Waynflete, William - Bishop of Winchester
Waynflete, William - Bishop of Winchester

William Waynflete (c.1398-1486) was born in Wainfleet.

He took holy orders and had a distinguished career as headmaster of Winchester College and Provost of Eton before serving as Bishop of Winchester from 1447 to 1486. He was Lord Chancellor of England bewteen 1456 and 1460.

He founded Magdalen College Oxford, and the school he built in his home town of Wainfleet carries the same name.

July 2014

Wainfleet All Saints, Magdalen School, William Waynflete
Waynflete, William - Bishop of Winchester
Waynflete, William - Bishop of Winchester
Waynflete, William - Bishop of Winchester

This plaque is on the wall of Magdalen School, John Street, Wainfleet.

William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, built the school in 1484 to provide scholars for the college he had founded in Oxford, Magdalen College.

Waynflete died two years after the school was completed. His ornate tomb is in Winchester Cathedral.

July 2014

Wainfleet All Saints, Magdalen School, William Waynflete
Weaver, Edmund - astronomer
Weaver, Edmund - astronomer
Weaver, Edmund - astronomer

Memorial in south chancel of Saint Vincent's Church, Caythorpe.

"In Memory of MR EDMUND WEAVER who by his own Industry from a low Education made very great Progress in the Liberal Arts and was justly Esteemed one of the best Astronomers of ye Age.

In Private Life a tender Husband an indulgent Father A quiet Neighbour A cheerful Companion A sincere Friend and a good Churchman. he Departed this Life in a faithful assurance of a better, Dec y 27, 1748 aged 65 years"

"an English astronomer, land surveyor, and friend to William Stukeley. Weaver's The British Telescope ephemerides (astronomical tables) is considered an important 18th-century publication on the movement of planets"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Weaver_(astronomer) 

Lincoln University, School of Mathematics and Physics, held the first annual Edmund Weaver Lecture in Astronomy on 11 October 2017.

DB 25 April 2018

Caythorpe, Saint Vincent, Church, Edmund Weaver, astronomer, land surveyor, Stukeley, ephemerides
Wellington, Duke of - peer & army leader
Wellington, Duke of - peer & army leader
Wellington, Duke of - peer & army leader

Erected in woodland on the edge of Woodhall Spa in 1844 by Col. Richard Elmhurst. It is a granite obelisk surmounted by bust of the Duke of Wellington.

An inscribed panel on the base records that the adjacent Waterloo Wood was planted "from Acorns Sown Immediately After the Memorable Battle of Waterloo".

 

DB 28 December 2017 


Woodhall Spa, Wellington monument, Col Richard Elmhurst
Wells, Sophie - paralympic horsewoman
Wells, Sophie - paralympic horsewoman
Wells, Sophie - paralympic horsewoman

This gold-painted letter box is in Castle Square, Lincoln, on the approach to Excequergate Arch.

Over 100 post boxes, throughout the country, were painted gold by Royal Mail to celebrate every Team GB and Paralympics GB gold medal won during the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Sophie Wells from Lincoln won a team gold and two individual silver medals at the Paralympic Games.

DB 27 February 2018 


Streets, Sophie Wells, Castlew Sqare, Exchequergate Arch
Wells, Sophie - paralympic horsewoman
Wells, Sophie - paralympic horsewoman
Wells, Sophie - paralympic horsewoman

The inscription about Sophie Wells and her Olympic achievement on the gold-painted letter box in Castle Square.

The plaque reads "This post box has been painted gold by Royal Mail to celebrate Sophie Wells Gold Medal winner London 2012 Olympic Games Equestrian: Team, Open". 

February 2020

 

Streets, Sophie Wells
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist

As a young man, John Wesley was a curate at Wroot for two years, where his father was then rector.

This commemorative stone stands at the entrance to Wroot churchyard.

Ken Redmore, 2010


Wroot, John Wesley, St Pancras church
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist

A stained glass window is in the south wall above the communion area in the Wesley Memorial Church, Epworth, depicts Jesus and his disciples.

The roundel above the main light of the window shows the heads of John and Charles Wesley with the well known words of John: "The best of all is, God is with us".

October 2016
Epworth, wesley memorial church, window, John Wesley, Charles Wesley
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist
Wesley, John - religious reformer & evangelist

The rectory in Epworth was home to the Reverend Samuel Wesley, his wife Susanna and their 19 children, one of whom was John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church.

The building in which John Wesley was born burnt down in 1709 when he was six years old, and this fine Georgian house was built for the family in its place.

Epworth, Old Rectory, John Wesley, Samuel Wesley
Whelpton, George - Druggist & Benefactor 1
Whelpton, George - Druggist & Benefactor 1
Whelpton, George - Druggist & Benefactor 1

George Whelpton (1797-1873) was a boot and shoemaker in the Butcher Market, Louth. His wife Elizabeth suffered poor health.

Tradition has it that he bought a piece of furniture in a Horncastle auction and found a medicinal recipe in the drawer. His wife found the remedy so efficacious that she recommended it to the extent that he was unable to fulfil the orders.

He opened a factory in Derby and went on to make a fortune from ‘Whelpton’s Vegetable Purifying Pills’.

On the death of his wife he endowed a group of almshouses in Queen Street, Horncastle in her memory. (The plaque in this photograph is on the almshouses.)

His youngest son having entered the Anglican ministry, Whelpton bought the site and paid for a new church of St Saviour’s in Eastbourne, close to his final home at St Leonards on Sea.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_History_of_Horncastle_from_the_Earliest_Period_to_the_Present_Time/Chapter_10

https://www.stsaviourseastbourne.org.uk/a-detailed-history-of-st-saviours

DB, July 2019

Horncastle, George Whelpton, almshouses
Whelpton, George - Druggist & Benefactor 2
Whelpton, George - Druggist & Benefactor 2
Whelpton, George - Druggist & Benefactor 2

The almshouses erected by Whelpton in memory of his wife. They are at the south-east end of Queen Street, Horncastle.

DB, July 2019

Horncastle, George Whelpton
Whitgift, John -  Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury

Detail from the south chancel window in Laceby Church :- 

"JOHN WHITGIFT IS INSTALLED DEAN OF LINCOLN, 2ND AUGUST 1571.

HE WAS APPOINTED RECTOR OF LACEBY IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR"

Born nearby in Grimsby and subsequently Archbishop of Canterbury.

"John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 800 horses. Whitgift's theological views were often controversial"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whitgift 

DB 8 February 2020

John Whitgift, Laceby, Archbishop of Canterbury,
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury

John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury (1583-1604), was born in Grimsby, son of a wealthy merchant, in about 1530.

His name is commemorated in the John Whitgift Academy in Grimsby and in the south London charitable foundation which supports almshouses and three independent schools.

This stained glass image of Whitgift is in the north aisle of the St James' Minster, Grimsby.

Grimsby, John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury
Whitgift, John - Archbishop of Canterbury
The second stained glass image of John Whitgift in St James' church, Grimsby shows him at the death bed of Queen Elizabeth in March 1603.
Grimsby, John Whitgift
Wilderspin, Samuel - education innovator
Wilderspin, Samuel - education innovator
Wilderspin, Samuel - education innovator

This is the infants’ school on Queen Street in Barton upon Humber  which was built in 1844 according to Wilderspin's principles.

It is now a museum.

Frank Robinson, October 2010


Barton Upon Humber, Samuel Wilderspin
Wilderspin, Samuel - education innovator
Wilderspin, Samuel - education innovator
Wilderspin, Samuel - education innovator

Wilderspin (1791-1866), born in London and died there also, was a pioneer in the education of infants. He is credited with the invention of the school playground.

He founded the school in Barton in 1845 and worked there for three years.

September 2018

Barton Upon Humber, Samuel Wilderspin
Willis, Francis - physician to George III
Willis, Francis - physician to George III
Willis, Francis - physician to George III

Doctor Francis Willis (1718-1807), along with his sons, achieved national recognition through the revolutionary treatment of King George III's 'madness' in the late 1780s.

He established a private sanitorium for the mentally ill at his home in Greatford Hall. His second, larger establishment was at Shillingthorpe Hall in the neighbouring parish of Braceborough.

This fine bust by Joseph Nollekens is in the church of St Thomas a Becket, Greatford.

September 2014

Greatford, Francis Willis, Greatford Hall, Shillingthorpe Hall, King George III, Nollekens
Willson, Edward James - architect and antiquarian
Willson, Edward James - architect and antiquarian
Willson, Edward James - architect and antiquarian

Edward James Willson (1787-1854) FSA was buried in the churchyard at St Mary's church, Hainton.

Willson was a highly regarded architect and antiquarian whose work includes new RC chapels and the restoration of many of the County's churches.

He was also employed in Lincoln Cathedral, in Lincoln Castle and was responsible for the restoration of the Exchequergate.

He held several posts in the city and county and served as Lincoln's mayor in 1851.

Willson came from an Hainton Catholic family but lived and practised in Lincoln.

July 2012



Hainton, St Mary, Edward Willson
Willson, Edward James - architect and antiquarian
Willson, Edward James - architect and antiquarian
Willson, Edward James - architect and antiquarian

The stone cottages on Newport, Lincoln, known as Willson's Cottages, were restored by Lincoln Civic Trust in 1993 and opened by H R H The Duke of Gloucester.

Their name originates from the early nineteenth-century local architect and antiquarian E J Willson who once owned the site.

Pencil drawing by David Vale, 1993


Buildings, Willson's Cottages, Newport, E J Willson, Lincoln Civic Trust
Wilson, Thomas - Elizabethan politician & priest
Wilson, Thomas - Elizabethan politician & priest
Wilson, Thomas - Elizabethan politician & priest

This plaque in St Oswald's Church, Strubby, reads:

In Lasting Memory of
THE RT. HONBLE. THOMAS WILSON, LL.D., P.C.
born at Strubby, circ. 1525
SECRETARY OF STATE, DEAN OF DURHAM
Left England for Rome during Queen Mary’s reign, 1553-1558, where he was tortured and imprisoned for heresy.
On the death of Queen Mary, and being delivered from his prison by a fire, he returned to England during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
Possessing nobility of character and literary talent, he did much public work from 1558-1567.
He was Ambassador to Portugal in 1567, Member of Parliament for Lincoln in 1571, Secretary of State 1577-1581.Dean of Durham in 1579.
He died in the year 1581 and was buried in St. Catherine’s near the Tower of London.
A Christian gentleman, having proved the worth of his own saying:-
‘A good name is better than all the goods in the world’

Jean Howard, October 2013



Strubby, Thomas Wilson, Secretary of State, Dean of Durham
Winn, Henry - parish clerk & poet
Winn, Henry - parish clerk & poet
Winn, Henry - parish clerk & poet

Henry Winn (1816-1914) lived his whole life in Fulletby where he worked as Sunday School teacher, churchwarden, parish constable and Overseer of the Poor. Most notably he served as Parish Clerk in the village from the age of 14 until he was 94.

He wrote prose and poetry about the Lincolnshire countryside, some of which was published in local newspapers.

This plaque is in Fulletby parish church

August 2019



Fulletby, Henry Winn
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.

Margaret Wintringham (1879-1955) was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire. She had a brief career as schoolteacher and then married Tom Wintringham, a Grimsby businessman, who became Liberal MP for Louth in 1920.

Margaret was active in several political movements and when her husband died suddenly in 1921 she was elected Louth's MP in his place, becoming the first British-born woman to take her seat in the House of Commons.

She retained her seat in the election of 1922 but lost it to the Unionist candidate, Arthur Heneage, in 1924.

The plaque was put up in 2018 on the Cannon Street facade of Louth Town Hall, where the declaration of the 1921 election result took place. 

Jean Howard, August 2020

Louth, Margaret Wintringham, blue plaque, Arthur Heneage
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.

Little Grimsby Hall, three miles north of Louth, is where Margaret Wintringham lived from c.1920.

He husband, Tom (1867-1921), a Grimsby business man (timber trade) moved here with Margaret (former teacher) at about the time when he became MP for Louth in 1920. He died suddenly in the House of Commons in 1921 and, following a by-election, was succeeded as MP by his wife.

undated postcard

Little Grimsby, Hall, Margaret Wintringham
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.
Wintringham, Margaret - M.P.

This simple inscribed slab is in the churchyard of St Edith's Church, Little Grimsby.

It commemorates both Margaret Wintringham and her husband, Tom, both of whom served - in succession - as Members of Parliament for Louth.

September 2020



Little Grimsby, Wintringham, St Edith
Wolsey, Thomas - Cardinal and Bishop of Lincoln
Wolsey, Thomas - Cardinal and Bishop of Lincoln
Wolsey, Thomas - Cardinal and Bishop of Lincoln

The Cardinal's Hat Inn (late C15), High Street, Lincoln probably named in compliment to Thomas Wolsey (Bishop of Lincoln 1514-15).

When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the King's almoner.

Wolsey's affairs prospered, and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure in virtually all matters of state.

His appointment as a cardinal by Pope Leo X in 1515 gave him precedence over all other English clergy.

The highest political position Wolsey attained was Lord Chancellor.

After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey fell out of favour and was stripped of his government titles.

He retreated to York to fulfill his ecclesiastical duties as Archbishop of York, a position he nominally held, but had neglected during his years in government.

He was recalled to London to answer to charges of treason - a common charge used by Henry against ministers who fell out of favour - but died on the way from natural causes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolsey  

DB 15 August 2019  

Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal, Bishop
Wood, Karl - artist
Wood, Karl - artist
Wood, Karl - artist

Wood, born in Derbyshire, served in WW1 and then lived in Gainsborough as teacher, musician and artist.

From the 1930s he undertook many trips around the UK - usually by train and bicycle - and at a phenomenal rate made water colour sketches of surviving windmills (over 1200 of them).

This painting, rather more finished than most, is of South's Mill at Billinghay.

Billinghay, Karl Wood
Woolward, Florence - Botanical Illustrator
Woolward, Florence - Botanical Illustrator
Woolward, Florence - Botanical Illustrator

Florence's grave in St Peter & St Paul, churchyard, Belton.

"Florence Helen Woolward (1854 Hammersmith – 3 January 1936) was an English botanical illustrator and author, and was commissioned by Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian to paint his extensive orchid collection, and published in parts between 1891 and 1896 as "The Genus Masdevallia".

The standard author abbreviation Woolward is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Woolward 

She moved to Belton as a young girl when her father became Rector of Belton church.

DB 20 June 1918

Belton, St Peter & St Paul, churchyard, Florence Woolward, botanical illustrator
Wordsworth, Christopher - Bishop of Lincoln
Wordsworth, Christopher - Bishop of Lincoln
Wordsworth, Christopher - Bishop of Lincoln

Monument to Christopher Wordsworth in Lincoln Cathedral. A nephew of the famous poet, who was Bishop of Lincoln 1869 to 1885. 

Former headmaster of Harrow School. Very long sermons. A noted hymn writer and the Poet's nephew.

He set up many of the diocese's church schools and founded Lincoln Theological College.

Worked for an increase in the episcopate, revived the appointment of suffragan bishops Dr Henry Mackenzie being consecrated the 1st suffragan bishop of Nottingham in 1870. The diocese was eventually split with the Creation of the See of Southwell in 1884. 

DB 10 August 2019 

Lincoln Cathedral, Angel Choir, Christopher Wordsworth
Worth, Frederick - Couturier & Fashion Designer
Worth, Frederick - Couturier & Fashion Designer
Worth, Frederick - Couturier & Fashion Designer

Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895) was a fashion designer, founder of the House of Worth and, in the opinion of most, the father of haute couture.

He left Bourne to work in textile stores in London before moving to Paris in 1846. He married a French woman and spent the remainder of his life in the city.

This plaque is on his birthplace in North Street, Bourne.

October 2020
Bourne, Frederick Worth, coutourier,
Worth, Frederick - Couturier & Fashion Designer
Worth, Frederick - Couturier & Fashion Designer
Worth, Frederick - Couturier & Fashion Designer

Worth, son of a solicitor, was born in this house - now known as Wake House - in North Street, Bourne on 13 October 1825.

October 2020



Bourne, Frederick Worth, Wake House
Wray, Christopher - Chief Justice
Wray, Christopher - Chief Justice
Wray, Christopher - Chief Justice

The alabaster monument to Sir Christopher Wray (1524-1592) and his wife is in St Michael's church, Glentworth.

Wray was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

He married Anne, daughter of Nicholas Girlington, and they had a son and two daughters. (Two other daughters died in infancy.) All the family are depicted in this impressive monument.

May 2015


Glentworth, Sir Christopher Wray, English judge and Chief Justice, Anne Girlington
Yarborough, Lady Sophia - peeress
Yarborough, Lady Sophia - peeress
Yarborough, Lady Sophia - peeress

The mausoleum in Great Limber (TA133088) on the Brocklesby estate was designed by James Wyatt, in the late eighteenth century.

It commemorates Lady Sophia, the wife of the first Baron Yarborough, who died at the age of 33 in 1786.

It is described as majestic and 'undoubtedly Wyatt's masterpiece' by Pevsner.

Frank Robinson, 2009

Great Limber, Nollekens, sophia Yarborough, James Wyatt
Yarborough, Lady Sophia - peeress
Yarborough, Lady Sophia - peeress
Yarborough, Lady Sophia - peeress

The life-size sculpted figure of Lady Sophia inside the mausoleum is by Joseph Nollekens.

Rod Callow, 2007


Great Limber, mausoleum, Sophia, Joseph Nollekens