Jean Howard, 14 September 2020

A blue plaque was erected at the eastern end of the building to mark the passing of a local institution, as described.

Jean Howard, 14 September 2020

"The Bedehouses, built in 1868-69 to the designs of James Fowler ...

the neo-vernacular Tudoresque detailing, notably the profusion of prominent chimney stacks and mullioned windows, conveys the homeliness and solace integral to the building's function, and emphasises the historic link with the former mid-C16 bedehouses"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415796?section=official-list-entry 

DB 30 April 2022 

"Highly decorative original stone statue of Edward VI in a canopied, corbelled niche"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415796?section=official-list-entry 

DB 30 April 2022 

"In the gable head is a recessed stone panel recording the founding of the Bedehouses in 1551 by Edward VI and their rebuilding in 1869. The panel is surmounted by two small crocketed gables with carved human heads at the foot of the outer gables"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415796?section=official-list-entry  

"THESE BEDE HOUSES ORIGINALLY FOUNDED BY CHARTER OF KING EDWARD 6TH A.D. 1551 WERE REBUILT OUT OF THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY AIDED BY PRIVATE SUBSCRIPTION A.D. 1869"

DB 30 April 2022 

This cast iron boot scraper is by the front door of 11A Northgate.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

A view of the lodge from the cemetery on London Road. It is a Victorian building with tower and oriel window.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

Louth's sole surviving Methodist Chapel, in Eastgate, dates largely from 1835. The gallery and fixed seats were removed in an extensive remodelling project in the 1970s. It is Grade II listed.

October 2018

Located next door to the former Sessions House.

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1885 states

"'The Petty Sessions Court House and County Constabulary Station, which is in Eastgate, was erected in the year 1874 on a part of of the site of the old Gaol and House of Correction:

the force for the Louth division consists of one superintendent, one sergeant, and eleven constables"

DB 12 September 2018 

Inscription over door of the County Police Station.

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1885 states

"County Police Station, Charles Christopher Cadge, superintendent; 1 sergeant & 11 constables"

There was also a Borough Police Station located at the Town Hall

"Borough Police Station, Wm. Lloyd, superintendent; 2 sergeants & 7 constables"

Interesting entries for the two superintendents

"Cadge Charles Christopher, superintendent of county police & examiner of weights & measures for Louth district, Eastgate" 

"Lloyd William, chief of borough police, inspector of weights & measures & common lodging houses & inspector under the explosives act, Town hall" 

DB 12 September 2018 

Crowtree Lane Hospital was built in 1873 at a cost of £2000 to replace the dispensary in New Street.

After the former workhouse on High Holme Road was developed as the main hospital for the town in 1938, Crowtree Lane dealt with maternity patients only.

It is now part of King Edward VI School.

Ken Redmore, 2006

Jean Howard

The blue plaque outside 106 Eastgate, Louth.

The numbering of Louth streets has been revised at least twice since this address existed!

Jean Howard

Dales Warehouse on Northgate is Louth's former house of industry, built in 1791. It later became the workhouse and then a butcher's premises and house.

A recent conversion has created flats.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

Former Baptist Chapel now the Eastgate Union Church.

"As the name suggests we are a church that is a union of two others. This happened in 1919 and means that we are part Baptist and part URC"

https://eastgateunion.com/about-us/ 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states

"The Baptist chapel, Eastgate, erected in 1849, will seat 375; that in Northgate, built in 1802, will hold 500.

The Congregational chapel, in Cannon street, built in 1820, seats 500"

DB 7 March 2018

Market Place view of Eve & Ranshaw Ltd Department Store pictured before its announced closure on 4th March 2023.

Information from Eve & Ranshaw's website :- 

"Eve & Ranshaw Ltd. in Louth Lincolnshire is one of the oldest independent, family run department stores in the UK, having traded continuously through nine successive reigns. 

The store was established in 1781 by Adam Eve, a local farmer's son with a shrewd business acumen. He later bought The Louth Carpet & Woollen Factory Ltd., helping the town become one of only three centres in England making flat weave and reversible carpets. The shop soon became the rendezvous for the gentry of Louth and the surrounding district.

It originally traded in grocery, wool and linen goods, but expanded over the years under several owner partnerships (including that of Thomas Ranshaw who started as a 13-year old apprentice in the shop), to include high-class tailoring and fashion, and a wide range of home furnishing products and services.

Christopher Sandwith and his son, David, purchased the store in 1977 and David's son, Marcus, took the helm earlier this year. The Sandwith family, having first opened their own Draper's shop in 1891 (RT Sandwith), has therefore traded continuously in the town for 128 years"

DB 28 January 2023

Eve & Ranshaw Ltd Department Store viewed from Eastgate.

Information from Eve & Ranshaw's website :- 

"Eve & Ranshaw In Victorian Times. Did you know that: 

In 1871, there were sixteen assistants, apprentices and servants living above the shop

Younger employees, such as the page boy, would sleep under one of the shop counters

No assistants were allowed to go upstairs with their boots on. Slippers had to be worn, or the house boy had to run and fetch anything required

The tailoring, millinery and dressmaking department employed more than forty women

The shop used to make their own coffins and offer complete funeral services"

DB 28 January 2023

Entrance doorway in Eastgate.

Entries in Kelly's Directory 1913 read :-

"Eve & Ranahaw, linen & woollen drapers, silk mercers, milliners, tailors, outfitters ; bedstead, furniture & carpet warehousemen; cabinet makers; furniture removal & storage contractors, Market place & Eastgate. T N 2"

"Eve & Ranshaw, tea & coffee merchants, Market place & Eastgate" 

DB 28 January 202

Jean Howard, 19 November 2020

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.

Fowler came 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

"Steep modern roof. 4 windows, some of 3 lights, mid C19. Flat carriage arch to the left"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063215?section=official-list-entry 

Listed in White's Directory 1872 "Greyhound, William Hodgson (and brewer), 40 Upgate" and in Kelly's Directory 1919 "Wilson Ada (Mrs.); Greyhound inn, 40 Upgate"

DB 30 April 2022 

A fire in 1991 destroyed all but the tower of the Victorian church of 1866 by Rogers & Marsden.  The tower has an octagonal top and an unusually high stair turret.

The new nave and community rooms were opened in 1999.

September 2012

Holy Trinity, a Victorian church of 1866, was severely damaged by fire in 1991.

Opened in 1999, the new building with its attractive spire, was designed as a community centre and incorporates meeting rooms and catering facilities as well as a modern worship space.

September 2012

This rustic wooden shelter in Hubbard's Hills was one of four given by local Member of Parliament, R W Perks, at a total cost of £100, when the park was first opened in 1907.

Undated postcard

Hubbard's Hills is a deep wooded valley to the south-west of the town. It was acquired for the town using a generous bequest from Alphonse Pahud, a language teacher at Louth Grammar School.

card posted 1940s

The Independent Chapel in Cannon Street was built 1828, superseding the former Countess of Huntingdon Chapel bought in 1800.

It was taken out of use 1928, first becoming a cinema, then offices.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

The four-storey mill on the Lud and at the beginning of Grimsby Road (former A16) was known at one time as Bridge Street Mill or St Mary's Mill.

The position of two former undershot waterwheels can be seen on the wall at river level.

April 2013

The mill was built be Francis Julian, a French immigrant builder, in 1755.

The mill is built of brick in Flemish Bond, with burnt headers for decorative effect.

April 2013

Exceptionally heavy rain in the Wolds immediately to the west of Louth caused the small River Lud to flood much of the town.

Several buildings - mainly houses - were destroyed and 23 lives were lost.

This marker can be seen on the front right corner of the mill in the general photo of the building.

April 2013

In 1551 Edward VI gave a plot of land and the money from three fairs to establish the school. It remained boys only until 1964.

Undated postcard.

Former pupils include Sir John Franklin, Captain John Smith and Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Undated postcard.

"The school building now known as The Studio, Schoolhouse Lane, Louth ...

In 1864, the Trustees of the King Edward VI Grammar School applied to the Charity Commissioners to demolish the old school and build a new one. The Commissioners allowed for limited expenditure, boosted by public subscription, and James Fowler submitted his plans for the new school building and Bedeshouses at the corner of Schoolhouse Lane and Gospelgate as a single design.

The completed buildings which cost about £3000 were opened by Bishop Christopher Wordsworth on 6th August 1869"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415550?section=official-list-entry 

DB 30 April 2022

The view from the tower of St James's Church, Louth, looking towards the town centre along Little Eastgate is remarkably similar to that depicted in a fine panorama painted by William Brown in 1844.

The street leading away in the centre of the picture is Eastgate, dominated by the Town Hall of 1854, a large brick building with stone dressings and balustrade.

Brown's Panorama hangs in the Council Chamber.

Mark Acton, 2008

Former Drill Hall.

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment (D Co.), Drill hall, Northgate ; butts, Hallington

Volunteer Force Battalion 4th Lincolnshire Regiment (E Co.); Capt. J. W. Richardson, commanding, Drill hall, Northgate"

DB 7 March 2018

Excellent museum run by the Louth Naturalists', Antiquarian and Literary Society.

http://www.louthmuseum.org.uk/about/about_louth_museum.html 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states

"The Louth Naturalists', Antiquarian and Literary Society have a museum in Enginegate"

Enginegate was the earlier name for Broadbank.

DB 7 March 2018 

Established by five boys in 1884, Louth Naturalists' Club grew rapidly to become a thriving learned society (Louth Naturalists', Antiquarian & Literary Society) It soon opened a museum collection in rented rooms.

An appeal for funds to construct a purpose-built museum was successful with the building in Broadbank opened by Professor Watts in October 1910.

With the aid of Heritage Lottery funding this was modernised and extended in 2006 and continues to operate with volunteers from a membership which enjoys a yearly programme of lectures and outings.

https://www.louthmuseum.org.uk/blog/2020-11-06-building-and-conserving-a-museum-collection

Jean Howard, October 2020

The tympanum over the Museum entrance carries a monogram depicting The Louth Naturalists', Antiquarian and Literary Society. its founding body.

Jean Howard, October 2020

Malt Kiln viewed from the tower of St James Church.

A major Louth landmark, known locally as the Concrete Cathedral, until its demolition in 2015.

Interesting history available via the Louth Museum website

http://www.louthmuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/louth_museum_malt_kiln.html 

DB 25 November 2014

"The Mechanics' Institute was originally the Mansion House of Louth and the centre of Municipal life"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063212 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1885 states :-

"The Mechanics' Institution, in Upgate, established about 1834, has a library containing 3,500 volumes, and the reading room is supplied with 30 periodicals and 27 newspapers, including 6 daily papers ; the number of members is 439"

DB 7 March 2018 

Blue plaque on the wall of The Mansion House.

DB 7 March 2018 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states

"The Market Hall and shops, erected in 1866-7, form an extensive pile of buildings, in the French Gothic style, from designs by Messrs. Rogers and Marsden, and include a clock tower rising to a height of more than 100 feet:

the Market Hall is 100 feet long and 60 feet wide, and has a semicircular arched iron trussed roof, supported parted partly by the walls and partly on carved stone corbels:

there is a market keeper's office on the west side, and the whole area under the hall is cellared in eight divisions:

the clock was purchased by subscription, at a cost of about 100 guineas"

DB 21 March 2017 

A second view of the Market Hall, with its characteristic clock tower, from the tower of St James Church.

DB 22 September 2015 

Market Place with the tower of Market Hall in the background.

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states

"The Market days are Wednesday and Saturday; the former is principally for corn, and is well attended; large sheep and beast markets are held every Friday during the year, at Quarry hill.

Fairs for sheep, cattle and horses are held on the two last days of April, and on the Fridays before the 18th of September and the 28th of October, and on the 23rd of November:

the Spring fair is held on the Friday before the 4th Sunday in Lent"

DB 22 September 2015 

Mr Chips an iconic fish and chip restaurant owned by three generations of the Hagan family to December 2015.

https://www.louthleader.co.uk/news/goodbye-mr-chips-louth-restaurant-set-to-close-1-7094398 

Reopened August 2018 under new management.

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/take-tour-mr-chips-louth-1830152 

DB 22 September 2015

The former Free Methodist Chapel on Church street near the junction with Newmarket opened in 1868 and closed in the mid-1970s when the Methodist communities came together in the church on Nicol HIll.

January 2020

The former chapel was converted to residential use in 2003.

January 2020 

Plaque on the external wall of the former chapel.

January 2020 

The east side of Louth had several parks which have been taken into the growing town.  One such was Stewton House Park.

The railway from Boston cut through it so that land to the west of the line was sold off for large houses and gardens and that to the east is mostly housing estate.

The railway has gone but the route is still there and converted to a pleasant tree-lined footpath.

This information board alongside the footpath to the south-east of the town centre gives details of the former East Lincolnshire Line which passed through Louth.

"James Fowler built the Orme's almshouses on Eastgate in 1885.

They are Jacobean in style set in a L-Shaped range set back from the street.

Orme Almshouses were endowed for ten poor men by the Revd Frederick Orme rector of Lydon (Rutland) in 1885.

Ten almshouses and a porter's lodge, designed by James Fowler, were built on the site of the old prison on Eastgate.

The almshouses sit in an ornamental acre of grounds"

http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI42911&resourceID=1006 

DB 7 March 2018 

Warden's Lodge at the entrance to Orme's Almshouses.

"Ten almshouses arranged in two terraces of 4 and 6 dwellings, and a warden's lodge, enclosed by a wall and railings.

Built for the Trustees of the Orme Almshouses, endowed by the Revd. Frederick Orme between 1885-1888 and designed by James Fowler"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415542 

DB 12 September 2018

"The Orme Almshouses and gardens were constructed on part of the site formerly occupied by the House of Correction, built in 1620, extended in 1826 and enclosed by a 23ft high wall.

Under the 1865 Prison Act, prisoner facilities were provided elsewhere in Lincolnshire, and in 1872 the site and buildings were sold to John Walmsley, a bone crusher and manure merchant of Queen Street.

He demolished the buildings, re-sited the former prison clock on the front of his warehouse and sold off parcels of land.

The northern part of the site was developed for housing and a strip on the south side was sold to Louth Corporation to straighten Eastgate.

The remaining land was sold to the Revd. Frederick Orme who, being 'desirous of erecting Almshouses for aged pensioners and a Lodge-House', established an Almshouse Trust in January 1885"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415542 

DB 12 September 2018

"Pack Horse Inn dated 1750 on inside of carriage arch"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1359884 

Mentioned in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1885

"Curtis Joseph, Pack Horse P.H. 81 Eastgate"

Victorian "VR" wall post box visible in this image. 

DB 12 September 2018

Playhouse Cinema which opened in 1929.

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/24828

DB 7 March 2018 

Opened in 1848, Louth station was on the East Lincolnshire Railway, opened in 1848.

The Tudor Gothic style with a large porte-coch're, (covered carriage entrance), over the main doorway was designed to give a sense of occasion to travelling by train. Furthermore, it was the entrance for all, not just the well to do as would be the case in the country house which its design resembled.

Passenger trains ceased in 1970 but goods trains to the malthouse alongside the station ran for another ten years.

This building has since been converted into apartments.

Peter Grey Archive, 1970

"Rectory 1828 viewed from the tower of St James Church.

"Red brick with slate roofs plus brick coped gables and kneelers.

4 tall brick stacks with diagonal shafts"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1308635 

DB 22 September 2015 

Alfred Tennyson attended Louth Grammar School, which was on the east side of Schoolhouse Lane. (The current building dates from the nineteeth century.)

This well known quotation is from the memoirs of his son, Hallam.

September 2020

Former Magistrates' Court but since 2011 the home of Louth Town Council.

"The Sessions House on Eastgate was built in 1874 and was originally home to Louth Magistrates' Court"

http://www.louthtowncouncil.gov.uk/Sessions%20House.htm 

DB 12 September 2018 

"Railway signal box. 1886 for the Great Northern Railway. Timber framed construction on a red brick base with a Welsh slate roof. The box is of the type known as GNR1(East Lincs)"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1389137

Now a private house.

DB 30 April 2022

Former Soap Works, viewed from Gospelgate. 

DB 30 April 2022

St James's Church in Louth, viewed from Westgate. The magnificent Perpendicular spire, 295 ft high, was completed in 1515.

Westgate has some very fine Georgian houses, including buildings belonging to the Grammar School.

Postcard, c1910

View from Bridge Street.

An impressive neo-Classical terrace of six houses built in the mid-1820s is visible on the left.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063266 

St. James's has the tallest spire of any medieval parish church in the country.

DB 21 June 2016

View from Upgate on the corner with Mercer Row.

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1885 gives the times of service as

"St. James' Church, Westgate, Rev. Canon Albert Sydney Wilde M.A. rector, 8 & 10.30 a.m. ; 3 & 6.30 p.m. ; daily, 8 a.m. & 5 p.m"

DB 25 November 2014 

C15 seven light window with C19 stained glass.

DB 12 September 2018

DB 12 September 2018

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"the chancel and its aisles were thoroughly restored in 1860:

the reredos, of stone and alabaster, contains a figure of Our Lord and angels in adoration on either side, and in niches are statues of the Evangelists in marble"

DB 12 September 2018

Memorial to James Fowler "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 

Blue plaque on the wall opposite to the south entrance of the church. 

"The Lincolnshire Rising was a brief rising by Roman Catholics against the establishment of the Church of England by Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries set in motion by Thomas Cromwell"

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

It was the occasion on which Henry VIII famously described the shire as "one of the most brute and beastly in the realm"

DB 12 September 2018

Looking east towards the chancel.

"The chancel and nave were re-built between 1430 and 1440"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Church,_Louth 

DB 12 September 2018

Looking west towards the tower arch which Pevsner comments "is of a prodigious height".

DB 12 September 2018

Pevsner states

"1867 by G.F.Bodley, alabaster with crocketed ogees around the stem". 

DB 12 September 2018

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1913 states

"the pulpit is of oak, panelled and finished with carved canopies, in which are statuettes of the Apostles"

DB 12 September 2018

"The nave roof was replaced in 1825"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Church,_Louth 

DB 12 September 2018

Looking towards the west end.

DB 12 September 2018

View from the north aisle, across the nave and into the south aisle.

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states that there are 1,300 sittings. 

DB 12 September 2018

St James has two fonts. Pevsner states that this font was

"Found in a garden. Octagonal, Perp, with a panelled stem and a leaf frieze on the bowl"

DB 12 September 2018

"The chapel on the North side of the chancel contains 2 angels in wood, the only survivors from the roof of the original building, and some renovated mediaeval stalls"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063264 

DB 12 September 2018

There is a plaque on the keyboard reading 

"NORMAN & BEARD LTD 1911" 

Norman and Beard were a pipe organ manufacturer based in Norwich from 1887 to 1916.

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

The 1911 event was a rebuild in memory of Robert Allott. 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1911 states

"in 1762 David Atkinson erected an organ in the church and gave £600 Louth Navigation shares to provide a salary for the organist"

DB 12 September 2018

Looking east.

DB 12 September 2018

DB 12 September 2018

Looking upwards inside the tower.

DB 12 September 2018

86 feet high lierne-vault inside the tower.

DB 12 September 2018

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1913 states

"A lofty tower of three stages, erected in 1516, with a pierced and panelled parapet, four large octagonal turret-pinnacles connected by flying buttresses with the spire, and twelve smaller pinnacles; the crocketed spire, to the cross by which it is surmounted, is 147 feet in height, and the total height from the floor of the church is 294 feet"

"in 1843 the spire was seriously injured by lightning, but was subsequently restored under the direction of the late Mr. L. N. Cottingham, and completed in 1846, at a cost of £1,746 19s. 3d." 

DB 12 September 2018

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states

"the west window was filled with stained glass at the cost of Cornelius Parker esq. J .P ."

DB 12 September 2018

St Michael's dates from 1863 and was designed in Gothic style by Louth architect James Fowler.

The lofty interior is largely brick - mostly red, but with black and yellow decoration - and is lavishly furnished.

The Lady Chapel, with its apse, dates from 1908.

September 2012

A second view of the west front.

Kelly's Directory 1930 has :-

"St. Michael's ecclesiastical parish was formed July 28, 1863. The church, erected in 1863, from plans by the late Mr. James Fowler, architect, of Louth, is an edifice of hammer-dressed stone, with ashlar dressings, lined within with parti-coloured bricks banded with stone, in the Late First-Pointed style, and consists of a chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, Lady chapel, western porch and a bell turret with spirelet containing one bell:

the altar is of panelled oak, painted and gilded, and there is a brass eagle lectern:

a side chapel was added in 1908, at a cost of about £1,300, and has a memorial window to Mrs. Annie Pahud:

in the Lady chapel is a statue of the Virgin Mary, erected in memory of Julia Bowers North, and stations of the cross have been placed in the north and south aisles to members of the congregation who fell in the Great War, 1914-18:

there are 500 sittings"

DB 12 October 2023

"The east end has a large window with geometric tracery ... To the right (south) is a five-sided apse which is lit on all sides by lancet windows in blocked surrounds devoid of mouldings.

The bell hanging between the roofs of the chancel and Lady Chancel is a memorial to Canon Jordan (1916-29), but was originally hung in the old Louth prison and dates from 1715"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415645?section=official-list-entry 

DB 12 October 2023

St Michael and All Angels Church viewed from the north.

An extract from the Centenary Brochure published in 1963 reads :-

"The church was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Rev. John Jackson, in the morning of 5th May, 1863, assisted by Canon Wilde, Rev. Moore and the new incumbent.

The "large and respectable" congregation were suitably moved by the Bishop's sermon which called on them to imitate the Rev. Wright in his liberality - the collection amounted to £53!

Choral Evensong in the evening was sung by St. James' choir accompanied by their organist, Dr. Dixon, on the harmonium.

The church was designed by James Fowler, in whose memory the choir screen was erected in 1894.

When opened the church contained the present chancel, choir and north and south aisles. A much smaller chapel and vestry in place of the present Lady Chapel was connected to the choir by the three arches and pillars which are now on the south side of the chancel.

There were windows in both walls of the chancel, the west window consisted of three separate circular windows and none of them contained any coloured glass!

An enlightening commentary on the decline in the value of money over the past century is to be found in the fact that the building and equipping of the church cost only £3,266. 13s.11d. Canon Wilde himself assumed responsibility for the debt and it was finally paid off in 1866" 

DB 12 October 2023

"Attached to the right (south) side of the tower is an open two-bay porch which has a parapet decorated with trefoils ... The double-leaf door of vertical planks has a pointed arch moulded surround"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415645?section=official-list-entry 

DB 12 October 2023

"In 1875 ... the organ chamber and choir vestry were added, and a doorway was opened on the north side of the chancel to provide access to the new vestry"

DB 12 October 2023

Kelly's Directory 1930 reports :-

"Outside the church is a large crucifix, erected by the parishioners to those who fell in the Great War, and dedicated by the Bishop of Grantham in 1919"

See also 

https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/54008 

for further information. 

DB 12 October 2023

This feature in the garden of the Priory was built with masonry from the ruins of Louth Park Abbey, a Cistercian foundation of 1137, situated about a mile away to the east.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

This early nineteenth-century Gothic building was originally built as a summer house. Inside is a fireplace and a memorial column to John Espin.

It was built by Thomas Espin.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

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 shown here is mounted on his Gospelgate 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://feltabulous.blogspot.com/2014/08/may-i-introduce-mr-thomas-wilkinson.html

Jean Howard, October 2020

No. 22 Gospelgate 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 here for the rest of his life.

Jean Howard, October 2020 

The earliest part of the house is 1584.

It was acquired by the Bolle family (originally from Swineshead, and also at Haugh).

The house was rebuilt in the late 17th century and was extensively restored in the 20th.

More details about this house and its owners can be found in T R Leach's book, 'Lincolnshire Country Houses and their Families: Part 1', published by SLHA.  Buy a copy.

Thorpe Hall Mill (TF 320871) was built in the eighteenth century as a papermill and was converted for corn grinding in about 1840.

At one time it was 5 storeys high and fifty feet long with an 18-foot waterwheel.

It continued in use as a corn mill until about 1920; in the recent past it has been used as a trout farm.

Print by J W Wilson, 1840

Thorpe Hall Mill (TF 320871) was built in the eighteenth century as a papermill and was converted for corn grinding in about 1840.

At one time it was 5 storeys high and fifty feet long with an 18-foot waterwheel.

It continued in use as a corn mill until about 1920; in the recent past it has been used as a trout farm.

A turnpike road between Louth and Horncastle was created in 1770. This cottage, built in the early nineteenth century was at the toll bar on the edge of the town.

It is square in plan and has a multi-flued chimney.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

The route across the Wolds from Louth to Horncastle became a turnpike following the Louth Turnpike Act of 1770.

This early 19th century toll cottage is about 1 mile SW of the centre of Louth and stands at the corner of Horncastle Road and Halfpenny Lane (TF 319860).

Frank Robinson, 2010

"Architect, Pearson Bellamy. Elaborate building of 3 storeys in stone and brick"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063257 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"The Town Hall and Borough Police Station, in Eastgate, erected in 1854, is a large edifice of brick and stucco, and contains a spacious assembly room"

The Town Council moved out to The Sessions House in May 2011 and the Town Hall is now a community owned asset.

http://www.louthtowncouncil.gov.uk/Sessions%20House.htm 

DB 7 March 2018

Stairs leading up to the Assembly Room.

DB 7 March 2018

Assembly Room.

DB 7 March 2018

Once one of several post offices in Louth, this branch at 181 Eastgate closed on 10 August 1991. The post box in the wall was made by James Ludlow & Son of Birmingham.

Postcard published 1993 by David Shaw. 

"Louth War Memorial, unveiled in 1921"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1415930 

DB 12 September 2018 

Former public house located near the former railway station. 

Listed in White's Diectory 1872 "Wellington, Thomas Moncaster, 43 Ramsgate"

DB 30 April 2022

"C18 and later. Long-fronted 3-storey brick house, shallow pantile roof with dentilled eaves"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1308673?section=official-list-entry 

DB 30 April 2022

"Early C19 ... Good contemporary cast iron railings"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1147059?section=official-list-entry 

DB 30 April 2022

"A low 2-storey late C17 house with steep pantile roof, ? brick covered with roughcast.

Painted legend 'Established 1627'"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1147069 

Listed in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1885

"Stephenson Darius, Wheat Sheaf P.H. 56 Westgate"

DB 7 March 2018 

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

The workhouse, now part of Louth Hospital, was built for the new Poor Law Union in 1837-9 to a design by George Gilbert Scott.

It had accommodation for 300 paupers and cost £6,000.

Pearl Wheatley, 2012

"Workhouse, now hospital. 1837-39 with later additions.

Designed by George Gilbert Scott for the Louth Poor Law Union"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1386583 

DB 18 April 2019

White's Directory of Lincolnshire 1856 states :-

"LOUTH UNION, as formed by the New Poor Law Commissioners, in 1837, comprises 86 parishes, which extend over 107,708 acres of land, and had 33,427 inhabitants in 1851, but only 25,214 in 1831.

In 1851, there were in the union 184 persons above 80 years of age, 57 above 85, and 14 above 90.

The total expenditure of the union for the support of the poor in 1838 was £12,410, and in 1839, £10,969.

The total expenditure of the union in 1855 was £17,826, including £1102 for in-door relief; £10,181, out-door relief; £1274, salaries, &c., of officers; £2211 for county rates; and about £2600 for various incidental expenses, constables' expenses, registration fees, &c.

The UNION WORKHOUSE stands in a pleasant situation on the north side of the town, at the head of Broad bank, and is an extensive brick building, erected in 1837, at the cost of about £6000.

It has room for 300 paupers, and had 132 inmates in 1841, and 179 in 1851, when the census was taken. 

The BOARD OF GUARDIANS meets every Monday, and comprises 86 guardians, elected yearly.

DB 18 April 2019

"Workhouse entrance range, now hospital. 1837-39, with later additions.

Designed by George Gilbert Scott"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1386584 

DB 18 April 2019

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"The Workhouse, in High Holme road, is a large brick building, pleasantly situated on the north side of the town, & erected in I837, at a cost of £6000:

it will hold 350 inmates; Rev. Charles Henry Lenton M.A. chaplain; Frank Laughton Smith M. D. medical officer; James Fielding, master; Mrs. Alice Fielding, matron; Miss Mary Sophia Ayre, industrial trainer"

DB 18 April 2019

"C17. Low 2-storey building"

http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1165866 

Listed in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919

"Johnson Jesse, Ye Olde Whyte Swanne P.H. Eastgate"

DB 7 March 2018