The ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE of LINCOLNSHIRE has long been justly celebrated for its magnificence, and the numerous churches in the county have been repeatedly spoken of in terms of admiration. It is not unworthy of remark, that the most splendid edifices which adorn this district, were erected chiefly in its lowest and most fenny situations, where all communication must formerly have been, and even to this day is, extremely difficult. It will, perhaps, be no easy task to assign a reason why our ancestors, in the erection of their churches, many of them of large dimensions and splendid in their decorations, should prefer such a tract of country to the higher and more frequented districts. The vicinity to the sea, and the numerous surrounding drains, might indeed have afforded a convenient conveyance for the materials which were not the produce of the county. Though the beauties of nature are scattered with a very sparing hand over Lincolnshire; the fruitfulness and richness of its soil, make ample recompense for this deficiency; and its internal wealth, which is asserted at the present time to equal that of the most extensive counties in England, might have enabled its inhabitants to have supplied its natural defects, by erecting buildings and works of art, which still display an extraordinary magnificence, equal, if not generally superior, to those of any county in the kingdom. The ecclesiastical edifices in the division of Lindsey, excepting the cathedral of Lincoln, are in general inferior to those in Kesteven and Holland; but in the north eastern part of the division, which is bounded by the German ocean to the east, and the high lands called the Wolds to the west, which is a low, flat tract of country, there are several churches, displaying much elegance in their architecture, and built of excellent materials. In many of these are some ancient brasses, and other memorials of families who, three or four centuries past, were resident here, and many of whose descendants, from their possessions, still constitute the principle family interest of the county. The churches in this district vary but little, as to their form and character; having in common, a body with north and south ailes, supporting a range of windows, also a south porch, a chancel, and tower at the western end. Those of Grimsby and Wainfleet, which are the only deviations from this plan, are cruciform. The date of them may be generally assigned from the time of Edward III. to that of Henry VII. though some display features of an earlier erection in the remains of arches, circular pillars, and other ornaments. A considerable number have been rebuilt, not only on confined dimensions, but with inferior materials. On the high lands, or Wolds, the churches have no claim to architectural beauty, many of them consisting merely of a body and chancel. In the south part of the Wolds, the churches and other edifices are built with a soft and green coloured sand-stone, which is plentifully supplied from the neighbouring hills: the battlements, buttresses, copings, and more ornamental parts of the structure being formed of a harder and more firm material. This sand-stone, which never loses its soft and porous quality, gradually wastes away: and the deficiency being filled up with modern brick-work, the repairs present a motley and disgusting appearance. The churches of Spilsby, Bolingbroke, and Horncastle, with the remains of the castles at the two latter places, and the surrounding village churches, were, for the most part, erected with this sandstone. In the western part of Lindsey the churches may. be said to preserve a middle character: a considerable number possess much architectural beauty, and some of them display portions of very old architecture. The Division of Kesteven abounds with churches splendid both in their plans and decorations. In the central part, the greater proportion of them are adorned with lofty spires; while many of those in the northern and southern extremities present handsome towers. The churches of Sleaford, Leasingham, Heckington, Threckingham, Horbling, Grantham, with St. Mary's, St. John's, and All Saints, in Stamford, may be particularly mentioned as excellent specimens of ancient English architecture; and, by their height, form prominent objects from different stations in the county. Those of Kesteven differ little from each other in their general plan: the spires, which are lofty, are octagonal, lighted by three tiers of canopied windows, and rising from noble towers at the west end of the building. The towers are frequently divided into three or four distinct stories, and formed of excellent materials and masonry. The date of the churches in this division, with the exception of those of Sempringham and St. Leonard, Stamford, is, in few instances, earlier than the thirteenth century; and, scarcely any having been rebuilt, few will be found of later date than the time of Henry the Seventh. It is principally in the Division of Holland, that Lincolnshire boasts superior excellence in ecclesiastical architecture; and it is really surprising that so many fine monastic buildings, and sacred edifices, should have been erected in a county so inconvenient for travelling, so unpleasant to the eye, and uncongenial with the common comforts of life. Yet, in this fenny, and swampy district, are the churches of Boston, Gosberton, Pinchbeck, Spalding, Holbeach, Gedney, Long-Sutton, Croyland, and many others, which have a just claim to universal admiration. To the munificence of the abbies of Croyland and Spalding, the greater part of the churches which adorn the southern part of this division probably owe their origin. At the period when most of them were erected, Holland was one extensive fen, accessible in many parts only by water, and at particular seasons overflowed from the surrounding drains and marshes. Under these circumstances, the architects, of those days were compelled to make artificial foundations, by laying piles or planks of wood, or different strata of earth and gravel, previous to the superstructure of brick or stone. The skill of our ancestors in building on such a precarious soil is strik-.. ingly apparent: few of their churches have swerved from their perpendicular; and a firmness and solidity are retained which the peculiar nature of the ground would hardly seem to admit. The character and plan of the churches in this division vary in different parts. Some are cruciform; many have spires in common with those of Kesteven; while embattled towers at the west end form the principal feature of the remainder. Of, the splendid church at Croyland, only a small portion of the original structure now remains; but sufficient to shew that in its entire state, it was not inferior to any of our cathedrals, either in size or architectural ornament. The church of Long Sutton is perhaps the earliest specimen of architecture which this division affords, and may be characterised by calling it the counterpart of the cathedral of Christ Church, at Oxford, both in the ornaments of the tower and of the internal decorations. The churches of Boston, Gosberton, Pinchbeck, Holbeach, Gedney, and several others, afford excellent specimens of the architecture of the fourteenth century. The division of Holland has few churches of a later date than the time of Edward III. The stone employed in the erection of the edifices of this district is universally found to be of an excellent and durable species, still retaining at the distance, in many instances, of six or seven centuries, its original face and firmness. The churches of Stow,Clee, Crowle, Washingborough, Fiskerton, St. Peter at Gowl, Lincoln, and a few others in the county, present various specimens, and parts of very early architecture, some of which I should not hesitate to refer to an Anglo-Saxon period. SEATS, &c. This county is more noted for its religious than for its civil architecture. Though an extensive district, it contains but few mansions of consequence, grandeur, or elegance, and those that are standing are chiefly of modern erection. In making the following list, I have endeavoured to ascertain the names and situations, with that of the proprietors, of all the seats in the county. These are arranged according to precedence of rank, and to each name is added the title derived by the nobility from places in the county. GRIMSTHORPE CASTLE, near Corby. Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven; also, Marquis and Earl of Lindsey.-This noble man man has other family seats or manors at Uffington and Swines head in this county. BELVOIR CASTLE, near Grantham. Duke of Rutland, who possesses several manors in Lincolnshire. The seat is in the county of Leicester, and has been described in a preceding part of this volume. NOCTON, near Lincoln. Earl of Buckinghamshire. GLENTWORTH, near Spittal. Earl of Scarborough. BROCKLESBY, near Brigg. Lord Yarborough, who has another seat at Thurgunby. BELTON, near Grantham. Lord Brownlow. REDBOURN, near Brigg. Lord William Beauclerk. BURTON, near Lincoln. Lord Monson. DODDINGTON, near Lincoln. Lord Deleval. BLOXHOLM, near Sleaford. The Honourable Colonel Manners. MANBY, near Brigg. Honourable Charles Anderson Pelham. ASWARBY, near Folkingham. Sir Thomas Whichcote, Bart. CASWICK, near Stamford. Sir John Trollope, Bart. DENTON HOUSE, near Grantham. Sir William Earl Welby, Bart. HARRINGTON HALL, near Spilsby. Lady Ingleby Amcotts, 'who has another seat at Kettlethorpe near Lincoln. EASTON, near Grantham. Sir Montague Cholmondeley. HANBY HALL, near Folkingham. Sir William Manuers, Bart. NORMANBY HALL, near Burton. Sir John Sheffield, Bart. |