Association
of the Friends
of Lincoln Cathedral

Over the years the Friends have enjoyed many social occasions which have been arranged by an Events Committee.  From small beginnings the number of events and the number of Friends taking part has steadily increased.  Regular events are the November Tea Time Talks and in December, Carols by Candlelight.  During the summer months visits to places of interest take place.

Church Crawling by the Friends. By John R Ketteringham

Over the last few years our Secretary, Keith Jones, has arranged a series of visits to some of the lesser known churches in the Diocese. The following report which was written after the first of these tours, gives an idea of how interesting and enjoyable these have been.

Our first church was Langworth which stands back from the road behind trees and most people seem to pass by not realising it is there.

For many years there was a temporary mission church here and it was the intention to build a permanent church when enough money had been raised. When the then Bishop of Lincoln was given the chapel of Walmsgate Hall which had been built by the Dallas-Yorke family in memory of their son it was decided to move as much as possible of that building as the basis of a new church at Langworth. The original building has been extended by one bay but the window mouldings are original. The interior contains the original beams, hanging lights and many other quite amazing artefacts. The memorial plaque to Thomas Yorke Dallas-Yorke has been placed above a door and includes a relief of the young man as a soldier. It is difficult to do justice to this church here but it is very well worth a visit.

Very few people realise there is a Roman Catholic Chapel in the grounds of Hainton Hall. We found it is as described by Pevsner built of thin yellow brick, Perpendicular, by E J Wilson, 1836. The Anglican Church which we did not visit contains all the Heneage family memorials.

Turning off the main road to Louth our next church, St Peter's Gayton-le-Wold is down a typically narrow Lincolnshire bye way. It is a rarely visited red brick building adjacent to a farmyard.

St Peter Gayton-le-Wold

On to Biscathorpe, a beautiful valley of the Wolds, in a park watered by two streams of the River Bain and road passes through two fords. An enchanting small church dedicated to St Mary Magdalene built by Willoughby of Louth and Nicholson of Lincoln circa 1847.

St Mary Magdalene Biscathorpe

Nearby there is a deserted village. The tower is unusual and has a wide, open octagonal bell stage with spire, openwork parapets, and pinnacles built. The whole church is built of brick and cement rendered as are the next two churches we visited (both by the same builders and architects).

Thence to Raithby, an enchanting spot. St Peter's church was rebuilt in 1839 in the Gothic style I found the box pews which are original of particular interest and also the colourful enamelled glass. The north arcade is genuine thirteenth century.

St Peter Raithby

And so to Haugham. The spire of this church is clearly an imitation of that Louth itself. Haugham church was paid for built by the then incumbent, Revd. G A Chaplin and dates from 1841.

The interior is a rare survival from that date. There is a cast iron Royal Arms, Commandment Boards and very nice bright stained glass. This church is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

By now we were looking forward to a good lunch at the Royal Oak in Little Cawthorpe which is known locally as "The Splash". Unfortunately we were held up by a builder's lorry which completely blocked the road! However, when we realised that our meal would be long delayed unless we took drastic action Keith demonstrated his undoubted driving ability and saved the situation. Within a few minutes we had arrived only to find there was no electricity! However the staff rose to the occasion and we were soon refreshed and raring to discover what other gems Keith had found for us.

 

	Waiting to eat	Onlookers

After a short drive through hills, valleys and dips, past the old watercress beds and springs of Belleau we until we reach Haugh, a tiny church of chalk and greenstone.

It has an eleventh century narrow chancel arch and a blocked north doorway of circa 1200. There are two interesting Jacobean monuments to the Bolle family.

One of these is to Sir John who was born at Haugh in 1560 and buried there in 1606 aged 46. He took part in the siege of Cadiz in 1596 and it is said that a Spanish lady of noble birth fell in love with him but he was already married and remained true to his wife. Before retiring to a nunnery the Spanish lady who is thought to be Donna Leonora Oviedo gave Sir John several gifts to take to his wife — including tapestry, gold plate and jewels with a portrait of herself in a green dress by Zucharo. For a long time this portrait hung in Sir John's home at Thorpe Hall, Louth. The pictures and the treasures have long since gone—but the ghost of the Green Lady was said to haunt the Hall for centuries afterwards.

I can't help adding that when I was a young teenager I cycled from Alford with the curate of Bilsby to play the organ at Haugh for Sunday Matins. Afterwards I was fed in the kitchen of the Hall by the cook whilst the curate had to make polite conversation in the dining room!

Over the Wolds again to the church of St Lawrence and Bishop Edward King at Dalby.

St Lawrence Dalby

James Fowler, whose original designs for the church are displayed on the north wall, rebuilt the church in 1862. The interior is brick-faced with some enrichment in yellow and vitrified black brick. Another personal story about this church. When I was collecting material for Lincolnshire Bells and Bellfounders I found that it was impossible to examine the bell and I had to get a friend to absail over the roof and precariously confirm that there was a bell there! To carry out repairs to the bell if this should be necessary the turret would have to be taken down!

Finally to Langton by Partney.

The lordship of the Manor is very ancient and has passed through the male line continuously becoming extinct when John Langston died about ten years ago. The earliest known Lord of the Manor was Robert de Langeton who died circa 1160. The only member of the family who can be said to have achieved fame is Bennett and that is more because of his friendship with the great Dr Samuel Johnson. It was the visit of the "Great Cham of Literature" to Langton in 1764 which brought the Langton family to the notice of "society". Much has been written about Johnson and Bennett Langton but space permits repetition here of only one story and that the most famous. Whilst staying at the Hall Johnson decided to roll down a steep hill at the back of the house known as the Sheepwalks. The Langtons considering that Johnson was rather corpulent and in his mid fifties tried to persuade the great man not to attempt this dangerous exercise but Johnson was not to be put off!

The church was built in 1725 of brick and is typically classical Georgian with box pews facing each other. There are only four parish churches in England with a similar interior and Sir John Betjeman considered Langton to be "one of the most attractive and interesting churches in Lincolnshire — and therefore in England because Lincolnshire is rich in remarkable churches". The Georgian style is possibly spoilt a little with the strange pigeon cote tower. This was probably added in 1832 when John Langton installed a ring of six bells which are actually hung in the church roof! He had intended to add two more bells to complete the octave but he died young. Some of us ascended the staircase to examine the remarkable hand operated chime barrel.

So ended a most enjoyable day out in the peace and quiet of the Lincolnshire Wolds. We owe much to Keith's organisational skills and driving ability — he even arranged the weather for us — just right.

As I said above this is to be the first of a series of church crawls by the Friends and the success of this first one will guarantee support for future outings. Most importantly to me in addition to discovering these gems of the Lincolnshire countryside is the opportunity to get to know fellow supporters of the Association better — isn't this what the Friends is all about?

I am grateful to Wendy Parkinson, Peter Fairweather and Keith Jones for permission to use the photographs.

Grimsthorpe Castle

In 1995 a visit was made to Grimsthorpe Castle which is the home of our Patron, Lady Willoughby de Eresby.

The above photograph shows Friends on the front lawn of Grimsthorpe Castle.  Also in 1995 we visited several historic houses in Vicar's Court. We also travelled to St Paul's Cathedral London to hear our Choir sing.

In 1996 the Friends visited the House of Lords at the invitation of our Patron and in 1997 we visited one of the former houses of the Bishops of Lincoln, Buckden Palace and Anglesey Abbey. Later in the year we visited Durham Cathedral and Auckland Castle. A particularly memorable occasion in 1999 was a visit to London when we visited Lambeth Palace. This was the first occasion when the Archbishop of Canterbury's London home has been open to the public. Also in 1999 we visited Southwell Minster and the house of the Provost where we had tea.

In 1998 we travelled to Derbyshire and on the way to Buxton we broke our journey at Haddon Hall and called at Hassop Roman Catholic Church on our return journey.

 

	Haddon Hall		Hassop Roman Catholic Church

Visits to Gardens have become very popular in recent years and the pictures below illustrate some of those we have visited.
 

A visit to the garden of Margaret and John Brown in Lincoln. This is a garden lover's paradise which is open regularly for various charities

 

	Each year the Choir Boy who has made the most progress is presented with a Medal by the Association at Carols by Candlelight.

In 2001 we visited Coventry Cathedral. This was a most enjoyable occasion and we were entertained to tea by the Coventry Friends.  This year we are travelling to Paris to support the Cathedral Choir which is on tour.
 

Visit to Coventry Cathedral 2001

A full programme is arranged for the day of the AGM.   Visits are made to places in the Cathedral or the Close many of  which are not usually seen by the public.    The work of the various Departments in the Cathedral can also be seen.

On the day of the 2001 AGM a start was made with Coffee in the Deanery garden and this was followed by a guided tour of the Close walls or Friends could watch the Needlework Guild at work.

 

Coffee in the Deanery garden		Tour of the Close walls

	The Needlework Guild at work

 

A rather different Friends Event took the form of a pilgrimage through the Wolds from Tealby to the Ramblers' Church at Walesby.
 

The Group of Friends who travelled to Paris in support of the Cathedral Choirs

The Friends had a most enjoyable visit to Burghley House in September 2007.