WELCOME TO

Some time ago, a teacher at Mablethorpe Tennyson School enquired of me, "Is there anything interesting you know about the village of Saltfleetby?" This query decided me to give the answer in a series of articles in ‘The Marshlander" when I had the time. So, readers, if you have the patience and perseverance to follow a rather rambling story which gives a short history of this ancient village, and features some of the unusual characters that enlivened and perhaps enlightened, the village scene in bygone days, I will do my best to make it interesting.

To find the earliest known records regarding the village, we must turn to the Domesday Book, which was compiled by the orders of William the First, William the Conqueror, during the years 1085-1087. In the brief description given in these records, the village is shown as Saltfleetbi or Saltfletbi, the Normans retaining the old Danish ending of the name which is still prevalent in the Denmark of today. The land seems to have been in a reasonable state of cultivation for those times, the prime motive power was, of course, oxen.

Some historians claim that the Main Road, which runs from the sea near the village of Saltfleet almost straight to the foot of the Wolds, is a continuation of the Fosse Way, the Roman Road from Lincoln to Exeter. Certainly it is known that the Roman Ninth Legion, which was stationed at Lincoln for several centuries, procured their salt from the saltpans at Marshchapel, Saltfleet and Theddlethorpe. The Romans also had saltpans at Ingamells, near Skegness, where recently a Roman pottery was uncovered.

In Roman times, there was a headland or promontory at Skegness, on which they built a fort or stronghold. From here the Roman Legionaries kept constant watch for the long boats of the Vikings, for these intrepid adventurers had already begun to probe our shores. With the departure of the Romans in 410 AD that probing, in later years, developed into a full-scale invasion. .In the Domesday Book Skegness has the curious name of 'Tric'.

Although no objects of Roman origin have, so far as I know, been found in Saltfleetby, this is not surprising, as the Road would only be used for the transit of salt. Many Roman coins have been found at Louth, also at Mablethorpe where, just after the last war, a small hoard was found in a casket embedded in the so-called Roman Bank. This gives rise to the impression that this Bank may have been used as a secondary road at times, especially in winter, when the Marshlands in those days would be well nigh impassable. Other finds in the area have been at Burgh-Le-Marsh, which is built on the site of a Roman camp. Here coins, sword-hilts and pottery have been discovered.

At Willoughby (Verometum) the site of another Roman camp and nearby Bilsby, where, in the park some schoolboys, attempting to construct a swimming pool, uncovered a Roman pavement. In South Ormsby too, where there was a small Roman fort, many coins have been found. John Leland, a famous historian of Tudor days, tells of seeing the foundation walls of a fort on a promontory at. Skegness.

So much for the ancient history of the area, we now move on a few years. During researches in many a Lincolnshire village, I have frequently come across records of the family of Newcomen, they are practically always stated as being a noted Saltfleetby family. The list of churches where this family made marriages is numerous. They include Scremby, South Ormesby, South Thoresby, Hannah, Mablethorpe, South Cockerington, Revesby, Walmsgate and Greetham, near Horncastle. Here I found a Richard Newcomen, son of Thomas Newcomen of "Sallaby" Saltfleetby was impeached for taking part in the Lincolnshire rebellion of-1536. For this serious offence I presume he was executed, along with the Vicar of Louth, the Abbot of Legbourne, the Abbot of Barlings and many others.

The record of the Newcomen family, in the Collage of Arms, 1189-99, begins with Hugo Newcomen of Saltfleetby; the next important record is of Sir Robert Newcomen of London, grandson of Brian Newcomen of Saltfleetby, he was created a baronet on the 30th.December, 1625, the title became extinct on the death of Sir Thomas Newcomen, 8th baronet on the 27th. April 1789. From this family was directly descended Elias Newcomen of Stoke Fleming in Devon, whose great grandson Thomas Newcomen, born at Dartmouth, was the inventor of the steam engine. The Newcomens were also intermarried with the famous Banks family of Reevsby Abbey.

And now, with all this knowledge of the Newcomens I have not been able to establish where they lived in Saltfleetby. I know they resided in All Saints, which narrows it down a bit. The Moat House, I think, would be too small, although most of these people surrounded themselves with a moat. Grove House is a possibility, nearly two hundred years ago it was described as the pleasant seat of Richard P. Chapman, Esq. and known as Ivy Grove House. Today it is a late Georgian house, but outhouses are of an earlier date, probably pre- Elizabethan. It is all a matter of conjecture, the Newcomen house at Theddlethorpe was only demolished about 1840 and the Newcomen tombs in the chancel at Theddlethorpe All Saints are clearly marked. But at Saltfleetby where the family appeared to have lived a matter of some 600 years there is only one identifiable Newcomen tomb that of Margaret, dating from the 15th century and situated just below the rood screen in the nave, at Saltfleetby All Saints'.

"SOLOBY" (Part. 2.) June 1980

When writing about Soloby in previous articles, I have mentioned several people who, in my opinion, were of more than usual interest. These were several members of the Stubbs family: the Revd. Tom Watson; the eloquent Rector at St. Clement's Church, the Revd. Henry Usher, who, in 1885 built this little church almost entirely at his own expense; and, in my very first article in The Marshlander some years ago, I wrote of the Public Hangman, Marwood, who made frequent visits to his relative at the old Angel Inn. Soloby certainly has never been short of interesting personalities. The Revd. Carr Gregg, who followed the Revd. Tom Watson at St. Clement’s was not an outstanding clergyman but he had an energetic and somewhat eccentric wife. During their period at St. Clement 's this lady organised an ox-roasting ceremony, which, I believe, was for some charity. This was something that had not been seen, in this area for many years, and naturally caused a great deal of interest. It was well advertised and crowds came from far and wide to see this event. A great ox was slowly roasted all day and in the evening people were allowed to buy a small portion. Financially it was a great success. It was reported that, on another occasion, after raising considerable funds, Mrs. Carr Gregg hired an aeroplane to fly to London with the cash for the charity.

The span of time during which three clergymen ministered to the parishioners of St. Peter's must almost constitute a record - a total of 161 years, from 1744 - 1905. The Revd. Joseph Smith served 58 years, Revd. John Bond 54 years and William Richard Watson, who retired in 1905, after 49 years. They must have been fond of Soloby.

One of the most interesting residents in Soloby Mr. William "Billy" Paddison; he lived at Saltfleetby House, but he always called it the "Rectory", as apparently the Revd. Watson had lived there prior to his retirement. Mr. Paddison had been a farmer and coal merchant, it was said of him that he sold thousands of tons of coal at a profit of 6d. Per ton, we assume the farmers moved the coal themselves. As a youngster, I knew Mr. Paddison, when we collected for foreign missions he would give you a shilling for every pound you collected elsewhere. He left some long and intimate diaries, describing the people, and recording events in and around the village. I understand there is a total of 8 volumes. Through the courtesy of Mr. J. Taylor, who is the custodian, I have been privileged to read two of these. Mr. Paddison was in the habit of writing in his diaries every Sunday night. Although they are very interesting and give an intimate picture of lie in the village during the Victorian and also Edwardian times, they are very melancholy, almost like reading the Book of Jeremiah. To describe his attitude to life in good old Lincolnshire vocabulary - at most times he seems to have hold of "the mucky end of the stick."

A previous owner of Saltfleetby House built an observation tower or gazebo some 200 years ago. The design is credited to one of the Wyatts, who designed the mausoleum at Gt. Limber for the first Lord Yarborough in 1794, also a similar erection at Doddington Hall, near Lincoln. There is a legend about this gazebo, it is said that the owner ascended the stone stairway inside the tower with a telescope to spy on his the fields below, and indeed that this was the sole reason he had built it.

I remember when peace celebrations were held after the signing of the Armistice in 1918, speeches were made on the lawn in front of the House to a large gathering. I remember especially a speech made by Major Epton, a local boy who had emigrated to Canada some time before the war and returned with the Canadian Forces, with whom he spent some considerable time on the Western Front. He described his time there as a life of intense boredom punctuated by moments of extreme terror. In springtime in those days the lawn in front of the house was like a carpet of blue, so thick were the crocuses massed together.

I felt this response should go in here as it was Published in the Marshlander – July 1980.

Thank you, Mr. Norman Borrill for allowing this to be included: -

THE REVEREND CARR-GREGG

Last month's article by Mr. Bell on Soloby has brought forth something of a debate over his use of the phrase "not an outstanding clergyman" with reference to the late Reverend Carr-Gregg.

Mr. Norman Borrill stoutly refutes this comment, and has given us his own account of Reverend Carr-Gregg as he remembers him. In fairness to Mr. Bell, I let him know that Mr. Borrill had joined issue on the matter; Mr. Bell knew the reverend gentleman very well, he says, and had a high regard for him as a parish priest phrase "not an outstanding clergyman" he was referring only to his performance as a preacher. In the pulpit, one gathers, he lacked eloquence, but as a man he seems to have inspired affection, as Norman Borrill's letter demonstrates.

"I feel I must take issue with Mr. J. Bell and his comments about the Rev. Carr Gregg not being an outstanding clergyman. Mr. Bell obviously did not know Rev. Carr Gregg as many people in Saltfleetby did. Many of us remember Mr. Carr Gregg as a very dedicated and evangelistic man, who was always keenly interested in any evangelistic meeting held in the area. I recall that when a Cliff College campaign was being held at the Methodist Churches in the village, Mr. Carr Gregg attended every meeting, gave his own personal testimony and told how he became a follower of Christ as a result of the Welsh Revival. The students who conducted the campaign were thrilled to receive such encouragement from the 'Anglican incumbent, and they certainly thought that he WAS outstanding.

Mr. Carr Gregg was also a keen musician, and organised musical services at St. Clement's, when he invited a visiting organist from Louth to play, and asked well-known singers from Louth to help in the choir. Sydney Smith was a frequent visitor and many others were always willing to help. I remember attending one of these services on a Sunday evening in the summertime, held at 7.30pm so as not to interfere with other services in the village, and the little church was packed to capacity. Rev. Carr-Gregg himself loved to play the violin, and liked to have the opportunity to play-on any occasion, as he did when some of us entertained the senior citizens of the village.

Rev. Carr-Gregg also organised a group of Bell Ringers, and held Fetes in his garden to raise money for the church. But in a quieter way he was a much-loved pastor. I remember being in the home of my grandmother Jaques shortly after her death, when Mr. Carr-Gregg called, knelt by a chair and led the family in prayer, a moment I shall never forget.

Rev. Carr-Gregg was greatly ahead of his time in his wish for Church Unity. He would always welcome the Methodist Carol Singers to his home and ask them to sing his favourite hymns, afterwards always giving a very generous donation out of his very meagre income. He would also always welcome Methodist children who collected for Missions, and would never fail to produce half-a-crown, which was generous indeed in those pre-war days.

In his latter years he became rather a sad figure, living alone in his rambling rectory and traveling to Louth almost every day to get his meals, but many people in the village who really understood him, know that it was he, and not his extrovert, wife, who was really outstanding. I am told that, on his death, one person remarked, "If any man was ever ready to meet his Maker", it is Rev. Carr-Gregg.

NORMAN BORRILL.

"SOLOBY"(Part. 3.) July 1980

The Ayscoughs were a family long resident in Soloby, but now the village knows them no more. Harry, a great hefty fellow, was a horse-breaker, a profession that has declined with the use of the horse. Harry had a rival in the village, who was also in the horse-breaking business. One day, these two gentlemen had a heated argument, after which Harry's rival accused him of assault, whereupon Harry duly received a summons to appear at the Police Court in Louth. Here the plaintiff accused Harry of having struck him. "Did you say that I hit you?" queried Harry, "Yes, You did,” said the plaintiff. "Man! " said Harry, "If I had hit you, you would not be here now!" Harry had an elder brother Tom, who was an even larger edition of Harry. Tom joined the London Metropolitan Police Force; in those days, the London Metropolitan Police were also in charge of all the Royal Dockyards, and, after a period of service in London, members of the Force were allowed, if they so wished, to volunteer for service on one of these docks. Tom applied for a transfer to Sheerness. Here, pubs were plentiful and sailors their main clients. At closing time, most constables would look in and give a polite reminder that it was time to drink up and get moving, but not so Tom, who loved a fight. He would stalk into a pub and order the so-and-sos to get out, or he would put them out. Instantly there would be an uproar, whilst big Tom would try to be as good as his word; but eventually the sailors would get him down, whereupon he would be kicked unmercifully and finally have to be rescued by his fellow constables. When Tom Ayscough retired, these riots proved to have shortened his days.

Another local lad joined the London Metropolitan Force after serving his time in the Life Guards, Tom Philips, a complete contrast to the other Tom. Tall, handsome, polite and efficient, he soon gained promotion in the London Police; he was eventually made Chief Inspector of the Force at Marlborough House, at that time the residence of Queen Alexandra. When Tom came to retire, his little cottage at Manby was full of valuable presents, which he had received from Royalty. Ordinarily a big and massive fellow, on his retirement Tom put on weight, tipping the scale at over twenty stones. He attributed this to obliging his wife, who, if there were any leftovers after a meal, would say, "Just finish this up for me Tom."

In my boyhood days, before the First World War, I used to stay at Manby with a school friend, the late Mr. F. W. Borrill. Here I got to know a lot of people both in Manby and Grimoldby. When the Borrills moved to South Cockerington Grange, I also spent a lot of time there. On Sunday evenings it was the custom of the family to attend the little chapel at West End, Saltfleetby. Here, one Sunday evening, I remember an amusing incident. The clock, which hung on the wall over the choir not far from the pulpit, had rather a loud strike. The preacher; who usually finished his sermon about 7 o'clock, would wait a moment when the clock began to strike. On this particular occasion, after the stroke of seven the clock kept on - after a while the preacher sat down. Automatically I had been counting, the congregation began to smile, the younger ones to laugh (naturally to them it was a huge joke). On the stroke of eighty-seven the old clock decided to call it a day, and stopped. After this episode the striker was never again wound up! Many years ago there used to be a smallholding on the right-hand side of the Louth Road, at a spot almost where the dykes ended and the hedges began. This was known as Hedge-ends, not so distinguishable today, as many of the hedges have gone. One day, the villagers were surprised to hear the rumour that the smallholder's wife was a Spanish Countess in her own right and had been left an estate in Spain, where she would have to go if she wished to claim it. We never knew what actually happened, the lady did not go to Spain, but apparently all was settled amicably and the family eventually left the village. - Just a nine days' wonder.

"SOLOBY" (Part. 4.) Aug. 1980

About the turn of the century, Mr. Tames ‘Jimmy’ Staples purchased some land and built the place we know as Orchard House at Saltfleetby St. Peter's. At the rear of the house he planted a large orchard and laid out market gardens. A staunch Primitive Methodist, Jimmy would be seen making his way to the Chapel on Sunday morning, resplendent in a, silk topper and frock coat to match. Jimmy's first family were all boys. After losing his first wife, Jimmy married again and his second family were a bevy of lovely girls. Soon after the first World War Jimmy moved to Mablethorpe where he had property which included another market garden, his house here had the unusual name of Strawberry Bank.

The 1930's saw the phasing out of an age-old office in Soloby; the office of Dikereeve. In the year 869 the Saxon king Ethelred, elder brother of Alfred the Great, established the office of Reeves in England. These were Port Reeve (Harbour Master), Tun Reeve (Weights & Measures), Dikereeve (Drainage officer, &. Shirereeve (Officer responsible for law and order in the County.) Of all these offices it is interesting to note that only that of Dikereeve survived to function in the capacity for which it was originally intended. The office of Shirereeve, corrupted to Sheriff, is still in operation, but is now merely an honorary office. Mr. John Taylor, from whom I borrowed the Dikereevre Minute Book, was the last person to hold this ancient office in 1938.

The Main Road was known as a turnpike and was maintained by a system of toll bars where a set rate was charged for the different kinds of traffic. Prior to the last war, there were milestones on the right hand side of the road; these were made of iron, replacing those of stone, which were so ancient as to be almost undecipherable. This was the only road in the Marsh where I have seen milestones, which, in a sense, proves its antiquity.

In my youthful days I knew an old gentleman who claimed he could tell the Soloby accent anywhere. Mr. Jepson was born at Grimoldby, but as a commercial traveller, he went far a field. He told me how he knew the Soloby accent in the old days. He said the villagers used the long A more than in any other part of the county. He demonstrated with the words caake, baake, baacon, daay, and many other similar words.

However, I considered the standard of education in Saltfleetby was well above the average in those early days, especially in the three R's. For many years the two Miss' Wrights were in charge of the school, and set a high standard. In 1907, they had a terrible experience. A freak hurricane struck the schoolhouse and school. Most of the roof was torn off, both gable-ends blown in. Fortunately it was a Saturday afternoon and no children were around. Some of the slates were embedded in the gateposts; such was the force of the wind. The Miss Wrights took lodgings in Mablethorpe and made the journey daily by train to Soloby until the premises were rebuilt. I believe the school was held in the East End Methodist schoolroom for the time being.

J. BELL

TOP