2002

No. 47 : Spring 2002

Freda Starbuck (of Market Rasen) and her legacy of Photographs - Rosalind Boyce
A brief history of Scredington - John Porter
A letter from France (by Captain Harry Thornalley, 1891-1917, of Burgh le Marsh) - Brian Thornalley
The Captain's Bell (John Adams, 1854-1927, captain of the Try, sloop from Saltfleet) - John Adams
Short Items: graffito, Metheringham Church; Gunworth Ferry near Castor, Peterborough; Coronation sluice gates, Spalding; Caythorpe Court; C19 paving of Sleaford streets.

No. 48 : Summer 2002

How Lincolnshire Celebrated Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee - Ken Redmore
Extracts from The Lincolnshire Chronicle of June 1887 describe the amusing and varied Jubilee celebrations in Lincoln and other communities in Victorian Lincolnshire. Includes a photograph of Lincoln worthies at a suitably bedecked Newport Roman Arch.
A letter to Rev Richard Fawssett from his mother Charlotte, 1833 - John Fawssett
A letter dated 1833 from the author’s great-great-grandmother, a respectable doctor’s widow of Horncastle, reveals a mother’s anxiety about her daughter’s proposed marriage. The author is able to deal with some but not all of the intriguing questions raised by this document.
How I found Sheath’s Bank (an important C18 bank in Boston) - Neil Wright
The author uses his considerable knowledge of early nineteenth-century Boston to track down the location of a small banking business founded by the Sheaths, who were also timber merchants, ship owners and landowners. In the process we learn much about the commercial centre of this important Lincolnshire town.
World War I Hangars at Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln - Charles Parker
A description, with photographs, of the last original and unique Belfast truss hangars, which were demolished in September 2001 despite their Grade II Iisting and widespread local opposition. On this site, close to Lincoln’s southern boundary, aircraft were assembled or repaired and flown during both World Wars.
Gainsborough Riverside Walk (the industrial archaeology) - Andrew Crabtree
An illustrated description of the historic buildings and sites along the River Trent at Gainsborough. This account of the development and later decline of a Lincolnshire port ends on an optimistic note about the current huge waterfront regeneration project and the introduction of recreational rivercraft.
The sounds of Grantham, early C20 - Peter Stevenson
An evocative and colourful account of the street noises of Grantham in the inter-war years of the author’s youth. The identification - and description - of sounds emanating from vehicles (trains, cars, lorries, horse and carts, cycles, planes) as well as men and animals, paints an attractive and nostalgic picture.
Hill House, Bracebridge Heath (built 1934) - Peter Young
The author’s former home in Bracebridge Heath from1963 until 1999 stands on a site once owned by Colonel Charles de Laet Waldo Sibthorpe, Lincoln’s notoriously eccentric MP in the mid-nineteenth-century. (Sibthorpe hated foreigners and was an implacable opponent of the early railways.) We read an account of the development of the house from its construction in 1933 to the present day.
St Gilbert and St Hugh CE Church, Gosberton Clough
A photograph and brief description of this fine 1902-04 building which has recently been restored. It is timber-framed, with brick chancel, rendered walls, and Collyweston slated roof.
Short Items Allotments in Binbrook, 1877; lantern slides of Lincolnshire, 1898; obituary for Ronald Drury; MBE for Dr John Ketteringham, local historian and author.

No. 49 : Autumn 2002

A Note on an 1895 Advertisement for a Nostrum (wind pills by Page Woodcock of Lincoln) - Peter Richards
Points are made about the advertising, labelling and pricing of patent medicines100 years ago. An account of the career of Page Woodcock, a Lincoln chemist and Methodist, who manufactured and sold 'wind pills'.
Lincolnshire Books: a Library Publishing Programme - Eleanor Nannestad
For 25 years the Lincolnshire Library Service has produced books on the County written by its staff and local authors. A note of the outstanding titles from this wide-ranging collection.
Memories of Mablethorpe - J E Swaby
The author, a substantial contributor to Lincolnshire local history, recalls his time as Rector of Mablethorpe for 7 years in the 1950s. His first day in the resort in 1953 immediately followed the disastrous East Coast flood.
A Nostalgic Evening - Pearl Wheatley
An account of celebrations for Woodhall Spa’s Kinema-in-the-Woods’ 80th anniversary and the launch of the book telling the story of this unique cinema.
The M.O.’s Report - transcription of a document - Douglas Boyce
The Medical Officer of the 8th Lincolnshire Regiment reports from the trenches in the summer of 1916. Casualties had been high and there serious problems moving the wounded away from battle area.
Factory Hooters - Peter Stephenson
A graphic account of the complex range of hooters that punctuated the working day when Grantham’s industries flourished between the wars.
The Louth, Mablethorpe and Sutton Permanent Building Society - Tony E Merriman
A history of this small society from incorporation in 1877 to take over in 1991. This is also the story of local business men involved with the construction of the Louth and East Coast Railway seeking to stimulate development in the area. Throughout its century of existence it remained essentially a local institution, run by and for the community.
Statute or Hiring Fairs in Lincolnshire - C T Mackinder
The tradition of hiring domestic and farm servants at annual events in Lincoln and elsewhere in the County is examined. A range of useful information about both employer and employee is included in the records held at Lincolnshire Archives. There are also contemporary newspaper reports of these colourful annual gatherings.
The City of Boston? - John Beckett
Based on local and national documents this is an account of the unsuccessful - and little publicised - bid made by the Corporation of Boston to acquire city status in 1945.
Obituary - Fred Felstead of Bourne, aged 73, professional signwriter, local historian, book collector and amateur photographer.

No. 50 : Winter 2002/03

Clayton, Shuttleworth & Co – early successes and a strike - Neville Birch
Describes the early days of this Lincoln firm's manufacture of portable steam engines (later they were the world's leaders) and an early dispute over pay and working conditions. Also a list of customers in 1850.
John Wray (1776-1851): Vicar of Bardney, 1806-1851 - June Benton
Wray, son of a former Bardney schoolmaster, took the living of the village and proceeded to bankrupt himself by re-building the vicarage and extensively restoring the church. A fascinating account of his attempt to avoid penury and imprisonment.
Shop Blinds - Peter Stevenson
A short piece recalling these ubiquitous, attractive and useful features of yesterday's shopping street.
Childhood Memories of Grantham - C Ayre
Personal recollections of the home and lifestyle of writer's grandparents in the 1940s and 50s. A vivid picture is also painted of the streets of Grantham.
Digging at Old Seaford - a letter from Margaret Jones, 1960
Margaret Jones was the joint leader of the archaeological dig at Old Sleaford, which identified a medieval church and found famous Iron Age coin moulds. The letter, written in a lively personal style is addressed to Dr Dorothy Owen.
George Tennyson and the Clergy Daughters' School - Jim Murray
Describes the association of George Tennyson (grandfather of Alfred) and William Gray of York and how both had links with Casterton Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale, school for daughters of impoverished clergymen and, famously, attended by the Bronte sisters.
News from New Zealand: Colonial Secretary Alerted - Brian T Thornalley
Account of the author's family from the Burgh/Wainfleet area and in particular of Samuel (1835-1881) whose untimely accidental death in a gravel pit near Auckland led to a lengthy inquest and ultimately action by the Colonial Secretary to prevent similar accidents in the future.
Coal in Lincolnshire - Les Gostik
A brief account of trial digging in 1798 at Quarrington, near Sleaford, giving the constituents of the various strata to a depth of 479 feet. Excellent potable water was produced, but no coal.
Short items: Great Tom (Lincoln, St Paul's); photographs of council housing; the Coronation Channel, Spalding; Page Woodcock, Lincoln pharmacist; Lincolnshire folklore and customs.
Obituary: Jim English of Gainsborough author and local historian, who gave valuable service to Lincolnshire Libraries, Lincolnshire Methodist History Society, SLHA, Friends of Gainsborough Old Hall and the annual Brackenbury Event.