Holy Cross House was between High Street and Old Lincoln Road in Caythorpe, with the back of the house opposite South Parade and the Spar shop. It was approached by a drive along at what is now Holy Cross Gardens. It was believed to have been built in the early 17th century, with a parapet and extra windows added later. Lt Col Edmund Royds and his wife Rachel (daughter of Col Fane of Fulbeck Hall) lived at Holy Cross from 1900 to 1920 after having had a larger Queen Anne style wing added to the building. In 1944 the 1st Airborne Signals Regiment was based in and around Caythorpe prior to the attack on Arnhem and used Holy Cross House as their Headquarters. After the war, Holy Cross was bought by John William Oxby, a district councillor. In 1949 he sold one of the outhouses to the village for £2,000 to use a war memorial hall (now village hall). Oxby seems to have rented the house out, until his death in 1959. In March 1961 the property was sold off (see newspaper extract). And around 1963 construction of the Holy Cross housing estate began in the grounds and the house […]
How did people in local villages get about in 1873? Roads Apart from the A1, the local road network in the 1870s wasn’t that different to today. Originally, they’d been maintained by each parish, but the 1862 Highways Act had transferred the responsibility for most roads to the County Surveyor. Roads would have been made using (to some degree) Macadam techniques, such as medium-sized stones at the bottom and smaller stones on top. They’d be dusty in dry weather as they wouldn’t have been sealed with tar (tar-macadam, i.e. ‘tarmac’) until the 20th century. People without their own horse would have relied on the railway (see below) or local carriers. The latter were men with horse-drawn wagons who provided a regular service, usually just on market days, from the villages to the towns, and then back later the same day. A better service than many villages enjoy today; and they always dropped off and collected at a pub! In 1873 the carriers to/from Grantham (and their drop off point) included: Barkston – Mr Shelbourn (Saturdays, Fox & Hounds) Brant Broughton– Mr Peck (Saturdays, Fox & Hounds) Caythorpe – Mr Codd (Saturdays, Blue Pig) / Mr Baker (Daily, Angel and Royal) […]
We had a look for what was happening in the area in January 1873, 150 years ago. This story appeared in the Grantham Journal on 1st Feb 1873. Richard Morley (1818-1897) was a farmer, living at the Old Hall in Leadenham. He was also the steward for Colonel Reeve of Leadenham House. Richard and his wife Anne had 9 children. Their 14-year-old daughter in the story was Mary Gertrude Morley, born in Bassingham in 1858. She did not marry, but became a self-employed midwife, qualifying with the London Obstetrical Society in 1899 and the Midwives Roll 5 years later. On the 1901 census she was looking after the wife of a Tynemouth shipowner. In 1911 she was caring for a vicar’s baby in London. She retired to Bede House, a block of 1930s apartments on Putney Hill, London. She died in Putney in 1948, aged 90.
On about 16th April 2019 the lead was stolen from the chancel roof at All Saints Church, Hough on the Hill. The PCC is assessing the damage and appealing to the local community to be vigilant about the lead remaining on the church. Any suspicious activity in the vicinity of the church should be reported to the Police on 999 or 101 as appropriate. Or alert the church wardens, Jill Lewis and John Lord.
A ‘beacon of light’ was lit on the Lincoln edge near Hough on the Hill at 7pm on 11th November as part of the Battle’s Over events marking the centenary of the end of the Great War.
A ceremony was held outside Belton Church on 11th November to re-dedicate the newly restored war memorial plaque and gates. A number of relatives of the Belton men who served in the Great War attended.
Fibre-to-the-Property (FTTP) broadband is set to go live in Brandon on 28 Nov. It should be available to order a few days later, with internet speeds of up to 330Mbps. Not all providers do FTTP and the provider/comparison websites cannot show prices or accept orders until the system is live. Lincolnshire Council plan to provide high speed broadband to remaining properties as soon as possible. In the meantime, relatively high speed broadband is available from www.jhcs.com or www.ineedbroadband.co.uk. More information at Onlincolnshire.
The main road through Brandon is due to get a 40 mph speed limit later this year. We’re expecting more details of when the signs will be installed soon (last update Oct 2018).