Wills and Continuity in the Sandall Family WHEN WE THINK of inheritance in eighteenth-century rural England, we often imagine little more than the passing of possessions after death. But the wills left behind by members of the Sandal family of Rippingale suggest something altogether more deliberate. These highly-informative documents reveal ordinary villagers thinking strategically about …
The Story of Jack Wand MBE I WAS BORN in the same south Lincolnshire village in which Jack Wand opened his first shop. As a child, I must have passed that modest storefront countless times — on my way to junior school, or when accompanying my mum on errands to the nearby Co-op — never …
IN THE COURSE of tracing my paternal family through the fenland parishes of south Lincolnshire, one crude, recurrent declaration stood out above all others: Occupation: Ag-Lab. Two blunt syllables. Generation after generation, the same entry appears in parish registers and census returns. Agricultural labourer. Not farmer. Not landowner. Not even cottager. But labourer. It is …
THE NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE landscape is quiet now—the fields of Stallingborough stretch calmly toward the Humber, as its lanes wind sedately through the village. It is hard to imagine that this peaceful parish once gave rise to a woman whose unflinching courage challenged the very foundations of Tudor power. Anne Askew, born not far from these …
The UK is rightly known throughout the world for its rich and varied patterns of hedgerows, a part of our cultural and landscape heritage which ranks alongside great cathedrals, quaint villages and spectacular coastlines. Hedgelink.org.uk Since discovering the Pickwalks Facebook page recently, aside from prompting me to up my litter-picking game in and around my …
Among the recent posts on the Canoe River Cleaner's Facebook page - all of which are notable in some measure - one in particular has been especially emotive. In keeping with the overriding mission of Jim Elliott (Mr Canoe himself) the subject was wayside litter and its removal. The post centred on one local volunteer …
Yesterday, my wife, Julie, and I decided to take advantage of the spring sunshine and go for a walk. Well, actually, it was to be a multi-purpose event. There would be the enjoyable ramble in nature, of course, but this would be combined with some birdwatching, and a litter-pick, too. Having filled six bags last …
For the better part of three years I have been meeting, each month, with a group of friends in a small village in central Lincolnshire. This midmost spot was chosen due to the group’s widespread distribution - attendees travel in from their respective homes in all three of the county’s sub-divisions, Lindsey, Kesteven and Holland; …
More than forty volunteers assembled behind a public house in Scartho recently, intent on planting thirty trees. As they braved the seemingly ever-present North Sea breezes, spades in hand, they were not only doing something pretty amazing for the environment in their small corner of the world, they were maintaining this region’s long-standing eco-philosophy, the …
A recent group walk at the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds, a couple of miles outside Grimsby, was an ideal opportunity to spend valuable time in nature by inspecting the source of the River Freshney. The event became so much more, however. For here, history, ancient culture and folklore came together, right where the Freshney's …
RAVEN MOON 