THE RIVER TRENT AT GAINSBOROUGH

Many years ago the River Trent was the last view I had of Gainsborough, as with my family I started the long journey to a new home in Sydney, so it seemed fitting that when I returned to the town in 1985, it was the River Trent that first welcomed me back again.

I had turned off the A1 at Bawtry and soon saw all the familiar names of the small villages as I headed towards Trent Bridge and it wasn't long before I was making the left hand turn into Bridge Street....it wasn't long, too, before memories gave way to reality ! Where was the Co-op, Silver Street and the Market Place ? Before I knew it, I was approaching Ropery Road but I couldn't see Rose Bros anywhere. However I soon got my bearings and arrived at my uncle's home with no further problems.

The Riverside has certainly changed. This is a photograph of how it used to look.



My next visit was in 2005 and this time I was well prepared for all the changes after reading the comments in the Gainsborough OnLine forum. It was good to meet up with some of the members there and find that although we had never met, we were good friends.....and this time I had a really good camera so here are a few photographs from this visit and also from another one I made in 2007. There are so many photographs that I will start with the Trent in this posting and continue with other parts of the town in later entries.

Approaching the Bridge, Trentport presents an attractive entrance to the town from this direction.


The Bridge is a little different to when I lived here - no stone balustrades.


Looking towards where Lea Road School used to be - the building is still there but it is no longer a school.


My thanks to Jack for the two photographs below.




The old downrun riverfront is now on its way to becoming an asset to the town, I only hope that bureaucracy doesn't ruin it for everyone !









A view from across the River of some new and not so new buildings.


The power station was something new since we left, too.


The River is no where near as busy as it used to be but you still get the occasional barge pottering along....


.....and if you are lucky, you sometimes see a whole parade of vessels.



The one thing I really wanted to photograph was the aegir but in spite of checking the times in the local newspapers, it was the wrong time of the year for a really good one.


While I was definitely there in plenty of time, all I saw was a gradual increase in the flow of the water which didn't even cause a ripple let alone a full blown surge of water....




...so I will have to make do with the one below.


At least I saw some spectacular sunsets.



There will be another part of Gainsborough featured in the next posting - hopefully coming up soon.

THE SMALLER GEMS OF LINCOLNSHIRE

St. Edith's Church, Coates.

Not far from the Saxon St. Mary's Minster at Stow, hidden away on a farm at Coates, is the tiny Church of St. Edith which dates from the late 12th Century. It may be hidden away on a farm but it is still a place of worship on the second Sunday of each month.

Unusually for such a small church, it has two bells in the Bellcote which was added during the Georgian era.



The entry to the church is through the Norman doorway with its saw toothed arch above it C.1200.


Once inside the church, the wooden carvings of the Chancel and the Rood Loft, which date from around the 15th Century and are the only ones left in Lincolnshire, can be seen. These were restored by J.L. Pearson in 1883/4. Originally, the wood at the back of the Rood Loft would have shown an image of Christ Crucified with the Virgin Mary on one side and St. John on the other. Unfortunately, these were obliterated at the time of the Reformation with only the head of the Virgin still visible today.


Access to the Rood Loft is by a staircase built into the wall of the Church which is lit by a small window.


I wonder just how many babies have been christened at this Norman Tub Font ?


One of the features of the Church is this medieval pulpit which was reportedly rescued from a barn and restored by J. L. Pearson in his sensitive restoration of 1883/4 - fortunately he avoided the excesses of a lot of restorers of this time.



The memorial to William Butler, who died in 1590, and his wife Elizabeth, with their only child, Priscilla, who died in infancy.



This memorial was for Charles Butler and his wife, Douglass Tyrwhit, together with their 8 children - all named. They were Thomas, Antonius, Carolus, Guilielmus, Ioannes, Helena, Martha and another Helena. The three children holding a skull in their hands (Carolus, Ioannus and Helena) all died before their parents.




Hanging on the wall at the back of the church are the carved wooden Arms of Charles I, which incredibly survived the Civil War of Cromwell's time, probably because St. Edith's was hidden away in a remote part of Lincolnshire.

One story I was told about the pews was that one day a horse managed to wander inside the church but once in, the door was blown to and he couldn't get out again. The damage to the backrests on the pews was caused by him gnawing away at the wood.


Some further links to information about St. Edith's Church can be found below:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50887#s2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tudorbarlow/2316921158/

www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/churchesfestival/section.asp?catId=952

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stow,_Lincolnshire

http://www.destinations-uk.com/articles.php?link=articles&country
=england&id=73

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E3D81E3EF933A
05751C1A9679C8B63&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=all

St. Margaret's Church, Waddingworth.

I haven't been able to find out a lot of information of the history of this church only that it was rebuilt in 1807 and that the Parish Register dates from around 1640.

This gravestone in the aisle of the church covers the remains of Sir Edward Dymoke, son of Edward Dymoke the Champion of England, who died on April 29th, 1729. The remains of his daughter, Abigail, who died on March 22nd, 1708, are also interred here.



This looks to be a very old Font but once again I cannot find any information about it.



The wooden ceiling of the church has been built without using any nails at all.


In the church grounds, the board tells us that Waddingworth is reputed to be at the very centre of Lincolnshire......


......and that the stone next to it was the base for a 14th Century stone Cross.

The Friends of St. Margaret's are planning to restore the Cross by setting the stone on a plinth.

St. Olaf's Church, Ruckland.

While the present church was built in 1885 of sandstone, the first church on this site was probably build between 1030 and 1086. It is one of the smallest churches in Lincolnshire seating only 40 people. It was originally dedicated to St. Olave (alternatively St. Olaf).

The Directory issued by White's in 1872 calls the church St. Clare's but this was corrected to St. Olaf's in the Kelly Directory of 1900.

Once again I have been unable to find out much about this church or the original Saxon one of the same name, only that the Church Register dates from 1757 and includes some entries from the Worlaby Parish.






Situated about 6 miles south of Louth, take the A15 trunk road south out of Louth or north from Spilsby and then turn west at Burwell and proceed about one mile to the village.


The countryside around the church belies the reputation of Lincolnshire being a flat and uninteresting County as the church is situated in the rolling hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds.

There are so many small churches in Lincolnshire with fascinating histories and I hope to find out more information about them on my future visits to the County.

All Saints Parish Church, Gainsborough.

This is far from being a small Church but since Gainsborough was where I was born and this church being where I was confirmed, I simply could not leave it out !

According to the Domesday Book in 1086, there was no church in Gainsborough and the first one was built in 1209 by the Knights Templar. In 1540, there was a stone chapel and an old wooden chapel near the Trent. The stone chapel was taken down from around 1736 to 1748 and while the tower, dating from the 14th Century, was left in place, the church itself was rebuilt in a more modern style and named All Saints. It was renovated and restored in 1864 in the style of the Victorian era and the windows were condemned by the English architect, George Bodley, as being atrocious ! He then proceeded to design his own windows for a side chapel which other people have said are equally atrocious !

The most recent renovations were carried out in 1967-8 by Lawrence Bond.

On my next visit to Gainsborough I will have to take some photographs of the inside of the church but in the meantime these photographs of the All Saints Church will lead nicely into my next post, coming up shortly, about Gainsborough itself.