The things you learn!

On the most basic level people enjoy historic buildings because of the way they look. They can be works of art but they can also be striking in their obedience to utilitarianism; "form follows function". There is a fascination with the way these assets were built and the architectural styles that were employed especially when gazing at our wonderful collection of medieval ecclesiastical creations. Historic buildings can be, at the same time, both similar and yet extraordinarily different.

Yet, for many, it is the quiet untold stories that can, sometimes by chance, be heard on a visit to even the most innocuous 'building'. Today I carried out a Lincolnshire Heritage at Risk survey on the south gates and screen of Belton Park. Despite their aesthetic qualities I expected very little in the way of 'learning' from these 18th century structures. After taking a few photographs I entered the park to take some photos of the northern side of the gates. The first thing I noticed was that the heraldic beasts faced into the park rather than to the outside as most modern 'heraldic' features do (such as kitsch concrete lions). Then there was the latin motto: "esse quam videri". Unfortunately I failed my Latin exams at university (although I knew it was something to do with looking) so a quick web-search gave me the translation - "to be, rather than to seem" a Ciceronian quote adopted by the Brownlow family who built and lived in Belton House for nigh on 300 years.

On leaving the park a turned to photograph a monument on the easterly pier, a monument to the Machine Gun Corps. The monument featured no names and so I wondered why this monument was found here. A little bit of Googling later and I discovered that the Machine Gun Corps, founded in 1915, had its first depot and training base at Belton Park. Most of this base was located on the site of what is now Belton Park Golf Club.

After Belton I, by chance, travelled the short distance to Londonthorpe to photograph the church of St John the Baptist. Making my way to the west end of the churchyard I was struck by a number of neatly aligned grave stones. On closer inspection I realised that these were war graves from WWI, 31 in total and 12 honouring men from the Machine Gun Corps. All died at the Cherry Orchard Military Hospital in Grantham that is now occupied by the Uplands Drive estate off Harrowby Lane.

It just goes to show how much can be learnt from our historic buildings.

Michael, Heritage at Risk Project Officer