Echoes from the past

I have found that in the 10 months since becoming a volunteer steward, my appreciation of human history associated with heritage sites in the county has developed. Returning from a day out in the Lincolnshire Wolds with a friend, we approached a church, conspicuous by its elevated position on the brow of a hill. We decided to take a closer look.

Having a keen eye for details in the landscape, my friend drew to my attention the route of a former pathway through the churchyard which would have lead to the church, still distinguishable even after many years of disuse. The route had been replaced by a newer side entry to the churchyard, more convenient for people arriving at the church by car. Standing at the church door and looking back to the old pathway, it became clear that the path joined a track over fields (still a public right of way) down the escarpment to a nearby hamlet of less than 20 homes. I suddenly became aware of how central church life would have been to communities such as this in times gone by.

I further reflected that for hundreds of years, twice every Sunday and on other Holy days, in good weather and bad, whole families would have used this route to the church. I imagined the scene when families would have processed excitedly up the hill to attend a marriage and after the service, made their way back to a wedding feast in the village, perhaps celebrating late into the night!

In contrast, I could imagine families, sombrely dressed, arriving at the church, having followed the cortege and paying their last respects to a friend or family member at a funeral service. I thought of other human activities that would have centred upon the church: the children who would have been required to dress in their “Sunday” clothes for their visit to church and to be on their best behaviour throughout the service, which would presumably have included a lengthy sermon!

The lack of heating in the church during winter must have made attendance at a service even more of a challenge for children and adults alike. Surveying churches with box and family – designated pews has reminded me of the strict hierarchy that would have been an accepted part of church life in times past. Benefactors of the church would have been seated at the front of the church with the poorer congregation occupying the rear pews or even standing throughout the service. The old church suddenly became for me a living testament to times gone by, symbolising as it did, the faith and hopes of families of the area.

In systematically surveying old buildings and churches as a Heritage Steward I believe it is important from time to time to remind myself that these fascinating old buildings, with their impressive architecture and skilful craftsmanship are more than mere structures.

Through my volunteer work for the Trust I feel I am developing a keener appreciation and respect for the human past that these noble buildings represent. A chance observation by my friend that day brought to our attention an old route to the church, forgotten by most. Its uphill route graphically demonstrated the effort that would have been involved in attending church and the commitment that this community once had in maintaining its faith throughout all seasons of the year.

Colin, Heritage Steward

An architectural gem

My first year as a Heritage Steward is coming to an end and I want to share with everyone my discovery of the jewel in our Lincolnshire heritage crown. Ellys Manor House, Great Ponton, near Grantham.

Between 1500 and 1520 the Ellys family of rich Hanseatic wool merchants built an imposing new home of Ancaster limestone. They chose to have the inside walls of the upper rooms covered with paintings of trees, animals, birds and foliage. Pevsner has described these as “the most complete, extensive and important domestic decoration of this date in the country."

500 years later it is still possible to stand and marvel at these glorious scenes painted by those medieval artists. There have been some changes over the centuries, including the use of the house as a rectory, but it is still owned by a family dedicated to preserving this wonderful unique part of our Lincolnshire heritage. Ellys Manor House is a treasure whose paintings are at risk and need our support.

Celia, Heritage Steward

To find out more about Ellys Manor House visit http://www.ellysmanorhouse.com

Conservation Areas

Much of this week has been taken up with preparing information on all of Lincolnshire's 163 Conservation Areas. This information is needed for our updated website so that our Heritage Stewards will have some information to help them complete their Conservation Area surveys. It is hoped that our Heritage Stewards will download the information, and a map, from our website that they will then be able to take out into the field.

Lincolnshire contains a plethora of Conservation Areas, all of which are unique. Many cover historic cores of rural villages but the County also contains Conservation Areas covering a a variety of interesting sites including: a former lunatic asylum (Rauceby Hospital), a glimpse of Victorian rural industry (Heckington Station) and “the English country market town par excellence" (Stamford). Stamford is of great interest not just because it contains over 430 Listed Buildings but also because it is England's very first Conservation Area - designated in 1967. The project has a fantastic group of volunteers in Stamford and it is likely that they will have to continue to tackle the town together to complete the Conservation Area survey.

There is no such thing as a 'typical' Conservation Area (which will make surveying them very challenging). 'Lincoln -The Dell' is less than a hectare (i.e. smaller than a football field) while Louth is over 140 times as large! Some contain hundreds of listed buildings such as Stamford (433), Boston (226) and Lincoln Cathedral (312) while others contain none - Stamford Northfields, Dawsmere and Fleet Fen.

We, alongside Lincoln City Council, have provided specialist Conservation Area for our Heritage Stewards and we will be planning more in the future (keep an eye on http://www.lincshar.org/events-training). These types of survey will involve additional research and reading and, of course, they will take much longer to complete than a normal building survey. I'm looking forward to doing a few of my own when time allows as it will be a great way of gaining a much more in-depth knowledge of certain site around the county.

Michael, Heritage at Risk Project Officer

Completing my first Heritage at Risk survey

To complete my first building survey as a Heritage Steward, I first needed to select my building. To start a survey, the Heritage Steward can use the map on the Heritage at Risk website to select a building of their choice.

Zooming in on Lincoln, I ‘clicked’ on a few buildings with which I was already familiar. It was clear there were several other stewards working in Lincoln and a good number of surveys had been completed. However, there were still plenty left to do. Clearly, the city is rich in heritage.

As the Cathedral had already been surveyed, I decided a slightly smaller building would be a good place to start my Heritage Steward career. I chose a Victorian railway building I had walked past many times and not really noticed before.

The survey is intended to be a rapid assessment of the building’s condition. It took about ten minutes to look round, makes a few notes and take some photos.

Back at the computer, I filled in the online form using the guidelines from the induction training course, selecting five of my photos to include. Although I was unfamiliar with the process, the system was easy to use and, in another 40 minutes, I had submitted the form. My first Heritage and Risk building survey was complete.

Karen, Heritage Steward