Lincolnshire Places and People

Lincolnshire churches are quite stunning and varied.

Lincolnshire people are indeed unique – I should know, being one of them!

I sometimes think we do suffer from being ‘in-betweenies’, that is neither northern or southern. Well, the simple answer to that is that we are East Midlanders, of course.

I certainly don’t mind being called a ‘yellowbelly’ and, in all honesty, my part of the county in the south is admittedly extremely flat.

That said, I am very fond of the north of Lincolnshire; the Wolds are gorgeous, reaching as high as 500 feet around Normanby le Wold, and the coast has some of the finest beaches you will ever see.

But perhaps one of the greatest glories of Lincolnshire as a whole, is the quality and diversity of our ecclesiastical heritage. The range of churches is stunning and the county town of Lincoln has, in my opinion, the best cathedral in the whole of England.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

Captain Matthew Flinders to return home to Lincolnshire

australia traveling travelling travel — Photo by Catarina Sousa on Pexels.com

Captain Matthew Flinders (1774 – 1814), the English navigator and cartographer who successfully circumnavigated Australia, is to be reburied in his home village of Donington, Lincolnshire. He is also credited with the naming of Australia, or Terra Australis, changing it from New Holland.

Ever since his remains were discovered in Euston in London recently, during excavations in a burial ground for the HS2 project, there has been speculation about where his final resting place would be.

Although a Lincolnshire man, it’s probably true that Flinders is even more famous on the other side of the world in Australia, where many places bear his name. Adelaide for example, capital of South Australia, even has a university named after him.

Bearing this in mind, it is perhaps no surprise that there has been much debate about where he should be reburied. However, probably the most logical resolution, and one certainly supported by his descendants and the Donington community, was to allow his remains to be interred in his home church of Saint Mary and the Holy Rood, the final resting place of other members of his family.

A recent picture from a flower festival inside Saint Mary and the Holy Rood church in Donington, Lincolnshire.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7581935/Captain-Matthew-Flinders-remains-reburied-home-village-HS2-dig.html

England’s Heritage: The Collegiate Church of Holy Trinity, Tattershall, Lincolnshire

The incredibly beautiful 15th century Collegiate Church of Holy Trinity in the village of Tattershall in central Lincolnshire.

To my mind it is one of the best examples of English Perpendicular architecture anywhere.

At various times in history, the church has fallen into disrepair but has been restored, even preserving a colony of three species of bats within its structure!

The major advantage of the massive Perpendicular windows is the great amount of light let in.

words and photographs copyright Francis Barker 2019

England’s Heritage in Photos: Pinchbeck Church of Saint Mary, Lincolnshire

Pinchbeck is a large village in the south of Lincolnshire, which has a very impressive church.

Older gravestones moved to the side of the graveyard.

England’s Heritage in Photos: Crowland Abbey Flower Festival, Lincolnshire

Recently, there was a flower festival in Crowland Abbey church in the extreme south of the county of Lincolnshire. The theme was decades over the past one hundred years.