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A wonderful story appeared in the March 1982 edition of Lincolnshire Life. It was written by Reginald Williams who was stationed at Blankney Hall during the war. He was there on that fateful night when the Hall burned down in July 1945 and he describes the scene in vivid detail. Fifteen years after he was de-mobbed from the RAF he returned to Blankney and the story of his visit evokes a roller coaster of memories and emotions. This remarkable story takes us back in time to what was probably the most important day in the history of Blankney.

It was a showery July morning when I arrived at Blankney village, fifteen years after I had left it to be demobbed from the RAF. Much of the village looked the same: the white railings at the crossroads, the school-house on the corner, and the telephone kiosk outside with the little cottage village post-office. Higher up the road between Lincoln and Sleaford was the entrance to the Park and golf course, the grass verges had been trimmed, with cottage gardens displaying their roses. These Tudor-style cottages, laid out by W. A. Nicholson in the 19th century, looked even tidier and cleaner than they had appeared when I was here fifteen years earlier.

Comments on MACLA Website about Nocton Hospital following the article published in the Summer 2009 issue

D. Newton said: I have just found your wonderful site. I did most of my national service cooking in the officers' mess. A lot of local civilians were employed in those days; they were lovely people. I used to go home every other weekend so I didn't get to know the area all that well. From the map I see the mess is still standing.

5077803 AC1 Hotson E said: I served at Nocton from 1960 to 1962 on Ward 7 and Ward 5. Group Captain Sidney was Station Commander. Group Captain Knipe was one of the Surgeons. Some of the Sisters were Williams, Pacival and Glover. My mates were Aberdeen Bob Leiper, Cuzz Mick Crossley, Bob Croft, Shaggy Bill Dunnet. I played Double Bass for The Bob Paterson Trio. Bob was the Camp Butcher who came from Bonnyrigg and supported Hearts. I have written my Life Story which include some of the incidents at Nocton. If we decide to go further; then I will need help from my Family Ian and Vicky. Cheers Eric the Viking

<First published in Rodney Garlant's blog - 'Blankney Journal' - 29 January 2009. Used with permission.>

In her book, Henry Chaplin a Memoir, his daughter The Marchioness of Londonderry writes, 'an old yellow sheet of paper has been preserved on which in faded ink is written , A List of the Company as they danced at the Masquerade at Blankney, the 9th January 1749'. Shortly before the masquerade Diana Chaplin had been married and it is thought the event may of been held in her honour. Her father Thomas Chaplin had died in 1747 and it was presumed his unmarried son John Chaplin, Diana's brother, hosted the occasion. Today's poem was written based on details from that faded piece of paper and accompanying notes.

This interactive representation of the Civil Parish Boundaries within the Metheringham Area is derived from data extracted from the Ordnance Survey Boundary Line dataset. The data is used in accordance with the OS Open Data Licence. The mapping interface is built using the Google Maps API

For Metheringham Civil Parish, this new map replaces the previous manually encoded one with definitive data from the Ordnance Survey.

A Short History of Metheringham's Market Cross from 1800 to present day,

It is believed there has been a village cross in Metheringham for over seven centuries. This said, it is not certain as to whether the present site is the original one or whether it used to be further down the High Street near to Drury Street, which in times gone by, was the "centre" of the village. There are no specific ideas as to what the original cross would have looked like but one has to believe it would have been somewhat basic in structure.

Metheringham Butter Cross - Pre 1911.

The part of the village now known as Cross Hill has without doubt been the location of the village cross since the early part of the 17th century as it is documented that, in about 1835, a "new" cross was erected at a cost of £25.00 to replace the old one. At this location a Saturday Market was held every week until possibly the 18th / 19th century. It was known as a Butter Market as this was the main product sold and the cross became known as the "Butter Cross."

This cross stood in the village centre for over 75 years until the early 1900s when it was replaced by a brand new one.

Stepping through Time in Metheringham
Saturday 15 May at 10.30am

Marking the halfway point on the Spires & Steeples Arts and Heritage Trail, Metheringham is steeped in history. To celebrate this, a fascinating leaflet has been produced, guiding you around the village to discover its history and fine historical artworks and newly refurbished stone cross.

To mark the launch of the leaflet, join North Kesteven's Countryside Promotion Officer, Theresa Hobbs and local historian, Alan Waddington on a walk around Metheringham to discover its hidden secrets!

To join this free event please book a place on 01522 694353 or email theresa.hobbs@leisureconnection.co.uk

Though there is little if no trace today, almost 900 years ago Nocton, like some one hundred other locations in Lincolnshire, had its own monastery.

The founder of Nocton Park Priory was the second lord of Nocton Hall, Robert D'Arcy, who had been heavily influenced by the monastic revival of King Henry 1st. At this time, back in the early years of the twelfth century, Robert, an understanding landlord, had realised the need for "education" and placed the churches of the two villages of Nocton and Dunston into the hands of the Benedictine Monks. He felt this was the best way forward for his "people" as these holy men, in the main, were the only ones able to read and write and thus pass on their knowledge.

Around 1118 Robert gifted around 300 acres of his Nocton estate to the Canons of the Order of St Augustine with the Cisterian Monks of Kirkstead the trustees. The Priory erected on what is known locally as Abbey Hill also had a convent built in close proximity but little, if nothing, is known of this. From its location on the hillside the monks had an unobstructed view across the fenland towards other priories situated at Tupholme and Bardney. The Priory was a seat of learning and human activity for over 400 years until Henry 8th launched his attack on England's monasteries on the implementing of the Dissolution of Monasteries Act in 1536.

This excellent blog, entitled A Blankney Journal by Rodney Garlant, has just come to our attention. As well as comments on day to day events Rodney has a good eye for quizzes, humour and trivia.

Rodney has been posting articles since January and there are hundreds of articles to browse through. One could usefully while away an entire day browsing Rodney's site. I know I did!

Currently Rodney is being very active in the blog posting 3 or 4 items most days.

This site is highly recommended viewing. Warning: it can be addictive!

Some of the older (January 2009) articles about Blankney include:

• Poem - Blankney Ghosts


• Poem - Blankney 1841


• Poem - Blankney Masquerade


• Return to Blankney - Part 1


• Return To Blankney - Part 2


• Return to Blankney - Part 3


• Return to Blankney - Part 4


• John Cartwright (1862-1944) - Part 1


• John Cartwright (1862-1944) - Part 2


• John Cartwright (1862-1944) - Part 3


• John Cartwright (1862-1944) - Part 4


• John Cartwright (1862-1944) - Part 5


• Are There Vikings in Blankney Park?


• Blankney POWs

Blankney Cricket Club has had close links with Blankney Hall and the local gentry since it was first formed during the reign of Queen Victoria. The first known records of the club go back to 1873 when Sir Henry Chaplin, later 1st Viscount Chaplin, was 33 years of age. Henry, being educated at Christ Church College, Oxford was a close friend of Queen Victoria's son the Prince of Wales (later to be Edward VII). Known to be a "playboy" prince Edward probably saw Blankney as an escape from the hustle and bustle of the capital and possibly his favourite haunt for his amorous clandestine liaisons with his many known mistresses, even after his marriage to Alexandra of Denmark in 1863. One can quite possibly imagine that one of these mistresses, British actress Lillie Langtry, French actress, Sarah Bernhardt, Lady Randolph Churchill (mother of Sir Winston Churchill) or even Alice Keppel, the great grandmother of Camilla, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, could have watched a game of cricket on a balmy summer's evening in Blankney!

For many who have lived in this area throughout their lives, they will know all there is to know about the general history of RAF Hospital, Nocton Hall. For others it will only be the knowledge that it used to be a military hospital but closed down when it was felt, by the military, to be no longer viable. Since then everyone knows of its demise over recent time.

Nocton Hall's first days of being a hospital came in the First World War, surprisingly under the control of the Americans. The owners of Nocton Estates at this time were the Hodgsons with the third generation of the family, Norman, the lord of the manor. Norman had taken over at the helm in 1902 on the death of his father John. He was 25 years old and had already seen action in conflict, risen to the rank of captain during the Boer War in South Africa. His passion was game shooting and during his time on the estate it is reported that an average of 10,000 game birds a year were bagged on his "shoots".