At the beginning of the 19th century this manor was held jointly by Richard Elmhirst, Esq., of Usselby, and Mr. Thomas Kemp, the latter of whom resided at the Old Hall. [173a] There is a field at the west end of the village, now the property of H. N. Coates, Esq., traversed by mounds and ditches, which was formerly divided into three separate plots, belonging to Elmhirst, Kemp, and Hotchkin. The Kemps were of an old stock. In the Thimbleby Registers the first mention of them is in 1723, [173b] but their name implies a much greater antiquity. One theory has been that they were a Huguenot family, who came over to England at the time of the French massacre of Protestants, on St. Bartholomew’s day, 1572. Those refugees, in their enforced poverty, prosecuted various kinds of useful industries; and the Kemps, it is suggested, acquired their name from being kempsters, or comb makers.
But it is probable that the name had a much earlier origin. Kemp (Saxon Cempa) meant a soldier [173c] being connected with the Norman-French and modern English “Champion;” and although we might look back with pride to forefathers who suffered for their religion, it is pleasanter, if only in imagination, to regard them as having been a race of doughty warriors, sufficiently distinguished to win a name by their deeds. [173d]
Mr. Thomas Kemp, in the first half of the 19th century, was a wealthy bachelor, and added to the Hall-garth estate by the purchase, from time to time, of adjacent property. He lived in some style, with two maiden sisters to keep house for him. By his will the land at Thimbleby passed into the possession of his great nephew, Robert Edwin Kemp; another nephew, Samuel Harrison Kemp, inheriting most of the personal estate. But alas! liveried servants, crests and arms, and other emblems of wealth have become things of the past; for when this Robert died the property passed to his son, Thomas Kemp, in whose hands the patrimony speedily evaporated; and other members of the family are now dispersed, “their places knowing them no more,” save as a lingering memory, which will soon be gone.
The interesting old hall and the manor were then bought by Reuben Roberts, Esq., of Linden House, Horncastle, who resides there in the summer. He also owns other land in the parish. Other owners are E. Hassard,
Esq., of Edlington Park; H. N. Coates, Esq., of Langton Manor; the trustees of the late Mr. Samuel Goe, and several smaller proprietors. Mrs. Tebbutt, of Horncastle, a relict of an old Thimbleby family, whose name appears frequently in the parish books, is now Lady of the Manor.
Some 200 yards east of the church and on the south side of the main road is a large field, the property of Mr. Henry N. Coates of Langton, which is known as “The Butts.” It has some fine trees, apparently the remains of an extensive avenue, which have been more numerous even within living memory. It has been sometimes called “The Park Close,” but the title “The Butts” is interesting, as probably indicating that it was formerly the site on which (in the words of a rhymer, it may be said):
England’s archers of old,
Village wights true and bold,
Unerring in hand and in eye,
Learned skill in their craft
With yew-bow and shaft,
Wand to splinter, or pierce the bull’s-eye.And while the youth gay,
Rough rivals, essay
To rive and riddle each butt,
Sage sires stand by,
And coy maidens cry,
To welcome the winning shot.Full many such scene
Has been witnessed, I ween,
In that whilome time-honoured spot,
’Neath the wide-spreading shade
Of the green wood glade
Which is still named the “Thimbleby Butt.”
In this “Butts” field rises a spring, which is the source of a small runnel, called “Daubeny’s Beck.” This bearing westward, for some distance forms the boundary between the parishes of Thimbleby and Langton, then flowing through Woodhall falls into the “Monk’s Beck,” at Poolham. The name “Daubeny” is doubtless a corruption of D’ Albini. The D’ Albinis held the Barony, and built the castle of Belvoir, and had other large possessions in this county and elsewhere; the name is not uncommon as a field name, &c. There is a field in Langton called “Daubeny’s (i.e. D’ Albini’s) Walk.”
In the grounds of Mr. W. A. Crowder, further to the east, near the Lincoln “Ramper,” as the highway is locally called, there was found, a few years ago, a so-called “Roman” tomb, somewhat rudely constructed of blocks of Spilsby sandstone. Within it was a human skeleton, with bones of a dog, a sword, and the head of a spear. In connection with this, we may also mention, that in the Rectory grounds there is an ancient well, of great depth, lined also with Spilsby sandstone, and said to be Roman; which in the immediate proximity of the Cornucastrum, or Roman fort of Banovallum, would not seem to be at all improbable.
An old parish book of Thimbleby, recently shown to the writer, proves the care which was taken by the parish officials, before the present poor law system was established, to secure the comfort and maintenance of poorer parishioners.