The Littleburies, whose chief residence in this neighbourhood was Stainsby House, in the parish of Ashby Puerorum, formerly owned land in Hareby. Humphrey Littlebury, of East Kirkby, in his will, dated 1 Sep., 1568, among other property mentions land in Hareby. [91]
Another old family connected with Hareby was that of the Skynners. Henry Skynner of Bolingbroke, by his will of date 29 May, 1612, leaves to his daughter Judith, all his copyholds in Harebie, and £100 when she is married, or 21 years of age; to his brother, Sir Vincent Skynner, knight, and his heirs, he bequeaths certain lands in Harebie, and other places, with the advowson of the parsonage of Harebie, “all of which I lately purchased of him, on condition that he pay to my executor the sum of £60, within six months of my decease, which sum I have already paid for my said brother, unto Margery Neale of Horncastle, deceased, or else this gift is utterly void, and I give it to my daughters . . . I have made surrender of all my customary messuages, lands, &c., in Bullenbroke and Harebie, into his Majestie’s hands by Vincent, in the name of one Grave, in the presence of Richard Smyth, gent., and others.” This testator was the son of John Skynner, and brother of Sir Vincent Skinner, of Thornton Curtis.
Mention has been made of Robert Bryan as owning land in Hareby, in 1635. Members of the same family would seem to have had property there nearly a century later, as John Bryan was patron of the benefice in 1754, and united it to that of Bolingbroke. In 1555 King Philip and Queen Mary presented Gilbert Skroweston to Hareby; but in 1779 the patronage of the united benefice had passed to Matthew Wildbore, Esq. In 1834 the patron was Earl Brownlow; in 1836, C. Bosanquet, Esq.; and in 1863, Sir John W. Smith, Bart.; after him the trustees of the late G. Bainbridge, Esq., held the patronage, which now has passed to C. S. Dickinson, Esq. The owners of the estate are now Messrs. Ramden and Taylor, and it is managed for them by their relative, G. Mariner, Esq.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, was rebuilt in 1857–8, at a cost of about £450. It consists of nave and chancel, with belfry, having one bell, the fabric being constructed of brick. Sir J. W. Smith, the then patron, built the nave, and the chancel was built by the then Rector, the Rev. E. Stanley Bosanquet. The east widow, of coloured glass, with the crucifixion, was erected in memory of William Bernard Wingate, a late owner, by members of his family. There is another coloured window in the south wall of the chancel, without inscription, but probably erected by the Wingate family; and there is a marble tablet in the north wall of the nave, in memory of the late owner of the estate, Frederick Tooth, Esq., of Sevenoaks, Kent. The register dates from 1567.
Hareby Manor House is a handsome, substantial structure, standing on a slope, looking towards Old Bolingbroke, and surrounded by extensive gardens and good farm buildings.
Hatton.
Hatton lies about 7½ miles from Horncastle, to the north-west, and about 4 miles south-east of Wragby; being about ½ a mile eastward of the high road between those two places. Letters, via Wragby, the nearest money order and telegraph office, arrive at 10 a.m. The register dates from 1552. There are also entries relating to this parish, from 1695 to 1799, in the Baumber register. The name Hatton, as a parallel to Hatcliffe, Hatfield, Hatfield Chase, &c., doubtless means a “ton,” i.e., “town,” or protected enclosure, on an open “heath”: pointing to a time when the neighbourhood was more or less a wild tract; and when the neighbouring Wragby (from Vargr, a wolf, or outlaw), was the haunt of wild beasts, or the no less dangerous human robber.
The Church, dedicated to St. Stephen, described by Weir in his “History of Lincolnshire” (vol. i. p. 296, Ed. 1828), as a small building, possessing no claim to attention, and by Saunders (vol. ii. p. 71, Ed. 1834) in nearly the same terms, was at that time in the gift of the well-known, somewhat eccentric, but popular member for Lincoln, Colonel Sibthorpe; the Rev. H. W. Sibthorpe being Rector. In 1863 it was in the gift of G. W. Sibthorpe, Esq., and in 1869 in that of Coningsby C. Sibthorpe, Esq., being then held by the Rev. C. E. Jarvis. The latter resigned in 1891, since which time it has been held by the Rev. W. T. Beaty-Pownall, who has a good rectory house, built in 1871, at a cost of £1,300 the late Mr. James Fowler being the Architect. It does not appear to have been long in the patronage of the Sibthorpe family, as in 1711 the patrons were Sir Richard Wynch, Bart., and Rebecca Wynch, widow; while in 1750, and again 1780 Sir Robert Lawley, Bart, presented. The trustees of W. H. Sibthorpe, Esq., are first-named as patrons in 1824. In the calendar (No. 1), of Institutions to Benefices, from 1540 to 1570 preserved in the Alnwick Tower, Old Palace, Lincoln (“Architect. Soc. Journal,” 1897) fol. 22b. 176, we find “William Mershall, clerk, pres. by W. Dighton of the City of Lincoln, gent., to the church of Hattone, vac. by the resignation of Sir William Smith; inst. Vicar, A.D. 1550.” [93] The Dightons were originally a mercantile family, of Lincoln, who filled the offices of Mayor and Sheriff, and amassed fortunes. One of them, Robert, became owner of Old Stourton Magna Hall, the moated remains of which can still be traced in a field about a mile to the west beyond the Stourton Parva plantations. A daughter of Thomas Dighton of that place, married Edward Clinton of Baumber, who afterwards became Earl of Lincoln. In the parish Register of Stourton Magna is the entry “Alice ye wife of Rob Diton was buried ye 14 Jany. 1688,” and as there are no later entries of the name, this Robert was probably the last to reside there. There were other Dightons at Waddingworth and Horkstow. We find, however, earlier notices of Dightons residing in Hatton. In 1544 by his will, dated 1 May, “John Dighton of Hatton” requests to be “buried in the churchyard of St. Elwold in Hatton.” He leaves a bequest for his brother, “Robert Dighton, parson of Haltham,” and the residue to his wife, Agnes, his executrix; his two fathers-in-law, Thomas Dighton and William Chatterton, being “supervisors.” He evidently died early in life. As to the expression “the churchyard of St. Elwold,” there seems to be no explanation forthcoming. Possibly there was a chapelry in the parish, with separate burial grounds. In 1606 we find another John Dighton, residing at Minting, who, by his will, dated 28 Dec. of that year, leaves 40s. to the poor of Baumber, Minting, and Hatton. Other names in connection with this parish are as follows:—Among Lincoln Wills is one made by “Roger Holmes, of Hatton, gent.” dated 15 May, 1611, in which he makes various bequests of no particular interest. In 1613 John Wharfe of Wickenby, by will dated 18 Sept., leaves to his sons lands in Hatton, which he had on a mortgage, from his father-in-law Smythe. And in 1616, by will dated 12 November, “Heneage Smith of Hatton,” leaves “lands in Hatton for a schoolmaster.” He says that he received nothing from his son-in-law, J. Wharfe, for the mortgage, but that, nevertheless, he leaves certain moneys for his (J. Wharfe’s) sons, because they are his grandsons.
(N.B.—These notices are from “Lincolnshire Wills,” by Canon Maddison.)
The Church of Hatton was re-built in 1871; entirely of brick, except the stone facings. It consists of a nave, chancel, and small spire on the south side of the chancel, containing one bell. Its chief features are as follows:—the east window, of coloured glass, has three separate trefoiled lights, in memory of Waldo Sibthorpe, Rector, who died, 14 Nov. 1865, the subjects are, in the centre, the Crucifixion; in the northern light, the Agony in the Garden; in the south light, the Resurrection, “Noli me tangere.” In the north chancel wall are two brass tablets, one recording that £100 was left by Mary Esther Waldo Sibthorpe in trust to the Rector, for the poor of the parish; the other, that £100 was given by Charles Edward Jarvis, in trust to the Rector, for the benefit of the parish. In the north wall is one two-light Early English window, and one single-light window in the same style. In the south wall is one single-light window, the vestry door, and organ chamber, over which stands the tower and spire. In the north wall also is a credence table of stone, with trefoiled arch. The east end is in the form of an apse. The chancel arch, and that of the organ chamber, terminate in elaborately foliated finials. In the nave, the pulpit is of Caen stone, a device in one panel being a cross within a quatrefoil, surrounded by a circular moulding. In the nave north wall, near the pulpit are a pair of two-light windows, with trefoils above; and westward is a three-light window with quatrefoil above. In the south wall of the nave is one two-light window, with two trefoils, and a circle above; and one three-light window corresponding to that in the north wall. The lectern is of oak. The font is of Caen stone, with fluted bowl in eight partitions, and supported by eight round columns. The sittings, for fifty, and the roof throughout, are of pitch-pine.