Within a short distance of the church, in a south-eastward direction, are traces of a moated inclosure, which has probably been the site of a residence of some size. Nothing is known of its past history, but it may well have been a mansion on the property of the Countess Lucia, or some of her descendants, and occupied by a dependent vassal. There are a few records of former persons connected with the parish, of which we here give one or two. Among the “Final Concords,” under date, 1 July, 1202, is an agreement between Roger de Maletoft, on the one part, and Philip de Claythorp, and Mary his wife, on the other part, tenants of “4 oxgangs in Scamblesbi (about 60 acres),” by which they acknowledge the said land to be the right and inheritance of the said Roger; and in return for this, he granted it “to them and their heirs, to hold of him and his heirs for ever, doing for it foreign service”; and, as an acknowledgment of this, the said Philip and Mary gave the said Roger 4 marks. (Note appended to the will of John Guevera, made 18 March, 1607.) N.B.—A sister of John Guevera, married John Chapman, of Scamblesbi. The Guevera family came from Biscay, in Spain, probably imported by Katherine of Arragon, or Philip of Spain, Queen Mary’s husband.
Thomas Kent, of Scamblesby, clerk, by will, dated 23 July, 1623, among other bequests, leaves, “to my wife Mary, £40, with other benefits; my dau., Lydia Lent £200; my dau., Penelope Dennis, £16; my dau., Mary Martingdale, £20; my son, Thomas Kent, £20; my dau., Anne Millington,—; Henry Neave, my grandchild, £30; Gabriel Neave, my grandchild, £66 13s. 4d.; Mary Neave, £66 13s. 4d.; my son Elias Kent, 2 Kye, a pr. of oxen, a pr. of 2 yr. old fleaces; a mare that I had of my son-in-law, James Martingdale, my waines and waine-geares, and ploughs and plough-geares, my trays and harrows, also a bedd, a presse and a table, with the lease of the manor of Scamblesby; my son, Thomas, 44s. in gold; my son, Abell, 44s. in gold; to everyone of my grandchildren, 11s. in gold; to the poor of Donington, 22s.; of Goulceby, 20s.; and to the poorest of Scamblesby 20s.; to everyone of my servants, 16d.; to Lewis Whiteing, 2 ewes and 2 lambes; to Dorothie Candroy, a flocked yearing quee.” The testator’s wife is to have his household goods and chattels, for division among his children at her discretion; Timothy, his son, being sole executor, to whom he bequeaths the residence, after payment of debts and funeral expenses. To be buried in the chancel of Scamblesbie.
Elias Kent, of Scamblesby, gent., by will, dated 13 Feb., 1625, bequeaths to “my wife, Elizabeth, £200, and the household stuff, &c.; to my daughter, Martha Kent, £200 when 16, and the lease of Scamblesby manor; to my sister, Marie Martingdale, Mr. Benjamin Storre, 20s.; Thomas, William, and Elizabeth, the three eldest children of my brother Timothy Kent, deceased, 20s. a piece; and to Edward Kent, a new coat; to my brother, Thomas Booth, ‘Speede’s Chronicles’; to my brother, Richard Sharpe, my black gelding; to my mother, a 5s. piece of silver; to the poor of Scamblesby, 40s.; to the poorest of Goulceby, 10s. and of Donington, 10s.; to everie one of my sisters 10s.; to my cosen, Alice Brooke, £3 6s. 8d., and the horse called ‘Maud,’ &c., &c. My body to be buried in the chancel. My brother, Thomas Kent, clerk of Donington, to be executor.”
N.B.—On the death of the said Thomas Kent, Incumbent of Donington, 13 years later, he leaves “to my much honored friend, Sir John Munson, my black colt; to Sir Thomas Munson, my noble friend whom I much honor, my Spurr Royal; to the Right Honble., my Lord Beaumont, my bald colt; to the Rectors of Donington, for the time being, and their successors for ever, my Spalding tythes (these were the gift of the Lady Lucia to Spalding priory); to the repairs of St. Paul’s church in London, £5.”
The name Scamblesby means the “By,” i.e., farmstead (Scotice Byre) of the Saxon Skamel; probably his land, amounting to six carucates (or 720 acres), was that which, through the Lady Lucia, became the property of Ivo Taillebois, lord of Spalding.
The parish of Cawkwell, now ecclesiastically annexed to Scamblesby, is of small extent, being a lordship comprising some 680 acres of land, now the property of the Duke of Portland; the benefice, a vicarage now valued at £39 a year, being in the patronage of the Earl of Yarborough, who, as such, has the alternate presentation with the Bishop of Lincoln, to the consolidated benefice of Scamblesby with Cawkwell. This property, again, was among the lands of Ivo Taillebois, acquired by his marriage with the Saxon heiress, Lucia. Little is known of its past history. It probably passed through the like vicissitudes as Scamblesby, until it was granted to Sir Charles Cavendish, of Bolsover Castle, and from him, passed to the Dukes of Newcastle, the Earl of Oxford, and finally, by the marriage of his daughter and heiress, to the noble family of Bentinck, the ancestors of the present Duke of Portland, who, in the present generation, has married a lady of the almost neighbouring parish of Walmsgate. There was formerly a priory of Cawkwell, of which Sir William Tyrwhitt was steward. It was probably not a richly endowed institution, as his fee as steward was only £1. It would seem to have been a dependency of the much wealthier priory of Austin Canons, at Nocton. (Dugdale “Monasticon,” vol. ii., p. 211)
The Church, dedicated to St. Peter, was demolished, and the materials, in part, utilized for the rebuilding of Scamblesby church, in 1893. At the date of Liber Regis (temp. Queen Anne), the benefice was so poor that it is there described as “not presented to,” and the church has not been used for divine worship since 1885. Cawkwell house is a substantial residence, standing in good grounds, and occupied by C. B. Robson, Esq. The only thing worthy of note in connection with this parish, is that it was the birth-place, in 1599, of a learned and pious man, Hanserd Knollys, who was educated at Cambridge, distinguished for his zeal in religion, appointed master of the Free School at Gainsborough, took Holy Orders, and was presented by the Bishop of Lincoln to the living of Humberston. Afterwards, conceiving scruples as to the lawfulness of certain church observances, he resigned his benefice; for a time, with the Bishop’s connivance, he preached in various parishes, without using the church service. He eventually abjured his orders, and joined the Baptist persuasion, and became one of its pastors in London. The intolerance of the age forced him to seek refuge in Wales, Holland, Germany, and even America. He died, Sept., 1691, in the 93rd year of his age. (Weir’s “Hist. Lincolnshire,” vol. i, p. 301). [181]
We have mentioned Cawkwell hill. This is one of “the Alps of Lincolnshire,” and, although there are, among the Wold hills, several considerably steeper, being on a high road, formerly having much traffic, it has been the scene of some accidents. Only a few years ago, a gentleman living near, was driving down the hill in a thunderstorm, when he was struck by lightening, his carriage was upset, and his horse afterwards found on the other side of the hedge, he himself recovering without any serious effects. Sometime in the forties, the late Sir Henry Dymoke was driving a carriage and pair down the hill, when the horses bolted. The father of the present writer happened at the time to be walking down the hill, on his way home from Louth; as the horses dashed past him he made a spring at the bridle of the near horse, fortunately catching hold of it, and by running alongside, he succeeded in bringing the horses to a stand, without injury to anyone. But for this timely aid, the champion of England might have incurred a more serious ordeal than that of challenging his sovereign’s enemies.
The name of this parish, “Calche uuelle,” in Domesday Book, and now Cawkwell, might have been given with prophetic foresight into the future, as it is here, from a deep well, the bore of which passes through the chalk to the gravel below, that a pure and plentiful supply of water is obtained for the town of Horncastle, and more recently also for the modern health resort of Woodhall Spa.