Thomas Littlebury, of Ashby, by will, proved June 10th, 1590, bequeathed to his wife Katherine £100, and “one goblett with gylte cover, two ‘tunnes’ (i.e., cups) parcel gilte, 6 silver spoons of the best, my gylte salte I bought of my uncle Kelke, with a cover.” (The Kelkes were related to the Kirtons of Kirkton). Then follow a number of bequests of property in various parts of the county. The husband makes his executors “my father-in-law, Charles Dymoke, my cousins Andrew Gedney and Thomas Copledike.” (N.B.—These are the Copledikes, of whom so many monuments exist in Harrington Church.)
George Littlebury, of Somersby, by will, dated 10 Sept., 1612, requests to be buried “in the Queare of Somersby Church,” and leaves 2s. to it, and 1s. to Ashby Church, and 1s. to Lincoln Cathedral. He wishes a stone to be placed over his grave, and his arms set in the wall, as his father’s were at Ashby. (N.B.—Both these stones and brasses still exist.)
When the Spanish Armada was expected, among the gentry who contributed to the defence of the country, at the Horncastle Sessions, 1586–7, was “John Littlebury of Hagworthingham Esq. ij. light horse.” At the same time “Thomas Littlebery of Staynsby Esq. [furnished] j. launce [and] j. light horse.” At the “Rising” in Lincolnshire (1536) against Henry VIII., on the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a previous John Littlebury was just deceased, but his son Humphrey took part in it, as also did Robert Littlebury, who was probably a son of Thomas Littlebury, of Stainsby.
The Littleburys and the Langtons of Langton intermarried more than once. In the reign of Henry VIII., Rose, daughter of John Littlebury of Hagworthingham, married John Langton, and in the next century (about 1620) Troth. daughter of Thomas Littlebury of Ashby Puerorum, married a son of Sir John Langton, Knt., High Sheriff of Lincolnshire. (“Architect. Soc. Journal,” vol. xxii., pp. 166–7). Probably it was owing to this connection that we find that Sir John Langton, of Langton, by his will, dated 25 Sept., 1616, leaves 20s. to the poor of Ashby, Langton, and several other places. (N.B.—I am indebted for these particulars to “Lincolnshire Wills,” edited by Canon Maddison of Lincoln.)
The second half of the name of this parish of Ashby Puerorum is derived from the fact that the rent of certain lands in the parish were assigned towards the support of the choristers of Lincoln Cathedral, which is now raised by a general rate of the parish, and, accordingly, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln are patrons of the benefice, a vicarage [9] which is now held by the Rev. Robert Ward, who resides at Hagworthingham.
One of the early Norman Barons, probably Gislebert Fitz Gozelin, erected here a gallows (Hundred Rolls, A.D. 1275). The site of this is not now known, unless it may be traced in a part of the parish lying in an easterly direction from the village, and named “Knowles,” possibly a corruption for “Knoll Hill,” a rising ground on which a gallows might well be placed as a conspicuous warning for future would-be offenders. A lane in the parish is called Galley Lane, which again may point to the former gallows.
Another field-name in the parish is not without interest, viz., Peaseholme. We have Peasedale gate (i.e., road) in Hameringham, Peasegate Lane at Spilsby, Peasewang (i.e., field) in High Toynton, and similar names in Louth and elsewhere. All these are indicating the general use of pulse as an article of diet in those early times.
Near the western end of the village is a farm named “Clapgate,” so called because the fugitive Royalists, after the battle of Winceby (Oct. 11, 1643), kept a neighbouring gate clapping all night in their haste to escape. Near this is a footpath across the fields, which leads to Holbeck Lodge, and here again, till recently, survived the same name, “Clapgate,” because there was formerly a gate near Holbeck Lodge, on the now high road to Salmonby, which was also kept in motion by other fugitives, to the disturbance of the slumbers of those living near. And this brings us to Holbeck, the other hamlet comprised in the parish of Ashby Puerorum, commonly described as “an extra-parochial liberty.”
The name Holbeck contains two Danish, or Norse, elements. “Hol” implies a hollow, connected with our word “hole.” We have it in the German Swiss Eulenthal, or hollow dale. “Beck” is Norse, corresponding to the German “bach,” as in Schwabach, Staubbach, Reichenbach, etc. Thus Holbech means a beck or stream running through a hollow. [10] The name Holbeck still exists in Denmark. Thus we have a name, like so many (as already remarked) in the vicinity, shewing the great immigration of Danes in this neighbourhood. There is also a Holbeck near Leeds, to which the Danes, who came up the Humber, extended their settlements. At the back, to the north of the present Holbeck Hall, is the rising ground named “Hoe Hill.” This again indicates the same. The How, or Hoe, is probably the Norse “Hof,” a holy place (found in such names as Ivanhoe, Ivinghoe, Piddinghoe, etc.), or it may have been the Norse “Haughr,” a burial place. In that case it may have been held sacred as the burial place of some Viking chief, who led his followers in their invasion of the district. It may be described as a truncated, and rather obtuse, cone, with a dyke, or scarpment, running round it, like a collar round the neck. There is a How Hill near Harrogate. We have also Silver-how, Bull-how, and Scale-how, which were probably the burial places of the chiefs Solvar, Boll, and Skall. But whether or not it once served these purposes, there can be little doubt that it has been a Danish encampment, and probably a stronghold of the Briton at a still earlier period. The dyke would form the outer defence of the height above, from which to charge down upon an enemy, laboriously breasting the hill, with overwhelming advantage to the defenders. Geologically, Hoe Hill is interesting, the ironstone, of which it is composed, being so totally different from the sandstone of Holbeck below. These lower rocks are said to be still the haunt of that much-baited, but harmless animal, the badger.
As to former owners of Holbeck, old title deeds show that it was formerly the property of Augusta Ann Hatfield Kaye, sister of Frederick Thomas, Earl of Stafford, who also, as we have seen, was lord of the manor of Ashby. She died at Wentworth Castle, and was buried at St. John’s Church, Wakefield, May 4, 1802, as I am informed by the present owner, F. W. S. Heywood, Esq. Old documents, still existing, show that the house at Holbeck was formerly called “The Grange,” and from this we may fairly infer that, before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was a “Grange,” or dependency, of Tattershall College, which owned other lands in Ashby. The site was well adapted for a monastic house, as they invariably chose a position near water, this being necessary for the supply of fish, which formed so large a portion of their diet when fasting days were so many.