A Week on the Estate: Lincolnshire Day, Artistic Weir & Landscaped History

The Lincolnshire Rising was short-lived. On 4^th October 1536, Henry VIII told the rebels that they should disperse or face the cold steel of soldiers led by Charles Brandon, 1^st Duke of Suffolk. By mid-October, most had complied but there would still be a reckoning. The vicar of Louth and one Captain Cobbler were hanged at Tyburn. Thomas Moigne of Willingham, one of Lincoln’s MPs, was hanged, drawn and quartered.

Not that the story ended here. A more substantial revolt, the Pilgrimage of Grace, was about to begin. Suffice to say that the people of Lincolnshire have always had an independent outlook. In 2006, the date for Lincolnshire Day was chosen by Lincolnshire Life’s readers and BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s listeners to match the date of the first rising of 1536.

Speaking of history, at South Ormsby Estate we plan for a brighter future while honouring and learning from our heritage. That’s why we’re so excited that work to boost biodiversity in South Ormsby Hall’s Lake is about to enter its final phase, inspired by good ideas from both the 18th and 21st centuries.

Last year, we removed 10,000 tons of silt to restore the Lake to its original depth, making it more appealing to fish and eels. We also rolled out the welcome mat for bird life, adding nesting sites including kingfisher tunnels.

The next step is to make it easier for fish and eels to find this wonderful new home. The current weir is too hard for these creatures to negotiate so we’re replacing it. The new weir will be a gently sloping fish and eel pass designed to allow even the smallest of creatures to swim into the Lake.

We’re looking ahead to a bright, biodiverse future and looking back at our rich traditions. The pass will be inspired by the artistry of the 18th-century landscapers whose original weir resembled a natural upland cascade. The pics above show the weir both as it once looked and how it will look very soon. We hope that today’s artists will soon be able to capture this rejuvenated landscape looking much as it did 300 years ago. We’re also honoured to be writing another chapter of yellowbelly history.

Finally, from battles to uprisings and from sculpted landscapes to forgotten curios, history comes in all shapes and sizes. We found a gout stool under many boxes of documents when we cleared out the Hall in preparation for renovation work.

The skilled craftspeople at the Upholstery Design Centre in Burgh-le-Marsh restored this venerable item. Jacqui Rhodes gave it a final polish and it has pride-of-place at the Old Rectory until we can return it to the Hall.

Gout is a painful form of arthritis that was once associated with the wealthy, land-owning classes in the popular imagination. As gout can be triggered and exacerbated by excessive consumption of red meat, sea-food and alcohol, it’s easy to see why this was seen as a rich man’s affliction in times when such a diet was beyond the means of most.

We’re not entirely sure who used this gout stool, but we hope they found some relief.

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* Image of St James’ Church, Louth, by Steve. via Flickr CC.