THE village of Tupholme stands nearly a mile from the north bank of the
river Witham, at the distance of seven miles west by north from
Horncastle; and is contained in the hundred of Wraggoe. {57a}
In the time of Henry the second, an Abbey of premonstratensian canons,
dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was founded here, by Allan de Nevill and
Gilbert his brother, and endowed by them with their possessions in this
place, together with estates in other parts of the county. This abbey
also had numerous benefactions in lands and churches, from other persons;
and the king gave a canal, so large, that ships might pass between the
Witham and Tupholme. These gifts were confirmed to the abbot and canons,
by charter, from Henry the third, in the twentieth year of his reign.
{57b} At the dissolution of monasteries, this abbey contained nine
religious: and in the thirtieth year of Henry the eighth, the scite was
granted to Sir Thomas Henneage.
[Picture: Remains of Tupholme Abbey]
Of the abbey, a wall only is now remaining, the upper part of which
appears to have formed a side of the refectory or dining hall. It
contains lancet windows, and a small gallery, in which the person sat who
read to the brethren during their meals: a practice which was common in
all monasteries, and anciently in colleges. The story beneath the
refectory appears to have been vaulted, and was probably used as a
cellar. Adjoining to the ruins is a farm house, which has been built out
of part of the materials. The gate house, now gone, was standing when
Dr. Stukeley visited this place in 1716. A view of it is engraved in the
Itinerarium Curiosum.
The manorial estate, comprising the whole parish, is the property of
Robert Vyner, Esquire, of Gautby, by an ancestor of whom it was purchased
in the early part of the last century.
The church has been long since demolished. The benefice is a vicarage in
the patronage of the Bishop of Lincoln.
[Picture: Ancient Cross at Somersby]