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.
The Rectory, close by, is a commodious and substantial residence in good
grounds. In a field to the south of the gardens are remains of former
stews, or fishponds, and two rather large boulders, {95} which have
evidently been ice-borne, and like many others in the neighbourhood, are
of carboniferous “Spilsby” sandstone of the Neocomian period. The soil
of the parish generally, is a heavy clay; and in a brickyard adjoining
the Horncastle and Wragby road, are numerous ammonites and other fossils.
There is a yearly rent charge of £6 left by Heneage Smith, in 1616, for
the education of poor children, which is paid out of the estate of
Coningsby C. Sibthorpe, Esq.; 14s. 2d. was left by William Marshall, in
1557, for poor parishioners, to be paid out of land at Minting, but this
has fallen into abeyance. Edmund Turnor, Esq., is lord of the manor but
C. C. Sibthorpe, Esq., owns the greater part of the soil. “Midge Inn,”
which has the reputation of formerly being the haunt of the highwayman,
who lightened the pocket of many a traveller on the King’s highway, is on
the Horncastle and Wragby road in this parish, which is in the soke of
Wragby.