Raithby is situated about 2 miles from Spilsby and about 9 miles from
Horncastle, on the main road between the two towns, _via_ Hagworthingham.
It is within the ancient soke of Bolingbroke, and an appanage of the
Duchy of Lancaster. There is a post and money order office, and letters,
_via_ Spilsby, arrive at 7.5 a.m., and depart at 5.40 p.m. The nearest
telegraph office is at Spilsby. Not much of the early history of this
parish is to be found. As is stated in the notes on Mavis Enderby, these
two parishes were closely connected, land in both being held by the
Saxon, Elnod (Domesday Book), also, in early Norman times, by William de
Karilepho, the powerful Bishop of Durham, and by the Conqueror’s
favourite, Ivo Taillebois, who, from the vast possessions which he
acquired through his wife, the Lady Lucia, seems to have verily suffered
from the disease of “land hunger.” Rather later, Eudo, son of Spirewic,
the founder of the Tattershall family, held lands in Raithby, as well as
at Mavis Enderby. In the reign of Edwd. I. (1402), the manor and
advowsons of Raithby and Mavis Enderby were held by Robert de Willoughby,
ancestor of the present Lord Willoughby. The descendants of Ivo
Taillebois seem to have retained at least some of their property in
Raithby for a longer period than they did in some other parishes, as we
find that “Thomas Tailbus” of Raithby, by will, dated 7 March, 1556,
requested that he might be buried “in our Lady’s Choir.” He states that
he made his will while “mighty of mind, whole of witt and understanding.”
He makes his wife, Johan, executrix, and desires her to give to their son
Roger, and Agnes Harper (presumably a married daughter), “as much as may
be conveniently spared.” (“Lincolnshire Wills,” by Canon Maddison).
The pedigree of the Taylbois’ of Raithby is given in the Visitation of
1562.
Again, by will, dated 5 March, 1579, John Taylboys, of Raithby, gent.,
desires that he may be buried in the church. He leaves everything to his
wife, except 10_s._ to his mother, and William Thompson and “Wil
Cockson,” executors are to pay £12, “bequeathed by my father to sexe
children.”
The Littleburies had also land in Raithby; since by will, dated 1 Sep.,
1568, Humphrey Littlebury, of East Kirkby, left land at Raithby, and
other places, to his son, John Littlebury, and John Littlebury of
Hagworthingham, by will, dated 28 Sep., 1612, left his lands at Raithby
to his son John. As I mention in the notes on Salmonby, the Littlebury
family were originally located in the Holbeach neighbourhood; Robert and
his ancestors held land there, and at Whaplode, of the abbots of Croyland
long before the reign of Edw. III. But he began to get in arrear with
his rent, as shewn by the following list of omissions recorded against
him:—
£ s. d.
For his own and his men’s table with the 40 0 0
abbot of Croyland
Farms of tithes in Whaplode 9 0 0
Denariis mutuo receptis (_i.e._ money 12 0 0
borrowed)
Several horses borrowed and not returned 4 0 0
Other items are given as a set off, as well 40 0 0
as his legacy of
But there still remains a debt of 60 0 0
This was a large sum in those days. But John Littlebury gave the abbot
“diverse jewels” in payment of this debt. (Appendix to Cough’s
“Croyland,” from the Abbey register.)
Sir Martin Littlebury was Chief Justice of England, A.D. 1243. His wife
was Anne, daughter of Sir Henry Rochford. They intermarried with several
other families of position and influence. Their pedigree is given in the
Herald’s Visitation of Lincolnshire, in 1562–64, coming down to Humphrey
Littlebury, of Stainsby, named above, as holding land in Raithby.
(“Notices on Holbeach,” by G. W. McDonald).
By will, dated 4 March, 1599, Anne Skipwith, of Hanney, left legacies to
Thomas and Robert Raithby, and this patronymic is not uncommon in the
neighbourhood still.
In later years the manor of Raithby was the property of the
Brackenburies, who had a handsome residence, Raithby Hall, which was, in
1848, purchased by the Rev. E. Rawnsley, who is now lord of the manor. A
curious circumstance connected with the Hall is that during the time when
it was owned by Mr. Robert Carr Brackenbury, he, being a friend of John
Wesley, granted him the use of the hay loft for religious services, and
subsequently by will provided that all future owners of the property
should fulfil this condition, and these services are still occasionally
held there, so that we have now the anomaly of the Hall being owned and
occupied by a clergyman of the church of England, while the loft over his
stables is used by a Wesleyan minister.
The benefice formerly paid a pension to the abbots of Croyland of £1
6_s._ 8_d._ At the Reformation the tithes were seized by “the Merry
Monarch,” and the patronage of the benefice now belongs to the crown.
The late Geo. Walker, Esq., of Offord House, Spilsby, owned an estate in
this parish, also Admiral Buckle, who now resides at Gunby Hall. There
is a free school here for the poor children of Raithby, Mavis Enderby,
Hundleby, and Sausthorpe, founded and endowed by Thomas Lawford, in 1683,
and besides his endowment, the teacher has the dividend of £204 1_s._
8_d._ left by Elizabeth Kirkbridge, of Hull, in 1813, and the interest of
£100 left by John Dawson, in 1839.
The Church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It consists of tower, nave,
with south porch, north and south aisles, and chancel. The tower is of 3
tiers, and has 3 bells. The church was thoroughly restored in 1873, the
chancel and nave wholly rebuilt, the architect being Mr. G. G. Scott.
The porch has a very curious stoup in the western corner, with 3 Norman
columns as supports. The north and south aisles have 3 bays, the columns
being transitional Norman. In the north wall is a door and two
square-headed, perpendicular windows with coloured glass; one of these
has for its subjects St. George and St. Andrew, the other, St. David and
St. Patrick. There is also a two-light window in the east wall of the
north aisle. In the south wall, west of the porch, is a coloured
two-light window, the subjects being, above, the Good Shepherd and the
Presentation in the Temple, and below, Christ blessing little children,
and our Lord’s baptism. Next to the porch, eastward, is a memorial
two-light window to John Coleridge Kennard, the subjects being, the
Resurrection, and the Ascension. The window at the east end of the south
aisle is a two-light one, with coloured glass, by Kemp, the subjects
being, Works of Mercy; it was put in in memory of Mrs. Rawnsley, by
friends. The font is modern, also the lectern and the rood screen, which
is coloured red, gilt, and blue. The east, north, and south windows in
the chancel were given by the late Mrs. Rawnsley, who lengthened the
chancel to its original dimensions, and gave the screen. The east window
has three lights, the subjects being, in the centre, the Crucifixion, in
the northern light, Gethsemane, in the southern light, the Saviour’s
baptism. The walls of the chancel are painted with various devices. The
reredos has three compartments, the centre, showing the Crucifixion; on
the right (south), the Saviour and the Magdalen, Noli me tangere; on the
left (north), the angel appearing to Mary, Ave Maria. Two other windows
have the following subjects:—In one, in the centre, is the Lord in glory,
with St. Michael, on the one side, St. Gabriel, on the other, by Milner;
in the other, of four lights, put in by members of the Rawnsley family,
in memory of their mother, the subjects are, in the lower part, one scene
throughout, the birth at Bethlehem; above, the compartments show the
Annunciation, with the Presentation and Visitation on either side. The
south chancel window of three lights, with coloured glass, has the three
subjects, St. Alban, St. Agnes, and St. Catherine. There is a piscina in
the south wall of the chancel. The material of the structure is Spilsby
green sandstone. The tower is of the Perpendicular period, other parts
being a mixture of the Perpendicular, Decorated, and Transitional styles.
The church is unusually rich in coloured glass, although all of it
modern. The benefice, a rectory, is held by the Rev. George Ward, who
lives at Mavis Enderby, of which parish he is also rector. Of the church
plate, the chalice is of the date of Cromwell; the paten and former cover
of chalice are of the date of Elizabeth. A modern paten has been
presented by the Rev. E. Rawnsley. The register dates from 1558. It
contains a note by a former rector, stating that a number of pages had
been lost in the waste paper basket of his predecessor, but that, from
other sources, he had himself supplied the deficiency. Then follows a
long series of entries, all in one handwriting, the curious part,
however, is that his own death is recorded in the same handwriting. We
leave it to the reader to solve this puzzle of a posthumous record. The
sandstone, which prevails generally throughout this district, disappears
at Raithby, but about half-a-mile north-east of Raithby church, numerous
phosphatic nodules are found scattered about the surface. The nodule bed
can be traced across the fields to the south-west, and the phosphates lie
generally in patches. The hill, south of Raithby, consists of the
formation known as Tealby clay, capped with chalky boulder clay, blue
clay appearing on its western slope. These clays rest upon a floor of
hard calcareous ferruginous rock, full of brown oolitic grains.