LINCOLNSHIRE DAY The story of

How The Lincolnshire Rising gave us LINCOLNSHIRE DAY

You don’t mess with Henry VIII. But nor do you mess with Yellowbellies. This month sees Lincolnshire Day celebrated across the county, but the origin of a celebration of our local heritage is in a fierce rebellion when folk from Louth and the Wolds went head to head with the Tudor dynasty...

THIS MONTH will see the county celebrate Lincolnshire Day. Since 2006 it has been a chance to reflect on our communities, our food and our history. Why October 1st? Because back in October 1536, officials representing Henry VIII marched into the county and started to throw their weight around. Bad move, for the folk of Lincolnshire were not (and still aren’t) a pushover. The Lincolnshire Rising represented the first spark in what came to be known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, a rebellion during the time of Henry VIII, a Tudor monarch who was hardly known for his temperance or for being subtle in his political manoeuvrings. As part of his ongoing endeavour to maritally work his way around ye olde England, Henry was involved in a bitter feud with the Church of England; just a couple of years before he had utilised the Act of Supremacy to declare himself Head of the Church of England –thanks to the nifty legislation created by Thomas Cromwell – and then to ditch Catherine of Aragon in favour of the bedchamber of Anne Boleyn. Henry’s goons were enforcing what would come to be known as the dissolution of the monasteries. As a precursor to destroying monasteries, abbeys, priories and churches, the officials were to ‘investigate the competence’ of the clergy throughout England. In 1536, their presence in Lincolnshire led to the closure of Louth Park Abbey, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1139 and located just south of the River Lud. The church at its heart was sizable; physically longer than Louth’s St James and only slightly shorter than Lincoln Cathedral.

The estate itself had sacristies, chapter house, store rooms, a parlour, kitchen, refectory, guest houses and a gate house as well as lavatories and an infirmary… all the mod cons. That didn’t stop Henry ordering its possession and its 10 monks including Abbot George

“Men from Louth were sent to neighbouring towns – Horncastle, Caistor and Market Rasen – to warn local communities of the king’s intentions...”

Walker were all turfed out, albeit with a pension of £4 6s 8d. Much of the ruins were dismantled in the 1800s, with Louth schoolteacher and amateur architect Thomas Espin waiving his fee for designing the new town hall in return for permission to take materials away and use them to create his home, The Priory. Later, owner of the land belonging to the former abbey, W Allison also disinterred the Abbots’ coffins with at least one now kept in Louth Museum. Back to Tudor times though. One of the monks at the Abbey, William Moreland, was having breakfast with his former fellow monk when officials arrived shortly after the closure of the Abbey, tensions in the town were already running high, and the people of Louth feared for St James Church, with many rumours and gossip about what Henry’s officials would do and how their presence would effect their living. Men including William were sent to neighbouring towns – Horncastle, Caistor and Market Rasen – to warn local communities of the king’s intentions, and the gathering crowd of rebels appealed to local gentry to encourage them to join in their objections. The gentry knew they had to be loyal to their powerful and belligerent monarch, but at the same time, couldn’t ignore the disquiet of the swelling masses. They sent a diplomatic letter to Henry and reaffirmed their loyalty whilst appealing for clarification on the king’s intentions so they could appease the masses. This strategy of diplomacy cooled the tension for a while, but it soon emerged that the gentry were talking among themselves and were critical of ‘certain false treacherous knaves.’

A letter to that effect was intercepted and taken to Louth, enraging those loyal to the king. The gentry lost control of the masses, who gathered in Louth and on 5th October marched to Market Rasen where they were also joined by Caistor’s rebels. >>

Above: Louth’s St James’s Church, where vicar Thomas Kendall stirred up rebellion!

>> By the time others joined them for an overnight stay on Hambledon Hill (now known as Hamilton Hill, between Market Rasen and Tealby), the masses numbered between 40,000 and 50,000.

The following day the group marched to Lincoln and rumours were heard of a Yorkshire rising who were moving south to join the Lincolnshire rebels.

Henry, sensing that this was getting a little too dangerous, issued a reply dismissing the rebels’ fears and demanding they disperse. He ordered the gentry to take control and insisted that the leaders were arrested, then handed over to the King’s Lieutenant. By the middle of October, Henry’s forces had arrived in Lincoln as a show of strength and proceeded to arrest about 100 men who were tried, indicted and then with typical Tudor restraint, they were hung, drawn and quartered. Among those put to death were Thomas Kendall, Vicar of St. James Church, and a shoemaker in the town, Nicholas Melton, who had come to be the poster boy for the rebellion, leading him to acquire the soubriquet, Captain Cobbler. As for Henry, his taste of Lincolnshire rebellion did rather put him off the county. In a letter to the rebels, he declared that Lincolnshire was ‘the most brute and beastly shire of the whole realm.’ Henry lived happily ever after, as did Anne Boleyn, at least until Henry had her arrested, charged with adultery, treason, incest and witchcraft, had their marriage annulled and finally had her beheaded. As for Lincolnshire, over 480 years on, we remain sufficiently proud of ourselves to remember the Lincolnshire Rising, and the fact that our home-grown rebels were brave and bold enough to resist a tyrannical king and prove that the county is no pushover! n

QUESTIONING THE VICAR

1537 INTERROGATORIES FOR THOMAS KENDALL

“First where and when had ye the first communication of the insurrection in Lincolnshire and with whom, what fashion means and ways devised you to set the said insurrection forward and by whose had comfort or consent.”

“What was done day by day and by whom?” “For what causes made ye it & to what intent had which were their sugges [document damaged] and surmises to sture [stir] them [document damaged]?” “And who conveyed them through the county from place to place, so shortly [quickly] and by what means?” “What fashion caused you to cause them to come to set forth & beyond in every place or of so many?” “By whose study and diligence that was done who was the gretyst stures [stirrers] faulters [culprits] and promoters thereof from time to time? “How come they to gather and how many were they, how were they victualled [fed] and by whose help?” “Who was their special hayders [unclear] comforters or councillors or helpers when they were [document damaged] there by [document damaged]…? “Whose consent or policy used you most to keep you together & what intend you then to do?” “What caused them to go home after the proclamation and who menyd [persuaded] then them most to tarry [remain] still?” “How fortuned [fortunate] it that there was so many as well gentlemen as other taken as they pretended against their will and no fray [affray, public disorder] made nor no stroke strykyn [stricken]?” “Why told you not your parishioners when they assembled first that their rumours and tales was untrue and their pretence and doings contrary to the laws both of God and nature and also of this realm. And contrary to their fidelity and obedience toward their prince commended by good and promised by a virtue of another by then and sent also to anybody[document damaged] man to have told that same to their neighbours.”

SAN PIETRO

RESTAURANT • ROOMS

Menu del Giorno

STARTERS

- Soup of the day (v). - Braised lamb croquet, caponata, youghurt, mint pesto. - Mushroom and truffle bruschetta, shavings of parmesan, rocket leaves, pine nuts, basil oil (v).

MAIN COURSES

- Roast fillet of hake, smoked cod brandade, tomato and chilli fondue, curly kale pancetta crumb (+£2). - Roast pork belly, butternut squash fondant, roast apple, melted leeks, liquorice reduction, pork and cider jus. - Red pepper, tomato and spinach leaf risotto, burrata, basil leaves, parmesan crisp (v).

DESSERTS

- Coconut pannacotta, mango salsa and mango sorbet. - Trio of cheese, crackers, grapes, celery and honey (+£3). - Molten chocolate cake, espresso cream, caramelised pecans.

Taste of Sicily

- Amuse Bouche.

- Chicken liver parfait, poached apricots, toasted almonds, brioche.

- Traditional Aubergine parmigiana, Zucchini fritti, black garlic and aubergine puree.

- King Scallops, pea, pancetta, scallop roe cream.

- Lobster Ravioli, Samphire, lobster bisque.

- Roast Fillet of Veal, sticky pulled osso buco , burnt onion puree, mushroom arrancini, roast mushrooms, caper dressing , porcini jus.

- Pre-dessert.

- Rum Baba, pistachio icecream, raspberries, whipped cream.

- Optional Cheese Course - 3 cheese with accompaniments.

£58.00/person

/SanPietroRestaurant

@SanPietroNLincs