From Hedhelinge to Healing
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From Heghelinge to Healing Healing Manor A Village History Edited by John Appleby From Hegh to Healing A Village History E d ite d b y John Appleby Introduction Healing is situated to the north of Grimsby between the Lincolnshire Wolds and the River Humber. The medieval core of the village, the church and the Manor House, are situated on a mound now surrounded by fields and apparently isolated from the twentieth century settlement some 800 metres to the south east. The population of the village, before this century, hovered around one hundred, and indeed during this period may well have declined from its Domesday Estimate of 126 people. It was sometimes omitted from the 18th and 19th century maps of Lincolnshire. The various springs which emanate from the edge of the above mentioned clay mound afford the only item of interest for most descriptions of the village. “Healing Wells” are associated with folklore and, some have written, with the place name of the village. Today, most county guide books, and indeed local estate agents, would describe the village of Healing, as a dormitory village, housing a transient population, the majority of whom are employed in Grimsby or by the factories situated on the Humber Bank. It was therefore with some trepidation that a group of inhabitants of Healing undertook the task of writing a village history. Local historians warned that a closed village such as Healing may not be well documented, and that we should be prepared for disappointments. Thus forewarned “The History of Healing” group was formed in January 1989 at the home of Dr. and Mrs. J. M. B. Carr. The subsequent wealth of expertise, energy, enthusiasm and stamina of members in the group coupled with the unstinting help and support of other villagers and village organisations have led to this publication. It was meant to be a definitive work (after all, we expected to find little to write about before the nineteenth century) but as the historical layers peeled away more and more information became available. We would now claim that most chapters are a starting point for further study of different aspects of the History of Healing, and we offer the book as such. Thanks go to many people, without whose support and encouragement the book could not have appeared in its present form. To Rex Russell, Rod Ambler and Geoff Bryant - without whom I suspect that North Lincolnshire would still be a historical desert. To John Wilson (Grimsby Archivist), Nigel Colley (Lincoln Archivist) and Derek Wattam (Grimsby Librarian) - for stimulating and morale boosting talks. To Rev. Jack Abbott - for offering us a meeting room. To Neville and Vivian Peasgood - for re-integrating Manor and Village. To The Healing Parish Council - for providing financial support and confidence. To Nigel Guilliatt - for checking our grammar and spelling. To The Healing Horticultural Society - for assistance with fund raising. To Samantha Victory and Emma Pearson - for so patiently transferring my edited copy on to computer discs. To Paul Thornton and Pete Grosse - whose consummate skill with computer and laser printer helped considerably the editing process. To Chartdale Homes - for financial assistance. To All those villagers, too many to mention by name, who have offered memories, documents, photographs, ideas and support, and who have helped to ensure that this is truly a Healing Village production. And finally to Albert Gait, whose most generous offer to have the book printed at, what amounts to his own expense, ensured that a vision became a reality. History o f Healing Society 1989-90 MEMBERS John Appleby Ann Appleby David Bennett Lavinia Bennett Mike Carr Eileen Carr Ian Clarke Daphne Clay Frank Cooper Mary Cooper Pat Cufflin Clixby Fitzwilliams Pauline Fitzwilliams Fred Guilliatt Connie Guilliatt Doreen Hallewell Ellen Leak Don Lee John Maclnnes Ada Nilson Pat Nilson Vivian Peasgood Bill Savage Mary Savage Olwyn Shuttlewood Roger Thomas Elaine Thomas Nora Watson David Wintringham Rosemary Wintringham m Contents Introduction 1 1 Healing in the Middle Ages, Part I: A Study of the Village as recorded in The Domesday Book 5 Part II: Land and People ^ 2 The Church o f St. Peter and St. Paul 35 3 The Manor Estate of Healing ^7 4 Some Early Parish Registers 33 5 Healing Parish Officers 1685-1822 67 6 Wills and Inventories ^3 7 The Enclosure of Healing 93 8 The 19th Century Population, Part I: An Analysis of the Census Returns 113 Part II: The Social Implications of the Statistics 131 9 Prominent Healing Families in the 19th Century 141 10 Education 163 11 Healing Railway Station 1^3 12 Early Methodism in Healing 1^3 13 The Developing Village: Healing from 1870 to the Present Day 195 14 Village Houses 205 15 The Health of the Community 1837-1889 215 16 Industry in Healing 221 17 Local Clubs and Societies 227 18 Miscellany 235 Conclusion 249 (Line Illustrations by Olwyn Shuttlewood). Healing in the Middle Ages Part I A Study of the Village as recorded in The Domesday Book by John Appleby Introduction IN 1066, SAXON HEALING was situated in the WAPENTAKE of Bradley. The village was called HEGHELINGE in Domesday Book, and this can be translated as “The Settlement of Haegels People”. The parish boundaries possibly did not reach the River Humber although coastal land was owned in the parishes of Clee and Thrunscoe. Domesday Book indicates that in 1066 there were two manors in Healing, owned by the Saxons SIGAR about whom little is known, and the much more famous EARL MORCAR about whom a great deal is known. THE MANORS The first MANOR in Healing appears in Domesday Book under Breve (chapter) 4:31 to 4:33. It is included in a description of land belonging to the Bishop of Bayeux, who as William the Conquerors’ half brother was given vast tracts of land in England after 1066. This entry could be translated as follows: 4:31 In Healing (in 1066) Sigar was paying a tax at a rate of seven BOVATES of land, when in fact he could have been taxed at a rate of one CARUCATE and six bovates, or double the amount. In this time (1086) Wadard is the Bishops steward overseeing the land for one plough in DEMESNE. There are three VILLEINS and five BORDARS in the village and two SOKEMEN with land for one plough. There are five acres of meadow. In 1066 it was valued at 30 shillings. In 1086 its value is 40 shillings. There is TALLAGE of 20 shillings. 4:32 There is also SOKELAND of this Manor in Clee rated at three bovates, which could be rated at 4 bovates. Here live four sokemen, two villeins and one bordar who work land for five ploughing oxen. There are 25 acres of meadow land. 4:33 There is land belonging to this Manor in Thrunscoe which is rated at four bovates. One villein and three sokement work half a plough of arable land. It is now necessary to give the highlighted “Domesday” words their Twentieth Century meaning. WAPENTAKE The word is derived from VAPNATAK a Norse word associate with the brandishing of weapons. It refers to an area with a centralized judicial and administrative system located at the Wapentake Court. This court was held monthly and was attended by Earls and Bishops, or their representatives. They or the Shire Reeve would chair the meetings, which probably administered justice through twelve leading Thanes. A Wapentake therefore is a sub-division of a Shire (or County). Wapentakes were further sub-divided into HUNDREDS which contained VILLS (or settle ments). HEALING MANORS IN DOMESDAY MANOR I £ n S ic&r'&tu ~TfZ, ab*l'C3r'~r<>J(-\}ou. jin SJC[-uLxrd^ bo ey\ 4:31 Cody cu.i- czP.7<J-acfpu JfnC Xaa,.^ foca b u r <5. w . b o u r n e 4:32 a£ixfn car'- Jbi.iut. Cody j u % ui& j tXoftf. brrcSJ. b o u $ m n v £ - J7&V. acf ya. Jnlorefcc car fan 4:33 -t. wit -j tit. focfc bfrviirnc&r- MANOR II ajh h tM Uuoe- ^ coavcxr-u -ctrS ^ -^ 'lii)-• Q - r ” ffa dciyurffl& A luip& n ^.ti.cai*^jt«i.(<K ^^cH iTr>carf 27:5 ^iutdp'7-1^ ut£f^r« * ax.a. car^<urn*74iT” makn tii. bia.jjoi vt- aZ{ yuX LE.tut ^cL Cdt.ro.L-I^xILi . ^ qX. &Jn Suatu-n,ux"LSr(p ab<d&7Ztx~'/i- bou^iXdsibhuico. 27:6 I b i .t. Ufc£&f I w '.t . L u c : ' « /v?r” MANOR A manor can be described as an estate held by a Lord. Each manor would have a hall (the CAPUT) to which the taxes and other dues would be brought. DEMESNE LAND This land described the “Home Farm” which the Lord owned on that estate. BOVATE The word is used in two ways in Domesday: (i) As a notional area used for rateable purposes; (ii) An actual area of land classically about 15 acres (6.25 Hectares) but in Lincolnshire thought to refer to 20 acres (8.3 Hectares). CARUCATE Again the word can be used in two ways: (i) A notional area used for rateable purposes with a value eight times that of a bovate; (ii) An area of arable land linked closely to the amount of land ploughed by eight oxen in a year. It's Lincolnshire value is reckoned at approximately 160 acres (66.7 Hectares). The Inhabitants The villages of Healing are divided into three categories according to the Domesday entries. There are no slaves recorded. SOKEMEN These were men who owned land on a manor to which the obligations of SOKE were attached.