A sunset photo taken on Wellington Way, Market Deeping.
At Monday’s meeting of SKDC Full Council, the Portfolio Holder for Housing announced his intention to build new council houses at a small number of houses across the District. These include 14 houses at Wellington Way in Market Deeping.
The housing schemes have been ‘in the pipeline’ for several years but, as with so many other SKDC projects, the pace of progress has been almost glacial. I was shown some plans for the Wellington Way scheme, in confidence, way back in 2018. I don’t know all the reasons why it has taken the council nearly three years to ‘go public’ and start the process of applying for planning permission but it will be due in part to the large turnover of senior officers at SKDC in general and in the beleaguered Housing Department in particular. The changes in Cabinet roles (three different portfolio holders in three years) and of course the global pandemic will also have had an impact. The current Portfolio Holder, Cllr Robert Reid (Con) stated said that he hopes the scheme will be presented to the council’s internal Housing Group (composed of senior officers and cabinet members) later in March and then Planning Permission will be requested in May.
I do not have accurate up-to-date information regarding the details of the new ‘housing units’; they might be flats or bungalows but I think they will be small houses. As for the precise location on Wellington Way, you don’t need a Town Planning degree in order to make an educated guess at where it might be physically possible to build 14 homes, especially if they are to be built on land owned by the Council.
In 2018, I was assured that the future of the Scout Hut would be secure; and I have no reason to believe it is at risk now.
Market Deeping Scout and Guide Hut (aka ‘the old Cook House’)
The other South Kesteven sites progressing in 2021/22 financial year are:
A few weeks ago, a resident of Godsey Lane contacted me with a few issues about policing, traffic and young people which, strictly-speaking, fall outside my role as a District Councillor. Nevertheless, we had a long chat about the various issues and I decided to get some answers direct from the police ‘horse’s mouth’. I hope the questions and answers below will be interesting to many people in the Deepings.
Dear Councillor Baxter,
Thank you for your email which was forwarded to me by the PCC as your queries were about operational issues, specifically about policing in the Deepings. I’m happy to answer the questions posed, and would also encourage you to engage with your local Neighbourhood Team, to understand what they are doing to keep the Deepings safe.
I have set out your questions below, followed by my response:
Do the PCSOs have powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs)? They do, and whilst this is useful, the purpose of Police Community Support Officers is primarily to work with the community to solve problems rather than to enforce. Whilst enforcement is one solution, it is rarely the first or preferred approach to local problems.
If so, for which of the following misdemeanours can Lincolnshire PCSOs issue FPNs?
a) Illegal or inconsiderate parking Lincolnshire County Council leads on parking enforcement and their Wardens address parking issues, not PCSOs, with the exception of Obstruction offences
b) Cycling on the pavement Yes, PCSOs can enforce on this issue, but the safety of all road and pavement users is the primary concern – education is the preferred approach
c) Cycling without lights PCSOs have not been given the power to issue FPNs to people cycling without lights.
d) Littering Yes, PCSOs can enforce, but we work with District Councils where there is a persistent issue.
e) Dog fouling No – again, PCSOs have not been given this power.
As mentioned above, the primary role of the PCSO is not enforcement. For the majority of the time PCSOs have been a part of policing in Lincolnshire they have not had any enforcement powers, and whilst these additional powers were granted to allow for a full range of outcomes, there is no incentive or expectation that enforcement will be used.
At a pre-Covid meeting of the Deepings Police Forum, I recall one of our PCSOs saying that powers to enforce parking restrictions were being extended beyond LCC Parking Enforcement to allow PCSOs to issue FPNs for parking. Did this ever happen? And have the PCSOs received the relevant training? PCSOs can issue a Traffic Offence Report (TOR ). This is a report that is considered by a central team to ensure a consistent approach for Unnecessary Obstruction, as that is a wider offence than purely breaching a parking regulation, and impacts the safety of other road users.
Have PCSOs been granted any additional powers or training as a result of the Covid-19 situation? Yes, PCSOs can issue FPNs in relation to COVID Regulation Breaches: • Contravene requirement of restriction on movement • Without reasonable excuse, obstruct person carrying out a function under restrictions • Without reasonable excuse, contravene a direction or fail to comply with instruction • Contravene requirement to not participate in a gathering in public of more than two people
As you can possibly gather from the previous questions, there are ongoing problems with cyclists (mostly teenagers) being anti-social in the Deepings. I wonder if there is any way to find specific data relating to this issue and whether you know of any proactive measures being taken by Lincs Police, LCC or anyone else to mitigate the problem? The local Inspector is Gary Stewart along with Sgt Emma Crisp and Beat Manager PC Claire Wilson are aware of the concerns raised by local residents about anti-social behaviour in the Deepings. I do not have data relating to the extent of the problem, but the neighbourhood team are working with the community to find the most effective solution to the issues.
Solutions to antisocial behaviour are always strongest when they come from the community and partners working together; enforcement is important, but often as part of a number of approaches, and rarely the first one to be used.
I encourage you to speak to your local Policing Team. The PCSOs are there to listen to the local community and help bring partners together to problem solve and ensure everyone plays their part in keeping the Deepings safe.
On Wednesday 17 February, the Regulator for Social Housing published the following notice with respect to South Kesteven District Council’s failings, over more than a decade, to comply with some quite fundamental health and safety legislation across its portfolio of Council Houses and sheltered housing schemes. The failings include lack of fire, electrical and asbestos checks as well as more general stock condition surveys.
Regulatory Notice – February 2021
Registered Provider: South Kesteven District Council.
Regulatory Finding:
The regulator has concluded that:
a) South Kesteven DC has breached part 1.2 of the Home Standard; and
b) As a consequence of this breach, there was the potential for serious detriment to South Kesteven DC tenants.
The regulator will work with South Kesteven DC as it seeks to remedy this breach and will continue to consider what further action should be taken.
The Case
As a local authority registered provider, South Kesteven DC is required to comply with the consumer standards, including the Home standard. The Home standard requires registered providers to have a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service and to meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of occupants in their homes.
Our assessment of the information received through a self-referral from South Kesteven DC is that the Council has failed to meet statutory health and safety requirements. Specifically, the requirements in relation to fire safety, the safety of heating appliances, electrical safety, and asbestos safety. In respect of fire safety, South Kesteven DC has a statutory duty to regularly assess the risk of fire and to take precautions to prevent the risk of fire. In this regard the regulator has learned that over a thousand remedial actions identified in fire risk assessments carried out in 2017 had not been completed. There have also been failings in ensuring that solid fuel heating appliances do not pose a risk to tenants. South Kesteven DC found annual inspections and cleaning of solid fuel heating appliances for a smaller number of properties had not been scheduled or completed in a timely way. With regard to electrical safety, South Kesteven DC is required to ensure that electrical installations are in working and safe condition both at the start of any tenancy and throughout that tenancy. South Kesteven DC has reported that none of the Council’s communal areas had an electrical inspection and just under half of all its properties had out of date inspections, some of which were more than ten years old. For asbestos safety, South Kesteven has reported that nearly three hundred surveys of communal areas were overdue and should have been completed in 2019. For these reasons, the regulator concluded that South Kesteven DC has breached the Home Standard, and as consequence, there was the potential for serious detriment to tenants. Since identifying these issues, South Kesteven DC has strengthened its senior capacity and is developing an action plan to address the underlying weaknesses in its systems. A programme of work has commenced, and we have been assured by South Kesteven DC that it has taken immediate and appropriate action to ensure the safety of tenants while the programmes being delivered.
The Regulator’s Findings
The regulator considered the case as a potential breach of part 1.2 of the Home standard and has concluded that South Kesteven DC did not have an effective system in place to allow it to meet its statutory health and safety responsibilities across a range of areas.
Complying with statutory health and safety requirements is a fundamental responsibility of all registered providers because of the potential for serious harm to tenants. South Kesteven DC has demonstrated to the regulator the progress it is making to ensure the required statutory checks, and relevant safety actions, are completed, and that appropriate mitigations are in place in the meantime. However, taking into account the seriousness of the issues, the durations for which tenants were potentially exposed to risk, and the number of tenants potentially affected, the regulator has concluded that it is proportionate to find that South Kesteven DC has breached the Home standard and that there was a risk of serious detriment to tenants during this period. Section 198A of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (as amended) states that the regulator’s regulatory and enforcement powers may be used if a registered provider has failed to meet a consumer standard. In order to use regulatory or enforcement powers, as well as the failure to meet the standard, there should also be reasonable grounds to suspect that the failure has resulted in a serious detriment to the provider’s tenants (or potential tenants) or that there is a significant risk that, if no action is taken by the regulator, the failure will result in a serious detriment to the provider’s tenants (or potential tenants). South Kesteven DC has put in place a programme to rectify these failures and the regulator will therefore not take statutory action at this stage, as it has assurance that the breach of the standard is being remedied. The regulator will work with the Council as it continues to address the issues which have led to this situation, including ongoing monitoring of how it delivers its programme.
While the rest of the country is talking about Covid, #BLM and Brexit, our special corner of Lincolnshire has been gripped by the thought of unveiling a new statue to Margaret Thatcher in her home town of Grantham. Loyal readers will remember the comments I made at the time of the Planning Application by GCHA back in 2018 but recently the decision by the entirely Conservative SKDC Cabinet to commit £100,000 towards an ‘unveiling event’ has stirred the world’s media once again. I have personally spoken to the national and international press as well as some of our friendly local media including BBC Radio Lincolnshire and Nub News.
First there was a Cabinet meeting back on 1st December which included a seemingly innocuous agenda item entitled “Public Realm Improvements”. The agenda pack was published with a note stating that the relevant papers would follow later.
It was only after the meeting that we discovered that a 9ft bronze statue of the Iron Lady represents an improvement to Grantham town centre and that the statue should unveiled at a ceremony costing £100,000. The decision had been taken without any scrutiny and consequently I used the ‘call-in’ procedure to ensure that other councillors would have a chance to the contribute to the debate.
This is just a quick note to say thanks to everyone for has supported my participation in the Age UK #RunYourAge January fundraising challenge.
I’m delighted to report that I finished the challenge on Sunday 31st with a 10k run via Maxey and Northborough.
I ran it in 57m11s smashing my PB (Personal Best) and enabling me to tick an item off my bucket list (run a 10k in less than an hour).
It brought my total distance run for January to 55.75km which is slightly more than was necessary but it’s always good to go ‘the extra mile’.
I was euphoric at the end and even more so when, the following morning, a flurry of donors took me past the fundraising target as well as the distance target.
I still have to finish writing up the blogs of each village run but it has been really good for me to become better acquainted with the villages and footpaths around the Deepings. Thank you all so much!
During January 2021, I am participating in Age UK’s ‘Run Your Age’ event by running a total of 51km. It would be great if you would SPONSOR ME to raise funds to support older people in Lincolnshire and across the UK!
On Sat 9th Jan, I ran through Wilsthorpe, Obthorpe and across to Baston in a loop of 10km bringing my ‘running total’ to 33km.
My run started on King Street which is a Roman road which dissects the County Council Division of ‘Deepings West and Rural’. I first followed a footpath across a field of beet to a bridge over the River Glen, in fact the first bridge after the West Glen merges with the East Glen. This brought me into the small village of village of Wilsthorpe (formerly Wivelestorp) which comprises only forty houses including two farms.
At the centre of the village is the church of St Faith of Acquitaine, Wilsthorpe. Due to Covid, the church was not open but I had visited once before when I attended a meeting of Braceborough and Wilsthorpe Parish Council which uses the church in the absence of any other appropriate meeting place in the village. I remember it being quite cold and gloomy (the church, not the Parish Council) but it was, as I recall, a winter evening.
St Faith’s church is one of the smallest in the area as well as the youngest church in the Uffington benefice, being only 300 years old. The tercentenary was celebrated in 2015 with a service led by the Bishop of Lincoln.
It was built in the 18th century, a fine example of early Georgian but in 1863 the building was altered by architect James Fowler which resulted in a Classical & Gothic mash-up.
If Dan Brown ever makes a sequel to the Da Vinci code set in rural Lincolnshire, then St Faith’s church might be a good place to start. The stained glass above the altar would be right up his street while the ancient grafitti carved into the front of the building would give him plenty to think about.
Despite being only 300 years old, the church has somehow acquired a fine and authentic stone figure of a 13th century knight bearing a shield with the arms. It is thought to be that of the Wake family but this has not been proven. Hereward the Wake was an Anglo-Saxon originally from the Bourne area who led resistance to the Norman invasion & became known as ‘Hereward the Outlaw’ and ‘the last Englishman’ because he held out against the occupying army until 1081. The Wakes are remembered fondly in and around our area with a road in Market Deeping named after Joan Wake and, when I was young, there was a radio station at the other end of the fens named after Hereward. The car stickers used to read “Hereward is a-wake!” which I thought was quite clever even if the pun had been over 900 years in development.
At the end of 2016 the church steeple was repaired to stop ingress of rain and pigeons. This was funded by grants from various organisations and fund-raising withisin the village, including Open Gardens and a ‘Pimms and Plants’ evening, which is now an annual event!
Wilsthorpe was also known for providing Peterborough (14 miles away) with gallons of water each day after a 52ft deep well was drilled in the 19th Century.
Shortly after passing the church my route converged with the Macmillan Way which is one of a small number of long distance walks which takes a route through South Kesteven. The path ahead therefore led towards Boston while the path in another direction could have taken me over 200 miles to Abbotsbury in Dorset! I ran past a total of three people before leaving the village to the North towards the hamlet of Obthorpe. I was a bit surprised to be confronted with a very slight incline. The first since I started this month’s running challenge and possibly the last.
I continued on the Macmillan Way across the a15 at Kate’s Bridge which, for centuries if not millenia, has been a point of interest on the route between Peterborough and Lincoln. It would have been the point at which traffic crossed the aforementioned King Street Roman road met the River Glen and the nearby ‘Thetford’ suggests there was a ford there. By the 13th century it was known as ‘Caterbrig’ suggesting that a bridge had been established. The current bridge was built in the 19th century as part of the turnpike route. Travellers can still refresh themselves at the nearby filling station which now sells petrol.
Kate’s Bridge is also the point at which King Street meets Car Dyke which is another construction of the Roman era which eight-five miles along the western edge of the Great Fen. The origin and purpose of the Car Dyke are a mystery, but it is generally accepted as marking the western edge of the Fens. To the South it runs through the middle of Market Deeping, roughly along the course of Godsey Lane.
Arriving in Baston in stile!
Baston village has a church, a primary school as well as Kirkstone House private school. It is divided by the busy A15. I was particularly grateful for the footpaths because I have previously tried to run alongside the A15 towards Kate’s bridge but the lack of footpath provision makes it very dangerous.
The River Glen to the East of the A15 was particularly picturesque as I ran. After about a kilometre, I turned to the South towards Baston entering that village via a footpath adjacent to the cemetery.
After Baston, my route wend its way back onto King Street completing the loop and the run.
Excerpt from the Times 01 September 1977Shot valet wants to stay with employer
Harry Lyttelon Dowsett, an industrialist, was so befuddled by drink that be mistook his valet-ohauffeur for an intruder and shot him in rbe leg with a shotgun, it was stated at Lincoln Crown Court yesterday.
Nevertheless, Philip Wymer, who might never fully recover after his leg was shattered, wants to continue to work for Mr Dowsett, counsel said.
Mr Dowsett, aged 70. of Greatford Hall, near Stamford, who built up the Dowsett Group of companies, was given a two-year jail sentence, suspended
for a year, after pleading guilty to unlawful wounding. He was also fined £1,000 and ordered to pay up to £500 prosecution costs. Judge Whitehead ordered his firearms licences to be cancelled.
Mr Igor Judge, for the prosecution, accepted Mr Dowsett's plea of not guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily barm. He said chat on the evening of April 26 Mr Wymer went to Greatford Hall to see Mr Dowsett. He found him in bed. He was about to go home when Mr Dowsett, who was in a rage, demanded a drink. When Mr Wymer went into an adjoining room Mr Dowsett shot him, saying: “I have got you, you bastard."
Mr Brian Smedky, QC. for die defence, said: “The last person in the world Mr Dowsett would ever normally want to injure was the man who had been more than just a chauffeur-valet but who was his friend for the past 25 years.
During January 2021, I am participating in Age UK’s ‘Run Your Age’ event by running a total of 51km. It would be great if you would SPONSOR ME to raise funds to support older people in Lincolnshire and across the UK!
On 7th Jan, I ran from Greatford to Barholm then back to Greatford, then on to Braceborough and then back to Greatford. This was a total distance of just over 5km bringing my ‘running total’ to 23km.
I arrived in Greatford at about 8am on a cold and frosty morning. I was barely out of the car before two people jogged past me (very socially distanced from me and each other) adorned in hi-vis and flashing lights which made me less self-concious about the high-vis beanie hat I had bought for just this type of occasion.
I set off along the straight-line footpath South towards Barholm. Almost immediately I was at the edge of the village and young rabbits were chasing each other across the frozen ground (It would have been more poetic if they were hares heading toward the Hare and Hounds PH but I’m pretty sure they were rabbits). A large bird was coasting on the thermals overhead and the whole scene gave me some idea why so many runners choose to exercise in the early morning. I am not usually one of them.
A couple of stiles and a footbridge brought me to Barholm church whereupon I turned round and headed back to Greatford where I ran through and past the church which lies between two sections of the River West Glen. You must understand that this place used to be a ‘great ford’.
On one of my previous visits, I had noticed two prominent gravestones close to the door of the church, one of which had a latin motto. Intrigued, I did a little research and discovered it was the grave of Harry Dowsett who was one of the former residents of Greatford Hall which is adjacent to the church. To say Mr Dowse was a ‘character’ is an understatement. He made his early fortune during WW2 supplying motor launches and landing craft to the Royal Navy.
In 1944 he registered a patent for pre-stressed concrete which was first manufactured in Tallington where concrete products are still made today.
In later life he was celebrated as a captain of industry but in 1977 was caught in a controversy that sounds like the plot of a PG Wodehouse story. He was at home in bed when his faithful chauffeur-valet of 25 years popped in. Mr Dowsett demanded a drink and, when the valet entered an adjoining room, Dowsett shot him shouting “I’ve got you, you bastard!”.
In court, Dowsett’s QC claimed that the chauffeur-valet was “the last person in the world Mr Dowsett would ever normally want to injure” but, despite this defence, Mr Dowsett was found guilty of unlawful wounding and paid a fine of £1,500 which was apparently the going rate for shooting one’s chauffeur in the 1970s.
The last house to the North of the village is the Old Rectory which is a surprising distance from the church. Beyond lay the frosty footpaths that took me to Braceborough which I entered via a farmgate. I heeded the sign which explained that the gate needed to remain closed to keep the local deer from entering people’s gardens.
A few hundred yards further on brought me to St Margaret of Antioch church in Braceborough which overlooks a picture postcard village green.
According to the Golden Legend, St Margaret was a native of Antioch and the daughter of a pagan priest named Aedesius. Her mother died soon after her birth, so Margaret was nursed by a Christian woman five or six leagues (6.9–8.3 miles) from Antioch. Having embraced Christianity and consecrated her virginity to God, Margaret was disowned by her father, adopted by her nurse, and lived in the country keeping sheep with her foster mother (in what is now Turkey). Olybrius, Governor of the Roman Diocese of the East, asked to marry her, but with the demand that she renounce Christianity. Upon her refusal, she was cruelly tortured, during which various miraculous incidents are said to have occurred. One of these involved being swallowed by Satan in the shape of a dragon, from which she escaped alive when the cross she carried irritated the dragon’s innards. The Golden Legend describes this last incident as “apocryphal and not to be taken seriously”
The church stands to the East of the village facing out towards the manor house and open fields. The reason for the importance of the village in days long gone was the existence of a spa about a mile from the village. The healing waters of this spa drew people in from far and wide, and George III was drawn here, visiting the church in 1770. It seems like a long time ago but it has recently become quite topical because it was a previous famous occasion that the people of the America were concerned about the mental stability of their supreme ruler.
The Royal coat of arms adorns one wall of the nave, which commemorates his visit. George III was looking for a cure for his mental illness, and was treated by the famous doctor Willis, with the Royal patient being treated in a wing of the nearby Shillingthorpe Hall, now demolished. The hall later became a private lunatic asylum.
Back to the run and, once again, about-turn and back to Greatford where the Hare and Hounds PH was sadly shut due to the pandemic (and it being very early in the morning). I’ve been to the Hare and Hounds a few times and it’s a lovely pub that normally used to have a friendly Tuesday evening quiz and absolutely awesome pizza. I look forward to visiting again when the pandemic is over although it seems villagers can currently order takeaway food as per the sign in the photo.
During January 2021, I am participating in Age UK’s ‘Run Your Age’ event by running a total of 51km. It would be great if you would SPONSOR ME to raise funds to support older people in Lincolnshire and across the UK!
On 3rd Jan, I ran from Uffington to Barholm via Casewick Hall. This was only 4.5km so I ran a little bit of the way back to bring my ‘running total’ to 18km.
[You may have noticed that I skipped the step from Tallington to Uffington. This is because I do not know of a safe, sensible and legal right of way to run between the two villages. I said in my previous post that I felt vulnerable running a stretch of the Stamford Road between Tallington and West Deeping; well, sadly, the A1175 leaving Tallington in the other direction is probably more dangerous with very little dedicated pavement for pedestrians and cycles until Copthill farm. I ran ‘there and back’ between the two villages last summer using the South bank of the river Uffington to Tallington which is not a designated public footpath and found parts were inaccessible other than across farmers’ sticky fields, certainly not a choice for January. On the way back from Tallington to Uffington I ran via Casewick Lane, Tallington, most of which I fear was private property. If anyone has a suggestion for another route, I would be happy to try it.]
So, this leg of my ‘tour’ started at St Michael and All Angels Church which currently displays a Christmas star above the village. I like Uffington Church having visited during the annual Uffington scarecrow festivals. One of the graves has some great biblical wisdom inscribed upon it.
Uffington appears to be a meeting point of the local nobility. In the church and around the village various families are celebrated: Earls of Lindsey (the 14th Earl currently lives in Ayrshire); the Trollope baronets of Casewick (the 17th Baronet and current heirs apparent all born in Australia); the Earls of Rutland (who later became Duke of Rutland residing at Belvoir Castle near Grantham); and Barons of Kesteven which I have found a bit confusing – the latest Baroness Kesteven appears to have been Margaret Thatcher but I am sure she is not related to those from Uffington. I am not really the most qualified to speak about the British aristocracy but on this particular run it is unavoidable.
Opposite the church is the school which has an inscription to George Augustus Frederick Albemarle Bertie, 10th Earl of Lindsey. Wikipedia has not been kind to him but the local pub is more friendly having been named ‘the Bertie Arms’ in honour of his family. Lady Charlotte Bertie appears to have been a particular ‘South Kesteven Woman of Achievement’ having given birth to ten children in 13 years, managed an ironworks (which produced the gates to the church), spoke or read eight languages and still found time to knit scarves for London cabbies!
There used to be another pub in the village called the Trollope Arms named after another enobled family which dominate the history of the rest of my route. The Trollope Arms was renamed the Gainsborough Lady but closed in 2006. I wonder if this name refers to the same Gainsborough Lady who is the subject of one of the magnificent oil paintings in Market Deeping Town Hall. I will edit this blog if and when I find out,
A tangled family tree at Casewick Hall
I ran through the village and up Casewick Lane which wend its way up to the gates of Casewick Hall (pronounced ‘Kasik’ or ‘Kazik’). It is said, by estate agents, that there has been a building at Casewick since the Domesday Book and by the 17th century there was a moated mansion. It was at this time that the property was adopted by the aforementioned Trollopes who had it ‘done up’ more fashionably over the next few centuries. The hall has now been split into a handful of smaller, perhaps more manageable dwellings but, from the outside at least, it still looks like a nice place to live.
When I ran through last summer, I took a wrong turn and found a small obelisk with uncertain dedication. I can’t find a listing for it anywhere. Does anyone know for whom it is dedicated?
After Casewick Hall, I crossed a couple of muddy fields to the railway track. The gate was locked even though the Lincs County Council Rights of Way website had no reported closure. It was clear that people were still crossing the line using a combination of the gaps in the fence and common sense, so I joined them and proceeded towards Barholm.
The footpath led to the Old Hall at Barholm which is still a Trollope family residence; inhabited by former Chair of Lincs County Council Martin Trollope-Bellew (Con) and his wife Rosemary Trollope-Bellew (Con) who is the current County Councillor for Deepings West and Rural. The couple have been so much involved in local politics that their engagement began at a Council meeting when, at the very end of his term as Chair of the Council, Martin asked Rosemary to marry him. It was very sweet and was caught on camera!
As you might expect, the Trollope family have been heavily involved in village history over the years and there are memorials in the church remembering Capt Thomas Trollope (3rd Baron Kesteven) who was killed during WW1 and to his nephew Lieut Anthony Trollope-Bellew who was a casualty of WW2 as well as the other men of Barholm who died in conflict.
The Trollope-Bellews are still supporters of the Cottesmore Hunt and though they might have disposed of Casewick Hall, they still appear to own a great deal of property in the area via the Barholm Estate including much of the village including the five horseshoes pub. The pub is a lovely traditional English pub and definitely worth a visit (after the pesky Covid has gone) although I personally prefer the Hare and Hounds in nearby Greatford.
Christmas in Barholm
Coun Mrs Trollope-Bellew also currently serves on South Kesteven District Council where she is Cabinet Member with portfolio for Culture. The Leader of SKDC, Coun Kelham Cooke (Con) also lives in the village so I guess, in some ways, this humble village remains a ‘seat of power’ in South Kesteven.
During January 2021, I am participating in Age UK’s ‘Run Your Age’ event by running a total of 51km. It would be great if you would SPONSOR ME to raise funds to support older people across the UK!
Today, 2nd Jan, I ran from West Deeping to Tallington and back. The wiggly route I chose was 8km bringing the total so far to 13km.
Today, 2nd Jan, I ran from West Deeping to Tallington and back. The wiggly route I chose was 8km bringing the total so far to 13km.
After the ‘brisk warm up walk’ that the C25K commentator always used to rave about, I started running from the Roman Road of King Street which forms the main street through West Deeping.
I followed the footpath which runs behind the pub and then splits; I followed the left fork which leads toward the Tallington. Meeting a couple of dogs, and their owners, along the way, I soon spotted the incongrous dry ski slope – you don’t get many of those on the edge of the fens! A little bit further and I arrived at the Whistle Stop PH next to the notorious Tallington level crossing.
Most of Tallington village is on the other side of the level crossing and after a few hundred yards I was able to follow a footpath next to the former post office which leads through to a well-equipped playground and onto a section of the Stamford canal. The canal was the first post-Roman navigation in the UK and was designed to take shipping from Stamford, through the Deepings and out to the sea at Spalding. It took over a hundred years to complete, leaving just a little bit of time for operations before being made irrelevant by the railway revolution. The sections in Tallington are well marked but mostly dry.
At the end of the village is the church of St Lawrence of Rome. It has closed due to Covid each time I have visited but a good description is here. In the porch there are some hints for how to be effective in worship, which have aged well.
Last time I ran this way I bumped into Parish Councillor Ken Otter a long-time campaigner for an alternative to Tallington Crossing. During 2020, Tallington Parish Council had published a proposal for a Stamford East-West bypass which would include a bridge over the railway which would reduce the current congestion and traffic in the village caused by the level crossing which is sometimes closed for more than 50 minutes in the hour! The route would also ease congestion in Stamford by providing an alternative route for vehicles heading from our direction onto the A1.
A Stamford bypass proposal presented by Tallington PC.
After a brief pause at the church I headed back to the Tallington crossing which, as per usual, had just closed. As a pedestrian I was able to cross via the footbridge.
I then turned left onto the public footpath which runs behind the Jet filling station and the concrete works. One of Tallington’s claims to fame is that it is was the UK birthplace of pre-stressed concrete. Production has recently been increased thanks to a contract to produce segments for a new 25km sewage tunnel under the Thames.
Ironically, sewage is a problem in Tallington as well as London. Some residents in West Deeping face regular problems of sewage backflow in their homes which Anglian Water claim to have been investigating for years. Sadly, there is still no firm conclusion regarding the cause or the solution to the problems.
Many have suggested that a contributory factor is the seemingly relentless increase in static caravans at Tallington Lakes Leisure Park being connected to the same sewer as West Deeping. Tallington Lakes was the next landmark on my run. The site was originally granted planning permission for a caravan park about 20 years ago on the assumption that there would be around 100 caravans. There are now around 400 households living on site as well as touring vans, campers, outdoor swimming, dry ski-slope, waterskiing and other activities. Undoubtedly, Tallington Lakes has a significant and positive impact on the Deepings local economy but there are also inevitably questions relating to the traffic, noise and other issues relating to the site. In February 2020, there was a multi-agency visit to the site involving Environment Agency, South Kesteven District Council and the police. It is my understanding that the investigation is ongoing and hasn’t been helped by the Covid pandemic.
The next milestone was the smaller water-ski operation of Moorelake House which was granted planning permission during 2020. I was originally concerned about the introduction of more caravans to Tallington but on reading the planning application I discovered that there would be no discharge of waste to the public sewer and so I was happy to speak in support of the application at SKDC planning committee. The new facility will enable people to learn water-ski and wakeboarding skills from professionals including wake-board legend Ollie Moore.
On reaching the junction with Stamford Road, I crossed over and found a clear path to run along behind a hedge for a few hundred yards. Sadly, when this path ran out I had little option but to run along the busy Stamford Road. For a few hundred yards there was no footpath or cycleway to keep me safe from the traffic and I felt very vulnerable in the middle of the day. It is a dreadful road to walk or cycle along especially when it gets dark. The foot-path alternatives are muddy, they have no lighting and they are not suitable for bicycles. Lincolnshire certainly has room for improvement when it comes to safe and sustainable transport!
DeepingDo - The blog of Ashley Baxter, Independent Councillor and founder member of the Deepings Rebel Alliance! 