Choose a Topic ....
Archaeology
Society
Churches
Settlement
Infrastructure
Industry
Agriculture
SLHA
Photograph Galleries
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
W
Y
Strubby
 
Strubby, School
Strubby, School
Strubby, School

Following a campaign by the vicar from 1864 to give children a ‘good, plain education’, the parochial school was built in 1878 for 40 children. It stands in what is now a cul-de-sac running southwards from the A157.
 
The creation of the airfield of RAF Strubby in 1943 caused the closure of this route, which formerly went through to Woodthorpe at the southern edge of the parish.
 
The school closed in 1933 with the children transferred to Withern school, and the building is now a private dwelling. 

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021 

Strubby, school
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald

The alternating bands of brick and stone are continued around the whole building. The red tile roof is decorated with diamonds of fish-scale shaped tiles.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald

The nave was rebuilt in 1857 by Maughan & Fowler and the chancel in 1874 by Ewan Christian.

Inside are medieval features - the four-bay south arcade, for example - and the east window of the south aisle (seen here) dates from about 1300.

Peter Kirk Collection, 1997

Strubby, St Oswald, Maughan & Fowler, Ewan Christian
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald

A church with a colourful exterior even on a wet day in the autumn.

Bands of brick and local greenstone are laid in alternate bands.

September 2018

Strubby, St Oswald, greenstone
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald
Strubby, St Oswald

This view shows the striped fabric of the building, the bell-cote, the projection of the south aisle, the chimney above and two metal ties that perhaps indicate that the building has been prone to settlement over a long period.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1062988 

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church
Strubby, St Oswald, Bellcote
Strubby, St Oswald, Bellcote
Strubby, St Oswald, Bellcote

Over the west gable of the church is a small wooden bellcote surmounted by a spire (spirelet).

September 2018

Strubby, St Oswald, bellcote
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End

Bench end with poppy head, a common medieval decorative feature.

September 2018

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, bench end
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End

Although the pews are Victorian the makers have incorporated elements of the medieval ones. In some cases the entire pew end has been used, but mainly just the poppyhead is preserved.
 
A variety of designs are displayed. On this one, two characters gaze east and west from among leaves.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, bench end
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End

Although the pews are Victorian the makers have incorporated elements of the medieval ones. In some cases the entire pew end has been used, but mainly just the poppyhead is preserved.
 
A variety of designs are displayed. This design is solely of leaves.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, bench end
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End

Although the pews are Victorian the makers have incorporated elements of the medieval ones. In some cases the entire pew end has been used, but mainly just the poppyhead is preserved.
 
A variety of designs are displayed. Surely two women wearing close-fitting bonnets decorate this example.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, bench end
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End

Although the pews are Victorian the makers have incorporated elements of the medieval ones. In some cases the entire pew end has been used, but mainly just the poppyhead is preserved.
 
A variety of designs are displayed. Here two faces peer out from a circlet of flower petals.
 
Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, bench end
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End
Strubby, St Oswald, Bench End

Although the pews are Victorian, the makers have incorporated elements of the medieval ones. In some cases the entire pew end has been used, but mainly just the poppyhead is preserved.
 
A variety of designs are displayed. In this case two acrobats or tumblers bend backwards to grasp their ankles.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, bench end
Strubby, St Oswald, Flue Door
Strubby, St Oswald, Flue Door
Strubby, St Oswald, Flue Door

It appears that there was once a fireplace in the west end of the south aisle although nothing remains except this flue door and the stump of a chimney above the gable.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, flue door,
Strubby, St Oswald, Font
Strubby, St Oswald, Font
Strubby, St Oswald, Font

An octagonal font of similar style to many nearby; it has a variety of tracery patterns decorating the faces of the bowl.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, font
Strubby, St Oswald, Interior
Strubby, St Oswald, Interior
Strubby, St Oswald, Interior

The view westwards shows the central position of the font, the arcade of the south aisle and the number of early poppy heads incorporated into Victorian pews.
 
The quantity of dust sheets, folded back for photography, are protecting the fittings after extensive cleaning. This was necessitated by falling plaster above a window in the south aisle.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church
Strubby, St Oswald, Memorial Plaque
Strubby, St Oswald, Memorial Plaque
Strubby, St Oswald, Memorial Plaque

This plaque reads:

In Lasting Memory of
THE RT. HONBLE. THOMAS WILSON, LL.D., P.C.
born at Strubby, circ. 1525
SECRETARY OF STATE, DEAN OF DURHAM
Left England for Rome during Queen Mary’s reign, 1553-1558, where he was tortured and imprisoned for heresy.
On the death of Queen Mary, and being delivered from his prison by a fire, he returned to England during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
Possessing nobility of character and literary talent, he did much public work from 1558-1567.
He was Ambassador to Portugal in 1567, Member of Parliament for Lincoln in 1571, Secretary of State 1577-1581.Dean of Durham in 1579.
He died in the year 1581 and was buried in St. Catherine’s near the Tower of London.
A Christian gentleman, having proved the worth of his own saying:-
‘A good name is better than all the goods in the world’

Jean Howard, October 2013

Strubby, Thomas Wilson, Secretary of State, Dean of Durham
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

This is a very handsome white marble wall monument in memory of Charles Ballett who died in 1703.
He was perhaps the grandson or great grandson of William Ballet whose monument is nearby.
At the top of the composition is a flaming vase within a broken pediment; beneath this a winged skull is depicted within lily of the valley; and the text is framed within swags of flowers and foliage.
It reads:
 
Here lyeth the Body of CHARLES BALLETT/ Late of Clements Inn in the County of/
Midlesex Gent deceased which CHARLES/
Had to his first Wife ELIZABETH WELLS/
Daughter of JOHN WELLS Gent in the/
County of Kent and he had Issue by her/
Two sons and two daughters CHARLES/
And THO ELIZABETH and SARAH/
He had to his second Wife ANN TINGLE/
Late Widow of WILLIAM TINGLE Gent/
In the County of Northhampton/
By whom he had no Issue/
Obiit 27 Jan 1703/
AEtatis suae 69

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, Church, Charles Ballett, Elizabeth Wells, John Wells, William Tingle
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

Recessed into the south wall of the chancel is this early fourteenth century effigy of a man in civilian clothing. He has long been considered to have been called Adam de Strubby.
 
His face has been chipped away to reveal the diagonally placed cushion on which his head rested.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, Church, effigy, monument, Adam de Strubby
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

This brass plaque marks the service of Revd W D Sheard. It reads:
 
IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF/
WILLIAM DAVID SHEARD M.A. CAMB/
TWENTY YEARS VICAR OF THIS PARISH/
DIED JANUARY 31 1881 AGED 73 YEARS/
THIS BRASS IS ERECTED/
BY HIS PARISHIONERS AND FRIENDS AS/
A TOKEN OF THEIR ESTEEM AND RESPECT. 

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, William David Sheard
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

This fine marble tablet remembers Christopher Musgrave Taylor, a surgeon and physician who began his career at St Thomas’s Hospital but later worked in the north-eastern area of the Indian subcontinent: Sylhet is in Bangladesh, Cachar in Assam.
 
He was the eldest son of the incumbent here, Revd Christopher Tennant Taylor, appointed to the cure of Strubby in 1881. The son died at Strubby Rectory on 30 November 1884 aged 33 years.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, Christopher Musgrave Taylor, Sylhet
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

This section of Ancaster stone on the wall of the aisle next to the south door, is another monument to the Ballett family.
 
It is said to read:
 
Affor ye porch dor under the stone
Lysse ye body & bons of B:lotts beryed
In the yeyr of owr lorde god I V 3 1
The 1 8 day of January yerly to be notid
Wherfr frendys I pray you have me revivyd
Wt your gud praers tht soner my sall may cum
per me coniuge predicte anno m
v and xxxii
 
By modern reckoning the date of death was 1532 and the implication is that there would be a perpetual anniversary mass, a practice soon to be frowned upon.
 

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, Ballett
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

This monument is for William Ballett, his two wives and their children. The tablet at the lower level is a tour de force by the poor mason who managed to leave us a verbal family tree!
 
With original spelling but added punctuation for clarity it says:
 
Here lieth ye body of William Ballett/
[Alderman of London, late] of Woodthorpe in the/
County of Lincoln Esq, Sonne and Heyre of Edward Ballett/
of Ufford in ye County of Suffolck Gent by Ursula ye Daughter/
of Richard Saunders Gent; wich Edward was ye Sonne and Heyre/
of Thomas Ballett of Ufford Gent by Alice Jay. This William/
had two Wives: Joan ye eldest Daughter of Franncis Garton/
of Billingshurst in the County of Sussex Esq and by her had/
two Sonnes and one Daughter, John, William & Elizabeth dead with-
out issue; his other Wife was Susanna eldest daughter of Paterick/
Dethick of Westminster in ye County of Middlesex Gent descended/
of ye name of Dethick called Dedick of Worcestershire. By her he had five/
Sonnes and one Daughter; William, George, Charles, Edward, Richard/
& Rose. William marryed Mary ye Daughter & Coheyr of Richard Horneby/
of Tothill Esq by Winifred ye Daughter of Robert Peyton of Iselam in ye/
County of Cambridge Esq by Elizabeth ye Daughter of Robert Lord/
Rich, wich William had issue William, Richard & Ann. George marryed Eilen/
ye Daughter of William Thorie of Thurleby Gent by whome he had William,/
Charles, George, Francis, Susanna, Mary & Ann. Charles marryed Sarah/
ye Daughter of Thomas Newcomen of Wythren Gent by whome he had/
issue Charles, Samuell & Mary. This William, ye Grand Father dyed 9 May/
1648 being 99 Yeares.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, William Ballett Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

William Ballett died in 1648 at the age of 99 years. He is shown kneeling, looking towards his two wives, Joan and Susanna, kneeling on the other side of a prayer desk.
 
Unusually their children are shown along a shelf at a higher level, the six boys above their father and the two girls above their mother.
 
William is finely robed but bare-headed while his two wives wear unusual cylindrical hats. All figures hold their hands in customary prayerful mode except one of the wives.
 
To the left of the monument recent cracking above the window can be seen, along with some timber bracing that has been deemed necessary. 
 
The Ballett family lived at Woodthorpe Hall, a mid seventeenth century brick house in the south of the parish.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, William Ballett Monument, Woodthorpe Hall
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument
Strubby, St Oswald, Monument

A rather curious flagstone, relatively modern, yet commemorating a fourteenth century priest. Perhaps it replaces an original ledger stone broken during restoration.  

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, Simon de Woodthorpe
Strubby, St Oswald, Pulpit
Strubby, St Oswald, Pulpit
Strubby, St Oswald, Pulpit

The panels of the pulpit are decorated with applied tracery. For this design, reminiscent of Norfolk wine-glass pulpits, a short staircase is provided!

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, pulpit
Strubby, St Oswald, Rainwater Hopper
Strubby, St Oswald, Rainwater Hopper
Strubby, St Oswald, Rainwater Hopper

Much of the church was restored in 1857 but the chancel restoration was undertaken in 1874 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners under architect Ewan Christian.
 
These hoppers appear around the chancel.
 

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, Church
Strubby, St Oswald, Roll of Honour
Strubby, St Oswald, Roll of Honour
Strubby, St Oswald, Roll of Honour

A list of those of the parish of Strubby with Woodthorpe who served in WWI. Three names are marked with a cross to show that they gave their lives in war.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, roll of honour
Strubby, St Oswald, Socket Stone
Strubby, St Oswald, Socket Stone
Strubby, St Oswald, Socket Stone

This socket stone may be the base of a churchyard cross but it has not previously been recorded. Investigations are underway as to its purpose and age.
 
According to oral tradition in the village it is thought to have been used as a ‘plague stone’, that is, the recess was filled with vinegar to disinfect money left out for suppliers bringing food – not that there is any known outbreak of plague in Strubby.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, Churchyard cross, plague stone, vinegar
Strubby, St Oswald, Stained Glass
Strubby, St Oswald, Stained Glass
Strubby, St Oswald, Stained Glass

The stained glass in the east window was commissioned in 2012 from the artist Glenn Carter to commemorate the Farrow family who have farmed in the village for ten generations.
 
The design incorporates Lincoln Red cattle, domestic fowl and Lincoln Longwool sheep, breeds which they have kept.
 
It also recalls the life of St Oswald and his death in battle, showing two priests praying for his soul. The background across all three lights is a subtle cross of palm leaves.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, St Oswald, stained glass
Strubby, St Oswald, Vestry
Strubby, St Oswald, Vestry
Strubby, St Oswald, Vestry

The church has suffered from seasonal settlement of the Middle Marsh ground beneath it for many years and cracks have many times been re-pointed.
 
The new east window had to be taken out and replaced within a few years of completion.
 
The vestry, added to the chancel at cost to the incumbent, is at the north-eastern corner of the building and has cracks down both side walls.
 
Sadly the building is on the Heritage at Risk list. 
https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk/search-register/list-entry/19737 

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, vestry
Strubby, St Oswald, War Memorial
Strubby, St Oswald, War Memorial
Strubby, St Oswald, War Memorial

The altar at the east end of the south aisle was placed as a memorial to those lost in WWI. However, it seems strange that this was not undertaken until 1932 and that the plaque names the vicar and churchwardens rather than those who died in war.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, church, war memorial
Strubby, St Oswald, Window
Strubby, St Oswald, Window
Strubby, St Oswald, Window

Although the nave and south aisle were restored in 1857 under Maughan & Fowler, this window at the east end of the south aisle is c1300 with a cinquefoiled circle in the head of the tracery.

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Saint Oswald, Church, window, Maughan Fowler
Strubby, Vicarage
Strubby, Vicarage
Strubby, Vicarage

To the immediate north of the church stands the former vicarage. It was built c 1840 and sold into private ownership in 1971.

It is listed Grade II: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1147093   

Jean Howard, 23 July 2021

Strubby, Vicarage