Well, Lincolnshire
| Well | |
| Lincolnshire | |
|---|---|
 St Margaret's church, Well | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TF445739 |
| Location: | 53°14’33"N, -0°9’54"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 166 (2011) |
| Post town: | Alford |
| Postcode: | LN13 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Lindsey |
Well is a small estate village about a mile and a half south of the town of Alford, in Lindsey, the northern part of Lincolnshire. The village stands at the foot of the east entry to the Lincolnshire Wolds,[1] and here provides views of the gradually sloping hills towards the west.
The population of the civil parish was 166 at the 2011 census, including the hamlet of Claxby St. Andrew.
Parish church
The parish church is St Margaret's, a small church which stands on a hill-top above a lake in the parkland of the Well Vale estate. It was built in 1733 and replaced an older church which stood at the foot of the hill where the village used to be until cleared to allow the park to be landscaped. Remains of the old churchyard can still be found near the lakeside.[2] It is a remarkable edifice, built in the full confidence of the Georgian Age in a classical, Palladian style to resemble a temple. It does not face east as almost every church does, but is instead aligned so that its classical entrance portico faces the front door of Well Vale Hall.
The church was built of red brick in 1733 around the same time as Well Vale House. It was altered in the late 18th century, restored in 1959, and is today a Grade I listed building.[3]
About the village
The main sights of the village are the church, the sports field and a fine houses: Grove House and Well Hall Park, the latter now a school and a lordly parkland.
Grove House is a Victorian country house surrounded by gardens and built in 1853 of brick, standing on the edge of the Well Hall Park.[4]
Well Hall Park was first laid out in the early 18th century after the damming of Well Beck to create two lakes, and included moving the village of Well to its present site.[5]
The house known as Well Hall Park or Well Vale Park, is describes as a former red brick country house, now a private school, and it is a Grade II* listed building. The house dates from the early 17th century. It was altered about 1730 for James Bateman, and extended in the late 18th century for Francis Dashwood. The house was partly destroyed Fire in 1845, and rebuilt in 1925 by Guy Elwes.[6]
Thomas Allen, in his The History of the County of Lincoln, From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, wrote:
The village of Well is delightfully situated in a romantic valley at the distance of about two miles south westward from Alford. It contains a mansion belonging to the Dash wood family surrounded by extensive plantations. The manor of this place is said to have been held at the time of the conquest by Richard de Wells by the service of being baker to the king.The church dedicated to St Margaret has been rebuilt in the form of an elegant Grecian temple bearing a striking resemblance to St Paul's Covent Garden. The living is a discharged rectory with the vicarage of Claxby united and is in the patronage of B Dash wood esq. The living of Well is rated in the king's books at 7 2s 3 d Near this place in 1725 two urns containing six hundred Roman coins were found in the neighbourhood are three celticbarrows contiguous to each other. From the eminences in the vicinity extensive prospects over the level lands and marshes to the sea are obtained through various openings in the woods. In 1821 this parish including the chapelry of Derthorpe and the township of Mawthorpe contained 19 houses and 185 inhabitants.[7]
Society
The cricket club in Well serves Alford and the surrounding area; its ground holds cricket matches and summer car boot sales, and Guy Fawkes Night celebrations in November.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Well, Lincolnshire) |
References
- ↑ Information on Well, Lincolnshire from GENUKI
- ↑ St Margaret's Church, Well: ALford Group
- ↑ National Heritage List 1359700: St Margarets Church, Well (Grade I listing)
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 546136 – Grove House
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 1129465 – Landscape Park and Gardens Well Hall
- ↑ National Heritage List 1168883: Well Vale House (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ Thomas Allen (1834). The History of the County of Lincolnshire, From the Earliest Period to the Present Time.. John Saunders, Junior. pp. 168–69. https://books.google.com/books?id=YlAGAAAAQAAJ&vq=Well&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved 30 June 2011.