Final chance to play part in ‘Our Lincolnshire’ heritage survey

Featured

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Anna Scott

The ‘Our Lincolnshire’ online survey which is investigating the heritage of Lincolnshire will close at the end of the month.

So far the survey has attracted over 600 responses triggering a variety of views and stories.

The Arts Council England funded project is led by Carenza Lewis, Professor for the Public Understanding of Research at the University of Lincoln.

Professor Lewis said: “I have found it fascinating finding out about Lincolnshire’s heritage from people across the county.

“We’ve had a range of views, covering some classic Lincolnshire heritage themes like aviation and the RAF, Lincolnshire’s rural and agricultural past, and famous and much-loved sites like the Cathedral and the Castle in Lincoln.

“People have also shared their memories of Lincolnshire – and while some stories are common to Lincolnshire, others stand out, like the rambler who enjoys sheltering in dry church porches with a flask of tea. I also now know how to count to 20 in shepherd’s dialect!”

Professor Lewis said the initial results showed that Lincolnshire people have a strong sense of heritage related to local traditions.

The questionnaire is available online at www.research.net/r/ourlincolnshire and takes about 15 minutes. Different versions are available for under-10s and 11-17 year-olds.

We have also developed a web app, called MyLincolnshireCollection.org which asks users to pick their 10 favourite heritage objects from a range of 100 images.

So far the statue of the Jolly Fisherman at Skegness and a brooch featuring the Lincoln Imp are joint top for the most frequently selected object.

Now launched: My Lincolnshire Collection web app

Featured

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Anna Scott

We’ve just launched the ‘My Lincolnshire Collection’ web app!

Choose your favourite 10 images from a collection of 100, of objects from across the county that reflect Lincolnshire’s diverse heritage.

Submit your responses and find out where your favourite objects are located in Lincolnshire – we hope you enjoy!

For a bit of fun – have a go at our Buzzfeed quiz ‘Which TV Historian are you?’ Could you be Carenza…?!

You can still tell us your views on Lincolnshire’s heritage with the Our Lincolnshire Heritage Survey – please take part!

Start Survey

Tell us your views about your heritage.

Outcasts Cricket Club: event in August

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Anna Scott

Our Lincolnshire have received the following from the Outcasts Cricket Club about their opening event for their new pavilion in August.

Find out more about Lincolnshire’s cricket heritage at Our Lincolnshire’s sister site Cricket Lincs.

“OUTCASTS” Cricket Club comes in from the Cold!

It is exciting times for a North Lincolnshire village cricket club as they prepare to officially open a new pavilion and facilities on Sunday August 21^st, with a festival of cricket and family entertainment.

The new pavilion at Outcasts Cricket Club

Outcasts cricket club, have been in existence since the late 1940’s. The rather unusual name comes from a breakaway group of players unable to secure a place in the local Isle of Axholme teams. The club moved to the picturesque ground at Hirst Priory in 1976, where the facilities have remained relatively untouched… until now!

In January this year work began on the new facility which has been made possible through a grant received from Scottish Southern Energy (SSE) and their commitment to local leisure projects , and further funding from North Lincolnshire Council. What stands today is a state of the art facility boasting bar, kitchen and changing facilities. The facility is not only used for cricket, but also for social events, meetings and children’s parties.

Outcasts outfield

In recent years this success has been mirrored on the field. In 2015 the 1^st XI were Division 1 champions for the first time , and this year are making their debut within the Lincolnshire Premier League. The club boasts a Second and Third XI and also a Midweek Evening League Team. Most pleasing has been the developments within the junior section of the club, which has seen numbers swell in last couple of years. Local children between 8 and 15 now receive expert training on a weekly basis, and the club fields Under 11’s, 13’s and 15’s teams.

Sunday 21^st August 10 am – 10pm will be an opportunity to celebrate all these developments with an Open Day to which the club would like to invite as many people from the local community and beyond. The day will see a number of local bands performing and kids entertainment including face painting, treasure hunts and bouncy castle. There will be a Hog Roast, Bake Off competition and Beer Tent, to ensure all guests and fed and “watered”. The cricket tournament will see local teams from Outcasts, Luddington and Haxey compete alongside a Macmillan Cancer Invitational Team. The club is teaming up with Macmillan Cancer Care (a charity close to the heart of a number of members) on the day and will ensure a donation is made from the days events.

There will be a number of prizes to be won and an auction on the day, as well as the official “cutting of the ribbon.” Chairman of Outcasts Cricket Club Mark Coulman said “The new facilities at the club are a significant boost to the local community, and offer a great opportunity families to become more involved in cricket and other social activities. I would like to thank SSE and North Lincolnshire Council for their financial support, and to all the local tradesman involved in the pavilion development. Our opening on the 21^st August should be a fantastic mixture of family entertainment and cricket and I encourage everyone to come and spend some time at our great new ground”

Further information on the event can be found via the club Facebook and Twitter pages.

Outcasts pavilion before renovation

Lincolnshire Icons Coming Out On Top

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Anna Cruse

Initial results from our web app indicate that well-known icons such as The Jolly Fisherman and The Lincoln Imp are what Lincolnshire’s public considers representative of its collective heritage. The web app, called MyLincolnshireCollection.org, asks users to choose up to ten favourite heritage objects from a range of 100 images taken from around Lincolnshire, then provides a digital map of where each object can be found. The statue of the Jolly Fisherman at Skegness and a brooch held by the Usher Gallery and made by James Ward Usher that represents the famous Lincoln Imp are currently joint top of the leader board for most frequently selected object.
Although the app represents The Lincoln Imp in gold on Usher’s brooch, it is more commonly known as the medieval stone figure that sits grinning mischievously high on the wall inside Lincoln Cathedral. Many legends exist as to the origin of the wild-eyed and sharp-toothed imp, the most pervasive being that he was one of two that wreaked havoc on the cathedral, having been set loose by the Devil. It is said that the imp was turned to stone by an intervening angel, whilst his counterpart escaped. The story and figure of The Lincoln Imp are so ancient and renowned, that it is perhaps unsurprising that the brooch he adorns has been so popular with MyLincolnshireCollection.org users thus far.

Linc Imp

In addition to finding out what aspects of heritage appeal to Lincolnshire’s public, the designers of MyLincolnshireCollection.org also set out to showcase the range of fascinating public objects that reside outside of the county’s city centre, such as the Jolly Fisherman statue at Skegness. The statue was made to commemorate John Hassall’s famous 1908 poster advertising trips from London Kings Cross to Skegness with Great Northern Railways. The trips cost three shillings per person and were so popular that the campaign ran for five years. Images of ‘The Jolly Fisherman’ can be seen all around Skegness on bus stops, sign posts and souvenirs, and another statue of him can be seen at the town’s train station.

Skeg

Hot on the tails of the Jolly Fisherman and the Lincoln Imp for position of ‘most-picked’ heritage object on MyLincolnshireCollection.org is a mutilated 14^th century tomb that resides in St Mary’s Church in Stamford, a World War II gas mask from The Dambusters Inn in Scampton, and a collection of 18^th century agricultural tools from Pinchbeck Engine Museum.

The Our Lincolnshire team hope that people will continue to use MyLincolnshireCollection.org to pick their favourite objects from around the county, and share their thoughts on Lincolnshire’s heritage. This will improve understanding of people’s perceptions of heritage and what about it is important to them, which can be used to help ensure that people are able to continue to enjoy their heritage, and protect it, in the future.

What do you think of of the Top 2 Lincolnshire heritage objects so far? Let us know by submitting your own collection at MyLincolnshireCollection.org.

Did you get April Fooled?!

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Anna Scott

Today, the first day of April, is famous for being a day for getting caught out – did you fall for an April Fool joke?

The Lincolnshire Echo had fun with a story about a new waterslide coming out of the Waterside Centre… and reported another first for April 1st (but this time not a joke): the first anniversary of the re-opening of Lincoln Castle.

Lincoln Castle (by DncnH CC BY 2.0)

Lincolnshire County Council held a first birthday party at the Castle, which was re-opened last year following a £22m refurbishment. Apparently, King John was even in attendance, just in time for the birthday cake.

Birthday cake sounds much tastier than what was on offer for some children in Louth on April Fool’s Day in days gone by. In Folklore of Lincolnshire, Susanna O’Neil recounts a story (from Widdowson) of how one lady remembered that, as a child,

“We always got a small piece of coal wrapped in a toffee paper in our lunch. Believe me, we should have been very disappointed if it had not been there!”

The joke was on you though if you played a trick in the afternoon – unless you played your trick in the morning then you might have been rebuked with:

“April Fool’s Day passed and gone and you’re the fool for making me one!”

Hopefully you’ve had fun today. If you have any memories about April Fool’s Days gone by in Lincolnshire, or any other memories about tales of Lincolnshire more generally, you can still take part in our survey, where you can let us know what you think about heritage – which includes our stories about the past, memories, and folklore.

Forging ahead in South Holland: Chain Bridge Forge

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Anna Scott

At Our Lincolnshire HQ we were recently contacted by Chain Bridge Forge, a living museum based in Spalding in South Holland.

The South Holland area recently featured in the Our Lincolnshire heritage performance at Pinchbeck, where stories of tulips and agriculture were retold and remembered in Egg Box Theatre’s production ‘A Postcard from South Holland’. The role of the blacksmith would clearly have been central to rural life in this area in the past, and this continues today through the work of the Forge.

Picture of the South Holland flower parade linking to the history of the parade

Read about the history of the Flower Parade at South Holland Life

The Forge has been revived and is in working order, open for all to come and see how blacksmiths work, with live demonstrations of blacksmiths’ techniques. They also offer guided tours, and hold craft days and taster days. The forge is also a great source of information on wheelwrighting and farriers, as well as local history.

The Museum has been open since 2012, and hosts a resident artist blacksmith, who is interested in passing on the skills involved in blacksmithing, and also takes commissions for his work.

The Forge website is packed with information about the local area, and is part of a website dedicated to life in South Holland more widely.

South Holland Life features an archive of material about life in the past in the region. Their searchable library holds a collection of oral histories, transcripts, documents and photographs, which were collected as part of an HLF funded project called “All Our Stories”.

The extensive South Holland Life resource begins with a timeline of notable events in the area, featuring links to further resources. You can also find them on facebook.

The following video, produced by the Museum, gives a short history of the Forge. More videos are featured on their website.

If you want to visit the Forge, you can find out more details and directions here. Entry is free, and opening times are posted on their website.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: