Theddlethorpe History Club
WALKS
Join us for a walk around a local area, learning about history as we go.
Every Other Friday, usually meeting at 10am, we arrange details for the next meet up on that day.
Upcoming Walk Dates
29th November with Expert Herbalist Ali English who will lead the walk and give a demonstration of how to prepare rose hips and other winter berries. Meeting at the Kings Head Pub at 10am
Winter break, resuming again in 2025:
7th February 2025
21st February 2025
Kings Head Pub, Mill Lane, Theddlethorpe, LN12 1PB, Meeting place for the next walk on Friday 29th Nov at 10am for walk with herbalist Ali English.
Previous Walks
23nd September 2023: Mill Road ending at King's Head
Meeting at the village hall car park, then going up Mill Road, across the village to the a1031 then back via the pub path so good boots essential. Lifts for pickup of cars were available to anyone who wanted to just do part of it. Thanks to everyone who came and Thanks to Jackie Hutton for opening up the pub for us and providing the drink and snacks at the end of the walk.
6th October 2023: All Saints Church
Starting off from the Kings Head Pub at 10 am, reaching the church around 10.45 am for a history talk and tour. People could join at the church that was open to those not wanting to do the whole walk. Drinks and snacks at the Pub on completion of the walk.
A big thanks To Martin Chapman Tom Hays and Eleanor Milner for the information they have given me and information from Jean Simpson Archive she has left for us.
Theddlethorpe All Saints' Church, photo by Alison Gray-Green on 6th Oct 2023
3rd November 2023: Stain Hill
Looks nothing does it? We pass it so often and don't even give it a second glance but oh boy the History behind this amazing mound. Thanks to everyone who turned up for the walk and talk where the topic was Stain Hill. This place has inhabited sound Neolithic times. It was created at the end of the last ice age as Glacial Till. It has been an island in the shallow sea. It has been a Roman Trading area. It has been a medieval strong hold and played it's part in the English Civil War. Stain Hill has so much to tell.
Further Information and Links about Stain Hill
Aerial Photo of Stain Hill © Copyright Chris
Location on the map
The location of Stain Hill in the Anglo-Saxon Outmarsh (drawn by C. R. Green)
Stain Hill and the Lincolnshire Marshes in the Anglo-Saxon period by Dr Caitlin R. Green
The Changing Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Coastline of Lincolnshire, with Dr Caitlin Green https://www.youtube.com
Shaw, D. (2021). Report on a Scheme of Archaeological Monitoring and Recording: Stain Hill Farm, Withern, Alford, Lincolnshire. Lincoln: Allen Archaeology Ltd. https://doi.org/10.5284/1100429
Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer: PREHISTORIC FINDS FROM STAIN HILL, WITHERN WITH STAIN https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk
Castle Hill Withern http://www.castleuk.net
Castle Hill: moated site with Civil War earthworks https://ancientmonuments.uk
History, gazetteer, and directory of Lincolnshire, and the city and diocese Google Books
17th November 2023: Nature Walk Around the Reserve with Former Warden John Walker
Can't thank John Walker enough for leading the walk from Churchill Lane car park. What a lot we all learnt. Lovely Soup back at the pub too.
Walking Group on Theddlethorpe Dunes, 17th November 2023, photo by Travis Hesketh
Walking group on the Nature Reserve, November 2023, photo by Charlotte Graves
2nd Feb 2024 The Ship Inn, Old Brickyard, Old Watchtower etc
Meeting at Churchill Land Car Park 10am The walk takes in The Ship Inn, St Helen’s Churchyard, the old Brickyard and the old Watch Tower. Return to car park then travel to King’s Head for hot soup at around 12 noon.
16th February 2024: Smuggling talk by Peter Leak
From Brickyard Lane to Crook Bank
Peter Leak is a retired coast guard and has a vast archive of facts and photos to share. He co-authored the book "Washed in Washed out and Washed Away" with his wife Gemma.
Further Information and Links about Smuggling on our Coast
The Ghosts and Smugglers of Alford: www.youtube.com
There is Sorrow On The Sea by Gilbert Parker: online-literature.com/gilbert-parker
1st March 2024: The Lost Village of Mablethorpe St Peter
Big thanks to everyone who was brave /daft enough to join the walk in the pouring rain! From Crook Bank Car Park, a circular walk to Kent Avenue and back through the sand dunes with the ironic talk about the lost village of Mablethorpe St Peters. Then gathering at the King's Head to look at the documents that informed the talk.
On the 31st December/ 1st January 1287 a flood was recorded by the Louth Chronicles who said "The church of St Peters of Mablethorpe was torn apart by the waves".
Despite the weather the group enjoyed an fascinating talk led by Sarah around the area where St Peter's used to be.
More about the history can be seen here:
15th March 2024: Doggerland, Neptune's Bench and the Time and Tide Bell
The title of this walk, setting off from Crook Bank car park, was it's all about Doggerland not Dogging land. Whenever you mention the Theddlethorpe beach car parks there are always titters of laughter. When the villagers get together there is always speculation about who the hell Lofty High tower and Marilyn Monroe actually were and more recently how can we forget Annette Curtain? This beach however is so much more. It has tails of smugglers, pirates, lost villages, shipwrecks and of course the beautiful nature it supports. We took in Neptune's Bench and the Time and Tide Bell while hearing stories from the past.
It's hard to imagine living here on the Lincolnshire Marsh and coast that at one time we would have been very far inland. In fact, it was only confirmed after September 1931 when a Norfolk fisherman called Pilgrim E Lockwood hauled up a peat log containing a carved Deer antler spear head that fell into renowned Archaeologist Graham Clerk hands that this landmass existed joining Britain to the continent. Earlier people such as Robert Godwin Austin and Clement Reed had written books asking the question and proving some evidence, however it took until the late 60s when Bryony Coles first tentative map showing where this lost land could have extended to the Idea of Doggerland was brought to life in people's imagination.
20 to 30 thousand years ago Modern Humans found themselves excluded from any part of the UK due to the ice sheets making the area uninhabitable. The sea levels however were thought to be as much as 150meters lower than current times. From 18000 years ago however a steady warming took place. The UK and Ireland were still all one big continent connected to the continent but it was open tundra. By 15000 years ago towards the end of the Palaeolithic era Humans following big game such as reindeer and mammoth started to enter the area from more southern parts of Europe. These populations were no more than a few thousand hardy individuals. At this time mainland Scotland was still covered in ice but a “Goldilocks Region” developed in England and Doggerland.
Something catastrophic happened in the Northern hemisphere around 12900 years ago. Following Randall Carlson's work, he and many other scientists’ hypotheses give evidence that this event was triggered by a string of meteorites. A chain of events occurred resulting in volcanic eruptions, earth quakes, massive deluge and huge fires leaving most of the north covered in a black matt layer. This time saw the disappearance of many Human populations together with all the Megafauna such as Mammoth, Mastodons, Woolly Rhino and the larger Wolf and Bear species of the time.
This time marked the end of the Pleistocene and the start of the Holocene the time we now live in. It got cold again for 1300 years during the Younger Dryas Period stunting any recovery, but after this time as we entered the Pre-Boreal period 11600 BP to 10800 BP of warm wet conditions. Our area looking out onto Doggerland became primordial Forrest the evidence of which has been seen on our beaches in our lifetime. We remained in the middle of this land bridge for the longest time even as Doggerland was slowly sinking beneath rising sea levels. It remained a perfect spot for human habitation with its rivers, lakes, marshes, hills, and alluvial planes, forests of birch, hazel, alder and oak. Plentiful food sourcing of fish, foul, wild boar, red deer, roe deer, bear, wolf, beaver, badger, horse, aurochs, wild cat, hare, seals, whales, porpoise, eels and crustaceans became a place of plenty as we entered the Boreal dry warm period from 10800 BP to 7800 BP. Here in Lincolnshire would have been prime real estate being a low area near to rivers and sea to the north East. People would be fairly settled with permanent and seasonal camps. Our land bridge remained to the continent but was forever shrinking to the point where people would have been unable to make it across without a boat. By 9500 years ago Britain and Ireland were permanently separated. The melting of the Laurentide ice sheet in North America resulted in massive amounts of water flowing into the Atlantic.
At this point another disaster happened. The combination of circumstances meant that Storegga shelf off Norway collapsed into the sea resulting in no less than 3 tsunamis happening at the end of October 8200 years ago. People who had returned from summer camps at high level to coastal and lakeside winter accommodation found themselves without warning facing a 10-meter-high wall of water that travelled 40km inland. It's thought some parts of Dogger Island did remain until 5000 years ago however no sign of terrestrial life has been found under the North Sea since the 8.2k event.
The surviving population here settled to a new life of agriculture in time. We are still fascinated by the sea. We remember the souls we lost in our celebrations in that time of year as the summer ends. We look up at the Taurid Meteor Showers and wonder and hope and wish upon it for long life and protection.
Further Information and Links about Doggerland
Not Drowning but Waving! The Rediscovery of Doggerland | Prof. Vince Gaffney | Megalithomania 2023 youtube: Rediscovery of Doggerland
The Mystery of Doggerland… Atlantis in the North Sea?: youtube: Mystery of Doggerland
Doggerland Discoveries: The Incredible Lost and Found Artefacts | Ancient Architects: www.youtube:Artefacts of Doggerland
An Integrated Investigation of a Lost Valley in Doggerland by Martin Bates: youtube: Lost Valley in Doggerland
How Doggerland Sank Beneath The Waves (500,000-4000 BC) // Prehistoric Europe Documentary: youtube: How Doggerland Sunk
Randall Carlson's Ancient Catastrophe (Full Documentary): youtube: Ancient Catastrophe
The drowned villages and eroding coastline of Lincolnshire, c. 1250–1600: Dr Caitlin R Green
The Time and Tide Bell
A Bell Rung by the Rising Tide: Mablethorpe info
To celebrate and reinforce connections in local communities, between different parts of the country, between the land and the sea, between ourselves and our environment.
26th April 2024: The King's Head, Churches, The Old Mill and Post Office
10th May 2024: Churchill Lane to Rimac and back
It was a beautiful sunny morning for the walking group to meet at Churchill Lane car park and do a circular walk to Rimac and back.
There was a lot of history to talk about going through the Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve: through areas that have been the site of many shipwrecks, a First World War army training camp, a family holiday camp between the wars, guarded from invasion in the Second World War, used as an RAF bombing range, becoming a nature reserve in the 1950s and 60s.
Thanks to Travis, Sam and Ken for the photos
24th May 2024: All Saints Church and more....
Sarah's efforts were again greatly appreciated for bringing the group together for another fabulous walk. Many thanks to Alison for sharing her wealth of knowledge by giving a very interesting talk and tour at All Saints Church.
7th June 2024: Old Footpaths from Brickyard Lane
The group of over 20 walkers met at Brickyard Lane Car Park and went on a circular walk, reclaiming overgrown and blocked footpaths in Theddlethorpe. Sarah put them through their paces on a fascinating route taking them through the nature reserve, some forgotten hidden areas and concealed tracks. During their trek they succeeded in opening up a completely overgrown and almost forgotten public right of way and old bridge. It was quite a challenge but rewarding to achieve! On a lighter stretch of the tour the beauty of the dunes was enjoyed, where the orchids were in bloom as well as pretty blue carpets of flowers. Afterwards a "superb" light lunch was put on for the group at the Kings Head for £5 each, thanks to Jackie.
21st June 2024: From Gayton Engine
I was a lovely sunny morning for the group to meet in the car park opposite Gayton Engine Pumping Station on Thacker Bank. This historic pumping engine was built in about 1850. Housed in a grade II Victorian building, it was used to pump flood water from the marshes for well over 100 years. Unfortunately they weren't able to look inside due to subsidence, but enjoyed a very informative talk from Sarah about its history. Then the group continued on a walk around the surrounding countryside. Looking at beautiful countryside, criss-crossed with drainage dykes that are an iconic feature of the Lincolnshire Marshes landscape. After the tour Jackie provided a lovely lunch at the King Heads.
Thanks to Clair for sharing these stunning photos
5th July 2024: Foraging Walk with Herbalist Ali English
The group met at Theddlethorpe Village Hall and greatly enjoyed this short walk with lots of information. Lincolnshire based medical herbalist Ali English trained at Lincoln University, and is passionate about conveying a love of our native herbs and wildflowers. The author of the popular Wild Medicine series of books, which aim to encourage and engender a love of our native plants and their many uses. She shared her expertise to show that “the hedgerow in summer is a fascinating place, laden with a plethora of different herbs and wildflowers, many of which are loaded with medicinal values or can be eaten, or both”
Thanks to Alison Gray-Green for sharing these photos of the herbs seen during the walk, and taking notes! All the information given with the pictures was taken during the walk so if there are some mistakes we apologise !!!
Ali English runs a clinic called Havelock Holistic in Grimsby and has three published books about foraging and herbs.
She can be contacted through havelockholistic@gmail.com for any queries book orders or clinic appointments.
Scroll through the 29 photos with information:
19th July 2024: Earth Energy Dowsing with Steven Phoenix
Local expert Steven Phoenix led the group on a fascinating walk and talk demonstrating the ancient art of Dowsing. They had a fantastic time, finding it really interesting and enjoyable. Steven commented that he was surprised how quickly everyone was able to get dowsing and enjoying it.
Friday 20th September: Smuggling
Sarah led the group on a very enjoyable walk of about four and half miles, talking about the old smuggling routes on the coast.
A lot of information for the walk came from the “About Alford” website, which contains an excellent article on smuggling, with lots about the old Theddlethorpe Smugglers. It’s a highly recommended read and can be seen here:
A Beached Collier Unloading into Carts by Julius Caesar Ibbetson (1759-1817) in The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Friday 4th October: Stain Hill
Sarah led the group on a circular walk of about 6.5 miles starting at the village hall, going via Stain Hill. The area has a vast history, the group were told all sorts of details of murders, battles and interesting finds along the route.
It was wonderful to be joined by the Stone family, visiting from America, whose ancestors came from Theddlethorpe and used to own the Kings Head pub in the 1800s.
After the walk Jackie cooked a marvellous pub lunch for the group at the Kings Head.
The Stone Family from America visiting Theddlethorpe, where their family (then called Stones) used to own the Kings Head Pub in the 1800s
Friday 18th October: Salt Making
The group had a great morning doing all things Salt Making. Recreating the ancient methods of making salt crystals from sea water, using modern-day equipment at Churchill Lane car park. Thanks to everyone, especially Jacob Baxter for keeping the camp fire going for us.
Making salt down Churchill Lane
This is the half gallon where we put some through the mud and sand just once for the Sleeching process.
Finished product. On the left the salt from half a gallon of sea water, and on the right half a gallon run through the mud and sand just once using the Sleeching process, although they would have probably poured it through a few times and filtered it more. Definitely more salt when it's been run through the mud and sand but it is greyer looking. Tasty great though and will have a lot more minerals in it.
For more information about the history of salt making on the Lincolnshire Coast and its importance to our area, click on links:
Salt Making at Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire Salt making demonstration for Heritage Lincolnshire and the Lincolnshire Coastal Marshes Grazing Project, 22 July 2012.
The Archaeology of Salt Making - the location of sites, how salt is made and relationships to coastal changes. Andrew Fielding, David Cranstone and Tom Lane
Mineral from the Marshes: Coastal Salt Making in Lincolnshire by Tom Lane
Lapwing is a 2021 film set in 1555 on the Lincolnshire Coast. The feature film debuts of Lincoln-born screenwriter Laura Turner and local director Philip Stevens. It tells the story of an isolated group of salt farmers who arrange illegal passage to Europe for an Indian Gypsy family in hiding. A period drama with romance, tragedy and horror, that was filmed here among the sea and sand dunes of our historic, atmospheric coast.
Friday 1st November: The Old Railway
Sarah leads the group talking all things Railway
The group had a lovely walk in Theddlethorpe talking about The Louth and East Coast Railway, the line that ran here from 1877 to 1960. It took passengers through the marsh villages of Grimoldby, Saltfleetby and Theddlethorpe to Mablethorpe. Thanks to The Formans and Oxbys for the information. Also Theddlethorpe Village Residents Association and The Kings Head for making us welcome
Lee Oxby, son of the last Saltfleetby stationmaster, Charles Oxby, with a copy of A. J. Ludlam's 2014 book: Trains to the Lincolnshire Seaside, Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea
Some of the comments and feedback
What a fabulous time we both had today with the walking group. Sarah you make the walks so much fun and informative throughout and can't thank you enough for all your efforts with all your snippets of information on the local surroundings. Loving the post-walk group gathering at the pub, absolutely perfect finish to the walk with the inspiring talk from Sarah, the drinks, nibbles and sandwiches - what isn't there to like! Thank you Jackie for the warmth of the log fire too. Alison, always great to see our volunteer taxi driver on the hunt for any of us in need of a lift - what a great idea, thank you. Our walking group has a truly lovely group of people and look forward to seeing you all in a couple of weeks. We covered approximately 7 miles today and we're feeling energised - Kathleen Roberts 3rd November 2023
Thank you so much Sarah Goodley for organising these walks. I have made new friends, found out so much about the social history of our area and become inspired to record as much as I can about the area which, for 15 years has seemed very blank. Even more thanks to John, who gave us such a personal insight into events as well as dating happenings to the whole area. Lastly, thanks to Jackie at The Kings Head for some very yummy soup! - Alison Gray-Green 17th November 2023
