A Short History of Woodlands around Nettleham

This is an introductory outline based mainly on secondary sources and observations. We now invite you, our reader, to help us improve this article with your own specialist knowledge. Contact us using this LINK

From Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution

Wood, like water, is a vital commodity we take for granted and then don't bother to mention in our writings and records. Thus a survey of secondary sources provides very few useful references.

There is evidence of Bronze Age and Roman activity in the Nettleham area, but no clear signs of habitation survive. Excavations in the field which today is noted for the medieval bishop's palace suggest that Nettleham was populated in Anglo-Saxon times, a view enhanced by the suffix '-ham', a home, but we know little about the flora and fauna. The Domesday Book of 1086 has no reference to woodland in 'Netelham', but mentions the king having three ploughs, twenty-eight villains and twelve bordars, indicative of an arable and pastoral economy based on agriculture. While the well-drained soil sandy, stony soil layered with clay was no match for the riches of the Fens, it provided adequate terrain for crops vital to what was then the third most populated county in England after Norfolk and Suffolk. Throughout the Middle Ages, there are references to trade in sheep and wool, and tithes in hay and corn, but nothing on timber production in Nettleham. However, wood must have been present to provide fuel for fires, charcoal for smithies and timber for house building.

However we have no grand survivor here like the Major Oak and its neighbours in Sherwood Forest.

In 1284 Edward I confirmed that the manor of Nettleham was to be held by Oliver Sutton, the Bishop of Lincoln with the following words: "I hereby allow and firmly instruct that the aforesaid bishop holds that good manor … with all its appurtenances, in woods and plains, in meadows and pastures, in roads and lanes, in water and mills, and in all things"… but there is no indication of quantity or quality.

In fact it seems that there was not an abundant supply of timber in Nettleham itself. Florence Baker (1938) notes that "On St.Lawrence's day 1290 … Lambert ad Ripam went to Saxilby to buy timber for a lady chapel", which is outside the normal mediaeval pattern of self-sufficiency except in salt and iron. Perhaps this project was too ambitious and stretched the village's resources beyond breaking point. The carved timbers inside the church remodelled in the 13th century may also have been imported, and it is noted by Rogers that timber was brought 'from the north' to be sold at the Lincoln trade fairs, some of the largest in the kingdom. Perhaps the churchyard yew tree which still flourishes today was planted to provide material for archers and the traditional link to another world

Three centuries later we find that the keeper of the manor, Jerome Morton, was to have 2d a day and the profits of the small orchard and gardens …. "the pears, apples and other fruits, as also necessary and sufficient kitchen herbs growing within the precincts of our manor" (30th September 1546). Similar grants were made to later holders of this office.

A few years later the will of Bishop Holbech who died in 1551 mentioned a bequest that "my Tenauntes of Netlam have foure poundes towards the fensinge of theire fields from foreners, the said four pounds to be payed when they have made halfe of the saide fence". The bishop was probably recognising the dangers of payment before the job was done, but perhaps he was recognising that keeping stray animals away from the crops was not easy where timber was scarce.

The Enclosure Act of 1777 brought major changes with the North and South Fields separated by the Beck and all the common lands now being divided. These were then fenced or hedged with hawthorn to establish the lay-out of the village as it remained into the second half of the twentieth century when its most rapid expansion began. These roads were to be a minimum of 60 feet in width. However, change had its moments of difficulty such as the fine of one shilling imposed on John Vicars, carpenter, on 14th April 1779 "for a piece of wood lying upon the Highway".

The evidence of the 1880 1" to the mile Ordnance Map maps confirms the road pattern and also the absence of blocks of woodland in the Nettleham area. There is parkland to west and east, but nothing substantial until Skellingthorpe Wood is reached.

Industrialisation brought many benefits, although rural villages such as Nettleham were not connected to mains gas and electricity until 1934, water 1937 and sewage 1938-1939. However, nearly two centuries earlier the development of the canal system brought cheap coal slowly but efficiently to the Brayford for onward distribution, a trade accelerated by the coming of the railways in the mid nineteenth century. As a sign of the times, in the 'hungry forties' (1840's) an 80 year old Nettleham woman was charged with stealing a few coals from her neighbour.

Photographs taken at the turn of the last century provide an interesting confirmation of the rather bleak fenced and hedged landscape which has emerged from earlier records. The 1905 photo of Nettleham Church from the east shows the old towermill and a few trees along the Beck. However, some of these survive magnificently and significantly to the present day.

 

The village in the last century

In the last hundred years Nettleham has changed dramatically from being a typical Lincolnshire faming community with 944 inhabitants (1851) to being a quiet but populous dormitory or commuter village with employment mainly found in Lincoln itself.

New houses were added outside what is now the conservation district with classic ribbon development along all the village's arterial roads in the middle of the twentieth century followed by large estates from the 1960's to the present. Most building took place on former farm land where there were few large trees. Today the grander specimens are largely confined to the heart of the village along the Beck or at places inhabited by the local gentry or successful businessmen, such as Lodge Lane and Hall Lane where the gates brought from Lincoln in 1856 and the splendid lines of trees are the most conspicuous relics of the Hall gutted by fire in March 1935. Today the fine rookery in Vicar's Wood bears testament to the importance of the survival of this area in the heart of the village.

 

 

New trees of a more suburban nature have also been planted, many by developers keen to increase the likelihood of a quick sale, often creating shady streets. Others have been planted by individual home-owners for their own pleasure, sometimes to encourage particular birds. Organisations such as the Parish Council and schools as well as individuals have also been active in commemoration of significant events such as the passing of a much loved friend or relative, or in recognition of competition success as in the Best Small Town awards now enhancing the Green.

In recent years the development of the Lincolnshire Police Headquarters (1976-1979) has brought further change, the Beck bordered by the largest pond in the village and increasingly mature trees in a parkland setting which links with the older trees of the Conservation area established in 1969 and Green Lane. Mulsanne Park and Bailey's Field are also important recreational spaces enhanced by thoughtful tree and shrub planting over the last twenty-five years. Although it is very different from a century ago, the village has certainly become increasingly green in many ways.

How do we know this?

This first version of a woodland history of Nettleham is based largely on personal knowledge, scrutiny of some Ordnance Survey maps and the limited range of secondary sources listed below.

Baker, Florence L.(1938): Nettleham: A Short History of the Village (Chronicle and Leader)
Mee, Arthur (1949): The King's England - Lincolnshire (Hodder and Stoughton)
Pevsner N, Harris J and Antram N (1989 revision): The Buildings of England - Lincolnshire (Penguin)
Rogers A (1970): A History of Lincolnshire (Darwin Finlayson)
Taylor B (1999): A Sign of the Times. The Story of Nettleham: a Lincolnshire village (Carillon)
Ordnance Survey: 1880: first edition
Ordnance Survey: 2000: Landranger

We also know a little about the past from reading local signs. The pubs in the village are indicative of an agricultural past or hunting - The Brown Cow, The Plough, The White Hart - while the very name The Blacksmith's Arms immediately poses questions about the source of charcoal for the craftsman's fires. Similarly we can ask whether street names such as The Chestnuts, the Rowans, Beech Avenue and Cherry Tree Lane have their origins in the trees which were once there or on the drawing-boards of twentieth century planners or at the whim of the marketing departments. Apparently the area around the Coop on the Green was once called Walnut Close

In addition to these obvious sources, there are almost certainly some excellent primary materials which could be explored for further clues and insights into this evolving story of wood and woods in our village. These are likely to include the following:
" Enclosure maps from 1777;
" Tithe commutation maps from about 1840;
" Larger scale Ordnance Survey maps from the last 125 years;
" Nineteenth century trade directories such as White's and Kelly's;
" Local newspapers with references to woodland activities in the village;
" Photographs at any time in the last hundred or more years;
" Stories in back numbers of 'Nettleham News';
" Memories of residents who have been in Nettleham for a long time

Developing our woodland story

The Nettleham Woodlands Trust is a very new group. Some of us have not lived here as long as many villagers, but we are very keen to develop our knowledge of the woodlands around the main village and in the parish as a whole. Therefore we earnestly hope that some of our readers can add to this account. We would like to produce a second and much fuller version of these notes very soon.

 

How can I get involved?

Perhaps you would like to investigate some of the primary sources mentioned above.

Perhaps you have some photos or memories you would like to share with us

Can you help us by answering any of these questions, and suggesting other areas for us to investigate?

" Which is the oldest tree in the village?
" Perhaps it is the yew tree in the churchyard?
" Does anyone have a really old apple, pear or plum tree in their garden dating back centuries?
" What is your favourite village tree and why?
" Do you have any old photos of significant trees which we have now lost?
" Does anyone have photos of the A46 near the Brown Cow before it was straightened?
" Who was the vicar in Vicar's Wood?
" Does anyone know of any copses, decoys and warrens to encourage wildlife to inhabit the area and then be available as part of a balanced diet?!
" Are there any old plans showing wooded corners or arboreal oddities ?

If you have the answers to these questions or any more, please let us know. We would also be very interested to hear stories about woods in and around Nettleham, and also of any maps or relevant photographs. Please contact The Trust using this LINK We can scan A4 pictures and documents easily, and can make arrangements for other relevant material to be copied with the owner's permission

In conclusion

The evidence suggests that a large arc of countryside north of Lincoln between Skellingthorpe Wood to the west and Sudbrooke Woods to the east has had very little woodland for centuries, perhaps since the first substantial colonisation in Saxon times. The Nettleham Woodland Trust hopes that the twenty-first century will see the development of community woodland in the area for the enjoyment of all. We have a great opportunity to make a very positive long-term contribution to the history of the village.

This version written by Chris Williams - February 2007