< Previous20 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY For many the first sign of spring is beautiful blossom on fruit trees or maybe it is the delicate white flower of the snowdrops. This year spring sprung a little early and as spring is off to an early start you don’t want to leave it too late to get out there and get your garden ready for the summer. As garden designers we ensure that we provide a unique space that suits our clients needs. One thing that some of our clients with smaller gardens want is for their outside area to feel larger or at least not smaller once features have been added. If you have a small garden, then there are a few things you can do to make your garden feel bigger. Using big planters enables you to have more plants and shrubs in less space. Using big planters means you can have more plants together, whereas small pots can make a space look cluttered and therefore create the illusion of less space. Not only can pots create clutter but so can plants. If you have too many plants, then there is less space to roam in and this evokes the feeling of a small garden. Less is more in a small area. Another way to make a small space seem bigger is by painting the surroundings white. Because it has brightening and lightening properties, white paint is often used. If you have brickwork, then this is a good colour to use and adding white garden furniture will also help. Another way to use colour to make a space seem larger is by having blue plants at the edges of your garden. This helps make the edges recede into the distance and makes the garden look more prominent. Blue agapanthus or lavenders are good plants to use on the side, along with Plumbago hedge. Try not use hot colours such as reds and oranges near your fence as these will give the effect of bringing the boundaries in and make the garden seem smaller. Another trick to make a space seem small spaces Ed Fuller from Fullers Landscaping offers advice on how to make smaller gardens feel bigger. © stock.adobe.com/ imfotograf Sprucing up20-21.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:27 Page 1* Protect new spring shoot from slugs * Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes * Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as Allium, Freesia, Begonia, Crocosmia and Bearded Iris * Cut back Cornus (dogwood) and Salix (willow) and Buddleias * Start feeding fish and using the pond fountain and remove pond heaters * Open the greenhouse or conservatory doors and vents on warm days * Get rid of slimy patches on the patio by using a scrubbing broom and cleaning fluid or a pressure washer * Sow sweet peas * Trim winter-flowering heathers as the flowers disappear, to prevent the plants becoming leggy * Keep feeding the birds LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 21 Specialised Services in Garden Design Landscaping and Tree Maintenance Backed by a highly- skilled and experienced team, we’ve built our reputation on an ability to provide our clients with professional, tailored gardening and forestry solutions FULLERS Landscaping Call 01522 868717 or 07867 510544 landscapinglincolnshire@gmail.com www.landscapinglincolnshire.com Around the garden GARDEN ADVICE bigger is to think about where you have your planting. Vertical planting is very popular and a great way to have plants when horizontal space is limited in a garden. There are many products available, such as vertical racks, in which you place small and medium sized planters. If you want to have vertical planting but do not want a purpose-built wall, then you can attach pots and planters to your fence or wall with hooks. You can arrange them to create a unique feature for your garden. If you have a window that faces the garden, then fixing planters under the window can give colour and plants to a small area and can also be enjoyed from indoors - although keeping to plants that stay small would be best so they do not block the light or view. If you are looking to make changes to your garden, no matter how big or small, we can create anything from low maintenance gardens with artificial grass to romantic cottage gardens and state-of-the-art ultra-contemporary gardens. Over the last twenty years I have built up a family run business that prides itself on designing and creating gardens that suit each individual client’s budget, regardless of their garden’s size and shape. I have a fabulous team that will work come rain or shine and they are highly skilled landscapers who can create anything. If you would like a garden assessment carried out then let me know. © stock.adobe.com/CasanoW a Stutio © stock.adobe.com/evannovostro 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:27 Page 222 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY GARDENS It’s undeniable that the last year and a bit has been… difficult. That’s probably putting it lightly for a lot of people who have been stuck in lockdown, working from home or dealing with stress either from work, social lives or even the fear of illness from yourself or loved ones. It’s little wonder that research shows the UK is off the charts when it comes to stress. Our busy lives have been interrupted time and time again, and though that is all beginning to fade as lockdown is lifted, the lingering effects of it remain on our minds and bodies. Gardening has long been attributed as a means to deal with stress, and even to lose a little weight, and as we roll around to spring and the days get warmer, you could do worse than pick out some old clothing, don your boots and make something of the wild mess or flat lawn that many Lincolnshire homes play host to. Audrey Hepburn once said that “Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years” and this is something that science has begun to back up, with a report from the King’s Fund claiming that the health benefits to gardening were broad and diverse, with research showing reductions in depression and brain that stimulate responses of happiness and euphoria. In a sense, and at its most basic, it stimulates the very old parts of our minds that celebrate one’s ability to fend and provide for themselves, something that is often left unattended in an era of online shopping and to-your-door delivery. In fact, the health benefits of gardening have been so pronounced and so well documented that it has led some GPs prescribing gardening as an active tool not only for maintaining health, but as a preventative mechanism. In London, several GPs have even opened communal gardens due to the lack of available green space in London homes. That is not a problem we have here in Lincolnshire, however. There are a lot of beautiful homes with gardens of all shapes and sizes, and if yours has been little more than a lawn with some flowers for the last few years, then 2022 might be the perfect time to think about changing things up. You don’t need a large garden to get into gardening – in fact a smaller one will be easier to maintain for a beginner, and Gardening is a hobby that can, for some, seem impenetrable, with more rules, snobbery and tools than many others put together, but there are many reasons to get out in the garden, from physical to mental health. 24 Á anxiety, as well as improved social functioning. What’s more, Tokyo and Exeter Universities found evidence for the positive effects of gardening on health, physical and mental, and have called for Governments across both countries to do more to promote gardening. In 2021, the RHS released research that revealed those who garden every day have wellbeing scores 6.6% higher and stress levels 4.2% lower than people who don’t garden at all. Surveying more than 6000 people the research showed a significant association between gardening more frequently and improvements in wellbeing, perceived stress and physical activity. There’s also growing evidence that gardening can help people feel more independent and confident, and that it can even help combat mental illnesses related to older age. It’s not only a hobby for the old to pick up however, as many gardeners now are taking to adding vegetable patches to their gardens and using said produce in the kitchen. This is not only to reduce costs, as the savings are unlikely to be that dramatic, but rather it provides a positive boost to the chemicals in our Reasons to focus on your garden in 2022 Reasons to focus on your garden in 2022 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:28 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 23 GARDENS © st ock. adobe .com/ Joshua R e snick 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:28 Page 224 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY GARDENS Patio Blinds Enjoy your garden all year round! tel: 01469 575804 email: patioblinds@renco.co.uk @rencopatioblinds /str/pvcoutdoorpatioblinds - 0.75mm Heavy Duty PVC - - Great for enclosing outdoor spaces - - Protects from the wind & rain - - Easy installation with fixings included - - Extensions, joiners & other accessories available - 10% off first orders! Code: PAT10 tel: 01469 575804 Mobile: 07706468944 email: patioblinds@renco.co.uk www.patio-blinds.com /str/pvcoutdoorpatioblinds you’re always free to keep things even smaller by designating a small plot to get started. For ideas and inspiration, you can always visit gardens around the county – several are members of horticultural societies and have open days – but if you don’t fancy walking around someone’s property looking at design that is likely to be well above the level of most amateurs, then there’s always the numerous garden centres Lincolnshire plays host to. These can be great to get some ideas and also advice from the employees there, who can direct you to plants or displays as befitting the size of your garden and the expertise of the gardener. Alternatively, there are plenty of landscaping artists and architects in the county who can go above and beyond to deliver a complete makeover of your garden. While this may seem counter-productive to the idea of gardening to reduce stress and improve health, keep in mind that maintaining such an effort would be the gardener’s job. There will still be plenty to do. Whatever direction you decide, with all the stress and challenges of 2021 and the lockdown and COVID-19, we could all use a little colour and fun. Even if you’re not sure if it will be for you, we encourage people to get out there with a small plot, even a tiny flowerbed, and give it a go. Gardening has been therapeutic for millennia now, even harking back to the Babylonians, so rest assured this is not some new fad or unlikely cure-all. History, and science, have proven its benefits. © st ock. adobe .com/L eik a pr oduc tion 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:28 Page 3CLEETHORPES Humberston Road, Cleethorpes, N E Lincs DN36 4RW Tel: 01472 313600 Making your ideas grow LINCOLN Newark Road, South Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 9NT Tel: 01522 880033 SLEAFORD London Road, Silk Willoughby, Sleaford NG34 8NY Tel: 01529 304970 EXCELLENT PLANT SELECTION WITH 5-YEAR HARDY PLANT GUARANTEE •RESTAURANTS WITH A LARGE SELECTION OF HOME-COOKED MEALS •A WIDE RANGE OF GIFTS•FREE PARKING•GARDENING EXPERTS SINCE 1780 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:28 Page 426 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY The village was recorded as “Tatesala” in William the Conquerors Domesday Book but by 1187 was written as Tatersale, that is “Tathera’s hale”, or corner of land in Old English. Even by the C15th its location, between two rivers, remained surrounded by undrained fenland. Nevertheless, Tattershall had a market charter from 1201 which lasted until around 1860. At the heart of the village lie a cluster of historic buildings, all there because of one man. The Cromwell family had been at Tattershall since the 1360’s but it is Ralph Cromwell born around 1393 that interests us. He fought with Henry V at Agincourt (1415) and as the 3rd Lord Cromwell held various court appointments before finally becoming Lord High Treasurer to Henry VI. He died January 1456 and almost all of Tattersall’s historic buildings owe their existence to him. To the south of the Market Place is Cromwell’s “Old College” or grammar school (circa 1460). Now roofless, only three of its walls survive. Here a clerk – or priest - was to teach grammar to choristers and the sons of Cromwell’s tenants for free. By the late 1700’s it had become a brewery but in 1972 was restored to its previous – albeit ruined – appearance. A few yards further south is Holy Trinity church, where Cromwell is buried. It was founded by him in 1439 from a charter granted by Henry VI, but only completed around 1485 after his death by his executor Bishop William of Wayneflete. The church’s full dedication includes the Virgin Mary, St Peter and two St John’s; the Baptist and the Evangelist. Built of Ancaster stone in the Perpendicular style it has a cross-shaped plan and is extremely light inside. Its stained-glass windows – except at the east end – went to St Martins, Stamford and Burghley House in the 1750’s to be replaced by plain glass, allegedly because the current vicar had very poor eyesight and needed better light to read the lessons. One curiosity is the Tom Thumb floor slab – more folklore than history! The 1439 charter also provided for a college to be built to accommodate priests to say masses for Cromwell and the king, but the only remains are brick foundations hidden beneath the nearby bowls club. Facing the north side of the church are the picturesque Bede Houses, founded before Cromwell’s time but re-endowed by him and then rebuilt in 1486 and again in the C17th. Obviously the most interesting and impressive building at Tattershall is the castle itself; after Lincoln, our county’s The castle of course towers (literally) over everything else at Tattershall but there’s even more history in the village, as we shall see. heritage Lincolnshire explored MARKET PLACE TATTERSHALL HOLY TRINITY CHURCH TATTERSHALL 26-27.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:29 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 27 most distinctive. Cromwell’s castle replaced an earlier one built around 1230 by Robert de Tatershale. Construction began in1434 and was finished by 1445 comprising an estate with stables, tiltyard and fishponds. In the C15th brick was expensive so building with it was a visible statement of wealth; especially something as large as a castle. We know that a brickyard at Edlington supplied 322,000 bricks for the dungeon alone. However, by the mid C15th the idea of a castle as a purely defensive building was in decline but even so the thick walls and battlements at Tattershall show thoughts of defence lingered on as its lower walls are 20 feet thick and access across the moat is past a small guardhouse. Below ground level are the dungeons but with its upper four storeys Tattershall is 110 feet high with 181 steps up its spiral stairs to the top. Inside, particularly worthy of note are the ornate brick ceiling vaults and the massive fireplaces, with their carved purses alluding to Cromwell’s position as England’s “Treasurer”. In the moat near the castle the remains of the kitchen can be seen. From the gallery and battlement walks on the roof the extensive views include Lincoln cathedral (to the north) and Boston Stump (to the south). Also associated with Ralph Cromwell is the Tor’ O Mor at Woodhall (Moor Tower) a hunting lodge at Woodhall Spa. Abandoned in 1693 the castle was ruinous by the early C20th and there was a serious risk of it being dismantled and taken to America (according to Arthur Mee’s Kings England) but it was bought instead by Lord Curzon in 1912, extensively renovated and donated to the National Trust in 1925. In the spacious Market Place there is the base of a stepped, mediaeval market cross or buttercross although the upper part has been replaced. On the west side one house has a C15th roof ventilator in the form of a tiny house with doors and windows – inevitably known as “Tom Thumb’s House”. Closer to modern times there is transport history at Tattershall too. Between the castle and the Market Place are the remains of the Horncastle Canal. Tattershall’s first canal – known as Gibson’s Cut after John Gibson, a local merchant – was one mile long from a lock at the River Witham to Granary Wharf just west of the Market Place. Still shown on OS maps it was extended to the River Bain to become part of the Horncastle Canal built between 1793 to 1802. When the railway arrived it passed a mile to the west of the village and was the route of the “Lincolnshire Loop Line” built by the Great Northern Railway in 1848 as its main route to the north of England via Lincoln. Later the GNR’s so-called “New Line”, built 1913 as a short cut to the coast, left the Loop Line at Coningsby Junction and also by-passed Tattershall to the north with seemingly little impact on Tattershall itself. This was the very last railway to be built in Lincolnshire. There are also pleasant riverside walks beside the River Bain and Horncastle canal both towards Coningsby or Dogdyke. by Hugh Marrows VIEW FROM CASTLE ROOF CASTLE MOATTHE OLD COLLEGE THE OLD HORNCASTLE CANAL 26-27.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:29 Page 228 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY If you are looking for a fun yet relaxing, beautiful and unique place to visit in Lincolnshire, look no further: Woodhall spa is the place for you. Located in the middle of the county, Woodhall spa is one of the most iconic, unique and picturesque villages in Lincolnshire, with an incredible and interesting history, many iconic and breath-taking landmarks and natural features along with exciting and fun recreational facilities. Woodhall Spa’s history dates back to the early 19th century, when mine entrepreneur John Parkinson built a coal mine which he had to immediately close due to the spring water surprisingly flowing through the shafts. However, if the spring waters meant the end of the coal mine, they turned out to be an incredible resource for the village; after a first analysis, it turned out the water contained several minerals and substances that gave it therapeutic benefits. In 1834, Thomas Hotchkin invested several thousands of pounds to build the Spa Baths and the Victorian Hotel, which are now both unfortunately in derelict condition. The Woodhall Spa Manor is one of the oldest buildings in the village. What was built as a small hunting lodge, it became the main estate of the Hotchkin family, who spent most of its time in the mansion. Over the years, members of the Hotchkin family have redesigned the estate, adding new features like the world-famous golf course and other features like the magnificent sweeping staircase, the beautiful hallway and Queens Room fireplaces, and the mahogany panelled entrance to the library. Woodhall Spa Manor is now property of a local businessman and it hosts several Lincolnshire businesses and companies. Tower on the Moor is one of the most Discovering Woodhall Spa 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:32 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 29 WOODHALL SPA historic and iconic landmarks in Woodhall Spa. The octagonal, four-storey, red brick- built tower is believed to have been built in the mid-15th century as a hunting lodge. Unfortunately, over the years the tower has been dismantled and bricks were used for repairs at Tattershall Castle. Today this unique monument has been englobed in the design of the Woodhall Spa Golf Course and it has even become the emblem of the club itself. The Woodhall Spa Golf Club is probably the most famous facility and the most important revenue for the village. What was founded in 1981 as a 9-hole course, in the following years was expanded into an 18-hole course by Stafford Vere Hotchkin, who turned it into a private golf club. In 1953, Neil Hotchkin took over the club from his father and turned it into the home of amateur golf. Currently, the golf club is owned by the English Golf Union, who built a second course and renamed the first one after its original owner, The Hotchkin. Today the Woodhall Spa Golf Club is one of the most prestigious clubs and courses not only in the UK, but in the whole world. The Hotchkin has featured multiple times in both Golf Magazine and Gold Digest, which have both ranked it one of the best courses in the world. The course is currently ranked 54th best course in the planet and it is one of the favourite destinations for golfers who seek the finest heathland golf experience. Another iconic recreational facility in Woodhall Spa is The Kinema In The Woods. The Kinema was originally born as a leisure centre, a sport and entertainment pavilion that occupied the grounds of the Victoria Hotel. However, after the Hotel burnt down in 1920, the pavilion became an independent facility that was turned into a cinema and it screened its first film, The Lion Eaters, September 11th 1922. In 1987 a Compton Kinestra organ was installed in The Kinema, which features an ornate lacquered red and gold console with an eighteenth-century oriental 30 Á 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 09:32 Page 2Next >