Swayfield

A reminder of past times greets the visitor to Swayfield, seven miles north east of Bourne, in the shape of a beacon, once used to light the countryside across the land to mark special occasions or to warn of impending peril to the nation.

The name Swayfield is referred to as Suafeld in the Domesday Book of 1086 and by 1202 had become Swauefeld meaning "the open country with a track", from the Old English swæth and feld. Nearby is all that remains of Lobthorpe, a large stone farmhouse and a cottage or two, but here until the 18th century stood the seat of the Sherards who were baronets and wealthy landowners. Lobthorpe Hall where they lived has vanished together with all other traces of the family but there are many grand monuments and memorials in marble surviving in the parish church at North Witham, five miles to the east on the other side of the Great North Road.

The church at Swayfield is dedicated to St Nicholas with a 13th century battlemented tower and sits surrounded by farm buildings on sloping ground a few hundred yards from the main east coast railway line. The building is small and humble and largely rebuilt between 1875 and 1878 by F H Goddard in the Early English style. The east window has nativity, crucifixion and resurrection scenes, keeping green the memory of a 19th century rector.

When I visted the village five years ago, I found both the church and churchyard badly neglected and the fabric in need of serious attention but in the intervening years there has been a drastic change and today it is a joy to see. Much work has been done to the building and its surrounds and the church is now one of the neatest in the district with newly mown grass and gravestones kept in trim while those that have toppled have been neatly placed underneath trees and around the perimeter. This church is now well worth a visit.

Swayfield church in April 1998 (above) and again in April 2003.

The Royal Oak Inn at Swayfield is reputed to date back to the 17th century, or at least
parts of it do, because the building has been greatly extended at various times with additions at the front and side. One attractive feature is the swinging sign outside with a picture remembering Charles II (1660-1685) who has more inn signs to his memory than any other monarch. When his army was routed at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, Charles escaped the field with a £1,000 reward offered for his capture and his many escapes before finally embarking for France included hiding in an oak tree, an event that was commemorated for centuries by Oak Apply Day. This is rarely remembered today although hundreds of Royal Oak public houses survive.

The old school at Swayfield, as with so many of the 19th century schools in country areas, is no longer a seat of learning for village children and has been converted for another use, in this case as a private home. A stone plaque on the side wall announces that it was "Erected by the Trustees of Browne's Hospital in Stamford A D 1867" while a second plaque on the front indicates that it was restored in 1982.

It is most commendable that these old properties should be refurbished for continual use but how misguided of this owner to hide such an attractive building behind a leylandi hedge that even obscures the original Victorian iron railings. They should follow the example of the owners of the School House, built next door for the village schoolmaster and his family, who have kept alterations to a minimum and left the front aspect of the building open for all to see and enjoy.

Cottages originally built for farm labourers abound in the villages around Bourne, some
erected by the local landowner and others by the old rural district council when wealthy and influential farmers sat on the council and ensured that decisions for such developments were made in their favour.

There are few villages today without a row of houses originally intended for agricultural
or estate workers, built in stone or red brick, although many are now tenanted by private owners or couples from the housing waiting list, because farm workers are no longer in such great demand and a tied cottage or council house would be little temptation for them to accept such employment. Many have been sold off to sitting tenants in this age of owner-occupiers and extensions and additions to this terrace of four houses at Swayfield, built in 1868, indicate that there are at least two private owners who have put their own individual stamp on the properties.

A new village hall has recently been built at Swayfield at a cost of £126,000 to mark the new millennium. The old village hall for the past fifty years was an ex-army corrugated iron-clad hut that stood on the same site and was demolished before construction work began but its replacement is much bigger with modem facilities for communal events including a kitchen, a committee room and toilets and, later on, perhaps a stage for theatrical productions with lighting and a sound system.

Contributions towards the cost have come from the local authorities and various other
organisations but the village had to raise 10 per cent of the total and among their fund
raising efforts were fetes, quiz nights, raffles, bring-and-buy sales and a buy-a-brick
scheme at £10 apiece and each buyer is being recorded for posterity. This community
participation is a test of the strength of village life today and the success of this building
venture should augur well for the hall's enduring appeal for community events in the
future.

Among the donors were the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust which gave £1,000 to
provide carpets and equipment for indoor bowling which is to become a weekly activity.
The trust has donated more than £32,000 since 1991 to update facilities at village and
community halls around the country, mainly for new activities and services that will
benefit the entire community. The new hall was officially opened in September 1999 by the High Sheriff of Lincolnshire Mr Francis Dymoke.

REVISED APRIL 2003

See also Strange but True

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