First stop this morning was at Heydour where we looked for the remains of the Norman motte and bailey. No luck, other than a slight mound covered in ill tended bushes, which seemed to have no legal way of being reached on foot; looking at the aero photo showed the mounds were indeed the motte. The village reeked of ill-gotten-gains; no ordinary mortals here; by-Jove, couldn't have the likes of the unwashed next door. One place called a "farm" was either a house paid for by the government or the weekend retreat of one of the multi-lolly brigade. All too nice and clean ... even the stables looked as though they had just been washed. T'other houses all touted themselves as "hall", "manor" and such like. Out of all the villages we've seen this one look just a bit too quiet, clean and tidy; almost spooky. Just as we started to leave a couple of rustics seems to appear from nowhere to give us the once-over. Odd ... so onward ...
We drove though Aswarby - large church in poor repair (locked) - which was the home of George Bass. On to Morton to be surprised by the church not only being open but huge. The tower, situated at the crossing, seemed more appropriate for an abbey.
On down to Bourne where the thunderstorms started to dampen our perambulations. The Abbey church was founded in 1138 and naturally was built in Norman style. A large building which is well worth a visit.
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| Castle Bytham |
Despite the rain we drove on to Castle Bytham and walked over some farm land to see the remains of a Normal Castle. There is no sign of the stone work that would have existed had the castle been of the size and construction suggested by the historical information posted at the site. The motte and bailey mound is very large and impressive. I'll have to research this site because I'm really sceptical about the posted information.
We drove back to Sleaford via a really twisty route which provided grand views of reaped fields of wheat and rolling hills, plus, as a real surprise, about 12 deer in the middle of the narrow road.
