Toft & Lound

Two hamlets south west of Bourne share a history. Toft was referred to as Toftlund in the Domesday Book of 1086, meaning "the plot of land by the grove" and a short climb up from the banks of the River Glen will take you to Lound which may have been the senior of these two places within the Witham-on-the-Hill parish of the middle ages. In the late 12th century, its parochial chapel was surrendered to Bridlington Priory in Yorkshire, who replaced it with a manorial chapel and in 1411 there is mention of it in Bishop Repingdon's Register when it was granted a licence to celebrate mass for a year.

Toft however was probably the larger of the two and in mediaeval times it had a manorial chapel built by Robert, son of Hugh of Tattershall, in the 12th century although 100 years later, the Register of Bishop Oliver Sutton calls it a church. When William Stukeley, the distinguished Lincolnshire antiquarian, visited the site in September 1735, he found the building but it was then being used as a blacksmith's shop. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Witham Estate was in the hands of the Harrington family and by 1603, it was owned by William Harrington but he had financial problems, exacerbated by debts handed down from past generations, and in 1625 he sold most of the estate to Robert Johnson for £2,500 and this included the villages of Toft and Lound.

The two hamlets may have seemed quite small by today's standards but in the census of 1851 they had a population of 231 between them and White's 1856 Directory lists a butcher and publican at the Butcher's Arms public house as well as a baker, two shoemakers, a joiner and a plough maker among the trades followed. By 1921, the population had slumped to 125 and only the public house remained as a business occupation.

Today, Toft is noted for its golf for it is now home to one of the best 18-hole courses in South Lincolnshire. It has been suggested locally that there ought to be warning signs for motorists at this point saying Beware of Golfers because the links are on one side of the road while the nineteenth hole, practice greens and car park, are on the other and players crossing between the two are regularly encountered.

The neatly clipped green sward of the course dotted with trees can be seen adorning the hillside while on the opposite side of the road is the Toft House Hotel, pictured above, that also doubles as the clubhouse where golfers meet to eat and drink after their round. This large stone building with blue slates and tall chimneys, overlooks the centre of the village and was converted from a farmhouse in 1979, having been in possession of the same family for the previous 60 years.

The old beams have been maintained and the refurbishment was carried out using much of the original, attractively textured Ancaster stone, thus ensuring that the building blended in with others in the village. The golf course across the road became operational in the spring of 1988 and is the perfect example of urban leisure combining with rural charm because the appearance of such a large slice of orderly green in this secluded part of the Lincolnshire countryside has certainly enhanced the landscape.

The derelict row of farm cottages pictured in the summer of 1999 (above) and again after restoration in the spring of 2002 (below).

This row of derelict farm workers' cottages alongside the A6121 at Toft was photographed in June 1999. The property is Grade II listed but stood empty for many years, becoming extremely dilapidated during that time while the extensive cottage garden at the rear was completely overgrown although signs of its original glory became evident in summer when a variety of colourful flowers such as foxglove pushed their way skywards. 

The cottages are probably late 18th century and must have been home to the families of many agricultural labourers over the years but in 1999, the property was identified by the Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire as being in a poor condition and a building at risk. Their report said that it had been empty and neglected for 15 years and was continuing to deteriorate. Refurbishment work however started on the building in the winter of 1999 when the later section on the left was pulled down and the garden cleared although stone from demolished walls was retained for the alterations and by the summer of 2001, the cottages had been converted into a most attractive private home.

The narrow country road that leaves the A6121 at Toft meanders through untouched countryside for almost three miles before joining the A151 at Edenham and the detour in spring or early summer is sheer delight. The roadside verges are thick with rich grasses and the hedgerows full of wild flowers and elder flower while some sections are so thickly covered with the branches of overhanging oaks that the experience is one of driving through a tunnel. Those who live hereabouts have given nature a helping hand for outside this bungalow at Lound, cultivated poppies have been planted and what a surprise they provide as you round the bend and see this splash of colour directly ahead.

PHOTO ALBUM
The old village public house at Toft dates back to the early 19th century and was once known as the Butcher’s Arms when the landlord was also a butcher although now closed and converted for use as a private residence.
There are several modern homes at Lound, including a number of bungalows such as here (left) and beyond is the matured cream stone exterior of Manor House Farm (right).
The overhanging oaks on the road through Lound.

TOFT IN PAST TIMES

Entering Toft village from the south photographed in 1905 for a postcard view (above ) and the picture below shows the Butcher's Arms circa 1950.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

An inquest was held at Toft, near Bourne, on Friday last before R A White, Gent., deputy coroner, on the body of Richard Wass, aged 17, son of Mr Thomas Wass, farmer, of that place, who had been driving a cart along the road near Lound without any reins, and sitting on the edge of the vehicle without command of the horses, when they started off and threw him upon the ground, and the cart passing over him, injured him so severely that he died within half an hour. Verdict: accidental death. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 24th April 1846. FATAL ACCIDENT: On Friday week, a sad and fatal accident happened to Mr Henry Cecil Bell, a gentleman of independent means, residing at Toft. It appears that some workmen had been employed at some repairs to Mr Bell's house and during the time the men were away at dinner, Mr Bell ascended a ladder which they had been using to look over the work done, when the ladder gave way, and Mr Bell fell to the ground on his head and received such injuries that, notwithstanding, medical aid was at once procured, he expired on Saturday morning about five o'clock. Deceased was eighty years of age. An inquest was not deemed necessary. - news report from the Grantham Journal, Saturday 22nd March 1884.

See also    Toft Hill    Toft Tunnel

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