Poem - Blankney 1841

In a book entitled Whites Directory 1841, it set out details of Blankney as it was in that year. As well as giving a brief description of the village it also listed the people of the parish and their trades. One weekend in 1989 the village held a Heritage Weekend recalling the history of Blankney through various events and displays. The following poem is based on the information given in the Whites Directory.

Blankney 1841

Nestling on a woody plain
East of Lincoln Heath
Blankney in 1841
Scattered fenland farms beneath
Six thousand, three hundred acres
On which farmhands would toil
For the Lord of the Manor, Squire Chaplin
Owner of most of the soil
Six hundred and forty souls
Comprise the population
Many of whom each Sunday
Formed St Oswald's congregation
Did Joseph Catton, stonemason
Maintain the Hall and stables
And Edward Cartwright's partridges
Adorn his Lordship's tables
Did Thomas Pears, the land agent
Walk every field and hill
And did John Brown, the parish clerk
Record it with his quill
And with bricks made by Joseph Nash
Did John Coulson build a wall
And swine supplied by Littleberry
Stock the larders of the Hall
Thomas Haire, the butcher
Sold a tasty joint and chop
And the appropriately named Jane Bacon
Kept the village shop
And could these souls, here mentioned
Even comprehend
Their day of resurrection
Would be the 'Heritage Weekend'

Rodney Garlant