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The Old Stone Barn
This old stone Listed Building is a fine example of a prestigious agricultural barn and dates from the mid-1700s. Its arched doorway and small slit openings allowed little light in so the goods being stored did not spoil. When first built it would also have had a fine thatched roof. It is privately owned and part of the Manor Farm estate.
The Barn
Its size and scale hint at a legacy which is much older.
Kirton in Lindsey was a royal manor owned by the King and, later, The Prince of Wales. Consequently, it did not have a grand house for a lord but did have a Manor Farm which would pay its taxes in goods and money to the King.
There would have been a modest house of some description but the only clue we have is a 1793 drawing showing a stone building in some decay and labelled the Manor House. Exactly where this was is not known but it is likely to have been somewhere on the Manor Farm estate which still bears its name.
However, the Manor House did have one famous resident. A young Katherine Parr (17) married Sir Edward Burgh (son of Thomas Burgh) in 1529 and came to live with his family at Gainsborough Old Hall. Thomas was Steward of Kirton in Lindsey and managed it on behalf of the Crown. Hence, certain property was under his jurisdiction and Katherine and Edward went to live in the Manor House. It is almost certain that they would have worshipped in St. Andrew’s church.
Famous Residents
They were only there a short time – Edward died young in 1533 and they did not have any children so Katherine moved away to Cumbria. She could not have known then, the fame she would eventually have and the important role she played in England’s history!
Find out more about Katherine Parr here
Now go up Dunstan Hill to the crossroads with West Cross Street and Dunstan Villas. but, before you turn left, look right towards Dunstan Villas. This used to be called Sweeps Lane and once looked very different.
