It was probably constructed to allow the Earl’s visitors, in particular the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) who used the Hall as a discreet retreat for his amorous adventures, to arrive and depart without being seen by the local populace.
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The church, which was restored twice during the 19th century, has a tomb-slab to John de Glori with a bearded head looking out of a cusped opening and a sculpture by Joseph Boehm of Lady Florence Chaplin.
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The last Chaplin, Henry, led an extravagant lifestyle and had political ambitions; this lifestyle coupled to the falling revenues from farms led him ever into debt until finally in 1892, the estate passed to the principal mortgagee Charles Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough.
The member of an old Lincolnshire family, Chaplin was born at Ryhall, Rutland, the second son of the Reverend Henry Chaplin, of Blankney, Lincolnshire and his wife Carolina Horatia Ellice, daughter of William Ellice.
Blankney |
He served as governor of Lincoln in 1643, and on 2 November 1643 was elevated to the Peerage as 1st Baron Widdrington of Blankney.