WELHAM
Welham lies four miles north-east of Market Harborough on the north side of the River Welland
which here divides Leicestershire from Northamptonshire. The civil parish, 1,143 a. in area,
extends north-westwards from the village, which is
close to the river, to the top of Langton Caudle,
which is over 450 ft. above sea level. The greater
part of the land is covered with alluvium and
boulder clay and overlies the Lower Lias clays.
There are Middle Lias and Marlstone beds on the
slopes of Langton Caudle. A considerable proportion of the land is under pasture. Part of Langton
Caudle in Thorpe Langton parish was transferred
to Welham in 1885. (fn. 1) Since 1931 Welham has been
united with the parish of Great Bowden, which is
separated from it by Thorpe Langton to the south. (fn. 2)
In the north-west of the parish the boundary
with Stonton Wyville follows the line of a track
across Langton Caudle from Thorpe Langton. The
boundary on the other three sides of the parish is
partly formed by water: on the east by a small
tributary of the Welland, on the south by the
Welland itself, and on the west, with Thorpe Langton, by the stream which flows southwards from
Rolleston. In 1545 a Thorpe Langton man contended that the boundary between the two parishes
did not 'in all places' coincide with the course of the
stream (then known as the 'Water of Lyppyng'
or 'Lyffyng') and that land called variously 'Pendyng', 'Peyldyng', or 'Pellyng Holm', lying to the
east of the stream, and grounds called 'Overcaldwell' and 'Nethercaldwell' were in fact part of
Thorpe Langton field. (fn. 3)
The first known bridge across the river at Welham
was erected in 1678 (fn. 4) at private expense for the use
of the residents of Welham old hall. It was very
narrow and high in the middle, and consisted of two
stone arches with a low parapet only a foot above the
road. In the early 18th century it was reserved for
private use and traffic was obliged to use the ford
on the west side of the bridge, except in times of
frost and flood; in the middle of the century the
ford became choked with mud and the bridge was
opened. The bridge was used so frequently by
heavy carts of grain and coal from Northamptonshire to Leicester, which were compelled to lock
their wheels in order to travel safely down its steep
incline, that by the beginning of the 19th century
it was in danger of collapse. In 1810 the counties
of Leicester and Northampton jointly built a new
bridge of four arches designed by Joseph Vinrace of
Ashby-de-la-Zouch; it was entirely in brick, except
the coping stones of the parapet, and had a more
gradual incline and a wider carriage-way. (fn. 5) This
structure was destroyed by floods in 1880 and a third
bridge was built to replace it. (fn. 6) This, the present
bridge, is of stone and has three arches, the central
one spanning the river.
The road which crosses the river by this bridge
runs from Weston by Welland (Northants.), a mile
to the south-east. In Weston, the road crosses the
railway line from Market Harborough to Peterborough and its branch line through Hallaton; the
latter, opened in 1879, (fn. 7) crosses the south-east tip of
Welham parish, but Welham sidings lie in Thorpe
Langton parish. (fn. 8) The northern end of the bridge
across the river opens at right angles into the main
village street which runs parallel with the river. In
the 18th and 19th centuries travellers could compare
the prospect from the bridge with that of a Dutch
town, because on the south side of the main street
was a canal in which the houses were reflected. (fn. 9) The
origin of the canal is not known. Traces of it could
still be seen in 1958 on the east side of the village.
The main street runs westwards into an ancient
road or drover's way to Great Bowden. From the
north side of the main street and at right angles to it
run two roads, that at the east end to Cranoe and
that at the west to Thorpe Langton.
The only buildings on the south side of the main
street, all to the west of the bridge, are the church,
the manor-house, and the former Rectory. These
buildings probably occupy the site of the medieval
village which apparently lay to the south of the
churchyard. The manor-house received its name
after 1854 when W. W. Tailby (d. 1914) acquired
the manor of Welham; it had previously been a
farmstead belonging to the Tailby family. (fn. 10) The
manor-house is a long two-story ironstone structure
with slate roof dating from the late 18th century. The
stone boundary walls fronting the road and bounding
the churchyard on its west side are work of an earlier
period and may have been garden walls of the former
manor-house or old hall, a building the exact site
of which is not known but which is said to have stood
near the river on the south side of the canal. (fn. 11) The
garden walls have copings formed by projecting
layers of ironstone slate in a pyramidal arrangement
and capped by moulded ironstone rubble and are
probably work of the mid-17th century. A stone
ovolo-moulded jamb to a destroyed gate survives in
the wall midway between the churchyard and the
present manor-house, and there was a second plainer
gate. In the 17th century the old hall was a large
house, the residence of the Halford family. In 1666
and 1670 William Halford (d. 1682) was assessed
for 15 hearths. (fn. 12) His mother Mary Halford had
married secondly Sir John Norwich (d. 1661) of
Brampton (Northants.) and did not die until about
1693. (fn. 13) It is believed that members of the Norwich
family resided in the old hall at Welham and that
they may have met the cost of the bridge across the
Welland which was erected in 1678. (fn. 14)
The remainder of the village, on the north side of
the main street, is the result of a complete rebuilding
carried out c. 1720 by Francis Edwards (d. 1729),
lord of the manor. (fn. 15) In the negotiations which preceded the passage of the Act for repairing the road
from Market Harborough to Loughborough via
Leicester, (fn. 16) he put forward an alternative proposal
for turnpiking the old Gartree road from Leicester
to Cranoe and then bringing a new road across the
River Welland at Welham to join it, thus diverting
the main London road from Market Harborough.
A coaching inn, modelled on the 'Red Lion' at
Northampton, was to have been the chief feature of
the new village. During its building the old hall to
the south of the canal was burnt down. When his
scheme was poorly received, Edwards converted
the inn into a manor-house in which, although it was
unfinished, he lived for a while. (fn. 17) This new hall was
pulled down by G. A. Edwards (d. 1773) about
1762. (fn. 18) The pasture, surrounded by a high brick
wall, which occupies the western half of the north
side of the street, was formerly the gardens surrounding the hall. The wall fronting Main Street has blue
vitrified headers and limestone dressings and a central gateway with limestone panelled piers.
Of the 13 houses described by Nichols as 'built
in brick in a regular manner', the 'Old Red Lion' is
the least altered. It is a large two-storied red-brick
house with vitrified headers and a dressed stone
plinth. The slate roof, which is high and hipped on
all sides, has sprocketted eaves with two tall axial
chimney stacks. One original window is preserved
in the rear elevation, and internally there are wide,
open fire-places. The northerly cottages in a long
range west of the inn incorporate earlier work than
1700, and the gabled cottage against the road has
brick copings and was originally thatched. Further
west are two Council houses built in 1937, and The
Grange, which is of similar date and construction to
the inn and has a rear kitchen wing with exposed
ceiling joists and a wide fire-place.
In the north-west of the parish is Welham Lodge,
the only outlying farm, which dates from the early
19th century. It is a tall three-story red-brick house
with later side and rear additions. The front porch
is also added. It is said to have been built by a
member of the Tailby family and used as a shooting
lodge. (fn. 19)
The recorded population of Welham in 1086 was
16. (fn. 20) Nine persons paid the subsidy in 1332. (fn. 21) There
were 23 households in 1563 and 86 communicants
in 1603. (fn. 22) There were 21 households in 1670, and
44 communicants in 1676, (fn. 23) but at the beginning of
the 18th century there were only 10 or 12 families. (fn. 24)
In 1798 there were 14 inhabited houses and 56
inhabitants. (fn. 25) The population has steadily declined
from 78 in 1801 to 40 in 1951. (fn. 26)
MANORS.
There were two demesne tenants holding land in Welham in 1086: Gilbert held 6 carucates
of Robert de Buci, (fn. 27) and one carucate of the Countess Judith which was then waste; (fn. 28) and Osbern held
2 carucates of the Archbishop of York. (fn. 29) By 1125,
when the church of Welham was included in
Richard Basset's endowment of Launde Priory, (fn. 30)
the fee held under Robert de Buci in 1086 had come
into the hands of the Bassets of Weldon (Northants.). (fn. 31) Ralph Basset (d. c. 1127), (fn. 32) father of
Richard (d. c. 1154), was probably the first tenant.
About 1130 6½ carucates in Welham were held by
Richard Basset and 2 carucates by Henry de Port,
who also held land at Tur Langton under the Archbishop of York. (fn. 33) In 1279 there were 7 carucates in
Welham, of which 5 were held of the king in chief
and 2 of the Archbishop of York. (fn. 34) The whole lordship was then apparently held by the Basset family.
Ralph Basset (d. 1258) leased his manor of WELHAM to John, Earl of Lincoln (d. 1240), for the
years 1237 to 1250. (fn. 35) Richard Basset (d. 1276),
Ralph's son and heir, enfeoffed his younger brother
Thomas (d. 1291) with the manor to be held by his
descendants. (fn. 36) Thomas Basset had a son Thomas,
who on his father's death was a minor in the custody
of the executors of Ralph Basset (d. 1291), son and
heir of Richard (d. 1276). (fn. 37) Another or perhaps the
same Thomas Basset was taxed for ¼ knight's fee in
Welham in 1346. (fn. 38)
By 1400 the manor had reverted to the senior
branch of the Bassets of Weldon, of whom Richard
Basset (d. 1400) was last in the male line. (fn. 39) His heirs
were John Knyvet and John Aylesbury, the sons of
two sisters of his grandfather Ralph Basset, who had
entered Launde Priory in 1368. Welham became part
of the inheritance of the former, a son of Sir John
Knyvet (d. 1381), Chancellor 1372–7. (fn. 40) Sir Edward
Seymour died in 1422 seised of the manor which
he held of the barony of Weldon by right of his wife
Joan. (fn. 41) Their granddaughter Elizabeth (d. 1446),
the wife of Thomas Berkeley (d. 1443), was succeeded by her son Thomas Berkeley, then only two
or three years of age. During his minority the profits
were paid to Elizabeth Berkeley. (fn. 42)
Nothing further is known of the descent until
1529, when John Asshe appears to have been lord
of the manor of Welham. (fn. 43) In 1551 he or another
John Asshe conveyed the manor to William Halford
who was a servant to Edward Griffin (d. 1569),
of Dingley (Northants.), Attorney-General. (fn. 44) The
manor remained in the hands of the Halford family
until 1713 when Sir James Halford, Bt., (fn. 45) conveyed
it to Edmund Skynner, a London haberdasher, and
his son Edmund, who appear to have held a previous
mortgage on the property. (fn. 46) Edmund Skynner of
Wishingford (Worcs.) in 1717 sold the manor to
Francis Edwards (d. 1729), the fourth son of Robert
Edwards, former Rector of Kibworth Beauchamp. (fn. 47)
Mary (d. 1743), the daughter of Francis Edwards,
bore an illegitimate child by Lord Anne Hamilton
which was christened Gerard-Anne Edwards (d.
1773). This child succeeded to his mother's property
at Welham and married in 1754 Jane, sister and heir of
Henry, 6th Earl of Gainsborough (d. 1798). (fn. 48) Their
son Gerard Noel Edwards, afterwards Sir Gerard
Noel Noel, Bt. (d. 1838), in 1798 inherited Exton
Park and the Noel estates in Rutland. He married
Diana, Baroness Barham (d. 1823), and was succeeded by his son Charles Noel Noel, who in 1841
was created Earl of Gainsborough. (fn. 49) The latter in
1854 sold the manor of Welham to William Ward
Tailby (1825–1914) of Skeffington Hall who already
owned a small estate in the parish (see below). (fn. 50)
He was succeeded by his nephew T. M. J. Tailby
(b. 1862). (fn. 51) In 1936 G. W. A. Tailby of Skeffington
Hall was lord of the manor. (fn. 52)
LESSER ESTATES.
In the mid-16th century some
property in Welham was attached to the Chaworth
manor in Medbourne belonging to the Payne
family. (fn. 53) William Serjeant (d. c. 1780) owned an
estate in Welham worth £50 a year. (fn. 54) From the
middle of the 18th century the Tailby family owned
a small estate in Welham, based apparently on the
large farmstead immediately west of the church. (fn. 55)
Mary, the daughter of Bryan Ward of Hallaton,
married William Tailby (1744–1829) of Welham. (fn. 56)
Their sons William and John were cousins of John
Tailby of Slawston, the antiquary. (fn. 57) William's son
William Ward Tailby (1825–1914) bought the manor
of Welham in 1854.
Licences to alienate lands and rents in Welham
to Launde Priory were granted in 1334 to Robert,
Vicar of Loddington, (fn. 58) in 1345 to Thomas Founneshore, Vicar of Welham, (fn. 59) and in 1350 to John
Whythed and two others. (fn. 60) In 1355 the priory was
licensed to grant £10 yearly from the rents of its
lands in Welham and elsewhere to increase the endowment of a chantry founded by the will of Henry
de Chaddesden, late Archdeacon of Leicester, in the
chapel of Chaddesden (Derbys.). (fn. 61) In 1342 a place
called Baneholm was judged to be the waste of Welham held in common by its two lords, Thomas
Basset and the Prior of Launde. (fn. 62) In 1346 the prior
was assessed for 1/8 knight's fee in Welham as part of
the fee of the Archbishop of York. (fn. 63)
After the Dissolution two grants were made of
property in Welham formerly belonging to Launde
Priory. In 1552 two messuages with gardens and
other lands leased to William Chambers were
granted to Edward, Lord Clinton, later Earl of
Lincoln, and Henry Herdson of London. (fn. 64) In 1553
three messuages and land leased to John Chambre
and William Hopkin were granted to James Greenwood and Dunstan Clarke of Market Harborough. (fn. 65)
The latter sold them to William Halford, lord of the
manor of Welham. (fn. 66)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Archil had 2 ploughs in
Welham before the Conquest and Earl Ralph of
Hereford (d. 1057) five. Their holdings, which were
then worth 4s. and 8s., had passed to the Archbishop
of York and Robert de Buci in 1086 and had increased in value to 20s. and 25s. respectively. On the
latter's fee there were then 4 ploughs, 2 in demesne
and 2 belonging to 7 villeins and a priest; on the
former's fee 3 ploughs, one in demesne with 3 serfs
and 2 belonging to 4 villeins and a bordar. (fn. 67) The
waste held by Gilbert of the Countess Judith was
worth 3s. in 1086. (fn. 68)
Little is known about the medieval village which
appears to have been on a site south of the churchyard, between the church and the River Welland.
It is possible that throughout the 13th and early 14th
centuries the Basset family, who were lords of the
manor, were resident in the village (fn. 69) though a
manor-house is only mentioned for the first time in
the inquisition upon the death of Sir Edward Seymour (d. 1422). It was then described as containing
a chamber, a kitchen, a stable, and a dovehouse. (fn. 70)
The parish appears to have been inclosed by
agreement in the earlier 17th century by which time
almost all the land had been acquired by the Halford family. When William Halford (d. 1577)
purchased the manor in 1551 it comprised inter alia
7 messuages, 7 tofts, 500 a. of arable and 600 a. of
meadow and pasture, and he also purchased four
other pieces of property, including 60 a. of arable and
60 a. of meadow and pasture which had belonged to
Launde Priory. (fn. 71) The evidence from glebe terriers
suggests that inclosure took place between 1601 and
1606 (fn. 72) and the depopulation returns of 1607 describe
several instances of inclosure in Welham at the same
period: since 1597 William Halford (d. 1628), the
earlier Halford's grandson and heir, had taken away
the land from a farm-house and converted 110 a.
from tillage to pasture; 16 a. had been converted by
William Fawke; and 5 a. had been converted since
1604 by the vicar, Thomas Loseby. (fn. 73) These measures
evidently did not go unopposed: in 1607, the LordLieutenant raised armed men in Leicester to suppress a riot against inclosures at Welham, but their
services were apparently not required and the
crowd was dispersed. (fn. 74)
In 1754 the marriage settlement of Lady Jane Noel
who married Gerard-Anne Edwards, then lord of
the manor, included the manor and impropriate
rectory with 11 cottages and closes totalling 275 a.,
and 'Swanshouse' with 13 a. and closes totalling
229 a. (fn. 75) 'Swanshouse' has not been identified but
may be connected with the 'Nether Lodge' or
'Welham Lodge', an isolated farm-house with fields
in the north-west corner of the parish. (fn. 76) On the high
ground of Langton Caudle west of the lodge William
Serjeant erected c. 1750 another isolated farm-house
which was called from its curious plan and inaccessible position 'Serjeant's Folly'. (fn. 77)
Up to the end of the 18th century only a few
scattered pieces of evidence survive which have any
bearing on land-use in the parish. A total of 60 a. of
meadow was recorded in 1086 and 80 a. in 1284–5. (fn. 78)
In 1342 the land called 'le Holm' or 'Baneholm' was
said to lie open as common pasture from 3 May to
11 November with the stint for each yardlander
fixed at 8 'great beasts'. In the intervening months
it was claimed by Thomas Basset of Weldon as his
and his ancestors' severalty, to be used for agistment. (fn. 79) Land called 'le Mares', comprising 10½ a. of
meadow, is first mentioned in the late 14th and early
15th centuries. (fn. 80) According to the inquisition post
mortem of William Halford (d. 1577), summarizing
the transactions whereby the greater part of the
parish came into his hands, the amount of meadow
and pasture exceeded that of arable by about 100 a. (fn. 81)
Evidence of conversion of arable land to pasture
has already been mentioned.
In 1798 it was reported that the greater part of an
area of about 1,000 a. was 'very good pasture' (fn. 82) and
this account is confirmed by the crop returns of
1801 which stated that the parish contained a mere
18¼ a. of arable and that these were 'only casual'.
Another 50 a. were under woad and the rest consisted of 'very high rich grazing land'. The rotation
followed was that of two years' ploughing for woad
and three more for wheat, oats, and barley before
the land was laid down again for pasture. (fn. 83) Throughout the 19th and in the 20th century the recorded
occupations of the inhabitants have been almost
exclusively those of farmer and grazier. (fn. 84)
There was a mill in Welham in 1086, (fn. 85) rendering
3s., and in 1220, (fn. 86) but no later reference has been
discovered.
PARISH ADMINISTRATION.
Surviving parish
documents include churchwardens' accounts from
1705 to 1818 and from 1821 onwards. (fn. 87) There was
apparently no workhouse in Welham, and in 1802–3
the money was spent largely in out-relief to 17
children. (fn. 88) After 1836 Welham was included in the
Market Harborough Union. (fn. 89)
CHURCH.
There was a priest in Welham in 1086. (fn. 90)
Richard Basset included the church of Welham in
the endowment of Launde Priory which he founded
before 1125. (fn. 91) By 1220 a vicarage had been ordained
with all tithes except those of corn, hay, and the
mill. (fn. 92) About 1220 the parishes of Glooston and
Cranoe still brought their dead for burial at Welham. (fn. 93) The vicarage of Welham was united with
that of Great Bowden in 1931. (fn. 94) In 1957 the incumbent of the united benefice of Great Bowden
with Welham lived at Great Bowden. (fn. 95)
The rectory and advowson of Welham remained
the property of Launde Priory from 1125 until the
Dissolution. (fn. 96) The rectory came into the hands of
the Halford family and was thus attached to the lordship of the manor. (fn. 97) The advowson was granted by
the Crown in 1558 to the Bishop of Lincoln, (fn. 98) but
he appears never to have made a presentation. At the
next vacancy in 1560 the Crown presented William
Wetherley. (fn. 99) The Crown remined patron of the
church until 1931 when the benefice was united with
Great Bowden. It was then decided that thenceforward the Bishop of Leicester, patron of Great
Bowden, should present every first and third turn,
and the Lord Chancellor every second turn. (fn. 1)
The church of Welham was valued at 5 marks in
1217 and 1254 (fn. 2) and at 11 marks in 1291. (fn. 3) The rectory and tithes were leased by the Crown in 1575
for 21 years at an annual rent of £8 13s. 4d. In 1650
the rectory was thought to be worth £50. (fn. 4) The value
of the vicarage in 1291 was £2 13s. 4d. (fn. 5) In 1535 the
vicarage was valued at £6 3s., (fn. 6) and in 1552 the sum
of 25s. was added, which represented the tithes in
the neighbouring parish of Weston (Northants.)
which had been paid to Launde Priory. (fn. 7) The
vicarage in 1650 was thought to be worth £20, but
the incumbent soon after 1660 was seeking legal
advice to enforce the payment of tithes. There had
apparently been a composition for tithes made between the vicar and the lord of the manor about
1600. (fn. 8) At the beginning of the 18th century the
vicarage was worth £72 14s. (fn. 9) Edward Griffin, Rector
of Dingley (Northants.), Vicar of Great Bowden and
Vicar of Welham, 1787–1840, described the parsonage house as 'more than sufficient for the residence
of a clergyman possessed only of the vicarage of
Welham'. He thought the income too little to permit
much hospitality. (fn. 10) About 1700 the vicar's glebe
consisted of 30 a. laid out in 4 closes. The composi
tion of 4d. an acre for tithes then brought in £17
a year. (fn. 11) In 1844 the vicar had 42 a. of glebe and
received £105 in compensation for all small tithes. (fn. 12)
The vicarage was worth £234 a year in 1867. (fn. 13)
The former Rectory, at the south-east corner of
the churchyard, is a stone building of two stories
dating in part from the late 18th century. There are
two distinct sections: the western half of the house
is of rubble, the eastern of finer jointed ironstone.
In Nichols's time the Rectory was a longer building
with a thatched roof. (fn. 14)
J. H. Hill (1809–86), Rector of Cranoe and author
of a History of the Gartree Hundred, was Vicar of
Welham from 1841 until his death. (fn. 15)
The church of ST. ANDREW consists of nave,
chancel, west tower, and north chapel. The chapel,
in the form of a transept, houses the monuments
and burial vault of the Edwards family. The
entrance to the church is through a west door in the
tower. The tower is of limestone ashlar but elsewhere
the masonry is of ironstone with limestone dressings.
The lower rubble courses of both nave walls may
date from the 13th century and there is evidence that
a former chancel was of the early 14th century (see
below). In general, however, the church was reconstructed in the 15th century when the nave walls
were raised, clerestory windows inserted, and the
west tower built. A straight joint in the north wall
of the nave probably indicates the site of a former
doorway. The tall three-light nave windows, two
to each wall, are square-headed and are of the later
14th or early 15th century. Only one, the easternmost window on the south side, is unrestored.
The 15th-century tower has diagonal buttresses
and is of four stages, each stage being marked by
a horizontal string; it terminates in a shallow parapet
behind which is a low pyramidal roof. There is a tall
transomed two-light belfry window with cusped
tracery on each face; a smaller window above the
west doorway has no transom. Internally the tower
arch of two chamfered orders has half-round responds with moulded capitals and bases.
At the beginning of the 18th century, probably
c. 1720, (fn. 16) the chancel was completely demolished
and the east end of the church rebuilt on the line of
the former chancel arch. A new pointed east window
behind the altar had leaded lights and no tracery.
The nave walls were repaired, the angles being
finished with limestone quoins; these still survive
at the west end. Outside the church on the site of
the former chancel a burial vault for the Edwards
family was excavated. Above it a monument was
erected to Francis Edwards (d. 1729) by his daughter
Mary. It consisted of a marble tomb placed on four
wide steps and surmounted by a tall obelisk carrying
a marble urn. It stood within a small enclosure,
paved with marble slabs and fenced with an iron
palisado, with four large urns on pedestals in the
corners. (fn. 17) The monument became so badly damaged
by exposure to the weather that in 1809 Sir Gerard
Noel Noel, grandson of Mary Edwards, ordered it
to be dismantled and repaired, and a new transeptal
chapel to be built on the north side of the nave for
its accommodation. Sparrow, the Stamford mason
who was charged with repairing the monument, was
also employed to build the chapel, which was completed in 1810. (fn. 18) Access to the chapel was provided
by an arch in the north wall of the nave. At the same
time the Edwards family vault was moved to the new
chapel; in excavating the old vault on the site of the
former chancel a large piece of masonry about 6 ft.
square had been discovered. (fn. 19) The entire monument, except the iron palisado, was re-erected in the
new chapel. Around the base of the tomb are commemorative panels to Mary Edwards (d. 1743), Lady
Jane Edwards (d. 1811), and Gerard-Anne Edwards
(d. 1773). A further panel, inserted in 1921, is to the
memory of Sir Gerard Noel Noel (d. 1838).
The whole church was restored and a new chancel
was built between 1868 and 1870 by Goddards of
Leicester. (fn. 20) During this work a silver coin of Edward
II was discovered under 'a foundation stone of the
ancient chancel arch'. (fn. 21) The restoration included
new pine roofs for both chancel and nave; corbels
for the earlier nave roof remain on the east face of
the tower. At the same time the nave windows were
restored and a new Perpendicular window inserted
in the north wall of the chapel.
New furniture provided by Francis Edwards
c. 1720 included a carved reredos of Norway oak
with Corinthian pilasters, and a similarly fashioned
altar rail. At the end of the 18th century the seating,
reading desk, and pulpit were of deal, and at the west
end of the nave a gallery intended to accommodate
the servants of the hall remained. The church was
re-pewed in 1868–70. The five-sided pulpit at the
east end of the nave, whose wooden panels have
traceried heads, dates from the 15th century; the
low base is of much later origin. The small shallowbowled octagonal font and wooden cover are of the
early 18th century. The base of the tower contains
a royal arms of George III dated 1778 and a charity
board of 1804.
In the nave there are memorial tablets to the
Tailby family, 1820–50, and a reset tablet with a
Latin inscription to Sir William Halford (d. 1682).
There are two bells: (i) 1604, for William Halford,
perhaps by Toby Norris of Stamford; (fn. 22) (ii) probably
mid-15th century, carrying two distinctive marks
illustrated by Nichols. (fn. 23) There was formerly a third
bell, cracked about 1820 and removed from the
church. (fn. 24) There was a clock in the tower by the late
18th century. (fn. 25) The church plate includes a silver
cup and silver cover paten with a foot, both of
about 1575. (fn. 26) The registers begin in 1695 and are
complete from that date.
NONCONFORMITY.
The house of Richard
Marshall in Welham was licensed as a meeting-place
for Protestant dissenters in 1824. (fn. 27) Another building
was licensed as a chapel in 1845 on the application
of Richard Marshall, Henry Gamble, and others; it
was occupied by William Draycott of Foston. (fn. 28)
SCHOOLS.
None known.
CHARITIES.
In 1758 Richard Bryan paid £58 to
Gerard-Anne Edwards (d. 1773) as trustee of the
money belonging to the poor of Welham. Of this
sum £13 16s. represented the gift of Lady Halford
to the poor at an unknown date, £40 the gift of Mr.
Williams for the distribution of bread in the church
every Sunday, and £4 4s. a gift to the poor at
Christmas from an unknown person. (fn. 29) Thenceforward the Edwardses, Noels, and earls of Gainsborough, as successive lords of the manor, held the
capital and paid yearly 5 per cent. interest, £2 18s.,
in accordance with the wishes of the three donors.
In 1786, 1837, and 1862–3 it was spent in the
distribution of bread. (fn. 30)
Richard Bryan, by will dated 1803, left £100 in
trust for the distribution of bread on Sundays. The
capital, which was invested, brought £8 7s. 10d. in
1837 (fn. 31) and £5 19s. in 1862–3. (fn. 32)
By the inclosure award, dated 1794, of the adjoining parish of Slawston, the parish of Welham
received 1 r. 20 p. for the Welham clock estate and
3 r. 35 p. for the town estate. In 1837 these two
plots were let to the vicar for £2 2s. which was added
to the church rates and applied to general church purposes. (fn. 33) In 1862–3 the rent of £2 17s. 6d. was spent
on fuel for heating the church (fn. 34) but in 1920 both
plots of land were sold and the proceeds invested. (fn. 35)
By 1929 all the above charities were administered
by the same trustees who distributed both coal and
bread and made payments to keep the church clock
in repair. The last distribution of coal and bread was
made in 1952. Since that date it appears that an
annual interest of £12 has been shared amongst 6
poor people in doles. (fn. 36)