A drive out with Mrs. Woody took us on an unplanned journey that usually results in the discovery of something of interest. In this case it was Lincolnshire's smallest church, St. Andrews in the now long gone village of Scott Willoughby. There are only a couple of farms, the Rectory and the church left. The original settlement dates back to being mentioned in the Doomsday Book and medieval finds have been made around the area as well as aerial photography revealing the sites of various buildings and field boundaries.
The church itself, whilst far from an imposing building has a charm especially on a sunny day.
The church yard has only a few gravestones and this one caught my eye as Mr Sly lived to 104 whilst his wife lived to 83. There is certainly something to be said about living in the countryside and from what I understand, the Sly family is a long-standing, prominent dynasty heavily tied to Fenland agriculture and history. With roots dating back to the 13th century in the region, the name evolved from the Middle English word sleight (meaning wise, clever, or skillful) and has been prominent in towns such as Spalding, Crowland, and the Fens for generations.
I'm sure Mr. Sly would be interested to see that the harvest has already commenced thanks to the hot weather.
As they say, everyday is a school day and we certainly learnt a bit more!
Interesting Mr Sly only lived for 3 days without a young woman to look after him. 👀
ReplyDeleteMrs B
Behind every great man is a great woman is the phrase that comes to mind! I had not noticed the three days difference until you spotted it!
DeleteFound a bit more information. Then lostsome of it. But Eva was 20’when she married Arthur. Two years later they had a daughter (the only child I found) who sadly died in her ?later 20s? (lost the dates).
ReplyDeleteA “Sly” still lives in the Manor Farmhouse/Hall and they were the major family in the village. They still take responsibility for maintaining the graveyard.
Mrs B