Ruth's Blog

We have recently received a bequest from a gentleman in Scunthorpe of a sketch book belonging to James William Wilson, the Louth solicitor and artist who published his well-known collection “Sketches of Louth” in 1840.  Our book starts with Wilson’s drawings of baptismal fonts, and the later pages contain a rather random but interesting collection of pictures, some by Wilson, some collected by him, and some acquired by later owners of the book.

The first image shown here is a view of the church in North Ormsby, a village on the edge of the Wolds, about 7 miles north of Louth.  This print is by engraver George Childs of London.  St Helen’s Church, completely rebuilt in 1848 in Early English style, was designed by architect Samuel Sanders Teulon.  The church was made redundant in 1981 and is now a private house.

James William Wilson lived with his family – wife Lavinia, seven sons, five daughters and several servants - in the Georgian house immediately to the west of St James’ Church.  It was then known as The Elms and is now 62 Westgate.  The church tower dominated the view from their front windows.

The second image is an informal sketch by Wilson, “Large Window over Entrance”.  This is the first-floor window on the western side of the tower of St James’ Church, Louth.  As Wilson tells us, this window is immediately above a door.  Today the west door is reserved for special occasions, and we normally enter the church through the south porch.

Wilson’s sketch shows that in the early 19th century this window did not have stained glass; the present stained glass dates from 1863.  There used to be a clock in the central light of the window.  The first clock high in the tower of the church was installed in 1846.  Perhaps the clock in the west window was the one made by James Harrison of Barton that was installed in 1815?