Rev Fytche’s dream of a Wren Church in Louth

Thorpe Hall

St Mildred’s 1839. Credit: Billings & Le Keux
Mr Edward Heywood’s recent donation of documents about Thorpe Hall inspired this account. In 19th century, Reverend John Lewis Fytche inherited Thorpe Hall, a Jacobean mansion on the western side of Louth with its large estate and tenanted farmland. Rev Fytch, whose brother-in-law was Alfred Lord Tennyson, was fond of spending money. He filled his house with the best furniture, first-class pictures, wonderful porcelain, and a superb library.
One autumn day in 1872, Rev Fytche was in London for a book sale at Christie's. He attended the viewing, but never made it to the sale. The Church Commissioners had decided to demolish some surplus churches, including St Mildred’s Poultry built in 1676, which had been designed by Christopher Wren.
Rev Fytche noticed the demolition starting at St Mildred’s. He made his life-changing decision and bought the church, intending to rebuild it at Thorpe Hall. Filled with enthusiasm, he arranged for the building to be taken to pieces, shipped on barges down the Thames to the North Sea, up the east coast to Tetney, and then along Louth Canal.
From Louth Riverhead the stone was transported by horse and cart to Thorpe Hall, where it was heaped in a field. For locals, it was sensational. They would make Sunday afternoon trips to peer over the hedges at the vast pile. It was given the nickname Fytche's Folly.
All this was expensive for Rev Fytche. He was bankrupted by the agricultural depression and in 1885 was forced to sell Thorpe Hall and its contents. In a huge marquee, Masons the auctioneers spent six days selling the contents of the house. Everything was sold, except St Mildred’s stones. Weeds had grown over them and they were forgotten.
One of the subsequent owners of Thorpe Hall, Henry Brackenbury, MP, found the stones and used some to build a splendid terrace and a ha-ha. Later, Sir Geoffrey Harmsworth offered further chunks for restoration work on St James's Church, but the stone was unsuitable and ended up elsewhere, including in garden walls in the town. In 1984 there were still a few bits of St Mildred’s lying around the grounds at Thorpe Hall, so Robin and Barbara Mitchell used these to form a terrace for their swimming pool.