April 7 1681 - The Great Fire of Caistor

DID you know the present layout of Caistor was influenced by the Great Fire of 1681?
On April 7 of that fateful year, the fire started in the house of John Sheriffe and from his home the flames spread rapidly.
A report of the fire was in the Parish Register:
'In ye space of three or foure houres (at the furthest) were consumed and burnt down to ye ground, ye greater half of ye dwelling houses, barnes, stables and outhouses in the town, with all ye shops and warehouses (save one Mercer's shop in ye Beast Market). Five and fourty families were made desolate and without habitation.'
The damage was estimated at £6,786 and a brief was issued for the relief of the sufferers.
Several people died in the flames and are recorded in the Register of Burials.
Nicholas Elston was one of the victims and his death is set down in the register as follows:
'NICHOLAS ELSTON FILUS ELIZABETHAE VID: INCENDIO CONSUMPTUS SEPULT (Buried) APRILIS 8VO.'
There were collections in England for the relief of the victims. Here are three examples:

September 17 1682 Compton, Hampshire, 4s 8d collected.
July 9 1682 Caxton, Holderness, 2s 10d collected.
July 9 1682 Bideford, Devon, 5s 7d collected.

The rebuilding of the Caistor Square in brick instead of wood gave us the present town centre.
Caistor House was built in 1682 and was the first house built after the fire.
The Sessions House, built in 1662 and used as a Magistrates Court, is the oldest building in Caistor to have survived the flames.

Caistor House. Built in 1682, it was the first to be built after the Great Fire. (LO)

The Sessions House – the oldest building in Caistor. It survived the Great Fire of 1681. (LO)

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1794 - The story of Pelham's Pillar

PELHAM'S Pillar on the Brocklesby estate above Caistor is one of the area's most extraordinary landmarks.
Towering 128 feet into the air and guarded by two impressive stone lions the pillar has stood on the site for over 150 years.
It was built to commemorate the planting of the surrounding woods by Charles Anderson Pelham, Lord Yarborough. Between 1787 and 1828 he had 12,552,700 trees planted on his property.
He was raised to the peerage as the first Baron Yarborough in 1794.
The foundation of the pillar was laid in 1840 by his son and the building was finished by his grandson in 1849 – in time for a visit by Prince Albert.
Stone for the pillar was fetched from Grimsby docks by road – the railway had not then been built – during 1844-45 and the major part of the building was done in the years 1845-48.
The total expenditure on the Pillar came to £2,395 4s 3d. This included £145 to W D Keyworth for carving the two lions and 100 guineas to architect Edward James Willson of Lincoln for drawing up the plans.

Impressive: Pelham's Pillar towers into the air.

Resting now, but if disturbed these stone lions at the entrance to the pillar could rear up!

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