back

 

 

History Channel

John Downs has written this very interesting article about Tealby and its history          

The Dragon and the Pearl

It is thought that Tealby is named after a settlement of Taifals, a war-like tribe of nomadic horse-riding people originating from what is now southern Russia (according to Wikipedia).  The Roman writer, Ammianus Marcellinus, said of the Taifals:”  . . . . this nation . . . . is so immersed in the foulest obscenities of life that they indulge in all kinds of unnatural lusts, exhausting the vigour both of youth and manhood in the most polluted defilements of debauchery”.  Clearly not the sort of people you’d like to invite home to have tea with the vicar. But how did these savage and depraved barbarians from the Eurasian steppe end up here in the Lincolnshire Wolds, and why?

Roman military  records indicate that a detachment of Taifals were sent to England in the late-4th Century by the Roman Emperor Flavius Honorius as a cavalry unit in the Roman field army, the Comes Britanniarum.  This army consisted of six cavalry and three infantry units. One of the cavalry units was the “Equites Taifali”. The shield design of the Taifali cavalry was a blue dragon curled around a red/blue pearl on a white background.

The job of the cavalry and the Comes Britanniarum was to provide support to the Roman forces protecting the borders of England against attacks from Wales, Scotland and the continent.

The current opinion of experts on Roman Army history seems to be that the Taifali cavalry unit was either stationed in Tealby at some point, or formed a kind of retirement community in the vicinity.  Nomads who live in felt tents (Yurts) carried from site to site in wagons might not have left much of a footprint in Tealby, but it would be good if everybody could keep their eyes open for archaeological evidence of occupation of our village in this late Roman period.

In the meantime, if you know anybody in the village who appears slightly psychopathic, rides horses, likes camping , exhibits unnatural lusts and looks a little Asian then you might have found a direct descendant of the Taifali people living amongst us ! 

click on images to enlarge     

 

 John Downs writes . . .  Just in case you'd like to add them to your portfolio of village photos I attach some photos of the top 3 main springs (of 5) at the head of the River Rase in Tealby parish.  Being at the bottom of a steep and boggy ravine (and on private land!),  I imagine that they are rarely seen or visited these days.... but they have a strange beauty. Judging by the scattering of ancient pottery along the stream beds, these springs were once a popular watering hole

     

 

these photos are also on the 'archives page' - if you have interesting photoswhich you wish to share, please send them in to me at    tealbyvillage@uk2.net

   click on images to enlarge

Bayons Manor, Tealby, Lincolnshire from 'Eustace' 1851

 

 I want to develop this into a superb archive of Tealby throughout the ages. If you have information, photos, reminicenses etc, please sent them to me and we can create something very special.

 Tealby, The Village c1960Tealby, King's Head Inn c1960

  . . . . .  a Conservation Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over twenty listed buildings, it was the paper industry which put Tealby on the map. The Domesday Book records a dozen working water mills, one remains today at Tealby Thorpe. In 1834, a Gothic manor was built by Charles Tennyson D'Eyncourt (1784-1861), a relation of Alfred Lord Tennyson. Bayon's Manor was destroyed in 1965 but D'Eyncourt's style can be seen today in the school, built in 1843, with a beamed roof copied from Westminster Hall. Other notable buildings include the Memorial Hall used by the BBC for filming and the Church dating to Norman times with impressive views of the Wolds.  Tealby offers two excellent pubs, a teashop, a village store, a butcher and a craft shop.It is situated on the Viking Way  and is an excellent centre for walking 

 

Bayons Manor

Bayons Manor at Tealby, Lincs. was once owned by Charles Tennyson, later Tennyson d'Eyncourt, the uncle of Alfred Lord Tennyson. The estate was purchased by Reginald William Drakes (1894-1969) in 1944. He was a local farmer, who bought it primarily for the farmland, as the house was already derelict and becoming dangerous. Sadly, due its dangerous condition, a subsequent owner had it demolished in 1964 by Thomas Walkley & Son Explosives Ltd.

The 1960s was a period when a great deal of England's history was sadly lost. It was only 19 years after the end of World War II and people were looking forward to a bright and more 'modern' future. Many large houses were sold off, the estates frequently being broken up into smaller plots of land. There just wasn't the money or interest to preserve our heritage. Though this was a 'Victorian folly' created around an earlier and much smaller home, it was an inestimable loss to the Nation, the village of Tealby and the Lincolnshire Wolds. It would have become a great tourist attraction, and would have been of considerable benefit to the local economy, had English Heritage or The National Trust taken it over, apart from being a beautiful building and estate. It was a extremely rare example of a Victorian Stately home in the style of a moated castle.

link http://www.drakesfamily.org