Most of All Saints Church, except the 11th Century tower, was rebuilt in 1849 which means that it is over 150 years old. We hope that the roofs we are replacing will last just as long as the originals did and that it will be 2167 before they need to be replaced. As part of the project we are placing a Time Capsule in the church and we asked local children to help us fill it. We asked them to draw us a picture of what life will be like in the village in 150 years’ time.
To give you an idea of how things can change in 150 years’ time here are some facts about Newton and Linton in 1849:
There are more houses in Newton and Linton today than there were in Victorian times but there are fewer people living in them - families are much smaller now. With transport being on foot, bicycle or by horse villagers would have stayed much closer to home. Unlike today, with one shop between two villages, there would have been little need to venture further afield. Newton alone had 5 shopkeepers, 7 shoemakers, 6 tailors, 6 carpenters and 5 bricklayers living and working in the village. There was no electricity and no running water - children would be sent to one of the village pumps to draw up fresh water.
Some of the buildings in Newton and Linton would be familiar to a child from 1849 – the Lodge at the entrance to Beningbrough Hall is still here, as are Orchard House, High Morrow, Reuse Cottage and the Dawnay Arms and the church itself would be a very familiar site, almost unchanged since that time. The Village Hall and the School were built a few years after 1849 so even those old buildings would be unfamiliar. The biggest difference when looking down the main village street would be all the cars and other motor vehicles.
Photograph of the Lych Gate and thatched cottages of Chapel Garth and another of All Saints Church, thought to date from the late 19th Century. Used by kind permission of Geoff and Ruby Coates.