TRINITY HOSPITAL, RETFORD
Rusty Denman, an old friend, grew up in Mississippi but his family roots were in Retford, Lincolnshire, a half hour drive from Lincoln. I met him when I was invited for Sunday dinner to Chrissy Ohler’s house in Black Mountain several Sundays ago. It was a family get-together. Beverly Ohler, mother, was there along with Lisa and her husband Rusty. When Rusty heard that I was visiting Lincoln he insisted on setting me up with a visit to the Trinity Hospital that his ancestors had founded in the 1600’s, a home for indigent single old men. Our schedule here was too busy until today, but we contacted Dick Lewis, whom Rusty knew, and while Susie, Tina and Martin visited the outdoor market at the center I was dropped off at the home of Dick Lewis.
I was a little dubious about this venture. I knew nothing about Rusty’s history, Dick Lewis had no reason to want to talk to this stranger wandering in, but I braced myself and determined to make the most of it.
I had a wonderful hour with Dick Lewis who was as pleasant and affable and fun to be with as a long lost brother. He showed me the whole place and the story of it’s founding. An extremely wealthy family, the Darnells lived in Retford where they intermarried with the Denman family, another rich and powerful family. In the 1500’s there were six boys in the Darnell family with the sixth boy certain never to inherit anything, because the family lands and inheritance would go to the eldest son. But the Black Plague swept Europe and of the 160 people living in Retford 60 died including the five older brothers. The sixth, who never married and had no heirs, was so grateful to still be alive that in his will he set up a trust to house 15 indigent, single, older men, a trust which has continued to this day, with 15 Retford men living in small apartments with a beautiful glassed in common room and a feast hall with stained glass windows and furniture from the 1500’s where the occupants have feasts with huge quantities of beer, some lasting five days, several times a year. The Hospital, emphasizing hospitality, is surrounded by wide lawns and a beautiful garden. Dick Lewis is the Chaplain of the place.
He squeezed his talk on the history of the place including Darnell connections through marriage to both Queen Anne and Queen Mary, into an hour and then I joined up with Tina, Martin and Susie for a visit to Newark.
But my visit with Dick Lewis was a high point of the day and of the entire visit here.
In the evening the four of us joined brother Martin and his wife Linda at the Plough, a Greek pub in Nettelham where we ate delicious Greek food and listened to story after story and laughed and laughed until we were giddy. Another marvelous day in Linconshire.
BILLYBABA’S WANDERING 