Heckington Village Trail
​

A thriving village on the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens, Heckington has a fascinating history as well as many beautiful buildings which this trail invites you to discover. 

Highlights include the world’s only 8-sailed windmill, two Guinness world records, a notorious highway man, one of Britain's finest parish churches and England’s largest village show!
​
There are a number of local shops, cafes and pubs along the route, offering local produce, refreshment and interest.
This village trail gives you a chance to explore some of the fascinating buildings and locations around the village and uncover some of the events beneath the surface of an English village.
​Total distance 1.2 miles
​Start your walk at the windmill

1 - Heckington Windmill

Heckington Windmill is now the only remaining 8 sailed windmill in the country and mills a variety of flour.  The onsite bakehouse produces bread and cakes which are sold in the Miller’s House Tea Rooms.
The Windmill was built in 1830 with 5 sails, which were lost in a storm in 1890.  The mill was repaired in 1892 by John Pocklington who converted it to 8 sails which were moved from Tuxford Mill in Boston. The mill stopped working in 1946 and deteriorated until 1986 when it underwent full restoration. 
​Following renovation of the buildings in 2017 with funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, it is now an award-winning site with visitor centre, shop, Miller’s House Tea Room and the 8 Sail Brewery, a micro brewery & tap bar.

2 - Heckington Railway Station

The railway station was opened in 1859 by the Boston, Sleaford & Midland Counties Railway and comprises a complete set of Victorian buildings including ticket office, waiting room, signal box and signalman’s house. The main building current houses the Railway Museum which is open to the public a few days each year. 
The Grade II listed station and signal box are part of a conservation area, along with the windmill and rail crossing. 
Cross the railway and walk towards the village centre

3 - The Pearooms

The Pearoom was built in 1890 by Charles Sharpe & Co and was used until 1962 as a seed pea sorting complex with its own dedicated siding, using horse drawn wagons to prevent smoke and steam contaminating the produce. 
The Pearoom was restored by the Heckington Village Trust in 1979 and was later converted to a residential building

4 - The Railway Hotel, Station Road

The Railway Hotel, with associated stables was build in 1860 by Robert Taylor to exploit the coming of the new railway. He ran a coal delivery business and railway parcel delivery service from the hotel. It was popular with  various village organisations including the Society for the Preservation of Felons and the Heckington Foal Show Society. It was one of eight public houses in the village until it closed down in 1962. It is now a private residence.

5 - New Street

When passing New Street you will see a row of ten terrace houses. These were built by miller John Pocklington, reportedly to spoil the countryside view from the local doctor’s house, after the doctor had once committed John to a local asylum for a short period.

6 - The Blacksmiths

On the crossroads is the village blacksmith, located at Cook’s Corner, named after the Cook family who ran the blacksmith’s on this site for many years and is still an active business. 
​Dating back centuries it provided shoes for horses on stage coaches and once shod an elephant for the circus!
Go straight over the crossroads and onto Eastgate

7 - The Oak Pub

One of the remaining two pubs in the village, the location of The Oak was once a stage coach stop on the Newark to Norwich route

8 - Heckington Hall, Eastgate

Looking through the gates on the right hand side of Eastgate you can see Heckington Hall.
Built by William Little, who with his brother-in-law founded the Illustrated London News in 1842. Little was a model of Victorian energy and philanthropy who invented a patent sheep dip and a type of stone tile that the Hall is clad with.

9 - Heckington Show

The fields beyond Heckington Hall host the annual Heckington Show which has its origins in the village’s 900 year old feast week linked to the Feast of St Mary. The Show can be traced back to 1863 and the current site has been the venue since 1867. 
Heckington Show, held on the last weekend in July each year, is the largest 2 day village show in England. National competitions take place annually including showjumping and the oldest cycling race in the world.​

10 - 35-39 Eastgate

Opposite are the three oldest cottages in the village, built approximately 500 years ago. Originally one large house, it was thatched until the 1970’s. Under the pebbledash the building is built of mud and stud.
​Continue to the end of Eastgate & the junction with Cameron St

11 - The Old Village School

On the corner of Cameron Street and Eastgate you can see the old primary school. Built in 1842 it closed in 1978. It is now the headquarters of Heritage Lincolnshire, a  local charitable trust which undertakes a range of activities in the promotion and conservation of the County’s heritage.
​Follow the road to right of the old school, turn left into Cowgate

12 - Heckington Manor, Cowgate

Behind the large iron gates on the corner of Cowgate and Church Street is Heckington Manor, one of the great houses in Heckington. A home since the Saxon times, the current house was built in the 1700’s and was lived in by the Godson family until the 1950’s. It became a residential home for many years, and has now been restored as a family home.
​At the end of Cowgate, turn left into Church Street

13 - Toby Cottage, Church Street

On Church Street you can see Toby Cottage, which remains as one of the last mud and stud cottages. It was also the last building in the village to retain its thatch, which was removed in the early 1980’s.​

14 - 61, Church Street

Opposite the church in No 61. The inscribed stone in the wall records the building as a ‘House of Industry’, a workhouse. It burned down in 1813, rebuilt in 1837 and then became The White Horse Inn which was popular with villagers after Sunday service at the church. The pub closed in 1991.​

15 - St Andrew's Church

St Andrew's Church, Heckington is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church. It is one of the best examples of the decorative Gothic styles in the country, and considered to be one of England’s top 100 churches.
The man chiefly responsible for building the church was Richard de Potesgrave, who served as a chaplain to Edward I, II and III, and as the rector of Heckington until his death in 1345.  As King’s Chaplain he collected the body of the murdered Edward III from Berkeley Castle. Edward III is recorded as having visited Heckington during his reign.
De-Potesgrove’s generous funding produced a spectacular church with many wonderful carvings and gargoyles that adorn the exterior.
​Pause for a moment at the junction with St Andrew’s Street ​

16 - The Old Village Police Station, St Andrew's St

The first house on the right along St Andrew’s Street is the old village police station. It was built in 1844 and is one of the first police stations in the country.  The arched window which can be seen from the adjacent Heckington Parish Council Chambers is all that remains of the original cells. 

17 - The Parish Council Chambers, St Andrew's St

Originally built in 1835 as a Methodist Chapel it became a NAAFI during WW2 for local servicemen & women billeted in the local area. It is now the Heckington Parish Council Chambers. Next door is a large stone house set back from the road which is one of the few stone houses in the village.

18 - The Methodist Church, Church St

The current Heckington Methodist Church, designed by Albert Edward Lambert, was built in 1904, replacing the earlier Wesleyan Methodist chapel in St Andrew's Street.​
​Pause for a moment at the junction with St Andrew’s Street ​

19 - The Village Green & Almshouses

The red village telephone box on the edge of the village green is now protected as a Grade II listed building. 
The Victorian almshouses were built in 1868 with a bequest from Henry Godson, a wealthy village bachelor to provide decent homes for widows of the parish. The almshouses replaced a row of thatched cottages given by the Taylor family in the 18th century, two of which burnt down in 1833.
​Pause at the junction with the High Street by the village sign

20 - Diamond Jubilee Terraces

The Diamond Jubilee Terraces were built on the site of an earlier Heckington Hall and gardens. The lane to their left is named after the Banks family who were the last occupants of the hall.

21 - Cobham Hall, Banks Lane

Near this point is the site of Cobham Hall, a mansion dating from Elizabethan times. The Cobham family became Lords of the Manor of Heckington. In 1643 during the English Civil War, Henry Lord Cobham and his brother George were implicated in a plot against King James I.  George was beheaded, but Henry survived after pleading that James’ father was his godfather. The family died out in the 17th century when the hall was dismantled. The stone from the hall is said to have been recycled to build the Nags Head and a house in St Andrew’s Street. 
​Butts Hill - The land to the east of Banks Lane is known as Butts Hill. It was named as it was the site for compulsory archery practice in the middle ages.  This area was cleared in 1815 destroying some Bronze Age burial mounds which contained spears and skeletons. 

​Pause at the junction with the High Street by the village sign

22- The Bakery, High Street

Now closed, the bakery is the site of a 1992 Guinness World Record for the fastest loaf baked from standing wheat to a baked loaf of bread. The grain was cut in the field, ground at the windmill and taken to the bakery, in a total time of 20 minutes 59.65 seconds.​

23 - The Nag's Head, High Street

The gable end of the Nag’s Head is a date stone marked 
T H Ireland, 1684.  It is reported that the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin slept here and was active in the parish. He was eventually hanged in York for stealing three horses from Thomas Creasey of Heckington. 

24 - No 24, High Street

The Stone House on your left at number 24 was the home of Samuel Jessop who at the time of his death in 1817 held the world record for pill taking.  According to the Guinness Book of Records he took 226,934 pills over 21 years from 1791. In 1814 he swallowed 51,590 (about 140 a day!)  This, combined with the 40,000 bottles of medicine kept him alive until his death at the age of 65. 

25 - The Village Hall

This large yellow-brick fronted property is the village hall with date stone. Built by Moses Franks MRCS, the village surgeon, at his sole expense on land given from his own garden. Many organisations met in Frank’s Hall which was built as a Temperance Hall where meetings were held without drinking.
​Continue to the blacksmith’s at the end of the High Street and back to the windmill to complete your tour
All the pictures featured in the village trail have been painted by Heckington artist, Patricia Mellett-Brown.  Pictures and cards are available to purchase from www.patriciamellettbrown.com