Gosling rose from being the humble estate blacksmith to being one of the first local ‘Kings of the Road’.

The Revesby rose garden is a beautiful part of the estate and its ironwork was made locally by Thomas Gosling the estate blacksmith, who was an interesting man with a distinctive career.

Thomas Gosling was born at Donington-on-Bain in 1870 and left school aged nine. He went to work in the fields but was determined to better himself, and saved money from his paltry wages to pay the premium so he could become an apprentice blacksmith. He learned the trade at Marston near Grantham.

Now qualified, in 1896 he secured a post as blacksmith foreman under Mrs Clarke (yes, a woman blacksmith!) at Revesby though he was also a blacksmith at Mareham in 1901. He clearly impressed, because when she retired in 1910 he took over the business and was living in Revesby in 1911 with his wife and two children. But Gosling was ambitious and, like several blacksmiths at the time, he saw that the motor car and motorbike trade offered new opportunities and in 1920 opened a motor business at Mareham (the chauffeur Ellis had opened one at Revesby). Along the way, he was also a Special Constable during the Great War.

Gosling was a highly respectable man, but he could not avoid trouble when it came calling. In 1901 he was working at the forge in Revesby when two ‘fishermen’ walked in and asked for money in exchange for ‘doing some work’.  Gosling told them he had no work for unskilled men, noting that they smelled of drink, and also refused to give them food or ‘a few coppers’, despite their suggestions that Jesus Christ himself would bless Gosling if he did.

Perhaps Gosling had a lucky escape. The two beggars went off to Dr Slingbsy Mann at Revesby Bridge, who called out PC Knights. The constable tried to get handcuffs on both of the beggars and a fight developed, in which the policeman was knocked down and had his trousers torn before being helped by a passer-by. Both men were taken off to the magistrates where the worst offender was given fourteen days for assault.

Gosling’s new premises at Mareham-le-Fen thrived and in 1922 began operating a fourteen-seat bus, the first in the village. This side of work expanded, and he became the employer of twelve other people. By 1926 he had opened another garage at Tattershall and was a dealer for Morris, Overland and Austin cars.

In 1929 Gosling was back at Horncastle Magistrates Court to bring a charge of assault against Ernest Basley, with both men then living in Mareham; Basley accused Gosling of ‘saying things’ about him, but Gosling decided not to press charges and an ‘amicable’ agreement was reached.

Gosling died in January 1947, aged seventy-seven. His obituary noted that he had’ a kindly disposition’ and was also ‘a staunch Conservative.’

An early Gosling coach ran into a ditch in about 1947. It was recovered, but was never used again until it was rescued by an enthusiast in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, Revesby had its own garage, which in the 1930s was run by William Ellis. He had been one of Lord and Lady Stanhope’s first chauffeurs before the Great War. His son told an inquest in 1937 that his father had been much affected by the death of his wife and a daughter, and also after he had an eye injury that forced the removal of the eye. In  a moment of despair, Ellis drank a bottle of poison that he kept in the garage – but then  regretted his action, but it was too late to get medical help. His grave can be found in the churchyard.

By Adrian Gray, taken from the book Tales From Revesby, link for purchase below:

Tales From Revesby – Lincolnshire Village History – Trent Witham Books