Long Sutton and District Civic Society appeal for 106-year-old ornate carriage to be rehomed or its fate could be to cremate it or sold on eBay

A 106-year-old ornate hearse faces an uncertain fate of being sold or even cremated - unless a permanent home can be found for it.

Long Sutton and District Civic Society has been searching for a permanent home for the hand drawn hearse for nearly a decade and has now launched a new appeal for help.

The beautifully made glass door wheeled carriage was built by Waltons, a Long Sutton coach builder, in 1918.

It has had a number of temporary homes in recent years at an undertakers, St Mary’s Church and Lincolnshire Museum of Country Life who had it for twenty years up until 2016.

But now Tim Machin, from Long Sutton and District Civic Society, is hoping to find a final resting place for this piece of town history - which has had relatively little use.

He said: “We have been trying to find a home for the last eight years ever since it came back from its permanent storage.

“For it to be on display somewhere locally would be good and at a funeral directors would be brilliant as it would be a great promotional tool.

“If we can’t find a home it is cremation or eBay which would be a great shame.”

It is currently stored on a farm and the society is hoping that it could be given a new lease of life on display or potentially be used.

Mr Machin said: “It is a desirable thing and I was surprised to find that some undertakers and funeral directors do still use them.

“Although it is not really suitable for a long journey, it is still a prestigious thing for bereaved families who are looking for something different.

“This is a most ornate one commissioned by the council which must have been to reflect the prosperity of the town.”

Waltons, a significant employer in the area, manufactured vans and lorries. It also provided additional trades in brass, metal and woodwork.

Mr Machin said: “The town could lay claim to being one of the area’s leading carriage and coach-building centres, and for a time the bulk of labour other than those employed on the land, or with livestock, was engaged in building coaches, carts and carriages.

“At one time there were four wagon-works, Walton’s, Bingham’s, Scott’s and Curzon’s. in addition, many people were also employed in the subsidiary trades, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, trimmers, body-builders, harness makers.”

The motoring trade came into fashion and overtook the traditional hand drawn carriage, dominating the manufacturing industry with trades such as brass for horses became a dying art.

At one point the carriage was stored in Heacham and has been kept around in garages but not used.

Mr Machin added: “It is still in relatively pristine condition and it is a shame it is not on permanent display somewhere, which of course is our long term aim, to celebrate our town’s heritage in coach and wagon building.

“I hope to achieve a permanent home for the wonderful piece of local manufacturing where local people will be able to continue to enjoy it or indeed potentially use it.”

For further information contact Tim Machin, communications officer for Long Sutton and District Civic Society, by emailing civic.society@yahoo.co.uk

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