Loved back to life
THE vicissitudes of the agricultural and political economy in Lincolnshire during the 20th century meant that it suffered the greatest number of losses of country houses anywhere in Britain. To encounter a well-restored and well-loved building such as Fulbeck House, therefore, a fine example of a compact residence built for a prosperous owner in about 1700, on the edge of Fulbeck village, is particularly uplifting and edifying. This is limestone country and the more substantial stone houses of this period often seem closely related, as if common products of a strong local building tradition. The more ambitious also appear to be aware of the great 1680s aristocratic seat of nearby Belton House and its 10-bay east façade, in particular.
Such is the case with the entrance front of Fulbeck House, which is constructed in coursed, locally quarried limestone with ashlar quoins . It stands two storeys high and possesses a hipped roof—now slate, but originally stone tile—inset with a pair of pedimented dormer windows. There is a
