Folkingham Castle

Folkingham Castle in Lincolnshire I was pleased to pass by as I inspected the locality’s churches, not least of which is Folkingham’s own. There is little left of the old fortress, with just a few earthworks in the surrounding fields, an eighteenth-century-looking gateway and a few warning signs urging people like me to mind their own business and respect the occupants' privacy.

Curiously, the orginal castle and estate was governed by the principle of caput baroniae which meant that it was not to be divided among the daughters upon the owner’s death, in case of there being no male heir. Rather, it was to descend entirely to the eldest daughter, with "other daughters being satisfied elsewhere". This meant that the estate would not be broken up into tiny parcels, but kept as whole. That the younger daughters who received no share were truly satisfied with their meagre dowries to poorer husbands or long lives spent in convents, I very much doubt.

A number of women of the Bible were wealthy, sometimes on account of their own acumen, such as Lydia, the dealer in purple cloth. Generally, however, females were dependent upon men for their provision. In Christ, though, there is neither male no female, for all His children are His sons in terms of inheritance and status. We are all the firstborn heirs, and receive everything; we are all eldest males, and inherit the lot with our Brother, Jesus the Christ.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:26-27, New King James Version