Not so much a memory as this is really from the history books (quite literally) Its one of those things I'd forgotten but today I had my memory jogged reading about this story.
On Google books there is "The History of the county of Lincoln from the earliest period to the present time" published in 1834 if I can read my roman numerals correctly. On page 154 talking about Mablethorpe Hall it states...

"There is a tradition, yet current, that in ancient times a French ship arrived on the coast and landed a party of men who in the night made a rapid march to this hall, and having felled a tree to enable them to pass the moat, suddenly siezed and carried off the heir to the estate, and well knowing the value of their prisoner, forced so large a ransom that a great part of the family estates in this parish and in Withern and Stain were sold on the occasion."

Food for thought...

Ian

It is hard to imagine todays kidnappers having to march to their destination, fell a tree and cross a moat, kidnap someone and then have to go through the same again to get back. No wonder they wanted a large ransom! It is difficult to imagine Mablethorpe Hall as part of a large wealthy estate.
Keep these facts coming.

It is moated so someone wealthy must have lived there. Interesting story!

Here's a link to another legend of Old Mablethorpe
www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/community/tea...ght_legend_1_1013378

It was the home of the Fitzwilliam family of whom there appear to be records on dating from 1325 to the end of the 18th century.
There's more details in a paper on Googlebooks called "Archaeologia, Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, Volume 57, Part 1" covering the Fitzwilliams link to the Kings of England from Edward 2nd to Henry 6th fascinating reading that I've only scratched the surface of...
The "legend" of the battle of Earls Bridge deserves a thread of its own...