Song about skeleton found in Skegness hotel wins Lincolnshire song competition

The winning song, called 'Brass Buttons', tells the story about how the skeleton is thought to be a Revenue man being discovered when a wall in the kitchen area of the Vine Hotel was demolished in 1902.

The skeleton was thought to be about 100 to 150 years old and had the tattered remains of a uniform and accompanying brass buttons very much intact. The buttons bore the Royal insignia, as worn by Revenue officers.There was a lot of smuggling taking place in the Skegness area in the late 18th century and early 19th century and it is thought that the Vine Hotel in Vine Road was a favourite haunt of some notorious smugglers of that time.

Gin, tobacco, sugar and other expensive commodities were smuggled in by pony and cart from small boats on the beach, across the dunes, often using the pullovers, and much of this 'booty' was taken to the Vine to be stored and eventually distributed further inland.

The smuggler's small boats rowed out to larger vessels at anchor off shore, usually Dutch cutters, Holland being the country from which much of the contraband came.

A Customs and Excise man, based in Boston, who was investigating the smugglers in the Skegness area, went missing around that time. Could his skeleton and uniform be the ones discovered in the Vine all those years later?

The brass buttons on the skeleton's uniform would indicate this was the case.The song is called Brass Buttons (Lyrics by Barry Bray, music and arrangement by Roger Sadler) and was performed by Peasants Revolt Folk Trio, consisting Roger Sadler, Barry Bray and Dave Smith at the Louth Riverhead Theatre.

The song won the 'Write a Lincolnshire Song' competition, held annually, and is featured on the Tom Lane Folk programme on Lincoln City Radio, the whole contest being available on You Tube.