Fiskerton, Lincolnshire
Encyclopedia
Fiskerton is a small commuter village within the West Lindsey
district of Lincolnshire
, England
, located approximately 6 miles (10 km) east of the city of Lincoln
and on the north side of the River Witham
.
, which stands at the side of the main road through the village, is dedicated to St Clement
. It dates from the 11th century, and was restored in 1863. The arcade
of the north aisle is Norman
; that of the south aisle, Early English style. The Perpendicular style tower is square, but encloses an earlier round tower. Cox reports in 1916 that a brass effigy of a priest (ca. 1485) in the south aisle was restored to the church by Bishop Trollope
in 1863, having been found in a Lincoln dealer's shop. A Wesleyan Methodist
chapel was built in the village in 1839.
Fiskerton has received international archaeological attention on a number of occasions over the last two centuries following discoveries of Iron Age
artefacts buried in the fenland
peat
that surrounds the village. In 1826 a fine, metre-long decorative shield was discovered in the River Witham. Now known as the Witham Shield
it has been dated to 400-300 BC and is in the British Museum
.
Over 150 years later when a dyke
was being cleaned, a series of posts were found together with an early to mid Iron Age sword
. Subsequent excavations in 1981 revealed the posts to be a wooden causeway
which dendrologists
dated to a period between 457 and 300 BC. It appeared to have been repaired and added to every eighteen years or so during that period and the construction and maintenance of a walkway on such a scale at that time would have been a major feat of engineering. Hundreds of artifacts were also found around the causeway, including eleven spear
s, six swords, woodworking and metalworking tools, as well as part of a human skull
which had a crescent-shaped chop mark, probably inflicted by a sword; this injury is unlikely to have killed the man.
Twenty years later in further excavations more sections of the causeway were dug out, some of them containing posts several metres long, plus a complete spear, a currency bar, a sword, a dagger
and some bronze
fittings, all of which appeared to have been deliberately damaged before their burial. The most important discovery was two votive Iron Age boats. One of these boats as well as other artifacts can be seen at The Collection
in Lincoln. The area around the site of the causeway, which is alongside the road to Short Ferry, (a hamlet
2.5 km to the east) opened as a nature reserve
managed by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
in 2006.
During the Second World War, an airfield was built on agricultural land to the north of the village. RAF Fiskerton
opened in January 1943 as part of 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command
as 52 Sub-Base Station controlled by RAF Scampton
. It closed at the end of the war in September 1945 and the land returned to agricultural use. Very little can be seen of the old airfield now, but a memorial
to No. 49 Squadron RAF
and 576 Squadron, who were stationed at the airfield during the war, can be found by the side of the road between Fiskerton and Reepham
, a village 2.5 km (1½ miles) to the north.
West Lindsey
West Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England.-History:The district was formed on 1 April 1974, from the urban districts of Gainsborough, Market Rasen, along with Caistor Rural District, Gainsborough Rural District and Welton Rural District...
district of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located approximately 6 miles (10 km) east of the city of Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
and on the north side of the River Witham
River Witham
The River Witham is a river, almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham, at SK8818, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh...
.
History
Fiskerton Grade I listed Anglican parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, which stands at the side of the main road through the village, is dedicated to St Clement
Pope Clement I
Starting in the 3rd and 4th century, tradition has identified him as the Clement that Paul mentioned in Philippians as a fellow laborer in Christ.While in the mid-19th century it was customary to identify him as a freedman of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor...
. It dates from the 11th century, and was restored in 1863. The arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
of the north aisle is Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
; that of the south aisle, Early English style. The Perpendicular style tower is square, but encloses an earlier round tower. Cox reports in 1916 that a brass effigy of a priest (ca. 1485) in the south aisle was restored to the church by Bishop Trollope
Edward Trollope
Edward Trollope was an antiquary and an Anglican Bishop of Nottingham in the Victorian era.-Life:Trollope was born at Uffington, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, on 15 April 1817, the sixth son of Sir John Trollope, of Casewick Hall, Uffington, and his wife, Anne, the daughter of Henry Thorold of...
in 1863, having been found in a Lincoln dealer's shop. A Wesleyan Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
chapel was built in the village in 1839.
Fiskerton has received international archaeological attention on a number of occasions over the last two centuries following discoveries of Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
artefacts buried in the fenland
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
that surrounds the village. In 1826 a fine, metre-long decorative shield was discovered in the River Witham. Now known as the Witham Shield
Witham Shield
The Witham Shield is an Iron Age decorative bronze shield facing of La Tène style, dating from about the 4th century BC. The shield was discovered in the River Witham in the vicinity of Washingborough and Fiskerton in Lincolnshire, England in 1826...
it has been dated to 400-300 BC and is in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Over 150 years later when a dyke
Ditch
A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced 'deek' in northern England and 'deetch' in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank...
was being cleaned, a series of posts were found together with an early to mid Iron Age sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
. Subsequent excavations in 1981 revealed the posts to be a wooden causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
which dendrologists
Dendrology
Dendrology or xylology is the science and study of wooded plants . There is no sharp boundary between plant taxonomy and dendrology. However, woody plants not only belong to many different plant families, but these families may be made up of both woody and non-woody members. Some families include...
dated to a period between 457 and 300 BC. It appeared to have been repaired and added to every eighteen years or so during that period and the construction and maintenance of a walkway on such a scale at that time would have been a major feat of engineering. Hundreds of artifacts were also found around the causeway, including eleven spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s, six swords, woodworking and metalworking tools, as well as part of a human skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
which had a crescent-shaped chop mark, probably inflicted by a sword; this injury is unlikely to have killed the man.
Twenty years later in further excavations more sections of the causeway were dug out, some of them containing posts several metres long, plus a complete spear, a currency bar, a sword, a dagger
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
and some bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
fittings, all of which appeared to have been deliberately damaged before their burial. The most important discovery was two votive Iron Age boats. One of these boats as well as other artifacts can be seen at The Collection
The Collection (Lincolnshire)
The Collection is the county museum and gallery for Lincolnshire in England. It is an amalgamation of the Usher Gallery and the City and County Museum in such a way that they can work more effectively together than hitherto...
in Lincoln. The area around the site of the causeway, which is alongside the road to Short Ferry, (a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
2.5 km to the east) opened as a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
managed by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the whole ceremonial county of Lincolnshire England...
in 2006.
During the Second World War, an airfield was built on agricultural land to the north of the village. RAF Fiskerton
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Fiskerton was located in the Lincolnshire village of Fiskerton, 5 miles east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. It was one of many new bomber airfields built in the early part of World War II. The airfield was situated north of the village...
opened in January 1943 as part of 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
as 52 Sub-Base Station controlled by RAF Scampton
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Station Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England, near the village of Scampton, on the site of an old First World War landing field.-First World War:...
. It closed at the end of the war in September 1945 and the land returned to agricultural use. Very little can be seen of the old airfield now, but a memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
to No. 49 Squadron RAF
No. 49 Squadron RAF
No. 49 Squadron was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1938 to 1965. They received their first Hampdens in September 1938.They were a famous Hampden squadron; with the only Victoria Cross awarded Rod Learoyd amongst the ones who served on the type....
and 576 Squadron, who were stationed at the airfield during the war, can be found by the side of the road between Fiskerton and Reepham
Reepham, Lincolnshire
Reepham is a small village in Lincolnshire, England, 5 miles north east of Lincoln, and lies in the district of West Lindsey. Approximately 1250 people populate the village....
, a village 2.5 km (1½ miles) to the north.