Skendleby
Encyclopedia
Skendleby is a small village and civil parish
, located near to the A158 and lies about four miles (6.5 kilometres) north east of the town of Spilsby
in Lincolnshire
and 34.8 miles (56 kilometres) due east of the county town Lincoln.
The village stands near the south eastern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds
. The village has a public house
called the Blacksmith's Arms. Skendleby is served by a Translinc bus service which runs through the village daily.
was built here for seven adults and a child, whose bodies were found on chalk slabs at the south eastern end. It is known as Giants Hill.
Skendleby was mentioned in Domesday Book
and had a church and thirty six households. The Lord of the Manor
in 1086 was Gilbert de Gant (or Ghent). In the reign of Elizabeth I, Skendleby was recorded as having twenty seven households.
The believed remains of St James Chapel, Skendleby Priory
, were uncovered during archaeological investigations and excavations in 2005. It was a small cell to Bardney Abbey
built by Walter de Gant, and recorded by Bede
in the seventh century. Bardney Abbey was founded no later than 697, but destroyed by a Danish raid in 869.
Skendleby Hall dates from the mid 18th century with some later alterations and additions. It is Grade II listed.
radar station, with a 200 feet (61 m) wooden mast on the top of a nearby manmade hillock, that operated during World War II between 1941 and 1945. In 1950 the site was developed further by the RAF with the addition of a two storey underground facility excavated to house a ROTOR
ground control intercept station that operated during the Cold War
.
The RAF handed the site over during the late 1960s and it became a civil defence regional headquarters that controlled Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Redesignated as Regional Government HQ 3.1
in the 1980s and with an additional two underground floors added, the only above ground structures are four ventilators on the mound together with a radio mast. A small building, disguised as a bungalow, conceals the heavy blast doors and stairs down to the nuclear proof bunker. The site was sold in 2000 and the whole facility is now in private ownership and believed to be used for secure storage.
who dedicated it (as it was before) to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. A church at Skendleby called St Peter's was given to the monks of Bardney sometime prior to 1094, by the same Gilbert De Gant. The present church of Saint Peter
and Saint Paul, which dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, is a Grade II listed building, and was restored in 1875 by Sir G. G. Scott.
opened in 1844, and later became known as Skendleby CE School, which closed on 18 July 1969. Most of the children then went to school in the neighbouring village of Partney
.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
, located near to the A158 and lies about four miles (6.5 kilometres) north east of the town of Spilsby
Spilsby
Spilsby is a market town and civil parish in Lincolnshire. England. The town is situated adjacent to the main A16 Trunk Road at the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds north of the Fenlands, east of the county town of Lincoln, north east of Boston and north west from Skegness.The town has...
in 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...
and 34.8 miles (56 kilometres) due east of the county town Lincoln.
The village stands near the south eastern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds
Lincolnshire Wolds
The Lincolnshire Wolds is a range of hills in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , and the highest area of land in eastern England between Yorkshire and Kent...
. The village has a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
called the Blacksmith's Arms. Skendleby is served by a Translinc bus service which runs through the village daily.
History
A chalk long barrowLong barrow
A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the early Neolithic period. They are rectangular or trapezoidal tumuli or earth mounds traditionally interpreted as collective tombs...
was built here for seven adults and a child, whose bodies were found on chalk slabs at the south eastern end. It is known as Giants Hill.
Skendleby was mentioned in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
and had a church and thirty six households. The Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
in 1086 was Gilbert de Gant (or Ghent). In the reign of Elizabeth I, Skendleby was recorded as having twenty seven households.
The believed remains of St James Chapel, Skendleby Priory
Skendleby Priory
Skendleby Priory was a priory in the village of Skendleby, Lincolnshire, England.The believed remains of St James Chapel, Skendleby Priory, were uncovered during archaeological investigations and excavations in 2005. It was a small cell to Bardney Abbey built by Walter de Gant, and recorded by Bede...
, were uncovered during archaeological investigations and excavations in 2005. It was a small cell to Bardney Abbey
Bardney Abbey
Bardney Abbey in Lincolnshire, England, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 697 by King Æthelred of Mercia, who was to become the first abbot. The monastery is supposed to have been destroyed during a Danish raid in 869...
built by Walter de Gant, and recorded by Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
in the seventh century. Bardney Abbey was founded no later than 697, but destroyed by a Danish raid in 869.
Skendleby Hall dates from the mid 18th century with some later alterations and additions. It is Grade II listed.
RAF Skendleby
One mile north east of Skendleby was the location of RAF Skendleby Chain Home LowChain Home Low
Chain Home Low was the name of a British radar early warning system, detecting enemy aircraft movement at lower altitudes than and summarily used with the fixed Chain Home system which was operated by the RAF during World War II...
radar station, with a 200 feet (61 m) wooden mast on the top of a nearby manmade hillock, that operated during World War II between 1941 and 1945. In 1950 the site was developed further by the RAF with the addition of a two storey underground facility excavated to house a ROTOR
ROTOR
ROTOR was a huge and elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers...
ground control intercept station that operated during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
The RAF handed the site over during the late 1960s and it became a civil defence regional headquarters that controlled Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Redesignated as Regional Government HQ 3.1
Regional Seat of Government
Regional Seats of Government or RSGs were the best known aspect of Britain's Civil Defence preparations against Nuclear War. In fact, however, naming conventions changed over the years as strategies in Whitehall changed....
in the 1980s and with an additional two underground floors added, the only above ground structures are four ventilators on the mound together with a radio mast. A small building, disguised as a bungalow, conceals the heavy blast doors and stairs down to the nuclear proof bunker. The site was sold in 2000 and the whole facility is now in private ownership and believed to be used for secure storage.
Religious sites
Bardney Abbey was refounded by Gilbert de GantGilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln
Gilbert de Gant, 1st Earl of Lincoln was an English nobleman who fought for King Stephen during The Anarchy.He was the son of Walter de Gant and Maud of Brittany...
who dedicated it (as it was before) to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. A church at Skendleby called St Peter's was given to the monks of Bardney sometime prior to 1094, by the same Gilbert De Gant. The present church of Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and Saint Paul, which dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, is a Grade II listed building, and was restored in 1875 by Sir G. G. Scott.
Schools
Skendleby National SchoolNational school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
opened in 1844, and later became known as Skendleby CE School, which closed on 18 July 1969. Most of the children then went to school in the neighbouring village of Partney
Partney
Partney is a small village, around 3 miles north of Spilsby in the Lincolnshire Wolds. This village was the birth place of Henry Stubbe, the noted seventeenth century thinker.-Transport links:...
.
Historical demography
The village has never had a large population, peaking in the mid 19th century and falling to around 160 residents by 2001.| Population of Skendleby Civil Parish Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 |
| Population | 174 | 234 | 210 | 253 | 289 | 326 | 270 | 258 | 232 | 204 | 211 | 208 | 173 | 164 |