Keadby
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Keadby is a small village lying just off the A18, west of Scunthorpe, in North Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the West bank of the River Trent. It is pronounced "Kidby".
Being in Lincolnshire, Keadby appears to lie on the wrong bank of the Trent, which is usually thought of as Lincolnshire's western boundary. However, Keadby is part of the Isle of Axholme, the only part of Lincolnshire to cross the Trent and so have a "land" border with South Yorkshire.
Keadby's (mainly historical) economic significance lies in the fact that it was chosen as the destination for the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. This was opened in 1802, but is now mostly a leisure waterway. For pleasure boaters, Keadby's attraction is that of being the "end of the line"; though for the more daring, there is still a lock onto the tidal Trent.
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[edit] Village Amenities
To refresh the narrowboat crew that has made it this far, there is one pub called The canalside Barge Inn, There used to be another pub, The Auld South Yorkshire, which has now shut down, rumour has it that somebody has bought the deeds and will be reopening again soon. There is also a chip shop, a working men's club, A small Post Office and a local shop. There is also a Motor Vehicle repair garage, located on the main road through the village,
[edit] Flooding
On occasion the village is prone to flooding from the aforementioned River Trent. The most recent occurrence was in May 2006, in which many houses were flooded on the ground floor after heavy rainfall.
[edit] King George V Bridge
The nearest settlement is Althorpe, where the impressive King George V Bridge (also known as Keadby Lifting Bridge) provides a crossing for twin rail lines, a road and a pedestrian walkway over the Trent connecting the Isle of Axholme to Scunthorpe and the rest of Lincolnshire. The bridge was brought into use on 21st May 1916 at which time the 3,000 tons lifting span was Europe's heaviest Bascule bridge.[1]. The lifting span was fixed in position in 1955 and no longer opens.
[edit] Moveable Bridges
The King George V Bridge is not the only moveable bridge in the vicinity of Keadby. There are canal locks at the point where the Stainforth and Keadby canal connects with the River Trent in Keadby. On the canal just before these locks the B1392 road crosses the canal over the Keadby Swing Bridge. Aproximately half a mile further along the canal a railway line crosses the canal over the Keadby Sliding Bridge (also known as Vazon Sliding Railway Bridge). This very unusual bridge is a retractable bridge, it can be rolled out of the line of the canal in order to allow boats through. Just beyond the Sliding Bridge is a small manually operated swing bridge.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ (1953) "Keadby Lifting Bridge". The Railway Magazine.
- ^ Vazon Sliding Railway Bridge. Pennine Waterways.
