| Bigby | |
All Saints' church, Bigby |
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Bigby
Bigby shown within Lincolnshire |
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| Population | 234 (2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TA059073 |
| District | West Lindsey |
| Shire county | Lincolnshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | DN38 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Gainsborough |
| List of places: UK • England • Lincolnshire | |
Bigby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies about ten miles south of the Humber Bridge, and four miles east of the town of Brigg. The village lies in the Lincolnshire Wolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and lies close to the administrative border with North Lincolnshire. The hamlets of Kettleby and Kettleby Thorpe lie within the parish. The hamlet of Somerby is situated nearby.
According to the 2001 census Bigby had a population of 234,[1] though this has increased because of the new Bigby Green housing development.
The name Bigby comes from an Old Norse personal name Bekki + Old Norse býr, meaning "settlement" or "farmstead".[2]
Bigby is recorded in Domesday Book as Bechebi, and the Lord of the manor was William son of Nigel.[3]
The local Anglican parish church is a Grade I listed building dedicated to All Saints. It dates from the 12th century, with later additions and restorations in 1779 and 1878. On the north side of the chancel is a large alabaster tomb to Sir Robert Tyrwhit of Kettleby hamlet, who died in 1581, and his wife. To the east is a monument to Sir Robert Tyrwhit of Kettleby, who died in 1617, and Lady Bridget Manners his wife who died in 1604.[4]
Bigby is one of four Thankful Villages in Lincolnshire, because it lost no men in World War I. There is a war memorial in the parish churchyard in remembrance of two local men who died during World War II.[5]
Pingley Farm, or Camp 81, was the site of a second world war Prisoner-of-war camp. Purpose-built to house 750 low-risk prisoners, by May 1946 Pingley camp actually held 984. It still exists today but is derelict.[6]
The hamlet of Kettleby lies about 11⁄2 miles (2.4 km) west of Bigby village. The deserted medieval village (DMV) of Kettleby was first recorded in a will of 1066. In Domesday Book of 1086 there were two manors, Kettleby, whose Lord of the Manor was Ralph, nephew of Geoffrey Alselin, and Kettleby Thorpe, whose Lord was listed only as Gilbert.[3] Thereafter Kettleby merged with Kettleby Thorpe, also a deserted settlement.[7] Kettleby is mentioned in 1334. Today the area is occupied by the earthworks of Kettleby Hall.[7]
Kettleby Hall was reputedly a moated hunting lodge built in the reign of James I and later the chief seat of the Tyrwhitt family. The last male heir sold up due to debts in1648, and the building was demolished 1696/1697. The present farmhouse on the site dates from the 19th century.[8]