| Digby | |
Digby Cross |
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Digby
Digby shown within Lincolnshire |
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| Population | 574 |
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| OS grid reference | TF078546 |
| District | North Kesteven |
| Shire county | Lincolnshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Lincoln |
| Postcode district | LN4 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Sleaford and North Hykeham |
| List of places: UK • England • Lincolnshire | |
Digby is a small village and civil parish in the district of North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. The village lies in the vale of the Digby Beck watercourse, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the town of Sleaford and 12 miles (19 km) miles south of the city of Lincoln. The village has a population of about 574, and a Parish Council.
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The village is on the north-south B1188 about 6 miles (9.7 km) miles west of the National Cycle Network's National Route 1. Ruskington railway station is 3 miles (4.8 km) miles to the south, on the Sleaford to Lincoln line.[1] About 16 miles (26 km) miles from Digby is Grantham, which has a regular East Coast Main Line express train to London, taking about 70 minutes.
Two Bronze Age stone axes, about 4,000 years old, were found in Digby, one now in private possession, the other at Lincoln Museum.[2] Also found were two Bronze Age arrowheads, again one in private possession, [3] the other at Lincoln Museum[4] with a Neolithic partly polished axe also found here.[5]
The church is dedicated to Thomas Becket and has a porch with strong Saxon elements and carvings. Built in the Gothic style, it has a tall spire. It is a Grade I listed building.[6] There is also a circular Village lock-up which is Grade II listed,[7] and a medieval stone buttercross in the centre of the village which is Grade II listed,[8] and a scheduled monument although the top section of the pillar and cross appear to have been renewed, probably during the Victorian period. In the 1930s the churchyard was said to be haunted[9] The church spire was struck by lightning in August 1907 leading to repairs costing £80.
Near the village is the Royal Air Force base of RAF Digby (formerly RAF Scopwick). During the Second World War the base was home to Hurricane and Spitfire squadrons and to Douglas Bader, Guy Gibson, and poet John Gillespie Magee.[10] The base was Canadian later in the war, as RCAF Digby Fighter Station, with the Operations Room and billets at nearby Blankney Hall.
The village has a school, the Digby C of E School for children aged 4 to 11, a Post Office, the Red Lion public house, allotments, an active winery which uses local produce and Digby's War Memorial Hall in Church Street.
Beck House on Beck Street is a grade II listed stone farmhouse dating back several hundred years. There are also examples of 18th and 19th century buildings, now private dwellings, including Digby Manor House, a listed building situated on North Street almost opposite a new housing development, Chestnut Close.
During 2009 the Village Hall frontage underwent extensive re-development and now provides seating and new gardens.
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust manage Digby Corner[11] as a wildlife sanctuary. In June 2007 Digby Fen was home to a breeding pair of Montagu's Harriers, the rarest breeding birds of prey in the British Isles.[12]
Healey, Hilary (2008). Digby Diary - Our Village. Digby History Group.
Rennison, John (2003). The Digby Diary : a History of RAF Digby in Lincolnshire, 1917-1953. Aspect. ISBN 0951404733.
Hawkins Buch, Mary (1997). Props on Her Sleeve: The Wartime Letters of a Canadian Airwoman. Dundurn. ISBN 1550022946.
Gresswell, Fred (1958). Bright Boots. Country Book Club. ISBN 0715384007.