| Dowsby | |
St Andrew's church, Dowsby |
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Dowsby
Dowsby shown within Lincolnshire |
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| OS grid reference | TF 11312 29478 |
|---|---|
| District | South Kesteven |
| Shire county | Lincolnshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bourne |
| Postcode district | PE10 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Grantham and Stamford |
| List of places: UK • England • Lincolnshire | |
Dowsby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the western edge of The Fens at the junction of the east-west B1397 road and the north-south B1177. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Rippingale and just south of Pointon. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Graby. Nearby to the east, along the B1397, is Car Dyke on Dowsby Fen.[1]
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Dowsby Grade II* listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Andrew.[2] The ecclesiastical parish is part of The Billingborough Group of the Deanery of Lafford, Diocese of Lincoln. The incumbent is The Revd John Spreadbury.[3]
Dowsby Fen falls within the drainage area of the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board.[4]
A bus service operates to Bourne on Thursdays, provided by Kimes Buses.
The name Dowsby is from the Old Scandinavian Dusi+by, for "farmstead of Dusi", appearing in the Domesday Book as Dusebi.[5]
Although the village looks comparatively modern,[says who?] as though it dates to the Victorian agricultural expansion, it is actually very old.
The Hoe Hills was a group of round barrows dating back to the Bronze Age where Roman and Medieval finds have been made.[6][7]
St Andrew's church, originating from the 12th century,[2] was mostly rebuilt and enlarged in 1864, although Norman fragments remain as part of the fabric. A recumbent effigy of Etheldreda Rigdon, and six brasses to the Burrell family from 1682 lie in the vestry. Built into the outer wall of the south aisle are parts of a Saxon cross.[8][9]
On the edge of the fen was a decoy used to trap ducks commercially in the 19th century. These would almost certainly have been shipped for sale by railway, probably from Rippingale railway station which was only a mile or so from the decoy.
Within the parish to the west is the deserted medieval village at Graby,[10] on the line of the Roman Road Mareham Lane.
Most of the employment in the parish is agricultural. The former rectory is now a care home for the elderly, providing some employment. The nearest shop is in Billingborough, the nearest pub is in Aslackby