Skellingthorpe
| Skellingthorpe | |
 Skellingthorpe village |
|
  Skellingthorpe Skellingthorpe shown within Lincolnshire | |
| Population | 3,444 (2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SK924719 |
| - London | 125 mi (201 km) S |
| District | North Kesteven |
| Shire county | Lincolnshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Lincoln |
| Postcode district | LN6 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Lincoln |
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Skellingthorpe is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 3 miles (5 km) west from Lincoln city centre, and just outside the A46 Lincoln ring road.
The village of Doddington and Doddington Hall lie 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south-west. Birchwood estate, built in the 1970s on the site of RAF Skellingthorpe, is 1 mile to the south-east.
History
Thomas Allen's gazetteer of Lincolnshire describes the village in 1834: 'The village of Skellingthorpe, on the borders of Nottinghamshire, is distant about 7 miles westward from Lincoln. The church, dedicated to St Lawrence, is a discharged vicarage rated at £6 18 shillings and nine pence, endowed with 200 royal bounty, and £400 parliamentary grant. Here is also a place of worship belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists. In 1821, this parish contained 70 houses, and 370 inhabitants. Skellingthorpe is chiefly the property of Christ Church School in London. There are in this parish some excellent farm houses and buildings, as well as extensive plantations.'[1]
The east-west Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway used to pass through the village, heading west through Ollerton in Nottinghamshire. The line was built in 1897 and carried freight until 1979. Skellingthorpe railway station closed in 1955. The line is now a cycle path on a National Cycle Route.
Henry Stone
A local farmer Henry Stone, after whom the Stones Arms pub is named, was working the fields here when he was forced to take shelter beneath a great oak tree during a thunderstorm in 1690. Two times his pet dog attempted to drag him away from the oak, succeeding upon the third attempt: at that exact moment a flash of lightning hit the tree, killing a pheasant that had sought shelter in its branches. To commemorate his curious deliverance, Henry Stone had a picture painted of the tree, the pheasant and his dog. This picture, dated 1693, survives in the Drawing Room of nearby Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire.[2]
Community
The village parish church is dedicated to St Lawrence. Skellingthorpe Hall is to the east of the village; Old Wood to the west.[3] There are two village public houses: the Stones Arms (named after Henry Stone) and the Plough Inn, both on High Street. Every Wednesday a fish and chip van visits the community centre. There are three football teams in the village, FVA Jerusalem, Skellingthorpe Plough (adult team) and St. Helens (child team).
The road south-west of the village is called Jerusalem Road. This leads to Lincoln Road via a distinct hamlet called Jerusalem. It is unclear how the hamlet came by this name, although an early 19th-century Ordnance Survey map shows there was at one time a small Victorian-era Methodist chapel sited between two bends in the road.[4]
References
External links
Media related to Skellingthorpe at Wikimedia Commons
- St Lawrence's church
- North Kesteven office on Lincoln Road
- Skellingthorpe & District Motorcycle club
- Pictures of Skellingthorpe
- St Lawrence CE Primary School
- Holt Primary School
- Skellingthorpe in the Domesday Book
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