Aveland was a

Wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...

Kesteven The Parts of Kesteven ( or ) are a traditional division of Lincolnshire, England. This division had long had a separate county administration (quarter sessions), along with the two other Parts of Lincolnshire, Lindsey and Holland. Etymology Th ...

from the time of the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...

until the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

. Its meeting place was The Aveland at in the parish of

Aslackby Aslackby and Laughton is a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 243, in 102 households. increasing slightly to 251 in 118 households at the 2011 cens ...

Origins

Aveland was probably established as an administrative unit soon after 921 when

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...

ably assisted until 918, by

Æthelflæd Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians ( 870 – 12 June 918) ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith. Æth ...

had restored English rule in the part of the Danelaw represented by Kesteven. The wapentake included the ancient parishes of Aslackby,

Billingborough Billingborough is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north of Bourne and 10 miles south of Sleaford, and on the B1177 between Horbling and Pointon just south of ...

Birthorpe Birthorpe is a small hamlet in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated less than west from Billingborough and the B1177 Pointon Road, and east from Folkingham. Birthorpe is regarded as a shrunken medieval vil ...

Bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...

, Dembleby,

Dowsby Dowsby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the western edge of The Fens at the junction of the east–west B1397 road and the north–south B1177. It is north-east from ...

Dunsby Dunsby is a small village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of in Lincolnshire, England. It is north from Bourne, just east off the A15, and on the western edge of the Lincolnshire Fens. In 2001 it had a population of 141, reduc ...

Folkingham Folkingham ( ) is an English village and civil parish on the northern edge of the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The civil and ecclesiastical parishes cover the same area. Folkingham lies on the A15 road north of Bourne and 10 miles ...

Haconby Haconby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 448 increasing to 532 at the 2011 census. It is situated on the western edge of the Lincol ...

Haceby Haceby is a hamlet in the civil parish of Newton and Haceby in the district of North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is east from Grantham, 8 miles south from Sleaford, and south from the A52 road. In the '' Domesday'' account the vill ...

Horbling __NOTOC__ Horbling is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the B1177, south-east of Sleaford, north-east of Grantham and north of Billingborough. Village population recorded in the ...

Kirkby Underwood Kirkby Underwood is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 200 at the 2001 census, increasing to 220 at the 2011 census. It is situated north from Bourne an ...

, Laughton,

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Osbournby Osbournby (locally pronounced ''Ozzenby'' or ''Ossenby'') is a small village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Spanby) at the 2011 census was 381. It is locat ...

, Pickworth,

Pointon Pointon is a small village situated north of Bourne, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Pointon and Sempringham which had a 2001 population of 507. The majority of the parish's popula ...

Rippingale Rippingale is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 929 at the 2011 census. The village is situated on the A15 road, about north from Bourne. Rippingale is ...

Sempringham Sempringham is a hamlet in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south from the A52 road, east from Grantham and north from Bourne. The hamlet is in the civil parish of Pointon and Sempringham, and on the west ...

Spanby Spanby is a village and former civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, about south from the town of Sleaford. Since 1931 the village has been part of the civil parish of Threekingham. It is in the civil parish of ...

Swaton Swaton is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1394 road, less than north from the A52 road, and south-east of Sleaford. Swaton Fen lies to the east. The Eau river rises t ...

, Threekingham and Walcot; some of which have since been amalgamated. There is documentary evidence from the

Domesday Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

survey onwards for a settlement called Avethorpe in the parish of Aslackby but no actual location is known.

Decline

Between 921 and 1888, the administrative significance of the wapentake was reduced by many small steps. The first was as a result of the invasion of England by Swein in 1013. The Kesteven people supported it so that, when order was restored, the

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

of Lincoln was set up and given powers over the wapentakes. Subsequently, piecemeal, privileges were given to lords of the manors in Aveland so that it became progressively less significant. By 1250, there was little power left.

Modern usage

*The name Aveland is retained as that of an electoral ward in

South Kesteven South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Bourne, Lincolnshire, Bourne, Grantham, Market Deeping and Stamford, Li ...

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

*It was also the name of a school in

from 1963 to 2012 *In the

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...

, there is an Aveland and Ness with Stamford

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

* Lincoln Hall, a residence at the University of Nottingham, has a house named Aveland.

References

* Roffe, D. ''Medieval Administration'' in Bennett, S. & Bennett, N. ed. ''An Historical Atlas of Lincolnshire'' (1993)
Notes on Wapentake of Aveland from 'Introduction: Lost vills and other forgotten places', Final Concords of the County of Lincoln: 1244-1272 (1920), pp. L-LXV.
{{refend

External links

(Genealogy of UK & Ireland site).

Wapentakes of Kesteven