Dunholme is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the

West Lindsey West Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Gainsborough. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, from the urban districts of Gainsborough, Market Rasen, along with Caistor Rural D ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

, England. It is situated on the A46 road, and north-east of Lincoln. The earliest written evidence concerning Dunholme is found in the 1086

Domesday Book 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 ...

. The village stands almost exactly in the centre of its parish, on the banks of the Welton Beck, which follows into the village from Welton in the North. There are multiple theories on the origins of the village's name. One presented in ''The Place and River Names of the West Riding of Lindsey'' is that the name of the village is derived from "Dunham" from 'dun' meaning hill, and 'ham' meaning river bend. An alternative origin by Ekwall suggests the name came from "Donna's ham", meaning the 'ham' or enclosure of Dunna, possible an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

. Within the village, Dunholme has a post office, a village shop, St Chad's CE Primary School on Ryland Road. William Farr C of E Comprehensive School is partially located within the parish boundary and is accessible from Honeyholes Lane in the village of Dunholme, however the main entrance is located on Lincoln Road in Welton. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

is dedicated to

Saint Chad Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonise ...

, and is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

, built in Early English style. It contains a kneeling

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

to Robert Grantham (died 1616), which was restored in 1856 and 1892.Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' p. 119; Methuen & Co. Ltd The church forms part of the benefice of Welton, Dunholme and Scothern. The rood screen was carved by the Congolese sculptor Mahomet Thomas Phillips. RAF Dunholme Lodge airfield was used by

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

during the Second World War. It closed in 1964 and little remains. Some of the land was purchased by Rev William Farr in 1946 for the site of

William Farr School William Farr School, formally William Farr C of E Comprehensive School, is a Church of England academy school An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent o ...

. Every summer, the village holds a village

fête In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Village fêtes Village f� ...

. The fête is held in the centre of the village near the church and involves a duck race alongside many other activities. The village has a camera club.

Local History

Dunholme has had a significant impact on Lincolnshire history. Terence Leach, who was headmaster of the village primary school, was a passionate advocate of Lincolnshire history and wrote a number of books on the areas's history. He is best known as the author of a series of books o
Lincolnshire country houses
He also helped create the annua
Brackenbury Lectures
in aid of the Raithby Methodist Chapel. More recently Adrian Gray, the son of a former vicar of Dunholme, has published severa
books
on Lincolnshire history.

References

External links

*
Parish Council website

Dunholme village website

St Chad's primary school

Welton, Dunholme & Scothern Benefice

Community Centre
{{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire West Lindsey District