__NOTOC__ Great Hale is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln. Its council, North Kesteven District Council, is b ...

district of

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, Leicestershire ...

, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 778. It is situated on the B1394 road, immediately south from

Heckington Heckington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Sleaford and Swineshead Bridge, and south of the A17 road. Heckington, with 1,491 households, is one of the largest vill ...

and north from Helpringham.

History

Great Hale, an ancient

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 ...

parish, was in the Aswardhurn

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 ...

, the Sleaford poor law union and

rural sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

s.Youngs, F. A. (1991). pp. 243, 263 From 1894 to 1931 it was part of

Sleaford Rural District Sleaford was a rural district in Lincolnshire, Kesteven, Parts of Kesteven, England, from 1894 to 1931. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Sleaford rural sanitary district. In 1931, under a Local Government Act 1929, Co ...

, and from 1931 to 1974, East Kesteven Rural District. Since 1974 it has been in the

district. The parish originally incorporated both townships of Little Hale and Great Hale, but Little Hale became a separate civil parish in 1866.Youngs, F. A. (1991). p. 263 In 1935 it gained part of the ancient parish of Bicker in the

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

part of Lincolnshire. The parliamentary constituency for Great Hale has changed over the years. It was in the Southern Lincolnshire constituency for the United Kingdom parliament from 1832 to 1867, which became the South Lincolnshire constituency from 1867 to 1885, the North Kesteven constituency from 1885 to 1918, and the Grantham constituency from 1918 to 1997. From 1997 to 2010 Great Hale had been in the Grantham and Stamford constituency. However, following the 2010 Boundary Review, it has been in the Sleaford and North Hykeham constituency.

Religion

The church of St John the Baptist is at the centre of the village. The church tower is late

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and pre-dates the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

by approximately 100 years. The belfry and the circular staircase to the top of the tower are typical examples of pre-Conquest stone construction. The exterior of the east wall has a bulge to accommodate the staircase built within it, and is approximately wide.

Mee, Arthur Arthur Henry Mee (21 July 187527 May 1943) was an English writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'', ''The Children's Encyclopædia'', ''The Children's Newspaper'', and '' The King's England''. The ...

(1949) Most of the steps are original and are severely worn down through centuries of use. The church contains memorials to past residents, and historical items such as a

hautbois The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

, an early form of

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

. The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

is Great and Little Hale, part of the Helpringham Group of the

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 ...

of Lafford. The 2013 incumbent is Rev Chris Harrington.

Education

There was a National School in the village by 1872. By 1903, it was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

school known as Hale Magna CE School and later Great Hale CE School. In 1956, it was reorganised as a junior and infants school; senior pupils were transferred to Sleaford County Secondary Modern. Great Hale CE School closed in 1987 and children attend Heckington or Helpringham Primary Schools."Great Hale CE School (ref. name SR/400)"
''Lincs to the Past''. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District