Mavis Enderby is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

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

East Lindsey East Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The population of the district council was 136,401 at the 2011 census. The council is based in Manby. Other major settlements in the district include Alford, Wragby, Spilsby ...

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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

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. It lies in the

Lincolnshire Wolds The Lincolnshire Wolds are a range of low hills in the county of Lincolnshire, England which run roughly parallel with the North Sea coast, from the Humber Estuary in the north-west to the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens in the south-east. They a ...

, east from

Horncastle Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains. History Romans Alt ...

History

An early reference may be seen in 1349 when both parts of the name appear to end in "by", i.e. Maleby Senderby A later spelling, 1430, may be "Malvyssh Enderby"

Literary references

Mavis Enderby had a peal of bells named after it, called The Brides of Enderby, which is mentioned in

Jean Ingelow Jean Ingelow (17 March 1820 – 20 July 1897) was an English poet and novelist, who gained sudden fame in 1863. She also wrote several stories for children. Early life Born in Boston, Lincolnshire on 17 March 1820, Jean Ingelow was the daughter ...

's poem ''The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire 1571'': in the poem, the ringing of the Enderby bells is the generally recognised signal of approaching danger to the neighbouring countryside: "Came down that kindly message free, the Brides of Mavis Enderby". An extract from the poem is at the head of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's short story, ''At the Pit's Mouth''.

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

used the name "Mavis Enderby" in his spoof ''

The Meaning of Liff ''The Meaning of Liff'' (UK Edition: , US Edition: ) is a humorous dictionary of toponymy and etymology, written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, published in the United Kingdom in 1983 and the United States in 1984. Content The book is a " ...

'' dictionary "of things that there aren't any words for yet". Adams assigned meanings to placenames based on what he imagined them to mean, Mavis Enderby, becoming "The almost-completely-forgotten girlfriend from your distant past for whom your wife has a completely irrational jealousy and hatred". Mavis Enderby was also used as the name of a character in

Helen Fielding Helen Fielding (born 19 February 1958) is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, and a sequence of novels and films beginning with the life of a thirty something singleton in Lo ...

's ''

Bridget Jones's Diary ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies (writer), Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. A co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it is ...

''.

St Michael's Church

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 activities, ...

is dedicated to St Michael. Dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, the church was restored by James Fowler in 1875. The tower was rebuilt by C. Hodgson Fowler in 1894. The exterior is of squared greenstone rubble, with limestone

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

dressings. It has

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

and Westmorland slate roofs with decorative tiled ridges. The church interior comprises a nave, western tower, south aisle and porch, and a chancel. At the threshold of the west door to the tower is set part of a coped or round-topped 11th- century

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 ...

grave slab, possibly placed here in 1894. The churchyard has the remains of a 14th-century churchyard cross. In the porch is a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

pillar piscina, a stone basin for draining water used in the rinsing of the chalice. The churchyard has a sundial erected by a former rector.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire East Lindsey District

History

Literary references

St Michael's Church

See also

References

External links