Bolingbroke, now called Old Bolingbroke, 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
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 ...
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. Its present boundaries were formed by the amalgamation of the Parishes of Bolingbroke and
Hareby in 1739.
The population at the 2011 census was 325.
Bolingbroke is west of
Spilsby
Spilsby is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16, east of the county town of Lincoln, north-east of Boston and north-west of Skegness. It ...
. The village of
New Bolingbroke is to the south-west. The
Prime Meridian
A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great c ...
passes through the parish to the west of Old Bolingbroke.
History
![Kitchen Tower - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Kitchen_Tower_-_geograph.org.uk_-_426284.jpg)
Bolingbroke appears in the
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 ...
of 1086 as "Bolingborc", one of 38 places associated with Stori of Bolingbroke at the time of 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 ...
. This suggests 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- ...
etymological origin, possibly "Bolingburh" or similar (
burh
A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
of
Bolla's people).
William de Roumare
William de Romare (born c. 1096) (also Roumare or Romayre or Romay), Earl of Lincoln, 2nd Baron of Kendal, Lord of Bolingbroke.
He was the son of Roger FitzGerold (de Roumare), 1st Baron of Kendal, Lord of Bolingbroke and Lucy, widow of Ivo de T ...
,
Earl of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The title was borne by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne from 1768 to 1988, until the dukedom became extinct.
Earl ...
(born ''circa'' 1096), may have built
Bolingbroke Castle
Bolingbroke Castle is a ruined castle in Bolingbroke (now Old Bolingbroke) in Lincolnshire, England.
Construction
Most of the castle is built of Spilsby greenstone, as are several nearby churches. The local greenstone is a limestone that pr ...
in the 12th century as a
motte and bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...
castle with wet ditch, to replace an earlier earthwork defence structure which overlooked the village on Dewy Hill. In the early 13th century, a new castle was constructed at the present site by
Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1170–26 October 1232), known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester (in the second lineage of the title after the original family line was broken after the 2nd Earl), w ...
following his return in 1220 from the 5th Crusade. Later
John of Gaunt
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...
, the son of
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
, acquired the castle through his wife,
Blanche of Lancaster
Blanche of Lancaster (25 March 1342 – 12 September 1368) was a member of the English royal House of Plantagenet and the daughter of the kingdom's wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. She was the first w ...
. In 1367 it was the birthplace of John's son, Henry, known as Henry Bolingbroke, who became King
Henry IV of England
Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...
. The parish church of Old Bolingbroke was rebuilt by Alice de Lacy and John of Gaunt. It was significantly damaged during the siege of the castle in 1643 during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
when the
Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
used the castle to garrison troops prior to the
Battle of Winceby
The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643 during the First English Civil War near the village of Winceby, Lincolnshire. In the battle, a Royalist relieving force under the command of Sir William Widdrington was defeated by the P ...
(11 October 1643). Only the South Aisle of the 14th century Church remains. A new North Aisle was added during significant renovations by John Fowler in 1889. The last remaining castle structure fell down in 1815. The site became a grassy hillock, which archeologists excavated in the 1970s.
Geography
![Kirkby Hill near Old Bolingbroke - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Kirkby_Hill_near_Old_Bolingbroke_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1728482.jpg)
The village sits in a broad valley of the Lincolnshire Wolds, between two streams, that rise in the surrounding hills. These eventually become what is known to the south as Hagnaby Beck. The village is at about 25m above sea level.
[
To the North West the land rises to the 105m on , where the parish boundary falls at the highest point in the parish, if not quite the summit of the hill. To the north-east the road called Spilsby Hill climbs to a separate high point at . Between these two the narrow Sow Dale leads down to the village, where stands. Sow Dale is the largest of the narrow valleys that cut through the Spilsby Sandstone ridge that forms the high plateau above the village. The traditional grazed landscape is now represented by two nature reserves only. Only the Lower one is in the parish, the upper one is adjacent to the boundary.][
Another hill to the south east more high ground forms and where the parish boundary is drawn. So there is another small dale leading down into the village from the east. To the southwest another hill known as Kirkby Hill is topped with a that sits just within the parish boundary.][
The high portions of the parish are composed of the Spilsby Sandstone, which overlays here the deeper Kimmeridge and Ampthill mudstones. Eroded by the streams in the Dales, the Sandstones are removed, exposing in part the mudstone layer, although in general these are covered in the village and the river valley to the south-west by the Quaternary post-glacial sands and gravels of the Bain Valley formation.
The parish boundary is complex, but can be summarised as surrounding the village, which is broadly central, and enclosing the rising ground in all directions. It generally does not include the plateau above the village. No major roads cross the parish, but the village is joined by minor roads to many surrounding settlements. The Prime (Greenwich) Meridian runs through the Parish just west of the village. There are, and were, no railway connections, the nearest stations being historically Spilsby, and now Thorpe Culvert.][
]
Community
Events at the castle site are overseen by Heritage Lincolnshire The Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire or Heritage Lincolnshire in the shortened form of its name, is an independent charitable trust working to preserve, protect, promote and present Lincolnshire's heritage for the benefit of local people and visitors ...
, and locally by the Friends of Bolingbroke Castle, who also arrange other local charitable functions.
The Parish Council own and maintain the King George V Playing Field and Ramsden Village Hall, the latter named for John and Eleanor Ramsden who bequeathed the land used for both to the village in 1937.[
The mobile library visits for an hour a month.
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 ...
of Old Bolingbroke is part of the Spilsby, Marden Hill, Stickney and Partney Group Parishes 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 Bolingbroke. 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 Saint Peter
Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
and Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. There is a second church in the parish in Hareby, also named Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
The village's Methodist Chapel
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
in Chapel Lane was built in 1845. It is part of the Mid Lincolnshire Circuit. The congregation became an eco-congregation in 2007.
File:St Peter and St Paul, Old Bolingbroke - geograph.org.uk - 1628005.jpg, Church of Saints Peter & Paul
File:Interior of the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Old Bolingbroke - geograph.org.uk - 1454926.jpg, Interior detail of the Church of Saints Peter & Paul
File:Wesleyan Chapel, Old Bolingbroke - geograph.org.uk - 421767.jpg, Methodist chapel, built in 1845
File:West Keal Road, Old Bolingbroke (geograph 2453439).jpg, Street party in West Keal Road, 29 April 2011, organised to celebrate the marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
of Prince William
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was educat ...
and Miss Catherine Middleton
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{authority control
Civil parishes in Lincolnshire
Villages in Lincolnshire
East Lindsey District