Old Somerby (pronounced ''Summerby'') 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

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 ...

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, south-east of

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

. It lies on the B1176 road, with the village centre about east of its junction with the A52 and B6403, and adjacent to the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

Structure

The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 224. Adjacent villages are

Ropsley Ropsley is a village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately east from Grantham, and falls within the civil parish of Ropsley and Humby . Ropsley is the location of the source of the Riv ...

and

Boothby Pagnell Boothby Pagnell is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population is now included in the civil parish of Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe. History The village lay in the historical wapentake of ...

. The village divides into Old Somerby, High Somerby and Low Somerby.

Amenities

The church parish is part of The North Beltisloe Group of

Beltisloe Beltisloe is a Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln in England, and a former Wapentake. The Wapentake of Beltisloe was established as ancient administrative division of the English county of Lincolnshire before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

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 ...

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 ...

. Its church in High Somerby is dedicated to

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

, the same dedication as at nearby

Bitchfield Bitchfield is a small village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It consists of two groups of buildings connected by Dark Lane, known as Bitchfield and Lower Bitchfield, collectively called Bitchfield. The village is situa ...

. There is bed-and-breakfast accommodation in School Lane. The village

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

is the ''Fox and Hounds'' in Grantham Road (B1176). Schools, shops and other amenities are available in Grantham (, to which there are occasional daytime, weekday buses.

Heritage

Somerby was a colony of the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

who ruled Lincolnshire after peace was made with King Alfred in 878. The village is listed 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 ...

'', where the King's tenant-in-chief is given as Walter of Aincourt. The village belonged to the historical

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 ...

of Winnibriggs and Threo. The population of the 51 houses in 1870–1872 was given as 234.

Historic buildings

The church is Grade II* listed. Initially from the 12th–15th centuries, it underwent alterations and additions in the 18th century and in 1876. The Old Rectory in School Lane is Grade II listed and dates from about 1700, with alterations and additions in the late 18th, the 19th and the 20th centuries. The other Grade II listed buildings in the village are a barn at the Manor House, the Manor House itself, the stable block at Cold Harbour Farm, and the Old Farm House. Near the church is the site of a moated manor house.

Notable people

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

(1703–1770), didactic writer and politician, purchased the parish of Somerby and lived at Somerby Hall, as did his descendants into the 1930s. His monument remains in the churchyard. *

William Henry Brookfield William Henry Brookfield (31 August 1809 – 12 July 1874) was an Anglican priest, Inspector of Schools, and chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria.. His son was the playwright Charles Brookfield. Biography William Henry Brookfield was th ...

(1809–1874), formerly inspector of schools and chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria, became Rector of Somerby-cum-Humby in 1865. Lord Tennyson, a friend, wrote a sonnet in his memory.

References

External links

*
"St Mary Magdalene, Old Somerby"
Achurchnearyou.com {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire South Kesteven District