Threekingham (sometimes ''Threckingham'' or ''Tricengham'') is a village 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 bas ...

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 233. It is situated on the A52

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 ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

road, south from

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington, Lincolnshire, ...

, and close to the A15 Threekingham Bar roundabout.

Mareham Lane Mareham Lane is an unclassified road between Graby and Sleaford in Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately long. The Roman Road For most of its length Mareham Lane follows the route of a minor Roman road, and the name is also used for that Ro ...

, the

Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

aligned with King Street, crosses the A15 at Threekingham.

History

The name of the town means "home of Tric's people." ''Tric'' is a Brittonic personal name, though it is unclear whether Tric himself was a Briton or whether he was descended from Anglo-Saxon migrants but given a name borrowed from Celtic speakers who possibly lived nearby. Either way, Threekingham itself is a Germanic name, given by speakers of Old English. A folk etymology that developed in the later Anglo-Saxon period derives the name from "home of the three kings," supposedly because three Danish kings were buried there; however, this is incorrect. Threekingham parish church is dedicated to St. Peter ad Vincula (St Peter in chains). 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 Three Kings Inn. 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 records two churches in Threekingham; St Peter and St Mary. The church of St Mary was at Stow Green. Funerary remains have been found at Stow Green date back to the 11th- and 12th-century, and the church survived until the 18th century. It is possible that it was the site of an

Early Medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

nunnery, founded in the late 7th century by St Werburgh and dedicated to St Ætheldreda. It was probably destroyed by 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 ...

c.870. Historian David Roffe describes St Ætheldreda's connection with Stow Green, saying the site, called "Ædeldreðestowe," was chosen because the saint's staff took root and sprouted leaves there. 'Stow' is well known to be a place name denoting a holy place, or a burial place. According to

Eilert Ekwall Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (born 8 January 1877 in Vallsjö (now in Sävsjö, Jönköpings län), Sweden, died 23 November 1964 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden), known as Eilert Ekwall, was Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to ...

, "

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

'stow' is recorded in senses such as 'place', 'inhabited place', 'holy place, hermitage, monastery', probably 'church'." The Medieval Stow Fair was held nearby, less than to the south. It is possible that it was the site of the early medieval nunnery founded in the late 7th century by Saint Werburh, dedicated to Saint

Æthelthryth Æthelthryth (or Æðelþryð or Æþelðryþe; 23 June 679 AD) was an East Anglian princess, a Fenland and Northumbrian queen and Abbess of Ely. She is an Anglo-Saxon saint, and is also known as Etheldreda or Audrey, especially in religious ...

, and probably destroyed by the Danes c. 870. There are ancient

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour * Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), m ...

and a mound called Threekingham Beacon to the west of the village. The post-medieval garden features overlie much older earthworks and

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

. The remains of a moated

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

are in Hall Lane. There is
Whalebone Arch
marking the entrance to Laundon Hall.

References

External links

*
Village website

Stanlaundon.com {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District