Washingborough is a village in the North Kesteven district in

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. Located east of Lincoln and 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, ...

. The population in the 2001 census was 3,356, increasing to 3,482 at the 2011 census. It is situated on the lower slopes of Lincoln Cliff

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

where the River Witham breaks through it. The south side of

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

and its three towers can be seen from the village centre.

Geography

Washingborough is the point on the River Witham at which the Lincolnshire Fens begin. The Fens were first drained by the Romans and the Roman Car Dyke ran from Washingborough to the River Nene, near

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

History

The origin of the name 'Washingborough' is uncertain but is thought to mean either '

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

near the wash' or 'fortification of the people of Wassa'. There is a war memorial to the men of Heighington and Washingborough in the church. A dig involving

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's archaeological television programme ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

'', on a site adjacent to the modern canalised course of the River Witham, found evidence of an important late

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

settlement of around 1000 BC. At this time the river was tidal and the evidence suggests a trading and metal working centre with trading connections to

northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

. Copper ore and ingots were found as well as evidence of smelting in crucibles. The settlement may have lost importance as water levels rose and the site became unsuitable. Much of the settlement site was destroyed when the river was canalised in the 18th century as part of the effort to drain the Fens. The paris
church
is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. St John's Church has a Norman tower, and inside the church is a Norman font. Church windows depict a

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

raid on the village in 1916. An

shield was discovered near here in 1826. It is called the

Witham Shield The Witham Shield is an Iron Age decorative bronze shield facing of La Tène style, dating from about the 4th century BC. The shield was discovered in the River Witham in the vicinity of Washingborough and Fiskerton in Lincolnshire, England in 18 ...

and is now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The village was served by the Lincolnshire Loop Line between Lincoln and

via

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 ...

and Spalding. However, the

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

that served the village closed in 1940 to passengers and never reopened. The line closed to freight traffic in the 1970s and is now a trail called the "Water Rail Way" between Lincoln and

Woodhall Junction Woodhall Junction railway station (previously Kirkstead railway station) is a former station in Woodhall, Lincolnshire. It served as a junction where several different lines met, none of which are still open. The station opened as ''Kirkstead ...

Amenities

The village has two public houses, the Ferryboat on High Street and the Hunters Leap on Oak Hill, a Chinese and an Indian takeaway, a pizza house, fish and chip shop, supermarket and post office with chemists. The Powell hut is the home of scouting and guiding in the village. The

Peterborough to Lincoln Line Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

passes through the south-west corner of the village.

Education

Washingborough Academy is the village primary school. The school gained a good rating in their

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

reports in 2017, 2012 and 2009 inspection.

Twin village

Orgerus Orgerus () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of northern France. See also *Communes of the Yvelines department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Washingborough Primary School

Parish council

Washingborough Archaeology Group
* {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Archaeological sites in Lincolnshire Bronze Age sites in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District