Bardney 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 authorit ...

in the

West Lindsey West Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Gainsborough. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, from the urban districts of Gainsborough, Market Rasen, along with Caistor Rural Dis ...

district of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, 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-we ...

, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,643 at the 2001 census increasing to 1,848 (including Southrey) at the 2011 census. The village sits on the east bank of the

River Witham The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversi ...

and east of the city and

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

of Lincoln. __TOC__

History

Two Roman artefacts have been found in Bardney; a gemstone and a coin. Nearby villages show evidence of Roman settlement, particularly

Potterhanworth Booths Potterhanworth Booths is a hamlet in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south-east from Lincoln, and at the junction of the B1202 and B1190 roads. The hamlet has a population of about 30, and is within ...

and

Branston Booths Branston Booths is a small village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately east from the city and county town of Lincoln, and stands at the intersection of the Car Dyke and Branston Delp ...

. The place-name is

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 settlers in the mid-5th ...

in origin, and means "island of a man called Bearda". It occurs in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...

'', under the year 716, as "Bearddanig", and in ''

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 ...

'' as "Bardenai". Once the site of a mediaeval abbey, ruined in

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

's dissolution of the monasteries, agricultural improvement made the village prosperous in the 19th century. Improved transport, first on the River and then the arrival of several railways caused considerable expansion between the traditional centre of the village and the former riverside settlement of Bardney Ferry, where in 1894 the ferry was replaced by the present bridge. A British Sugar factory, built in 1927, survived the closure of the railways but ceased processing on 9 February 2001.

Bardney Abbey

Bardney Abbey Bardney Abbey in Lincolnshire, England, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 697 by King Æthelred of Mercia, who was to become the first abbot. The monastery was supposedly destroyed during a Danish raid in 869. In 1087, the site was refou ...

was founded before 679, perhaps as double house of monks and nuns, and perhaps as a Minster. It was destroyed by the Danes circa 860. Refounded 1087 as a Priory, it became a Benedictine Abbey in 1115, and was dissolved in 1538.

Lost villages

Near the Abbey is the site of the

Deserted Medieval Village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...

of ''Butyate'', which was demolished in 1959, and converted to farmland. There is another abandoned village associated with the former chapels of St Lawrence and St Andrew, north of modern Bardney.

Transport

The river Witham has been used for commercial shipping since time immemorial, but was straightened and improved many times including in 1753 and 1812. A straight course (new cut) was made at Bardney and the lock built in 1770 was re-built in 1865. In 1870, Bardney had a station which was a junction for the

Branch Line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

to Louth via Wragby and the Lincolnshire Loop Line. The Louth to Bardney Line closed as well as the Loop Line in 1970 although the section north of Wragby closed prior to 1958–1969. The station building survives and is a listed building. The route of the old railway has been converted into a cycle-track, known as Water Rail Way, which follows the river between 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 ...

. The name of the cycle track refers to the river, the railway, and a wetland bird found in the area, the water rail.

Great Western Express Festival

In 1972 the area was host to the Great Western Express Festival, a four-day pop concert (also known as the Bardney Festival). Funded by

Lord Harlech Baron Harlech, of Harlech in the County of Merioneth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for the Conservative politician John Ormsby-Gore, with remainder to his younger brother William. He had previously ...

and the actor

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

(amongst others) it attracted 30,000 people to the venue, held at the nearby

Tupholme Abbey Tupholme Abbey was a Premonstratensian abbey close to the River Witham some east of the city of Lincoln, England. The Witham valley in Lincolnshire is notable for its high concentration of monasteries—there were six on the east bank and ...

ruins. Amongst the artistes playing were

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

and

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...

and, for two nights running, the Rory Gallagher Band. Despite its popularity the show lost money due mainly to bad weather which blighted the event.

Community

The parish church of St Lawrence is part of the Bardney Group 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 reside ...

of Horncastle 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 Leic ...

. There is also an active Methodist chapel; the current minister is the Rev'd Gordon Davis. The modern primary school, Bardney Church of England and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Primary School, was opened in 1983. It replaced two earlier schools merged in 1964. The village has pre-school facilities, including Bardney Mother and Toddler Group which meets at the Methodist Hall, a butcher's shop, a general store and two

public houses 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 ...

. A skate park is planned to be erected by April 2014. Bardney Gala, held every year on August Bank Holiday Sunday, is a traditional Gala. The event consists of crafts, trade and community stands, funfair rides, bar and BBQ, sports, children's races, car boot sales, classic vehicles, and an Exemption Dog Show.

Administration

Originally part of the Wraggoe

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, ...

, and of the Lincoln poor law union in the

Parts of Lindsey The Parts of Lindsey are a traditional division of Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it. The district's name origina ...

, the parish is now part of

District, and

Lincolnshire County Council 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 an ...

. The civil parish has become part of a group that consists of Bardney,

Apley Apley is a hamlet and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated west from the hamlet of Kingthorpe and the site of Kingthorpe railway station, and approximately south-west from Wragby. Apley chur ...

and

Stainfield Stainfield is a village and civil parish about east of the city of Lincoln, in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 189. History The name Stainfield derives from "a st ...

parishes. The villages of

Southrey Southrey is a village in the civil parish of Bardney in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, and approximately south-east from Bardney. In the 1086 '' Domesday Book'' Southrey is listed as "Sutrei", comprising 11 households ...

and

Kingthorpe Kingthorpe is a hamlet in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The hamlet is in the civil parish of Apley, and is east from the city and county town of Lincoln and south from the market town of Market Rasen. It sits on the ...

are also included. The 2011 electoral arrangements are: *

District Council, Bardney ward councillor: Ian Fleetwood *

councillor: Ian Fleetwood *

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, Gainsborough constituency

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

Edward Leigh Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1983. Leigh has represented Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in the House of Commons since 1983 (re ...

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

, East Midlands

MEPs A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, it ...

: Derek Clark, Roger Helmer, Glenis Willmott, Emma McClarkin, Bill Newton Dunn.

Sister city

* (fr) – Bazouges-sur-le-Loir

Geography and ecology

Bardney lies between 7 and 17 metres above sea level, on the edge of the present-day Lincolnshire Fens, but its name indicates that before the fens were drained for agriculture (from the 17th century onwards) it was surrounded with wet fenland. Nowadays the Lincolnshire Fens are mostly unflooded, very flat and very productive arable farmland. Wildlife observed on the fens near Bardney includes

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himala ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

and hemlock. Bardney is surrounded by ancient woodlands composed primarily of lime trees, known collectively as

Bardney Limewoods The Bardney Limewoods, part of the Lincolnshire Limewoods National Nature Reserve is a collection of small woodlands near Bardney in Lincolnshire. The reserve includes about half the Limewoods in the area. Cocklode Wood, part of the Bardney Lim ...

. Lime forests are rare in the United Kingdom, where oak is generally the dominant climatic climax species. The flora of the woodlands is indicative of ancient woodland, including ''

Allium ursinum ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amary ...

'', ''

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is ...

'' and '' Circaea lutetiana'', as well as several species of wild

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. Wildlife in the limewoods includes

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

Eurasian jay The Eurasian jay (''Garrulus glandarius'') is a species of passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It has pinkish brown plumage with a black stripe on each side of a whitish throat, a bright blue panel on the upper wing and a black tail. The ...

European hornet The European hornet (''Vespa crabro'') is the largest eusocial wasp native to Europe. It is also the only true hornet (genus ''Vespa'') found in North America, having been introduced to the United States and Canada from Europe as early as 1840. ...

and purple hairstreak butterfly. In 2017 a white-billed diver was observed on the River Witham at Bardney. This is an

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

species which seldom visits the United Kingdom.

References

External links

*
Location map for Bardney and the AbbeyNational cycle route 1Environment agency flood planningBardney

Genuki GENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. It "provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland". It gives access to a large collection of information, with the emph ...

.org.UK
Heritage centre contact details
* ttp://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/nnr/1006846.aspx National nature reserve: Bardney Limewoods* {{Authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire West Lindsey District