Blankney 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

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 b ...

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 at the 2011 census was 251. The village is situated approximately south from the city and county town of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and 9 miles north from

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and 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 to the south-west, Holdingham to the nor ...

. Blankney is a small stone-built estate village, built around the large estate of Blankney Hall. According to the 2001 Census, the population was 239.

History

Blankney has existed at least since the time of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, when it belonged to the major land-owner

Walter D'Aincourt Walter D'Aincourt (or Walter Deincourt or d'Eyncourt) was a landholder in Derby under King Edward the Confessor in 1065/1066. Later in 1066, he fought for William the Conqueror against Harold Godwinson and was rewarded with a large number of mano ...

. The place-name 'Blankney' is first attested 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 manus ...

of 1086, where it appears as ''Blachene''. It is listed as ''Blancaneia'' in 1157 in ''Early Yorkshire Charters'', and as ''Blankenei'' in 1202 in the

Assize Rolls The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

. The name is the

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 c ...

''blancan ēg'', thought to mean 'Blanca's island'. Eilert Ekwall, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names'', p.48. In the 15th century the estate passed through marriage to the Lovels of Titchmarsh. After the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487, all the estates of the Lovels were confiscated by Henry VII for the crown, and the Blankney Estate was then bought by the

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first s ...

family. It was the Thorolds who did much to embellish the house with carved panelling of the period. During the reign of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, again through marriage it passed into the hands of Sir William Widdrington who was created

Baron Widdrington Baron Widdrington, of Blankney in the County of Lincoln, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 2 November 1643 for Sir William Widdrington, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a baronet, of Widdrington in the County of Nort ...

of Blankney in 1643. Lord Widdrington's great grandson, William Widdrington, 4th Baron Widdrington had the indiscretion to take part in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire ...

. He was captured at Preston, convicted of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and his lands were confiscated in the following year. In 1719 Thomas Chaplin, a prominent Lincolnshire landowner, purchased the land from the Crown Commissioners for Confiscated Land, and it was to remain in the family for over two centuries. The estate owes its appearance largely to the influence of the Chaplins and their care of the land. The last Chaplin,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, led an extravagant lifestyle and had political ambitions; this lifestyle coupled to the falling revenues from farms led him ever into debt until finally in 1892, the estate passed to the principal mortgagee

William Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough William Henry Forester Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough (19 June 1834 – 19 April 1900), known as The Lord Londesborough from 1860 to 1887, was a British peer and Liberal politician. He was also one of the main founders of Scarborough FC. E ...

. At the start of the Second World War the Hall was requisitioned for use as

billets A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, al ...

for servicemen from nearby

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

stations. During 1945 it was badly damaged by fire and was then left as an empty shell before being demolished in the 1960s. All that remains today are the dilapidated remnants of the former stable block.

Golf

Unusually, the Hall was not built within its park, the park being on the opposite side of the village's main road. Although part of the park has been lost to arable farming, much of it remains as a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

. The course was first laid out over 9 holes in 1902 by the 2nd Earl of Londesborough, in all probability at this stage for the use of himself and his guests, but in 1904 Blankney Golf Club was formed to manage the course, which it continues to do today. In 1938 it was decided to extend the course to 18 holes, and this extended course came into play at the start of the 1940 season.

Cricket

Blankney Cricket Club was originally formed in 1873, playing on a site in the centre of the village; it continued to flourish into the 20th century under the patronage of Lord Londesborough, who used to watch the matches from the north wing of Blankney Hall. However, after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the club went into decline and closed a few years later. In 1988 the

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

Club was re-formed on the same site, the ground was developed, and a new clubhouse was built, opening in 1991.

Old coach-road

The Old Coach-Road was constructed from the Hall to Metheringham railway station (then called Blankney and Metheringham station) away, around the beginning of the 20th century by Lord Londesborough. It was run through woodland both existing and newly planted, and where it crossed the Blankney to

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

road, a bridge with high

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

s was built to take the road over the coach-road. It was probably constructed to allow the Earl's visitors, in particular the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

(the future

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

) who used the Hall as a discreet retreat for his amorous adventures, to arrive and depart without being seen by the local populace. This coach-road still exists although it is private.

Parish church

At the south end of the village is 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, ...

dedicated to St Oswald. The church, which was restored twice during the 19th century, has a tomb-slab to John de Glori with a bearded head looking out of a cusped opening, and a sculpture by

Joseph Boehm Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, (6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the " Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Par ...

of Lady Florence Chaplin.

References

External links

*
Blankney Village
{{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District