Nettleton 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. It is situated less than south-west from the town of

Caistor Caistor is a town and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. As its name implies, it was originally a Roman castrum or fortress. It lies at the north-west edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, on the Viking Way, an ...

. At the 2001 census, the village had a population of 579. Nettleton contains a village shop, a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, and a Methodist Church. 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 wa ...

is the Salutation Inn. Nearby is the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

's Nettleton Wood, and a

caravan park Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

. On Boxing Day,

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

s would traditionally 'beat the lapstone' at the house of any 'water drinker' (

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

), as a mocking act and practical joke. The tradition derives from an 18th-century story in which a Nettleton resident, Thomas Stickler, who had declined alcohol for twenty years, became inebriated after drinking half a pint of ale at his shoemaker on Christmas Day. When questioned by his wife, he replied that he was not drunk but had simply fallen "over the lapstone". Henry Hooke was Rector from 1597 to 1634 although from 1615 he was mainly in York where he was city preacher and was Archdeacon from 1617 to 1624. During his time at Nettleton, he sheltered Francis Cartwright who had killed the vicar of Market Rasen, Francis Storre.

References

External links

* Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire West Lindsey District {{Lincolnshire-geo-stub