Sibsey is a village,

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 ...

and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

in the

East Lindsey East Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The population of the district council was 136,401 at the 2011 census. The council is based in Manby. Other major settlements in the district include Alford, Wragby, Spils ...

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 at the junction of the A16 and B1184 roads, north from

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 ...

. Sibsey Northlands is to the north of the village. The

Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

passes just to the west of Sibsey, crossing the Stone Bridge Drain canal. At the 2001 census, Sibsey had a population of 1,996, reducing to 1,979 at the 2011 Census. Set in the

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

s of Lincolnshire, Sibsey is a focus of the farming community. The village is surrounded by farmland. The village won an award for best-kept village in 1989. The village has a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

with shop, and a

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 ...

, the White Hart, on Main Road. Although the postal address for residences includes nearby

, it is not in that

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Demography

Landmarks

The Sibsey Trader Mill

Sibsey's most prominent feature is the Grade I

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

and scheduled

Sibsey Trader Mill Trader Mill is located in the village of Sibsey, Lincolnshire. It's one of two windmills which were grinding flour for the local community. Rhodes Mill (the second of the two) has been converted into a house. Built in 1877 by Saunderson of Louth ...

. This six-storey windmill, which was built to replace an earlier

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All ...

, has six sails and was completed in 1877 by Sanderson and Son of Louth. In 1954 it ceased working under wind-power, and fell into disuse. It was restored to working order with engine-driven mill stones in 1981, and is under the guardianship of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. It is still in operation. The mill should not be confused with a non-working red brick Grade II listed windmill on the eastern side of the A16.

St Margaret's Church

The medieval church, made up of work from the 12th to 16th centuries, is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

, and is dedicated to Saint Margaret. The church has a square,

Early English Period English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

tower at the western end. It was completely restored in 1840, and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

rebuilt and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

and

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, pa ...

s partly rebuilt in 1855. The remains of the churchyard cross, located near the porch, is Grade II listed, and a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and ...

. Today it is part of a group of parishes, Sibsey with Frithville, with a varied pattern of worship and community activity across three parish churches. The churchyard has an avenue of lime trees and parts are set aside as wildlife sanctuary. File:Sibsey church tower.JPG, Western tower of the church. File:Sibsey church east.JPG, View of church from east, through the edge of its lime avenue. File:Sibsey church sketch.JPG, Sketch, perhaps Victorian, showing church before more recent tree planting. File:Sibsey Besant grave.JPG, Grave of Frank Besant, by the west entrance to the churchyard. File:Frank Bramley Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 1146901.jpg,

Frank Bramley Frank Bramley RA (6 May 1857 – 9 August 1915) was an English post-impressionist genre painter of the Newlyn School. Personal life Bramley was born in Sibsey, near Boston, in Lincolnshire to Charles Bramley from Fiskerton also in Lincoln ...

plaque.

Transport

In 1848 the

East Lincolnshire Railway The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848. The ELR ''Company'' had leased the line to the Great Northern Railway, and it was the latter whic ...

opened

Sibsey railway station Sibsey was a railway station on the East Lincolnshire Railway which served the village of Sibsey in Lincolnshire between 1848 and 1964. Withdrawal of passenger services took place in 1961, followed by goods facilities in 1964. The line throug ...

, which closed in 1961. The Grantham to Skegness Line passes still close to the south-east of the village with level crossings over th
B1184
and A16.

Education

Although now maintained by Lincolnshire County Council, the primary school had a long history as an independent, locally supported institution. Founded in 1733, the school spent a century in leased accommodation before being rebuilt in 1869 – a structure that lasted until the school was largely rebuilt in 1996.

Notable people

, the post-impressionist artist, and Arthur Lucan, comic actor, were born at Sibsey.

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human ...

, the social reformer and Theosophist lived at Sibsey during her marriage to Rev. Frank Besant.

Alec Brader Alec Brader (born 6 October 1942) is an English professional footballer, schoolteacher and youth athletics coach who played as an inside forward. Following his football career he became a schoolteacher teaching Physical Education, Geography, a ...

(), professional footballer, schoolteacher and youth athletics coach lived at Sibsey.

References

External links

*
Free Primary School

Parish council

Official Website of Sibsey Trader Windmill
{{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire East Lindsey District