Waddington 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, situated approximately south 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 ...

on the A607

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

Road. The village is known for its association with

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target ...

. At the 2001 Census Waddington had a population of 6,086, increasing to 6,122 at the 2011 census.

History

The name 'Waddington' means 'farm/settlement of the people of Wada'. The village is a documented settlement 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 and was mainly an agricultural community until the late 19th century.

Horseracing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

also took place on the heathland areas, which are now part of the

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 ...

station. At various times other activities including malting, brick-making and stone-quarrying have taken place in the village. Richard de Soham, a senior judge and Crown official in Ireland, was appointed

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Waddington in 1303, and apparently retired there in 1305.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 In 1790 Mary Farmery and Susanna Locker both laid claim to the affections of a young man; this produced a challenge from the former to fight for the prize, which was accepted by the latter. Proper sidesmen were chosen, and every matter conducted in form. After several knock-down blows on both sides, the boxing battle ended in favour of Mary Farmery. Around 1830,

George Boole George Boole (; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher, and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in ...

, the

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, taught at Waddington Academy Boarding School in the village, run by Robert Hall. From 1838 to 1840, Boole lived in the village and became

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

of the academy. Enemy action during 1941 severely damaged 71 houses in the village, as well as the Horse & Jockey pub and the

NAAFI The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs ...

building on the

RAF station 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 ...

. The damage was mainly caused by two aerial mines; large bombs dropped by parachute and fused to explode before hitting the ground. Eleven people were killed, among them the NAAFI manager, Mrs Constance Raven, after whom the All-Ranks Club on the RAF station is still named. The village 12th-century St Michael and All Angels church was rebuilt in 1721 and destroyed in a Second World War air raid on the night of 8 May 1941.''Waddington At War 1939-1941'', Terry Miller & Jean Towers together with the Waddington Local History Group, 1992. . It was replaced by the present-day Anglican

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, ...

of St Michael on High Street, a modern stone building consecrated in 1954. The original Great War memorial was also destroyed and replaced by the current memorial.

Geography

High Dyke, the road that runs between the main RAF station and the service married quarters, lies on the line of the Roman road

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas' ...

. There is only minor evidence that High Dyke is Ermine Street, but the alignment is so exact that it is unlikely to be a coincidence. Ermine Street, as it passes Byards Leap to the south, is also called High Dyke. The traceable line of Ermine Street peters out in the adjacent village of

Harmston Harmston is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated just west off the A607, and south from the city and county town of Lincoln. It sits on the Lincoln Cliff overlooking the River ...

and does not reappear until the other side of Lincoln.

Topography

Waddington is known as a Lincolnshire Cliff Village, as it is situated on a ridge of

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

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 ...

called the Lincoln Edge or

Lincoln Cliff The Lincoln Cliff or Lincoln Edge is a portion of a major escarpment that runs north–south through Lindsey and Kesteven in central Lincolnshire and is a prominent landscape feature in a generally flat portion of the county. Towards its northe ...

Waddington lies south of Lincoln and north-northwest of

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 ...

. During the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

, most of the region surrounding Waddington was covered by ice sheets and this has influenced the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

and nature of the soils. Waddington's cliff-top position means it is 226 ft (69 m) above sea level, giving it commanding views over 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 ...

valley. The

Viking Way The Viking Way is a long distance trail in England running between the Humber Bridge in North Lincolnshire and Oakham in Rutland. History The route was officially opened on Sunday 5 September 1976 at Tealby, by the Deputy Chairman of Lincol ...

enters the village from the north on Far Lane and passes south along High Street then briefly along Millers Road.

Community facilities

The parish council office is located on High Street. There is a medical practice on Grantham Road, and a

chiropody Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthcare ...

practice on Bar Lane. The Lincolnshire Fire Brigade premises are situated on Mere Road. The village shops are chiefly located in the Bar Lane area of the upper part of the village and the Redwood Drive Shopping Centre in the lower part of the village. There is a Chinese and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

takeaway A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

outlet and a

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop, is a (often fast food) restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and c ...

. A post office and library are incorporated within the Co-operative Pharmacy premises on Bar Lane. Zoo Ceramics pottery workshop and gallery are situated next to the post office. There are three 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 ...

s: the Horse and Jockey which faces onto the old town square at the centre of the village, the Three Horse Shoes, adjacent to St Michael's Church on High Street, and the Wheatsheaf, at the crossroads of the Lincoln to Grantham road (A607) and Mere Road, the main access road to

. There is also a pub restaurant, the Crow's Nest. The village is also home to Foss Dyke Band who became one of the few brass bands in the UK to gain promotion from fourth section to championship section over a period of seven years and in 2013 established a new brass band in the village, Witham Brass. The village is served by bus links to Lincoln and Grantham, operated by the Stagecoach Group.

Buildings

The older part of the village primarily consists of buildings built of the local

along with some brick-built houses built after brick-making began to take place on the lower slopes of the village. Newer residential areas are located in the Brant Road part of the village (which is at the bottom of the Lincoln Edge and has merged with the Lincoln suburb of Bracebridge), and are of modern brick and tile construction. The more modern areas of the village have developed down the steep hill towards Lincoln.

Education

There are two

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 ...

s within the parish of Waddington. All Saints' Primary School is in the upper part of the village on Mere Road, and Redwood Primary School is in the lower part of the village off Brant Road.

RAF Waddington

is a British airfield east of the village's centre. It is one of the oldest airfields in the UK, founded in November 1916 for the Royal Flying Corps. RAF Waddington is the RAF's main

ISTAR ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing ...

airfield, operating amongst others the E-3D Sentry (a.k.a. AWACS) reconnaissance aircraft. Previous to this, the station had been home to part of the

Avro Vulcan The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe an ...

nuclear bomber force. RAF Waddington is now home to 13 Sqn who operate the MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Air Vehicles (RPAS), although the aircraft are not physically based there. Two Commonwealth air force personnel of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 33 of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

buried from this airfield have war graves in a plot St Michael's Churchyard.
CWGC Cemetery report, Waddington (St Michael) Churchyard.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification, the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

experience a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

characterised by relatively cool summers and mild winters. Compared with other parts of the country, Lincolnshire – and Waddington – are slightly warmer and sunnier in the summer and colder and frostier in the winter. Owing to Waddington's inland position, far from the landfall of most

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

depressions, it is one of the driest places to live in the UK, receiving, on average, less than 3 ft (600 mm) of rain per year. The mean annual daily duration of bright sunshine is four hours and 12 minutes.

Geographic location

References

External links

*
RAF Waddington International AirshowRAF Waddington homepageLibraryOriginal Waddington church destroyed in WWIIAll Saints Primary SchoolRedwood Primary School
* {{Authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District