Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire
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Bolingbroke, now called Old Bolingbroke, 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
East Lindsey East Lindsey is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Horncastle and the largest town is Skegness. Other towns include Alford, Lincolnshire, Alford, Burgh le Marsh, Coningsby, L ...
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
, England. Its present boundaries were formed by the amalgamation of the Parishes of Bolingbroke and Hareby in 1739. The population at the 2011 census was 325. Bolingbroke is west of
Spilsby Spilsby is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16 road (England), A16, east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, north-east of Boston ...
. The village of New Bolingbroke is to the south-west. The
Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrarily chosen meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. On a spheroid, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian ...
passes through the parish to the west of Old Bolingbroke.


History

Bolingbroke appears 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 as "Bolingborc", one of 38 places associated with Stori of Bolingbroke at the time of the
Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. This suggests an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
etymological origin, possibly "Bolingburh" or similar (
burh A burh () or burg was an Anglo-Saxon fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
of Bolla's people). William de Roumare,
Earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The Hereditary peerage, earldom was held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, from 1768 to 1 ...
(born ), may have built Bolingbroke Castle in the 12th century as a
motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
castle with wet ditch to replace an earlier earthwork defence structure which overlooked the village on Dewy Hill. In the early 13th century, a new castle was constructed at the present site by
Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1170 – 26 October 1232), known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester (in the second lineage of the title after the original family line was broken after the 2nd Earl) ...
following his return in 1220 from the
Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (September 1217 - August 29, 1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al- ...
. Later,
John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...
, son of
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
, acquired the castle through his wife,
Blanche of Lancaster Blanche of Lancaster (25 March 1342 – 12 September 1368) was a member of the English-French royal House of Lancaster and the daughter of the kingdom's wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. She was the f ...
. In 1367, it was the birthplace of John's son, Henry, known as Henry Bolingbroke, who became King
Henry IV of England Henry IV ( – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (a son of King Edward III), and Blanche of Lancaster. Henry was involved in the 1388 ...
. The parish church of Old Bolingbroke was rebuilt by Alice de Lacy and John of Gaunt. It was significantly damaged during the siege of the castle in 1643 during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
when the Royalists used the castle to garrison troops prior to the
Battle of Winceby The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643 during the First English Civil War near the village of Winceby, Lincolnshire. In the battle, a Royalist relieving force under the command of Sir William Widdrington was defeated by the ...
(11 October 1643). Only the South Aisle of the 14th century Church remains. A new North Aisle was added during significant renovations by John Fowler in 1889. The last remaining castle structure fell down in 1815. The site became a grassy hillock, which archeologists excavated in the 1970s.


Geography

The village sits in a broad valley of the Lincolnshire Wolds, between two streams, that rise in the surrounding hills. These eventually become what is known to the south as Hagnaby Beck. The village is at about above sea level. To the North West the land rises to the on , where the parish boundary falls at the highest point in the parish, if not quite the summit of the hill. To the north-east the road called Spilsby Hill climbs to a separate high point at . Between these two the narrow Sow Dale leads down to the village, where stands. Sow Dale is the largest of the narrow valleys that cut through the Spilsby Sandstone ridge that forms the high plateau above the village. The traditional grazed landscape is now represented by two nature reserves only. Only the Lower one is in the parish, the upper one is adjacent to the boundary. Another hill to the south east more high ground forms and where the parish boundary is drawn. So there is another small dale leading down into the village from the east. To the southwest another hill known as Kirkby Hill is topped with a that sits just within the parish boundary. The high portions of the parish are composed of the Spilsby Sandstone, which overlays here the deeper Kimmeridge and Ampthill mudstones. Eroded by the streams in the Dales, the Sandstones are removed, exposing in part the mudstone layer, although in general these are covered in the village and the river valley to the south-west by the Quaternary post-glacial sands and gravels of the Bain Valley formation. The parish boundary is complex, but can be summarised as surrounding the village, which is broadly central, and enclosing the rising ground in all directions. It generally does not include the plateau above the village. No major roads cross the parish, but the village is joined by minor roads to many surrounding settlements. The Prime (Greenwich) Meridian runs through the Parish just west of the village. There are, and were, no railway connections, the nearest stations being historically Spilsby, and now Thorpe Culvert.


Community

Events at the castle site are overseen by Heritage Lincolnshire, and locally by the Friends of Bolingbroke Castle, who also arrange other local charitable functions. The Parish Council own and maintain the King George V Playing Field and Ramsden Village Hall, the latter named for John and Eleanor Ramsden who bequeathed the land used for both to the village in 1937. The mobile library visits for an hour a month. The
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Old Bolingbroke is part of the Spilsby, Marden Hill, Stickney and Partney Group Parishes of the
Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the 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 residence of ...
of Bolingbroke. The
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...
is dedicated to
Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
and
Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
. There is a second church in the parish in Hareby, also named Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The village's
Methodist Chapel Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
in Chapel Lane was built in 1845. It is part of the Mid Lincolnshire Circuit. The congregation became an eco-congregation in 2007. File:St Peter and St Paul, Old Bolingbroke - geograph.org.uk - 1628005.jpg, Church of Saints Peter & Paul File:Interior of the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Old Bolingbroke - geograph.org.uk - 1454926.jpg, Interior detail of the Church of Saints Peter & Paul File:Wesleyan Chapel, Old Bolingbroke - geograph.org.uk - 421767.jpg, Methodist chapel, built in 1845 File:West Keal Road, Old Bolingbroke (geograph 2453439).jpg, Street party in West Keal Road, 29 April 2011, organised to celebrate the
marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
of
Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...
and Miss Catherine Middleton


References


Further reading

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External links

* * * * {{authority control Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Villages in Lincolnshire East Lindsey District