Waddington, Lincolnshire
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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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the North Kesteven district 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, situated approximately south of Lincoln on the A607
Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish 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 (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...
Road. The village is known for its association with RAF Waddington. At the 2001 Census Waddington had a population of 6,086, increasing to 6,122 at the 2011 census. It grew to 12,622 and this included the village of
Bracebridge Heath Bracebridge Heath is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is south of Lincoln, England, Lincoln and straddles the border with the Lincoln and North Kesteven district boundaries. It lies at the ...
,


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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
'' of 1086 and was mainly an agricultural community until the late 19th century.
Horseracing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
also took place on the heathland areas, which are now part of the RAF 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. 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 Ireland. H ...
, 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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
, taught at Waddington Academy
Boarding School A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
in the village, run by Robert Hall. From 1838 to 1840, Boole lived in the village and became
headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, 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. Role While s ...
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 United Kingdom, British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their fam ...
building on the RAF station. 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 Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in 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 ...
of St Michael on High Street, a modern stone building
consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
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 ''Earninga ...
. 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 and does not reappear until the other side of Lincoln. Waddington Low Fields lies to the west of the village. Historically an area of open
downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...
, some residential development has taken place in the 20th and 21st centuries.


Topography

Waddington is known as a Lincolnshire Cliff Village, as it is situated on a ridge of
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
called the Lincoln Edge or Lincoln Cliff Waddington lies south of Lincoln and north-northwest of
Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. On the edge of the The Fens, Fenlands, it is north-east of Grantham, west of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, and sou ...
. 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 g ...
, 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 landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
and nature of the soils. Waddington's cliff-top position means it is above sea level, giving it commanding views over the River Witham valley. The Viking Way 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 practice on Bar Lane. The Lincolnshire Fire Brigade premises are situated on Mere Road. The village shops are mainly 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 an Indian takeaway outlet and a
fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...
. 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 in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
s: the Horse and Jockey (now closed) which faces onto the old village 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 RAF Waddington. 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 Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as ''Gloagtrotter'', a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. Dur ...
.


Buildings

The older part of the village primarily consists of buildings built of the local
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
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, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s within the parish of Waddington. All Saints' Primary School is in the upper part of the village on Mere Road, and Waddington Redwood Academy is in the lower part of the village off Brant Road.


RAF Waddington

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 The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
. RAF Waddington is the RAF's main
ISTAR ISTAR stands for Military intelligence, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, #ISTAR, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employ ...
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) was 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 ...
nuclear bomber force. RAF Waddington is now home to 13 Sqn who operate the
MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...
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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and 33 of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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 an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, 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 Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
experience a
maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...
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 oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
depressions, it is one of the driest places to live in the UK, receiving, on average, less than of rain per year. The mean annual daily duration of bright sunshine is four hours and 12 minutes. In the July 2022 heatwave, Waddington jointly recorded the new record high with nearby Coningsby at on the 19th. However, the Met Office does not officially recognise the joint record due to unstated "non-standard practices", and Coningsby is solely credited with the July 2022 all-time record. Waddington's records are in line with other stations and there is no known reason for why the record could be anomalous.


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 Areas of Lincoln, England Lincoln Urban Area River Witham