Castle Bytham
Castle Bytham | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | GRANTHAM | |
Postcode district | NG33 | |
Dialling code | 01780 | |
Police | Lincolnshire | |
Fire | Lincolnshire | |
Ambulance | East Midlands | |
UK Parliament | ||
Castle Bytham is a village and civil parish of around 300 houses in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is located 9 miles (14 km) north of Stamford and 9 miles (14 km) west of Bourne. The population was measured at 768 in 317 households at the 2011 census.[2]
At one time the village was an important commercial centre for the surrounding agricultural communities, but it is now largely a dormitory, although a number of farming families remain with a much reduced workforce.[3]
History
The name 'Bytham' is first recorded in 1067 (as a monastery that rapidly translated to
Morkery Wood housed a former bomb dump during the
Castle
Overlooking the village is an 11th-century
The castle was burnt in the 15th century during the Wars of the Roses.[10] In the 16th century John Leland described remnants of the castle: "yet remained great walls of buildings".[10]
Geography
The nearest town is Stamford (even though Castle Bytham is in the Grantham postal area, with a Nottingham postcode). It is at the apex of the NG (Grantham), LE (Rutland) and PE (Stamford) postcodes.
The village is very close to the Rutland boundary. The civil parish extends much to the north-west of the village, up to Woolley's Lane, including Red Barn Quarry, owned by Bullimores. It also extends westwards to include all of Morkery Wood (originally named Morkerhaw – named after the Saxon earl Morcar mentioned above).[12] South of the A1 interchange to Woolley's Lane, the parish boundary is with North Witham, including Park House Farm. The eastern buildings of Stocken Hall Farm lie in the parish (with an LE15 postcode), with the rest in Stretton. To the east, Little Haw Wood is also in the parish.
Southwards, the civil parish extends to (and includes) Pillowsyke Holt, a piece of woodland near
Businesses in Castle Bytham
Surrounding area
About 1 mile (2 km) to the east lies Little Bytham. The two villages used to be called West and East Bytham.[3]
To the west, on the western side of the A1 road, is South Witham near the source of the River Witham. The village's vicar, and that of the Bythams Group, is also the wife of the vicar of South Witham.
Between the village and the A1 the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust maintains an important wildlife reserve at Tortoiseshell Wood[17] (which borders on to the west of the civil parish) and some of the road verges are protected for wildlife by Lincolnshire County Council. Tortoiseshell Wood is in the parish of North Witham, although the edge lies on the parish boundary.
West of the village, towards Clipsham, is a Yew Tree Avenue maintained by the Forestry Commission, the trees cut into large topiary forms.
Community
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St James's Church
-
Former school
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Castle Inn public house
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Fox and Hounds public house
The Ecclesiastical parish is part of the Castle Bytham with Creeton group of the Deanery of Beltisloe. The incumbent is Revd S. M. Evans.[4][18][19]
Castle Bytham's community supports several events each year in the village hall. Every year Castle Bytham holds a midsummer fair and street market, with stalls, a duck grand prix, dog show, funfair, children's games, beer tents and barbecues. The fair has raised over £40,000 for local causes including a Christmas lunch for pensioners and a children's party, and village infrastructure improvements.[citation needed] Efforts are currently being made[by whom?] to improve the village recreation ground for the benefit of local young people and a 2010 Parish Plan suggested wider improvements.[citation needed]
The former RAF Coningsby station commander (1974–60) and Commandant of the Central Flying School (1979–83) lives in the village,[who?] and a former resident on Glen Road was Harold Wilson's press secretary, Trevor Lloyd-Hughes.[20][21]
There is a village shop on Pinfold Road. Castle Bytham Post Office[22] was closed in 2008 despite local opposition. It had served Creeton, Swinstead, Swayfield, Little Bytham and Clipsham, and other nearby small villages – it has now been replaced by a mobile 'outreach' service.[citation needed]
There are two remaining
Former railway station
The village had a railway station on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, the remains of which can still be seen. This railway station was rather unusual, being a single platform in a deep cutting through the village. The railway station was not originally planned by the railway, but was added after considerable local lobbying.[23][24] It remained open, as did the goods yard on the other side of the road, until the line closed in 1959.[3][24][25][26] West of the village the line of the railway now forms a road crossing under the A1.
Places of worship
The church, started in the 12th century, and restored in 1900, is dedicated to
There was at one time a Methodist chapel in High Street (now a private house), served by visiting ministers from Stamford.[28] On its closure in 1972 the Methodist Circuit still sent a preacher to the village for a few years, service taking place in the parish church.[citation needed]
Publications
- Wild, John, (1871); The History of Castle Bytham: Its Ancient Fortress and Manor BiblioBazaar (2008) ISBN 978-1-147-70286-6
- Chorlton, Martyn; Danger Area: The Complete History of RAF South Witham, 100 MU Old Forge Publishing (2003) ISBN 0-9544507-2-8
See also
References
- ^ "Civil Parish details". Lincolnshire county council.
- ^ "Civil parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d "SKDC conservation area report".
- ^ a b c "Welcome to Castle Bytham".
- ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9.
- ISBN 978-1-147-70286-6
- ^ 1942 Handley-Page Halifax crash
- ^ Lost Bombers
- ^ Historic England. "The Castle (325283)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 18 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d Cox, J. Charles (1916); Lincolnshire, Methuen & Co. Ltd., p.96
- ^ Carpenter, David. The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066–1284. Penguin.
- ^ Cope-Faulkner, Paul (October 2001). "Forest Enterprise Woodlands in Lincolnshire – Morkery Wood – Archaeological Survey (APS Report No 65/01)" (PDF). Archaeological Project Services. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Lincolnshire wildlife trust – Lawn Wood". Archived from the original on 25 May 2010.
- ^ "Plastic Chicken Houses | The Clever Coop Company | Grantham". The Clever Coop Co. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Quality Traditional Steel & Estate Fencing". Steel Landscaping Co. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "The Rosewell Centre | The Home of Health & Wellbeing". 21 March 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Lincolnshire wildlife trust – Tortoiseshell wood". Archived from the original on 11 November 2007.
- ^ "TheBythams.org.uk". community web site
- ^ "Diocese of Lincoln ecclesiastical parish details". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013.
- ^ Stamford Mercury
- ^ Sir Trevor Lloyd-Hughes
- ^ Castle Bytham Post Office geograph.org.uk
- ISBN 978-0-901503-86-2.
- ^ a b Back, Michael (2009). Branch lines around Spalding: M&GN Saxby to Long Sutton. Middleton Press.
- ^ Hill, Roger; Vessey, Carey (1995). British Railways Past and Present – 27 Lincolnshire. Past & Present Publishing.
- ^ Historic England. "The railway station (506989)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 27 January 2011.
- ^ Historic England. "St James' church (325286)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ "Methodist circuit's own history". Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
External links
Media related to Castle Bytham at Wikimedia Commons
- "Local web site".
- "Village web site".
- "Summer Fair web site".
- Photographic history of Castle Bytham
- History of the village
- Lawn Wood, Bottleneck and Jacksons nature reserve
- "History of Castle Bytham, in South Kesteven and Lincolnshire". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- "all 26 records for the parish". PastScape. English Heritage. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- "Funeral march for village post office", Stamford and Rutland Mercury, 1 November 2007
- "How DNA saved an 'extinct' breed", BBC News, 20 August 2004
- "Farmer jailed over cannabis find", BBC News, 21 November 2003