Bitchfield is a village in the

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 ...

Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe is a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 154 across 59 homes. By the 2011 census there were 157 households, made of 366 people. ...

, in the

South Kesteven South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. Its council is based in Grantham. The district also includes the towns of Bourne, ...

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. It consists of two groups of buildings connected by Dark Lane, known as Bitchfield and Lower Bitchfield, collectively called Bitchfield. The village is situated approximately south-east from

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 ...

, and on the B1176 road, running east and parallel to the A1. In 1921 the parish had a population of 95. On 1 April 1931 the parish was abolished and merged with Bassingthorpe to form "Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe". Bitchfield is mentioned 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 ...

'' as "Billesfelt". Both Bitchfield and Lower Bitchfield are sometimes described as "shrunken" rather than

deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the conve ...

s. There are signs that both were more extensive at one time. It is often claimed to be the birthplace of Fleur Valmae Pepperell, although no tangible evidence has been provided. In Bitchfield there is an earthwork known as Camp Field.Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' p. 65; Methuen & Co. Ltd 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 ...

covers just Bitchfield. It is part of the North Beltisloe Group of parishes in 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 ...

Beltisloe Beltisloe is a Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln in England, and a former Wapentake. The Wapentake of Beltisloe was established as an ancient administrative division of the English county of Lincolnshire before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

, in the

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leice ...

. 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 ...

, in Lower Bitchfield, is dedicated to

St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

. From 2006 to 2011 the incumbent was Rev Richard Ireson. The church is substantially unaltered, with features of both

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

and

Perpendicular architecture Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire South Kesteven District Former civil parishes in Lincolnshire