__NOTOC__ Castle Bytham 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 ...

of around 300 houses in

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, ...

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 is located north of Stamford and west of Bourne. The population was measured at 768 in 317 households at the 2011 census. At one time the village was an important commercial centre for the surrounding agricultural communities, but it is now largely a

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

, although a number of farming families remain with a much reduced workforce.

History

The name 'Bytham' is first recorded in 1067 (as a monastery that rapidly translated to Vaudey Abbey), and comes from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word ''bythme'' meaning ''Valley bottom, broad valley''. In the

Domesday 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 ...

survey of 1086 the village was known as ''West Bytham'' as the castle had yet to be built. People have named the river that runs through the village the ''Tham'' or ''Am'' as a back-formation from the village name. Morkery Wood housed a former bomb dump during 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 ...

for the nearby airfields. In the early hours of 19 November 1942

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

BB209 NP-G of 158 Sqn, from

RAF Rufforth Royal Air Force Rufforth or RAF Rufforth is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located near Rufforth in North Yorkshire, England. It was used by only one operational squadron on long-range bombing missions ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, crashed near Stocken Hall Farm (in the wood). It had been hit by flak south-east of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

coming back from a raid on

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Half the aircrew were in the

RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canad ...

Castle

Overlooking the village is an 11th-century

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 ...

castle mound. The site of the castle in Saxon times was owned by

Morcar Morcar (or Morcere) (, ) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when William the Conqueror replaced him with Copsi. Dispute with the Godwins Morcar ...

, also known as Morkere, who was the brother of Ealdgyth, wife of King Harold. The castle, which gave its name to the village, was built soon after 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 ...

of 1066, and was given by the Conqueror to his half brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent;Cox, J. Charles (1916); ''Lincolnshire'', '' Methuen & Co. Ltd.'', p.96 it was later owned by

William le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle William le Gros, William le Gras, William d'Aumale, William Crassus (died 20 August 1179) was Earl of York and Lord of Holderness in the English peerage and the Count of Aumale in France. He was the eldest son of Stephen, Count of Aumale, and his ...

, and passed to the family of Coleville. During the

First Barons' War The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as English feudal barony, barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against John of England, K ...

it was occupied by

William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle ( 1190 − 26 March 1242) was an English nobleman. He is described by William Stubbs as "a feudal adventurer of the worst type". Family background Forz was the son of William de Forz (died 1195), and Ha ...

aided by William d'Aubigny, Sir Richard Siward, Henry de Hastings and William de Hastings.. In 1221, after a siege, the castle was captured by Henry III with the help of

Hugh de Mortimer Hugh de Mortimer (1117 – 26 February 1180/81) was a Norman English medieval lord. Lineage The son of Ranulph de Mortimer, he was Lord of Wigmore Castle, Stratfield Mortimer, Cleobury Mortimer and at times, Bridgnorth, Bishop's Castle and ...

and

William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey (born 1160s–1170s, died 27 May 1240) was the son of Isabel de Warenne, Countess of Surrey, Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey (suo jure) and Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, Hamelin de Waren ...

and restored to its lord, the former rebel William de Coleville. In the 14th century the castle was occupied by the Earls of Hereford and in 1394 the children of John of Gaunt’s son Henry Bolingbroke (later to become King Henry IV), including his eldest son Henry who was to become Henry V the victor of Agincourt, came to live at the castle with their grandmother Joan, the dowager countess of Hereford. The castle was burnt in the 15th century during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

. In the 16th century John Leland described remnants of the castle: "yet remained great walls of buildings".

1961 air crash

At lunchtime on Wednesday 1 February 1961 Jet Provost 'XN460' crashed near Cabbage Hill. Pilot Officer IF Mitchinson of Grove Park, London, parachuted to

Scottlethorpe Scottlethorpe is a village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north-west from Bourne, and on the A151 road. The village is within the civil parish of Edenham; the local area is part of the Gr ...

, four miles away. He had flown from

RAF Syerston Royal Air Force Syerston, commonly known simply as RAF Syerston , is a Royal Air Force station in the parish of Flintham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, England. Opened in 1940, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber base during t ...

. Fire engines from Cottesmore, Oakham and

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

attended. Ian Francis Mitchinson, of Somertrees Avenue, was the son of Francis John Mitchinson. He attended

St Joseph's College, Upper Norwood St Joseph's College is a 11-18 voluntary-aided, Lasallian, all boys' secondary school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status, located in the Upper Norwood area of the London Borough of Croydon, England. The school is a s ...

and West Ham College of Technology. He joined the RAF in October 1959, and passed out of

RAF Jurby Royal Air Force Jurby, or more simply RAF Jurby, is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station built in the north west of the Isle of Man. It was opened in 1939 on of land acquired by the Air Ministry in 1937, u ...

in May 1960. As a Flight Lieutenant, aged 37 in 1975, he died in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Geography

The nearest town is Stamford (even though Castle Bytham is in the

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 ...

postal area, with a

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

). It is at the apex of the NG (Grantham), LE (Rutland) and PE (Stamford) postcodes. The village is very close to the

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

boundary. The civil parish extends much to the north-west of the village, up t
Woolley's Lane
includin
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). South of the A1 interchange to Woolley's Lane, the parish boundary is with

North Witham North Witham is a small village and nominally a civil parish in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. The village is located along the upper course of the River Witham 1.5 miles downstream (north) of South Witham, and approximately south f ...

, 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 o
woodland
near

Holywell Holywell may refer to: England * Holywell, Bedfordshire * Holywell, Cambridgeshire * Holywell, Cornwall * Holywell, Dorset * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Sussex * Holywell, Gloucestershire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Ho-Hoo#Hol, location in ...

. Eastwards, the parish extends for about half a mile, where it includes the 30 acre Lawn Wood which has been a nature reserve since 1995, joining two neighbouring meadows that were donated to

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, (part of the The Wildlife Trusts, Wildlife Trusts partnership), covers the whole ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. It was founded in 1948 as a Volunteering, voluntary charitable organisation dedicated to ...

in 1993. The meadows are a good site for buttercups and

yellow rattle ''Rhinanthus minor'', known as yellow rattle, is a herbaceous wildflower in the genus ''Rhinanthus'' in the family Orobanchaceae (the broomrapes). It has circumpolar distribution in Europe, Russia, western Asia, and northern North America. An an ...

, and are managed to encourage butterflies, including the ringlet, and the

meadow brown The meadow brown (''Maniola jurtina'') is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasse ...

. The wood is mainly

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and ash, but includes field maple,

midland hawthorn ''Crataegus laevigata'', known as the Midland hawthorn, English hawthorn, woodland hawthorn, or mayflower, is a species of hawthorn native to western and central Europe, from Great Britain (where it is typically found in ancient woodland and o ...

and the uncommon wild service tree; woodland flora such as wood anemone, woodruff and

early purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

also found there.

Fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

and

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

are frequently seen in the reserve.

Businesses in Castle Bytham

* The Clever Coop Company * Steel Landscaping Co. * Waggy Tailz * The Rosewell Centre

Surrounding area

About to the east lies

Little Bytham Little Bytham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Kesteven Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 384. It lies on the B1176 road ...

. The two villages used to be called West and East Bytham. To the west, on the western side of the A1 road, is South Witham near the source of 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 ...

. 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 (which borders on to the west of the civil parish) and some of the road verges are protected for wildlife by

Lincolnshire County Council Lincolnshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes North Lincolnshire and No ...

. Tortoiseshell Wood is in the parish of

, 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 Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

, the trees cut into large

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

forms.

Community

File:St. James Church, Castle Bytham - geograph.org.uk - 1614335.jpg, St James's Church File:Former School, Castle Bytham-Geograph-2297810-by-Bob-Harvey.jpg, Former school File:The Castle Public House, High Street, Castle Bytham - geograph.org.uk - 1614305.jpg, Castle Inn public house File:The Fox and Hounds public house - geograph.org.uk - 1277263.jpg, Fox and Hounds public house 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 ...

is part of the ''Castle Bytham with Creeton'' group 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 ''Beltisloe''. The incumbent is Revd S. M. Evans. community web site 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. Efforts are currently being made to improve the village recreation ground for the benefit of local young people and a 2010 Parish Plan suggested wider improvements. The former

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and h ...

station commander (1974–60) and Commandant of the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school in the world. The sch ...

(1979–83) lives in the village, and a former resident on Glen Road was

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

's press secretary, Trevor Lloyd-Hughes. There is a village shop on Pinfold Road. Castle Bytham Post Office was closed in 2008 despite local opposition. It had served

Creeton Creeton is a village in the civil parish of Counthorpe and Creeton in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south west from Bourne and south from Corby Glen, on the River Glen. In 1921 the parish had a popula ...

Swinstead Swinstead is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated west from Bourne, north from Stamford and south-east from Grantham. It is a village of just over 100 households, the population ...

, Swayfield,

and Clipsham, and other nearby small villages – it has now been replaced by a mobile 'outreach' service. There are two remaining

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 in the village.The New Inn on Station Road was converted to housing in the 1960s.

Former railway station

The village had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...

, 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. It remained open, as did the goods yard on the other side of the road, until the line closed in 1959. 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

St James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints *James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater *James, son of Alphaeu ...

and is one of a group of parishes in the rural deanery 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.

. It contains an unusual memento of the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

: a ladder, formerly used in the tower, with a carved inscription which reads "THIS WARE THE MAY POVL 1660" (''see photograph''), suggesting that May celebrations were held in the village (as they were throughout the country) to mark the Restoration of King Charles II. There was at one time a

Methodist 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 ...

chapel in High Street (now a private house), served by visiting ministers from Stamford. 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.

Publications

*Wild, John, (1871); ''The History of Castle Bytham: Its Ancient Fortress and Manor'' BiblioBazaar (2008) / Nabu Press (2010) *Chorlton, Martyn; ''Danger Area: The Complete History of RAF South Witham, 100 MU'' Old Forge Publishing (2003)

References

External links

* * *
Photographic history of Castle Bytham

Lawn Wood, Bottleneck and Jacksons nature reserve
* *
"Funeral march for village post office"
''Stamford and Rutland Mercury'', 1 November 2007
"How DNA saved an 'extinct' breed"
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 20 August 2004
"Farmer jailed over cannabis find"
''BBC News'', 21 November 2003 {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Nature reserves in Lincolnshire Bytham