Fosdyke 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

Borough of Boston The Borough of Boston is a local government district with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Boston. The borough also includes numerous villages in the surrounding rural area including Wyberton, Sutter ...

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. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 census was 510. It is situated approximately south from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, just off the A17, and east from the junction of the A17 with the A16.

History

The name derives 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 ...

and

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

"fotrs dic", meaning Fotr's (personal name) ditch. Fosdyke's

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed

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 ...

church is dedicated to

All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...

. In 1871–72 the church was entirely rebuilt in brickCox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' p. 128; Methuen & Co. Ltd on the site of an older church, in an Early English style.''Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire with the port of Hull'' 1885, pp. 395, 396 The architect was

Edward Browning Edward Bailey Browning (1816 – 1882) was an English architect working in Stamford. Life Edward Browning was the son of the Stamford architect Bryan Browning (1773–1856). He was apprenticed to the London architect George Maddox and ...

. In 1885 ''

Kelly's Directory Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in Britain that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses ...

'' reported the existence of a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...

chapel, a

coastguard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

station, and a row of 400-year-old

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable organization, charitable public housing, housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the povert ...

, founded by Sir Thomas Middlecott for the Fosdyke and Algarkirk parishes.

Geography

The village is near the mouth of the

River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river Source (river), rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally nort ...

, and the parish extends across the river to include both ends of the hamlet of Fosdyke Bridge. Fosdyke Wash, the marshy area at the mouth of the Welland, is shown by

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

as the nearest coastal location to

Coton in the Elms Coton in the Elms is a village and parish in the English county of Derbyshire. At from the coast, it is one of the furthest places in the United Kingdom from coastal waters. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 896. It ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, which is the furthest point from the sea in Great Britain, away. Fosdyke is one of eighteen civil parishes which, together with Boston, form the

local government district, in place since a reorganisation of 1 April 1974 which resulted from the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. Fosdyke parish forms part of the Five Villages electoral ward, along with Algarkirk, Bicker, Sutterton and Wigtoft. Hitherto, the parish had formed part of Boston Rural District in the

Parts of Holland The Parts of Holland is a historical division of Lincolnshire, England, encompassing the southeast of the county. The name is still recognised locally and survives in the district of South Holland, Lincolnshire, South Holland. Etymology The place ...

. Holland was one of the three divisions (formally known as ''parts'') of the traditional county of Lincolnshire. Since the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

Holland had been, in most respects, a county in itself.

Community

Fosdyke has a village hall. The nearest post office is in Sutterton. The Ship Inn was refurbished, extended and reopened in 2024 and serves pub food and has seven bedrooms. Fosdyke has a Social Club called Fozzy's, a playing field with football pitch and changing rooms, has an enclosed multisport area, used for five-a-side football, basketball and volleyball. Adjacent to the social club building is a children's adventure playground. Situated at the end of the playing field is a bowls club. Businesses include builders, handymen, producers of fruit and vegetables, car body repair and a coach company. Next to Fosdyke Bridge is Fosdyke Yacht Haven, a pleasure boat

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

and boatyard. The marina has dry land facilities for sailing craft."Skegness RNLI rescues three men from stricken boat"

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

News Lincolnshire, 12 December 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2013

Population

References

External links

*
Fosdyke Village

Goodfellowship Bowls Club
{{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Borough of Boston