Metheringham 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 North Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The council is based in Sleaford. The district also contains the town of North Hykeham, which adjoins the neighbouring city of Lincoln, England, L ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 2011 census was 3,605. It is about south of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

and north 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 ...

. The centre of the village is a conservation area.

History

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 is thought to date from Saxon times. It appears to be associated with the name "Medrich". The addition of the plural ending "-es" together with the familiar "-ham" ending is thought to have produced "Medrichesham" (the homestead of Medrich), which in time became corrupted into the modern name of the village. The earliest surviving document relating specifically to the village dates from 24 June 1314, in the reign of

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

. In July 1599, a great fire left only a few houses standing. It started in a gully that ran the length of the village street. ''White's 1842 Directory of Lincolnshire'' called Metheringham "a large improving village, on a gentle declivity, between Lincoln Heath and the Cardyke

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

, 9 miles S. E. of Lincoln. Its parish increased its population from 536 in 1801, to 880 in 1831, to 1197 in 1841,and contains 5682A res 1R od 32P rchesof land." It also notes, "An ancient Cross, which stood in the village, was replaced by a new one in 1835, at the cost of about £25, and a market is now held round it on Saturday evenings. The drainage of the parish is aided by a steam engine of 25-horse power, and has dried an ancient spring called Holywell." It describes the church (see below) and adds, "Here is a Wesleyan Chapel, erected in 1840. A School was established by subscription in 1841, and there is a flourishing Sick Club, and also a Cow Club. The poor parishioners have 3R.37P. of land left by one Colley; and an annuity of £3, left by John Ellis in 1829." The village war memorial records the names of 42 men who died for their country in the First World War and eight who fell in the Second World War.

Notable person

The village was the birthplace of

H. F. Ellis Humphry Francis Ellis (17 July 1907 – 8 December 2000) was an English comic writer. He created A. J. Wentworth, the ineffectual schoolmaster whose fictional diaries were first published in the magazine '' Punch''. Life Humphry Francis Ellis was ...

(1907–2000), a writer who developed the comic schoolmaster character A. J. Wentworth B. A. in the magazine '' Punch'' and later in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''.

Geography

Metheringham lies east of the

Lincoln Cliff The Lincoln Cliff or Lincoln Edge is a portion of a major escarpment that runs north–south through the historic divisions of Lindsey and Kesteven in central Lincolnshire and is a prominent landscape feature in a generally flat portion of th ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

, on the western edge of

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

land extending south-east towards

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 ...

and

The Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

. It lies on the north–south B1188 between

Ruskington Ruskington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, located approximately north of Sleaford on the north–south B1188 road and slightly north of the A153 road. The villa ...

and Branston, and on the east–west B1202 and B1189 roads. Dunston is to the north, and

Scopwick Scopwick is a small village and civil parish in the district of North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England, situated south from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 815. The parish includes Kirkb ...

and

Blankney Blankney is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 251. The village is situated approximately south from the city and county town of Linc ...

are to the south. The railway station is in Station Road (B1189). The centre of the village is a conservation area. To the west and the A15 is Metheringham Heath, on which is a

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

at a local quarry.

Metheringham Fen, Sots Hole and Tanvats

To the east is Metheringham Fen, across which lies Metheringham Delph that drains into 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 ...

from where it connects to the

Car Dyke The Car Dyke was, and to a large extent still is, a long ditch which runs along the western edge of the Fens in eastern England for a distance of over . It is generally accepted as being a Roman invasion of Britain, Roman construction and was, f ...

near an old wartime airfield. The Metheringham Delph was recommended for designation as a local wildlife area in 2010. The area has historically been a centre for potato cultivation, and agricultural workers lived at two

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

on the fen, Tanvats and Sots Hole. Their needs were served by two schools, a church, a shop and a public house. All were gone by the 1980s, as agricultural mechanisation saw a decline in employment.

Community

Metheringham is known to locals as "Meg". The population of the built-up area was estimated at 3,595 in 2018. The parish church of St Wilfrid belongs to the Metheringham group with Blankney and Dunston. There is
Methodist church
built in 1907 by the architect

Albert Edward Lambert Albert Edward Lambert, FRIBA (27 May 1869 – 5 November 1929) was a British architect based in Nottingham, England. Biography He was born in Manton in Rutland on 27 May 1869. He was the son of John Lambert and Louisa. By 1871 the family had m ...

. San Damiano House is one of five houses in England of the

Community of St. Francis The Community of St. Francis (CSF) is a Franciscan Anglican religious order of Nun#Distinction between a nun and a religious sister, sisters founded in 1905, and is the oldest surviving Anglican Franciscan religious community. As First Order sist ...

, a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Anglican religious order 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 ...

for women. The village has a primary school, a High Street cafe, a

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

store, and a traditional butcher's shop, which has been trading for over 80 years. It has four pubs: the ''Star & Garter'' in Prince's Street, the ''White Hart Inn'', the ''Lincolnshire Poacher'' in High Street, and the ''Londesborough Arms''. Metheringham is served by an hourly daytime, Monday-to-Saturday bus between Boston and Lincoln, provided by Brylaine. This runs less frequently on Sundays. Other services run to South Kyme (P. C. Coaches) and to Sleaford (Road Car). There are regular direct Monday-to-Saturday train services to Lincoln,

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, Spalding,

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

.Trainline Europ
Retrieved 7 December 2015

References

External links

*
Metheringham primary schoolMetheringham and District Community websiteSt Wilfrid's churchMetheringham Airfield"Jet-powered luge - a tea tray on wheels"
''

Lincolnshire Echo The ''Lincolnshire Echo'' is a weekly British regional newspaper for Lincolnshire, whose first edition was on Tuesday 31 January 1893, and is published every Thursday. It is owned by Reach PLC and it is distributed throughout the county. The ...

'' YouTube channel
Metheringham Football Club
{{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District