Riby 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

West Lindsey West Lindsey is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Caistor and M ...

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 was 129 at the 2011 census. It is situated approximately south-west from the town of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

History

There are two scheduled barrows south-west of Riby Grove Farm. Whilst they are no longer visible above ground, the burial remains survive inside. One is a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...

, and the other a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

. A hoard of 15–20,000 bronze coins dating from

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He ...

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

(AD 253–275) were found in an urn covered by a dish at Riby Wold Farm in 1953. The coins are held by the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

pending classification. Lincoln Museum hold a further collection of 21 coins,

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

Gratian Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

(AD 305–383), thought to be only part of a hoard found at Riby. 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 ...

is a Grade II*

listed building 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 ...

dedicated to Saint Edmund and dating from the 12th century with an 1868 restoration by Ferrey, and built from

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be c ...

. The west door is late 13th-century, and there is a blocked 12th-century door in the north

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

. The east window records that George Tomline funded the restoration, and there are several memorials to the Tomline family in the church. On 18 June 1645, there was a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

clash at Riby Gapp, and the parish register of Riby contains the following entries:

"Nine soldiers slaine in a skirmish in the field of Riby the day before, buried June the 19th." "Charles Skelton, a soldiour wounded in the same skirmish, buried June the 20th." "William Willoughbie a soldier wounded in the skirmish above named, buried July the 4th"

Riby Grove was a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

, now demolished, which stood in the village. In 1803 Marmaduke Tomline, owner of the Riby Grove, bequeathed the house and estate to

George Pretyman :''In this name, the family name is'' Pretyman (before 1803)'', ''Pretyman Tomline (from 1803)'', but commonly called ''Tomline'' thereafter.'' Sir George Pretyman Tomline, 5th Baronet (born George Pretyman; 9 October 1750 – 14 November 1827) ...

, the

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

, on condition that he adopted the name Tomline. Pretyman accepted the inheritance and thereafter adopted the name Pretyman-Tomline. His son William Edward Pretyman Tomline was born at Riby in 1787 and became a Member of Parliament and

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

for 1824–25. He in turn had a son "Colonel" George Tomline, also a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1852. The house was demolished in 1935. Riby School was built in 1890 as Riby National school, replacing a village school built in 1848 by the Tomline family. It was known as Riby County School by 1947 and closed in 1958.

Notable people

Riby is the birthplace of the fashion model and photographer Jill Kennington.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire West Lindsey District