Dowsby

Dowsby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the western edge of The Fens at the junction of the east–west B1397 road and the north–south B1177. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east from Rippingale and just south of Pointon. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Graby. Nearby to the east, along the B1397 at Dowsby Fen, is Car Dyke.[1] The civil parish population taken at the 2011 census was 204.[2]

Dowsby
Church of St Andrew, Dowsby
Dowsby is located in Lincolnshire
Dowsby
Dowsby
Location within Lincolnshire
Population204 (2011)
OS grid referenceTF113294
• London90 mi (140 km) S
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBourne
Postcode districtPE10
PoliceLincolnshire
FireLincolnshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

History

The name Dowsby is from the Old Scandinavian 'Dusi+by', for "farmstead of Dusi", appearing in the Domesday Book as "Dusebi".[3]

Hoe Hills (52°51′32″N 0°20′37″W) was a group of round barrows dating back to the Bronze Age where Roman and Medieval finds have been made.[4][5]

St Andrew's Church, originating from the 12th century,[6] was mostly rebuilt and enlarged in 1864, although Norman fragments remain as part of the fabric. A recumbent effigy of Etheldreda Rigdon, and six brasses to the Burrell family from 1682 lie in the vestry. Built into the outer wall of the south aisle are parts of a Saxon cross.[7][8]

On the edge of the fen was a decoy used to trap ducks commercially in the 19th century. These would almost certainly have been shipped for sale by railway, probably from Rippingale railway station which was approximately a mile from the decoy.

Dowsby

Dowsby Grade II* listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Andrew.[6] The ecclesiastical parish is part of the Billingborough Group of the Lafford Deanery, Diocese of Lincoln. The 2013 incumbent is the Rev. Anna Sorensen.[9]

Dowsby Fen falls within the drainage area of the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board.[10]

Most employment in the parish is agricultural. The former rectory is now a care home for the elderly, providing some employment. The nearest shops are in Billingborough, 3 miles (5 km) to the north, the nearest public house in Aslackby, 2 miles (3 km) to the west. A bus service operates to Bourne on Thursdays, provided by Kimes Buses.

Graby

52°51′13″N 0°21′59″W
The hamlet of Graby is situated 1 mile to the west of Dowsby, and on the line of Mareham Lane Roman Road. Graby incorporates the site of a deserted medieval village, with cropmark and earthwork evidence of sunken lanes, crofts, ponds and ridge and furrow field systems.[11]

References
  1. "Car Dyke, Dowsby Fen, Lincs", Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2011
  2. "Civil parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  3. Mills, A. D. (1991). A Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford University Press.
  4. Historic England. "Hoe Hills (350993)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  5. "Hoe Hills:Report on Geophysical Surveys, October 1994 & March 1995". Archived from the original on 15 March 2012.
  6. Historic England. "Church of St Andrew (1164977)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  7. Cox, J. Charles (1916) Lincolnshire p. 118; Methuen & Co. Ltd
  8. Historic England. "St Andrews Church (350583)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  9. "Dowsby PCC". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  10. "Black Sluice IDB".
  11. Historic England. "Graby deserted medieval village (350651)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 14 December 2012.

Further research
  • Lane, Tom "Hoe Hills, Dowsby", Fenland Research, vol. 9 (1994), pp. 16–19.
  • Media related to Dowsby at Wikimedia Commons
  • Media related to Graby at Wikimedia Commons
  • "Dowsby", homepages.which.net. Retrieved 22 July 2011
  • Hoe Hills, First series OS (1865). Retrieved 22 July 2011
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