Kirkstead

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Kirkstead
Pastoral Scene - geograph.org.uk - 549489.jpg
The remains of Kirkstead Abbey
Lincolnshire UK location map.svg
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Kirkstead
Location within Lincolnshire
OS grid reference TF186617
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Woodhall Spa
Postcode district LN10
Dialling code 01526
Police Lincolnshire
Fire Lincolnshire
Ambulance East Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Lincolnshire
53°09′05″N0°13′06″W / 53.1515°N 0.2183°W / 53.1515; -0.2183

Kirkstead is a village and former civil parish now in the parish of Woodhall Spa, in the East Lindsey district, in Lincolnshire, England, on the River Witham. [1] [2] In 1961 the parish had a population of 85. [3] It was merged with the civil parish of Woodhall Spa in 1987.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Kirkstead has its origins in a Cistercian monastery, Kirkstead Abbey (the name Kirkstead means "the site of a church" ) founded in 1139 by Hugh Brito, lord of Tattershall and originally colonised by an abbot and twelve monks from Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. It was around this abbey that the little settlement of Kirkstead grew. The abbey remained in existence until 1537, when it was dissolved and Richard Harrison (the last Abbot) and three of his monks were executed by King Henry VIII following their implication (probably unjustly) in the Lincolnshire Rising of the previous year.

The abbey and manor of Kirkstead passed to the Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII's brother-in-law, and later to the Clintons, Earls of Lincoln, who built a large country house. By 1791 that too had gone, and all that remains today is a dramatic crag of masonry - a fragment of the south transept wall of the abbey church and the earthworks of the vast complex of buildings that once surrounded it.

The church of St Leonard's Without, thus named as it was outside the gates of the abbey, stands in a field by the side of the ruins of the abbey. Built between 1230 and 1240 it is an excellent example of the Early English style. Measuring only 12.8 metres (42 ft) by 5.8 metres (19 ft) it is up to "Cathedral standards" and may well have been built as a chantry chapel in memory of Robert de Tattershall who died in 1212.

After many centuries use as a church, it closed in 1877, when a Presbyterian congregation was evicted. From 1883 "The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings" fought to save it from total decay. Eventually during 1913 and 1914 it was restored by the architect Weir.

Kirkstead remained an isolated hamlet, but the area by the River Witham, 'Kirkstead Wharfs', developed as a locally important trading point on the canal system for goods being imported and exported in the local area, including coal.

With the opening in 1848 of the Lincoln to Boston line of the London and York Railway, a station was built here which was the nearest station to the increasingly fashionable spa town of Woodhall Spa, 2 km (1.2 mi) away. The resulting carriage trade, carrying the gentry to and from the spa, lasted until 1855 when a branch line opened from Kirkstead Station, (which then became known as Woodhall Junction) to Woodhall Spa and Horncastle. Woodhall Spa and Horncastle stations were closed to passengers in 1954. Woodhall Junction closed with the closure of its railway line in 1970.

The arrival of the railways greatly decreased the isolation of Kirkstead and the surrounding area. Kirkstead Wharfs was absorbed by the encroaching civil parish of Woodhall Spa in 1894. The remainder was incorporated into the parish in 1987, so that Kirkstead is now the western part of Woodhall Spa between the village centre and the River Witham.

Kirkstead Bridge (December 2005) Kirkstead Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 95376.jpg
Kirkstead Bridge (December 2005)

The Kirkstead Bridge is a concrete arch bridge spanning the River Witham at Kirkstead in Woodhall Spa. Finished and opened in 1968, it carries the B1191 as it runs from Horncastle to the A15 road just north of Dunsby St Andrew. The bridge replaced an existing swing bridge alongside it. That had replaced a ferry that operated until the early 20th century.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tattershall</span> Village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Bain</span> River in Lincolnshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodhall Spa</span> Former spa town and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England

Woodhall Spa is a former spa town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Horncastle, 23 miles (37 km) west of Skegness, 15 miles (24 km) east-south-east of Lincoln and 17 miles (27 km) north-west of Boston. It is noted for its mineral springs, historic cinema and its Second World War association with the RAF 617 Squadron, commonly referred to as 'The Dambusters'.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkstead Abbey</span>

Kirkstead Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Kirkstead, Lincolnshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Leonard's Without</span> Church

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stixwould</span> Small village in Lincolnshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langrick Bridge</span> Village in the civil parish of Holland Fen with Brothertoft in Lincolnshire, England

Langrick Bridge is a village in the civil parish of Holland Fen with Brothertoft in the Borough of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The village is in the Lincolnshire Fens, 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Boston and 24 miles (40 km) south-east of Lincoln. It is at the southern side of the bridge of the same name which spans the River Witham. At the north side of the bridge the settlement is in the civil parish of Langriville. The southern boundary of the village of Langrick is 200 yards (180 m) north from the bridge.

References

  1. ↑ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 122 Skegness & Horncastle (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2013. ISBN   9780319229392.
  2. ↑ "A Vision of Britain Through Time: Kirkstead". www.visionofbritain.co.uk. GB Historical GIS/University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Population statistics Kirkstead AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 5 September 2023.

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