Dowsby
{{Short description|Village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|52.851308|-0.348465|display=inline,title}}
| map_type = Lincolnshire
| official_name = Dowsby
| static_image_name = All Saints' church, Dowsby, Lincs. - geograph.org.uk - 90707.jpg
| static_image_width =
| static_image_caption = Church of St Andrew, Dowsby
| population = 204
| population_ref = (2011)
| shire_district = South Kesteven
| shire_county = Lincolnshire
| region = East Midlands
| constituency_westminster = Grantham and Bourne
| civil_parish =
| post_town = Bourne
| postcode_district = PE10
| postcode_area = PE
| dial_code =
| os_grid_reference = TF113294
| london_distance_mi = 90
| london_direction = S
}}
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 {{Convert|1|mi|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.[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/259079 "Car Dyke, Dowsby Fen, Lincs"], Geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2011 The civil parish population taken at the 2011 census was 204.{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122805&c=dowsby&d=16&e=62&g=6447226&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1463310008358&enc=1|title=Civil parish population 2011|accessdate=15 May 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}
History
The name Dowsby is from the Old Scandinavian 'Dusi+by', for "farmstead of Dusi", appearing in the Domesday Book as "Dusebi".{{cite book|first=A. D.|last=Mills|title=A Dictionary of English Place-Names|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991}}
Hoe Hills ({{coord|52|51|32|N|0|20|37|W|display=inline|type:landmark|name=Hoe Hills}}) was a group of round barrows dating back to the Bronze Age where Roman and Medieval finds have been made.{{cite PastScape|mnumber=350993|mname= Hoe Hills|accessdate=14 December 2012 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/reports/dowsby/|title=Hoe Hills:Report on Geophysical Surveys, October 1994 & March 1995.|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315165324/http://www.eng-h.gov.uk/reports/dowsby/|archivedate=15 March 2012}}
St Andrew's Church, originating from the 12th century, 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.Cox, J. Charles (1916) Lincolnshire p. 118; Methuen & Co. Ltd{{cite PastScape|mnumber=350583|mname= St Andrews Church|accessdate=14 December 2012 }}
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.{{Original research inline|date|date=July 2011}}
Dowsby
Dowsby Grade II* listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Andrew.{{NHLE|num=1164977 |desc=Church of St Andrew|accessdate= 3 July 2011}} The ecclesiastical parish is part of the Billingborough Group of the Lafford Deanery, Diocese of Lincoln. The 2013 incumbent is the Rev. Anna Sorensen.{{cite web|url=http://www.lincoln.anglican.org/search_parishes.php?22002020|title=Dowsby PCC|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716073431/http://www.lincoln.anglican.org/search_parishes.php?22002020|archivedate=16 July 2011}}
Dowsby Fen falls within the drainage area of the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board.{{Cite web|title=Black Sluice IDB |url=http://www.blacksluiceidb.gov.uk/}}
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, {{Convert|3|mi|km|0}} to the north, the nearest public house in Aslackby, {{Convert|2|mi|km|0}} to the west.The bus service 401 operates to Bourne on Thursdays, provided by Delaine buses.
Graby
{{coord|52|51|13|N|0|21|59|W|display=inline|type:city|name=Graby}}
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.{{cite PastScape|mnumber=350651|mname= Graby deserted medieval village|accessdate=14 December 2012 }}
References
{{reflist}}
Further research
- Lane, Tom "Hoe Hills, Dowsby", Fenland Research, vol. 9 (1994), pp. 16–19.
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Dowsby}}
- {{commons category-inline|Graby}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20051125071521/http://homepages.which.net/~rex/bourne/dowsby.htm "Dowsby"], homepages.which.net. Retrieved 22 July 2011
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110901161255/http://visionofbritain.org.uk/iipmooviewer/iipmooviewer.html?fileName=first_edition%2Fsht70%3DThe+British+Library%3DOrdnance+Survey%3DFirst+Series%3D70&x=54&y=25 Hoe Hills], First series OS (1865). Retrieved 22 July 2011
{{Portal bar|England|United Kingdom}}
{{Lincolnshire|state=collapsed}}
{{The Fens}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in Lincolnshire