Washingborough
{{short description|Village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|53.222199|-0.472821|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Washingborough
| static_image_name = {{multiple images
| image1 = Washingborough - Church of St John the Evangelist - geograph.org.uk - 6685278.jpg
| image2 = Washingborough station - geograph.org.uk - 2366826.jpg
| image3 = Washingborough village - geograph.org.uk - 3530988.jpg
| image4 = Methodist Church Main Road Washingborough - geograph.org.uk - 4823856.jpg
| image5 = Washingborough village sign - geograph.org.uk - 2831335.jpg
|align = center |total_width = 290|perrow=1 2
}}
| static_image_caption = Clockwise from top: Washingborough St John the Evangelist Church, Village Centre, Village Sign, Methodist Church on Main Road & former railway station
| parts_type = Areas of the village
| p1 = Branston Booths (Village)
| p2 = Common Square
| p3 = Heighington (Village)
| population = 6,385
| population_ref = (2021 Census BUA (includes Heighington)){{cite web |title=Washingborough (Lincolnshire, East Midlands, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information |url=https://citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/lincolnshire/E63001641__washingborough/ |website=citypopulation.de |access-date=5 November 2024}}
| shire_district = North Kesteven
| shire_county = Lincolnshire
| region = East Midlands
| constituency_westminster = Sleaford and North Hykeham
| post_town = LINCOLN
| postcode_district = LN4
| postcode_area = LN
| dial_code = 01522
| os_grid_reference =
| london_distance_mi = 115
| london_direction = S
}}
Washingborough is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Located {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} east of Lincoln and {{convert|18|mi|km|0}} from Sleaford.
The population in the 2001 census was 3,356, increasing to 3,482 at the 2011 census and 3,664 at the 2021 census.{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130189&c=Washingborough&d=16&e=62&g=6446763&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1464875024484&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|accessdate=2 June 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}} It is situated on the lower slopes of Lincoln Cliff limestone escarpment where the River Witham breaks through it. The south side of Lincoln Cathedral and its three towers can be seen from the village centre.
Geography
Washingborough is the point on the River Witham at which the Lincolnshire Fens begin and it can be argued that the village is the most northerly to be located within the region. The Fens were first drained by the Romans and the Roman Car Dyke ran from Washingborough to the River Nene, near Peterborough.{{cite web|url=https://www.lincstothepast.com/Car-Dyke-in-Lincolnshire/236246.record?pt=S|title=Car Dyke|website=www.lincstothepast.com|accessdate=14 January 2019}} Today, the village forms a built-up area with the nearby village of Heighington which had a combined population of 6,385.{{cite web |title=Washingborough (Lincolnshire, East Midlands, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information |url=https://citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/lincolnshire/E63001641__washingborough/ |website=citypopulation.de |access-date=5 November 2024}}
History
The origin of the name 'Washingborough' is uncertain but is thought to mean either 'fortification near the wash' or 'fortification of the people of Wassa'.{{Cite web|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Lincolnshire/Washingborough|title=Key to English Place-names}}
There is a war memorial to the men of Heighington and Washingborough in the church.{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/42994|title=men of washingborough and heighington|website=www.iwm.org.uk|accessdate=13 January 2019}}
A dig involving Channel 4's archaeological television programme Time Team, on a site adjacent to the modern canalised course of the River Witham, found evidence of an important late Iron Age settlement of around 1000 BC. At this time the river was tidal{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}} and the evidence suggests a trading and metal working centre with trading connections to northern Europe. Copper ore and ingots were found as well as evidence of smelting in crucibles. The settlement may have lost importance as water levels rose and the site became unsuitable. Much of the settlement site was destroyed when the river was canalised in the 18th century as part of the effort to drain the Fens.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0960073/|title=Life on the Edge|website=IMDb |accessdate=14 January 2019}}
The Witham Shield, dated to the Iron Age, was discovered nearby in 1826 and is now in the British Museum.[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/t/the_witham_shield.aspx Witham Shield], accessed August 2010
The village was served by the Lincolnshire Loop Line between Lincoln and Peterborough via Boston and Spalding. However, the station that served the village closed in 1940 to passengers and never reopened. The line closed to freight traffic in the 1970s and is now a trail called the "Water Rail Way" between Lincoln and Woodhall Junction.
Churches
The parish church is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The lower parts of the tower are Norman.{{Cite web |title=A Guide to the Church of St John the Evangelist, Washingborough |url=https://www.washingboroughgroup.org.uk/page_4374450.html |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=www.washingboroughgroup.org.uk}} Inside is a Norman font.{{cite web |title=Washingborough Church |url=https://sites.create-cdn.net/sitefiles/24/4/2/244225/St_Johns_Church_History.pdf |accessdate=14 January 2019 |website=www.create-can.net}} Windows commemorate a Zeppelin raid on the village in 1916.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ws3g8|title=Zeppelin|website=www.bbc.co.uk|date=28 May 2014 |accessdate=13 January 2019}}
There is also an active United Methodist Church on Main Road.{{Cite book |last=Ambler |first=R. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CoX9VDwC-EC&q=washingborough+methodist+church |title=Ranters, Revivalists and Reformers: Primitive Methodism and Rural Society, South Lincolnshire 1817-1875 |date=1989 |publisher=Hull University Press |isbn=978-0-85958-480-7 |language=en}} The church dates from 1857 and is part of the wider United Methodist Church circuit.{{Cite web |title=Washingborough |url=https://www.slha.org.uk/photogallery/?thislocation=Washingborough |access-date=22 February 2025|website=www.slha.org.uk}}
Amenities
The village has two public houses, the Ferryboat on High Street and the Hunters Leap on Oak Hill,[http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Washingborough/imageDetail.asp?id=55818 Hunters Leap] a Chinese and a pizza takeaway, fish and chip shop, supermarket and post office with chemists.
The Powell hut is the home of scouting and guiding in the village.{{cite web|url=http://www.powellhut.org|title=Powell hut|website=www.powellhut.org|accessdate=13 January 2019}}
The Peterborough to Lincoln Line passes through the south-west corner of the village.
Education
Washingborough Academy is the village primary school. The school gained a good rating in their Ofsted reports in 2017, 2012 and 2009 inspection.{{cite web|url=http://www.washingboroughacademy.org|title=Ofsted reports|website=www.washingboroughacademy.org.
Demographics
At the 2021 census, Washingborough's urban area had a population of 6,385. Of the findings, the ethnicity and religious composition of the ward was:
| class="wikitable"
| colspan="14" style="text-align:right;" |Washingborough: Ethnicity: 2021 Census |
| Ethnic group
!Population ! % |
|---|
| White
| style="text-align:right;" |6,259 | style="text-align:right;" |98% |
| Mixed
| style="text-align:right;" |65 | style="text-align:right;" |1% |
| Asian or Asian British
| style="text-align:right;" |41 | style="text-align:right;" |0.6% |
| Black or Black British
| style="text-align:right;" |13 | style="text-align:right;" |0.2% |
| Other Ethnic Group
| style="text-align:right;" |10 | style="text-align:right;" |0.2% |
| Total
| style="text-align:right;" |6,385 | style="text-align:right;" |100% |
The religious composition of the ward at the 2021 Census was recorded as:
| class="wikitable"
| colspan="14" style="text-align:right;" |Washingborough: Religion: 2021 Census |
| Religious
!Population ! % |
|---|
| Christian
| style="text-align:right;" |3,578 | style="text-align:right;" |59.3% |
| Irreligious
| style="text-align:right;" |2,414 | style="text-align:right;" |40% |
| Other religion
| style="text-align:right;" |13 | style="text-align:right;" |0.2% |
| Hindu
| style="text-align:right;" |10 | style="text-align:right;" |0.2% |
| Muslim
| style="text-align:right;" |8 | style="text-align:right;" |0.2% |
| Buddhist
| style="text-align:right;" |6 | style="text-align:right;" |0.2% |
| Jewish
| style="text-align:right;" |6 | style="text-align:right;" |0.2% |
| Sikh
| style="text-align:right;" |3 | style="text-align:right;" |0.1% |
| Total
| style="text-align:right;" |6,385 | style="text-align:right;" |100% |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Washingborough}}
- [http://www.washingborough.lincs.sch.uk Washingborough Primary School]
- [http://www.heureka.clara.net/lincolnshire/washingborough.htm Village history]
- [http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Washingborough Parish council]
- [http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2005_wash.html Washingborough on Time team]
- [http://www.thelovens.co.uk/wag/ Washingborough Archaeology Group]
- {{OpenDomesday|TF0170|washingborough|Washingborough}}
{{Portal bar|England|United Kingdom}}
{{Lincolnshire|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in Lincolnshire
Category:Civil parishes in Lincolnshire
Category:Archaeological sites in Lincolnshire
Category:Bronze Age sites in Lincolnshire
Category:North Kesteven District