Visit South Willingham Places

Welcome to Visit South Willingham Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in South Willingham

  

South Willingham Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about South Willingham

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South Willingham history

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There are four bowl barrows at the east of the parish adjacent to the B1125 High Street; two within the parish boundary, and two just outside with one each in Gayton le Wold and Burgh on Bain (at 53°20′41″N 0°10′40″W / 53.344792°N 0.177693°W / 53.344792; -0.177693). The latter appears in Historic England’s 2021 Heritage at Risk report. These Bronze Age burial mounds date from 2400 to 1500 BC. Aerial photographs and early OS Maps show evidence of further barrows, now destroyed, north-east from Inns Farm which is north-west from the village on Hainton Road close to the neighbouring parish of Hainton. A Royal Observer Corps nuclear monitoring post was installed in the bowl barrow on the High Street, close to the junction with the Donington Road in 1959. Officially known as the Burgh on Bain Post, it was used until 1991. In 1964 Beaker Pottery dating from about 1150-1400BC was found close to the sand pit at the end of Moors Lane. Willingham derives from the hām—Old English for homestead, village, manor or estate—of Willa’s people. South Willingham is recorded in the Domesday Book as “Ulingeham”, in the hundred of Wraggoe, and contained three manors owned by different lords. The first contained 11 villagers and two smallholders, with four ploughlands, 2.5 lord’s and 2 men’s plough teams, and a meadow of 77 acres (31 ha). The lord in 1066 was Almer, the lordship passing in 1086 to William of Verley, who controlled 10 manors in north-east Lincolnshire under the archbishop of St Peter’s, York, Thomas of Bayeux, who became tenant-in-chief to king William I. The second contained four villagers and one smallholder, with 1.6 ploughlands, one lord’s and one men’s plough team, and a meadow of 36 acres (15 ha). The lord in 1066 was Eskil, the lordship passing in 1086 to Wadard—a nobleman depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry—under Odo of Bayeux as tenant-in-chief to the king. The third contained 13 freemen, 2.5 ploughlands, three men’s plough teams and a meadow of 40 acres (16 ha). The lord in 1066 was Koddi, the lordship passing in 1086 to Gerard under Rainer of Brimeux as tenant-in-chief to the king. By c.1115 South Willingham is written in documentary evidence as ‘Willingheham’, in 1121–23 as ‘Welingeham’, and c.1160 as ‘Wellingeham’. There is aerial photographic evidence that the developed area of the village extended over the field to the north of Barkwith Road and to the west of Hainton Road. However the first OS map (published 1856) shows it in its current position. Before the 1870s Woodbine Cottage at the centre of the village served as the Post Office; from the 1870s the post office had transferred to a village shop opposite, which was run subsequently by the same family until it closed in the 1980s. There has never been a public house in the village. A pinfold is shown on the 1888 map at the edge of the village on Barkwith Road, where the village sign is currently located. It has gone on the 1906 map. South Willingham had both a Wesleyan and a Free Methodist chapel, built in 1834 and 1855 respectively. The Wesleyan chapel, on Barkwith Road and close to the centre of the village, closed in 1972. The Free Methodist Chapel, sited further along Barkwith Road, closed in 1933; both are now converted to dwellings. A school was built on Blacksmith Lane in 1834 for 30 children (the 1885 Kelly’s Directory, the first to mention the school, says 40 children, but subsequent issues say 30). Average attendance was reported as 16 children in 1885, 22 in 1889, 18 in 1909 and 13 in 1913. It closed in 1918. The remaining children transferred to the school in Hainton, the South Willingham building since converted to a residence. A tower windmill was sited to the north-east from Mill Cottages on the Barkwith Road. The corn mill was built around the 1850s [a miller living at Mill House first appears in the 1861 census] and fitted with six sails by Saundersons of Louth, but converted to four sails in the 1890s. The sails were removed in 1935 and the tower was demolished in 1958. When working, this mill also served a sizable area to the western side of the village as neighbouring mills on the central Lincolnshire vale were some distance away. Taken from the 1888 OS map, these mills included two at Wragby (4.5 miles (7.2 km) away from the South Willingham mill by road), Market Rasen (7.5 miles (12.1 km)), two at Ludford (6.3 miles (10.1 km)) and at Hemingby (9 miles (14.5 km)). However, to the east of the village there were two corn mills just outside the parish boundary. Benniworth Windmill was located 120 yards (110 m) from the eastern parish boundary and close to Donington on Bain. Donington on Bain water mill was only a further 350m away. Other neighbouring mills to the east included the windmill at Goulceby (6.5 miles (10.5 km) south east) and the water mill at Burgh on Bain (5.2 miles (8.4 km)). A medieval windmill stood on the southern parish boundary, to the west of the Benniworth Road. The mound for this mill was discovered using aerial photographs and is recorded on the 1978 OS Map and subsequent maps as a Mill Mound. The 1856 First edition OS Map shows a building there but later maps show an empty field. Much of the village formed part of the Heneage Estate; Hainton Hall is a mile north of the village. The woodwork of the estate buildings were painted a distinctive Post Office red. Most of the remaining land was owned by the Church, with Glebe Farm (now called Grange Farm) providing for the upkeep of the Church and the living that supported the Rector. Land to the east of the High Street forms part of the Stenigot Estate. In 1957 the Heneage Estate auctioned off 34 dwellings and smallholdings [over half the village] in South Willingham and further property in surrounding villages. The village came second in the 1979 Lincolnshire Best Kept Village competition (Class I; population between 100 and 500). It also came third in the 1983 competition. The award plaque is close to the phone kiosk at the centre of the village but that reads Best Kept Village 1980.

South Willingham landmarks

South Willingham’s Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Martin, and is Grade II* listed. The church, built of greenstone, was rebuilt between 1835 and 1838. The Belmont transmitting station is the second tallest structure in the UK and 14th in EU.

South Willingham geography / climate

The civil parish is 3.5 miles (6 km) east to west and 1.75 miles (3 km) north to south. It is on the western edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AOB) The main portion of the village was designated a conservation area in January 1994.

Topography

Situated on the first hill on the western edge of the Wolds, there is an uninterrupted view from the village to Lincoln Cathedral, 15 miles (24 km) across the Central Lincolnshire Vale. The village lies on a complex watershed with rain draining away in three different directions. The Witham flows into the North Sea at Boston.

Geology

The bedrock geology of the parish is also complex, as the parish lies on the boundary where clays and mudstones of the Central Lincolnshire Vale meet the chalk of the Wolds. The bedrock changes three times under the parish, specifically in the area between the village and the High Street.

You can visit South Willingham places with Walkfo South Willingham to hear history at South Willingham’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo South Willingham has 5 places to visit in our interactive South Willingham map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout South Willingham, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at South Willingham places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to South Willingham & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 5 audio facts unique to South Willingham places in an interactive South Willingham map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit South Willingham Places Map
5 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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South Willingham historic spots	South Willingham tourist destinations	South Willingham plaques	South Willingham geographic features
Walkfo South Willingham tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in South Willingham

  

Best South Willingham places to visit

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South Willingham has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied South Willingham’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo South Willingham’s information audio spots:

South Willingham South Willingham is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, and partly within the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its population was 160 at the 2011 census, down from a maximum of 341 in 1851. There are 7 listed buildings in the village, which include the Church and two thatched cottages in the centre.

Visit South Willingham plaques