Editing Metheringham

{{Short description|English village in North Kesteven district, Lincolnshire}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox UK place 
|country = England
|static_image_name = High Street, Metheringham - geograph.org.uk - 813466.jpg
|static_image_caption = Metheringham High Street
|official_name = Metheringham
|coordinates = {{coord|53.1391|-0.4034|display=inline,title}}
|map_type = Lincolnshire
|civil_parish = Metheringham
|shire_district = [[North Kesteven]]
|population = 3,605
|population_ref = (2011)
|shire_county = [[Lincolnshire]]
|region = East Midlands
|post_town = LINCOLN
|postcode_district = LN4 
|postcode_area = LN
|dial_code = 01526
|os_grid_reference = TF069615
|constituency_westminster = [[Sleaford and North Hykeham (UK Parliament constituency)|Sleaford and North Hykeham]]
|london_distance_mi = 115<!-- straight line per MOS – constant and comparable with other place distances -->   
|london_direction = S  
}}
'''Metheringham''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[North Kesteven]] [[Non-metropolitan district|district]] of [[Lincolnshire]], England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 3,605.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11126510&c=metheringham+cp&d=16&e=62&g=6446801&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1464086481641&enc=1 |title=Civil Parish population 2011 |accessdate=24 May 2016 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref> It is about {{convert|9|mi|km|0}} south of [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]] and {{convert|10|mi|km|0}} north of [[Sleaford]]. The centre of the village is a conservation area.

==History==
The village is a documented settlement in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' of 1086<ref>{{OpenDomesday |OS=TF0661 |name=Metheringham |display=Metheringham/ |accessdate=6 June 2013}}</ref> and is thought to date from Saxon times. It appears to be associated with the name "Medrich". The addition of the plural ending "-es" together with the familiar "-ham" ending is thought to have produced "Medrichesham" (the homestead of Medrich), which in time became corrupted into the modern name of the village. The earliest surviving document relating specifically to the village dates from 24 June 1314, in the reign of [[Edward II of England|Edward II]]. In July 1599, a great fire left only a few houses standing. It started in a gully that ran the length of the village street.<ref>The Origins of 'Meg' [http://www.macla.co.uk/meg/index.php Retrieved 10 April 2014.]</ref>

''White's 1842 Directory of Lincolnshire'' called Metheringham "a large improving village, on a gentle declivity, between Lincoln Heath and the Cardyke [[canal|navigation]], 9 miles S. E. of Lincoln. Its parish increased its population from 536 in 1801, to 880 in 1831, to 1197 in 1841,and contains 5682A[cres], 1R[ood], 32P[erches] of land." It also notes, "An ancient Cross, which stood in the village, was replaced by a new one in 1835, at the cost of about £25, and a market is now held round it on Saturday evenings. The drainage of the parish is aided by a steam engine of 25-horse power, and has dried an ancient spring called Holywell." It describes the church (see below) and adds, "Here is a Wesleyan Chapel, erected in 1840. A School was established by subscription in 1841, and there is a flourishing Sick Club, and also a Cow Club. The poor parishioners have 3R.37P. of land left by one Colley; and an annuity of £3, left by John Ellis in 1829."<ref>Metheringham 1842. [http://www.macla.co.uk/census/meg1842.php Retrieved 10 April 2014.] Details of development in the rest of the 19th century appear in the 1892 edition: [http://www.macla.co.uk/census/meg1892.php Retrieved 10 April 2014.]</ref>

The village war memorial records the names of 42 men who died for their country in the First World War and eight who fell in the Second World War.<ref>Metheringham highlights. [http://www.macla.co.uk/meg/highlite.php Retrieved 10 April 2014.]</ref>

===Notable person===
The village was the birthplace of [[H. F. Ellis]] (1907–2000), a writer who developed the comic schoolmaster character A. J. Wentworth B. A. in the magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' and later in ''[[The New Yorker]]''.<ref>Obituary. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/1377909/H-F-Ellis.html Retrieved 10 April 2014.]</ref>

==Geography==
Metheringham lies {{convert|3|mi|km|1}} east of the [[Lincoln Cliff]] [[escarpment]], on the western edge of [[fen]]land extending south-east towards [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]] and [[The Wash]]. It lies on the north–south [[B1188 road|B1188]] between [[Ruskington]] and [[Branston, Lincolnshire|Branston]], and on the east–west [[B1202 road|B1202]] and [[B1189 road|B1189]] roads. [[Dunston, Lincolnshire|Dunston]] is {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} to the north, and [[Scopwick]] and [[Blankney]] are to the south. The railway station is in Station Road (B1189). The centre of the village is a conservation area. To the west and the [[A15 road (England)|A15]] is Metheringham Heath, on which is a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest|SSSI]] at a local quarry.

===Metheringham Fen, Sots Hole and Tanvats===
To the east is Metheringham Fen, across which lies Metheringham Delph that drains into the [[River Witham]] from where it connects to the [[Car Dyke]] near an old wartime airfield.<ref>[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/434025 Airfield].</ref> The Metheringham Delph was recommended for designation as a [[Site of Nature Conservation Interest|local wildlife area]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-01/appendix_4_to_the_local_wildlife_sites_review_report_2010-11.pdf|title=Local Wildlife Sites Review: North Kesteven Surveys|publisher=[[North Kesteven]] District Council|year=2010|pages=276-280|access-date=22 February 2025}}</ref> The area has historically been a centre for potato cultivation, and agricultural workers lived at two [[Hamlet (place)|hamlets]] on the fen, Tanvats and Sots Hole. Their needs were served by two schools, a church, a shop and a public house. All were gone by the 1980s, as agricultural mechanisation saw a decline in employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metheringham.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/parish-information/sots-hole-tanvats/1|title=Sots Hole and Tanvats|publisher=Lincolnshire Parish Councils|access-date=22 February 2025}}</ref>

==Community==
Metheringham is known to locals as "Meg". The population of the built-up area was estimated at 3,595 in 2018.<ref>[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/lincolnshire/E34000304__metheringham/ City Population site. Retrieved 5 June 2020.]</ref>

The parish church <ref>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecoheathen/2325759117/ Photograph of church.]</ref> of St Wilfrid belongs to the Metheringham group with Blankney and Dunston. There is a [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/813406 Methodist church], built in 1907 by the architect [[Albert Edward Lambert]].{{citation needed|date=April 2012}} San Damiano House is one of five houses in England of the [[Community of St. Francis]], a [[Franciscan]] [[Anglican religious order]] for women.<ref>Site of Society of St Francis, European Order. [http://www.franciscans.org.uk/where-we-are/around-the-houses Retrieved 10 April 2014.]</ref>

The village has a primary school, a High Street cafe, a [[Lincolnshire Co-operative Society|Co-op]] store, and a traditional butcher's shop, which has been trading for over 80 years. It has four pubs: the ''Star & Garter'' in Prince's Street,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/lincolnian/219282708/ | title=The Star & Garter, Metheringham, Lincolnshire | date=19 August 2006 }}</ref> the ''White Hart Inn'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/lincolnian/221869042/ | title=The White Hart, Metheringham, Lincolnshire | date=22 August 2006 }}</ref> the ''Lincolnshire Poacher'' in High Street, and the ''Londesborough Arms''.

Metheringham is served by an hourly daytime, Monday-to-Saturday bus between Boston and Lincoln, provided by Brylaine. This runs less frequently on Sundays. Other services run to South Kyme (P. C. Coaches) and to Sleaford (Road Car).<ref>Travel Search [http://www.carlberry.co.uk/rfnlistr.asp?L1=MET0060&op=B Retrieved 7 December 2012].</ref> There are regular direct Monday-to-Saturday train services to Lincoln, [[Doncaster]], [[Sleaford]], [[Spalding, Lincolnshire|Spalding]], [[Peterborough]], and [[Leicester]].<ref>Trainline Europe [http://www.thetrainline-europe.com/station/metheringham~7001576 Retrieved 7 December 2015].</ref>

==See also==
*[[Metheringham railway station]]
*[[Spring line settlement]]s
*[[Metheringham Windmill]]
*[[RAF Metheringham]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline|Metheringham}}
*[http://www.metheringham.lincs.sch.uk Metheringham primary school]
*[http://www.macla.co.uk Metheringham and District Community website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080516235121/http://www.stwilfrids.org.uk/ St Wilfrid's church]
*[http://www.metheringhamairfield.org Metheringham Airfield]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB50HNO9-jA "Jet-powered luge - a tea tray on wheels"], ''[[Lincolnshire Echo]]'' YouTube channel
*[http://www.metheringhamfc01.co.uk Metheringham Football Club]

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{{Lincolnshire|state=collapsed}}

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[[Category:Villages in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:North Kesteven District]]