Normanby-by-Spital
Normanby-by-Spital is both a village and a parish 11 miles north of the city of Lincoln, near the crossroads known as "Spital" for the hospital that used to be there (see Hemswell). Caenby parish lies to the north and Glentworth parish to the west. The parish and village are centered about 7 miles west of Market Rasen. The parish covers about 1,750 acres.
Normanby-by-Spital (often, just "Normanby") village is just east of the Roman Road known as Ermine Street. If you are planning a visit:
- Take the A15 north out of Lincoln for about eight miles. Just before you get to the to the A631, turn right to Normanby.
- See our touring page for visitor services.
- The parish was in the North-East sub-district of the Lincoln Registration District.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1841 |
H.O. 107 / 629 & 641 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2363 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3376 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2596 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.
- The church was extensively renovated in 1890.
- The church seats about 100.
- A photograph of Saints Peter and Paul Church is at the Wendy Parkinson English Church Photographs site.
- Here is a photo of Saints Peter and Paul Church taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- The parish register dates from 1653.
- The Lincolnshire FHS has a Loan Library service which has the parish registers on microfiche for Baptisms from 1654 to 1812 and Marriages from 1654 to 1812.
- The LFHS has published several marriage indexes and a burial index for the Lawres Deanery to make your search easier.
- The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here before 1842, as did the Free Methodists before 1900. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was in the North-East sub-district of the Lincoln Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
- The Bottle and Glass pub was open for duration of the war (WW2), as it was a frequent rest-stop for local airmen. Residents of the village remember the Dambusters raid, hearing the Lancasters going overhead and being concerned that they were "struggling" to keep in the air. [Jean Pryde]
- See: David J TAYLOR, "I Remember Normanby... Life on a Lincolnshire Estate Between the Wars," publ: Scunthorpe Museums & The Hutton Press, 1994. ISBN 1 872167 62 4.
- The national grid reference is TF 0088.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- RAF Normanby opened in June 1940 as a "Wireless Telegraphy Transmitting Station," which means it sent out Direction Finding signals for Allied planes returning to bases in Lincolnshire. It was administered, at first, by RAF Hemswell.
- After hostilities ended, the site was home to a Signals Unit. In the 1950s, stations like RAF Normanby were used to stay in constant communication with airborne RAF units in case the Cold War turned hot.
- Around 1960, control of the unit was transfered to RAF Scampton.
- The unit was shut down in APril 1985 (sources are vague on this date).
- Shortly after 1996 the old transmission towers were taken down.
- The MOD returned the site to the land owner between 1994 and 1996.
- The site is now owned by the Normanby Youth Club.
- Near the church stands the War Memorial.
- The name Normanby is from the Old English and Old Scandinavian Northman+by, or "Northman village". In the 1086 Domesday Book, the village is given as Normanebi.
[A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991].
- Jean Pryde tells us that the name is pronounced by locals as "NOR-rum-bi". Lynda Gurr insists that it's more like "Noh-ram-bee".
- This place was an ancient parish in Lincoln county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the East division of the ancient Aslacoe Wapentake in the West Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
- Today's district governance is provided by the West Lindsey District Council.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Lincoln (Bail and Close) petty session hearings on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month.
- In 1662, Mr. Robert SKERNE left a charity that yielded 13s and 4d per year in 1842 for poor parishioners.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Lincoln Poor Law Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
235 |
| 1831 |
430 |
| 1841 |
471 |
| 1851 |
514 |
| 1871 |
458 |
| 1881 |
397 |
| 1891 |
347 |
| 1911 |
312 |
- A School Board was formed on 15 February 1876 to cover both this parish and nearby Owmby.
- A Board School was built in 1878 to hold up to 130 children.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
Last updated on 14-April-2015
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