Skendleby is a small village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated near to the A158 and lies 35 miles (56 km) east from the county town Lincoln, and about 4 miles (6 km) north-east from the town of Spilsby. The village stands near the south-eastern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds.[2]
History
A chalk long barrow, Giants Hill, was built here for seven adults and a child, whose remains were found on chalk slabs at the south-east edge of the site.[3][4]
The believed remains of St James Chapel, Skendleby Priory, were uncovered during archaeological investigations and excavations in 2005. It was a small cell to Bardney Abbey built by Walter de Gant in the 12th century. It is possible that an earlier Saxon monastery may also be near the site of the cell, Bede having mentioned a monastery 'near Partney', in the 7th century.[7][8] Bardney Abbey was founded no later than 697, but fell into decline, during the 9th century. It is reputed to have been destroyed by a Danish raid in 869, but this is unlikely.[7][9]
Bardney Abbey was refounded by Gilbert de Gant who re-dedicated it to Saint Peter and Saint Paul.[9] A St Peter's church at Skendleby was given to the monks of Bardney by Gilbert De Gant, sometime prior to 1094.[6] The present Grade II listed church of St Peter and St Paul dates from the 13th and 14th centuries, and was restored in 1875 by George Gilbert Scott.[10]
Skendleby Hall dates from the mid-18th century with some later alterations and additions. It is Grade II listed.[11]
Historical demography
The village has never had a large population, peaking in the mid-19th century and falling to around 160 residents by 2001.
Skendleby public house is the Blacksmith's Arms. A Translinc bus service runs through the village daily.
Skendleby National School opened in 1844, and later became Skendleby Church of England School. The school closed on 18 July 1969, after which most village children attended school in the neighbouring village of Partney.[13]
RAF Skendleby
One mile north-east of Skendleby was the location of RAF Skendleby Chain Home Low radar station, with a 200-foot (61 m) wooden mast on the top of a nearby manmade hillock, that operated during the Second World War between 1941 and 1945. In 1950 the site was developed further by the RAF with the addition of a two-storey underground facility excavated to house a ROTOR ground control intercept station that operated during the Cold War.
The RAF handed over the site during the late 1960s and it became a civil defence regional headquarters that controlled Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Redesignated as Regional Government HQ 3.1 in the 1980s and with an additional two underground floors added, the only above ground structures are four ventilators on the mound together with a radio mast. A small building, disguised as a bungalow, conceals the heavy blast doors and stairs down to the nuclear proof bunker. The site was sold in 2000 and the whole facility is now in private ownership and believed to be used for secure storage.[14]
