Raithby by Spilsby
| Raithby by Spilsby | |
| Lincolnshire | |
|---|---|
 Holy Trinity Church, Raithby | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TF372671 |
| Location: | 53°11’3"N, -0°3’9"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 190 (2011 with Mavis Enderby) |
| Post town: | Spilsby |
| Postcode: | PE23 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Lindsey |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Louth and Horncastle |
Raithby by Spilsby or Raithby is a village in Lindsey, the northern part of Lincolnshire. It stands about two miles north-west of the town of Spilsby.
The village has associations with founder of Methodism, John Wesley, and with the Victorian architect, George Gilbert Scott.
Churches
The parish church, Holy Trinity, dates from the 12th century, although it was largely rebuilt in 1873 by Sir George Gilbert Scott.[1] The chancel was enlarged in 1886 by Temple Moore, and the tower renewed by Hodgson Fowler in 1895.[2]
The church is a Grade II* listed building[3] The lychgate is Grade II listed and dates from 1907. It was dedicated to the memory of Sophy Janet Rawnsley, of Raithby Hall.[4] In the grounds of the churchyard is a stone cross, mostly dating from 1903 but using part of an earlier shaft. The old base is not used and lies six feet away.[5][6]
The Methodist church, Raithby Chapel, is one of the oldest Methodist chapels in the world, and one of the few surviving chapels opened by John Wesley himself. The chapel was built over a stable block in the grounds of Raithby Hall in 1779 by Robert Carr Brackenbury, and was dedicated by Wesley on 5 July 1779. It is a Grade I listed building.[7][8]
History
Raithby is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Radebi", with 26 households, a mill and a church.[9]
The red-brick Raithby Hall was the seat of the Brackenbury and Rawnsley families, built around 1760 for Robert Carr Brackenbury and extended in 1848 and 1873 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. It is now an old peoples home, and is Grade II listed.[10]
This village played an important role in the spread of Methodism in Lincolnshire. After visiting Raithby in 1788, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, declared it ‘an earthly paradise’.[11] In 1779 Raithby Chapel was built in the grounds of Raithby Hall and was dedicated by Wesley on 5 July 1779.
The children of Raithby were served by a village school from 1668 when Thomas Lawford founded a Free School where children from Raithby, Mavis Enderby, Hundleby and Sausthorpe were educated. The school was rebuilt in 1866 to hold 45 pupils. By the 1870s it was known as Raithby and Mavis Enderby School, and Raithby and Enderby CE School by 1925. It closed on 21 December 1949.[12]
Community
Raithby is alone in the Lincolnshire countryside. Nearby attractions include the birthplace of Alfred, Lord Tennyson at Somersby, and that of the explorer Sir John Franklin at Spilsby.
The village pub, the Red Lion is of the mid-18th-century and a Grade II listed building.[13][14]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Raithby by Spilsby) |
References
- ↑ Gilbert Scott: Holy Trinity, Raithby by Spilsby
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 354058 – Holy Trinity, Raithby
- ↑ National Heritage List 1063584: Holy Trinity Raithby (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1146578: Lychgate, Raithby
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 354058 – Churchyard Cross, Raithby
- ↑ National Heritage List 1063585: Churchyard Cross, Raithby (Grade II listing)
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 546287 – Raithby Chapel
- ↑ National Heritage List 1063583: Raithby Chapel (Grade I listing)
- ↑ Raithby by Spilsby in the Domesday Book
- ↑ National Heritage List 1166361: Raithby Hall (Grade II listing)
- ↑ John Wesley Journal of the Revered John Wesley, Sept 13 1773 to Jan 2 1776, p.418
- ↑ Raithby and Enderby CE School: Lincs to the Past
- ↑ The Red Lion at Raithby: Spilsby Info
- ↑ National Heritage List 1146585: Red Lion Inn, Raithby (Grade II listing)