Caistor
| Caistor | |
| Lincolnshire | |
|---|---|
 Caistor Market Place | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TA1101 |
| Location: | 53°29’38"N, 0°19’19"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,601 (2001) |
| Post town: | Market Rasen |
| Postcode: | LN7 |
| Dialling code: | 01472 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | West Lindsey |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Gainsborough |
Caistor is a town in Lincolnshire, in Lindsey. As its name implies, it was originally a Roman ‘’castrum’’ or fortress.[1]
The village stands at the northwest edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, on the Viking Way, and just off the A46 between Lincoln and Grimsby, at the A46, A1084, A1173 and B1225 junction. It has a population of 2,601 recorded in 2001.
The name "Caistor" comes from the Old English ceaster, which is itself derived from the Latin castra meaning "fortress". Names with ceaster often label ancient camps or Roman towns. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the name is given as Castre.[2]
Buildings
Only a few fragments of the 4th century walls remain; for example, the original Roman wall is visible on the southern boundary of the parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul.[1] The area occupied by the fortress is now classified as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[1] The church of St. Peter and St. Paul which is enclosed within the fortress has an Anglo-Saxon tower.[3] The market square lies at the heart of a conservation area which contains 56, mainly Grade II, listed buildings. In numerical terms, the number of listed buildings makes Caistor the most important Conservation Area in western Lindsey; many of the buildings are Georgian or Victorian.
Notable buildings in the town include Caistor Grammar School, founded in 1633,[4] and Sessions House, built in 1662.
In 2010, the remains of a 4th-century Roman cemetery were found during the development of a new Co-op supermarket.[5][6][7]
RAF Caistor
Opened in 1940, RAF Caistor was built as a relief airfield for RAF Kirton in Lindsey, and also used for flying training from its grass runways. Closed in 1945, it later reopened as a nuclear missile base.
Between 1959 and 1963 Caistor was manned by No. 269 Squadron RAF equipped with three Thor missiles. The site has now returned to agricultural use, and little remains of the military facilities.[8][9]
Audleby
Audleby is a hamlet just north of Fonaby. It is described in the Domesday Book as having 33 households, which at the time was considered quite large. Today it is listed as a deserted mediæval village, or DMV.[10] Audleby House on Brigg Road is a Grade II listed building.[11]
Fonaby
Fonaby is a hamlet and deserted mediæval village just north of Caistor, recorded in the Domesday Book as having 18 households and three acres of meadow, and held by The King.[12][13]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Caistor) |
- Caistor Poor Law Union
- Caistor Grammar School
- Caistor.net
- Caistor in the Domesday Book
- Audleby in the Domesday Book
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Monuments Record: No. 80330 – Roman remains in Caistor
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 925982 – Caistor in Domesday and as a Borough
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 80342 – Church
- ↑ Leach, A.F., ed (1906). A History of the county of Lincoln. Victoria County History. 2. p. 487.
- ↑ "BBC report of Co-op cemetery find". BBC News. 10 July 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10585564.
- ↑ "Co-op report of co-op cemetery find". http://www.lincolnshire.coop/content.asp?PageID=659.
- ↑ "Archaeological contractors for co-op dig, passing mention to ongoing work. Report will be published here". http://www.pre-construct.co.uk/about%20pca.htm.
- ↑ RAF-lincolnshire-info.com (retrieved 8 September 2010)
- ↑ wartimememories.co.uk (retrieved 8 Septembner 2010)
- ↑ "Audleby DMV". Lincs to the Past. Lincolnshire Archives. http://www.lincstothepast.com/SITE-OF-AUDLEBY-DMV/233619.record?pt=S. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1166088: Audleby House
- ↑ "Fonaby". Domesday Map. Anna Powell-Smith/University of Hull. http://www.domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TA1002/fonaby/. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 80359 – Fonaby DMV