Candlesby with Gunby

Candlesby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Candlesby with Gunby, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 5 miles (8 km) east from Spilsby. Gunby is a hamlet about 1 mile (1.6 km) east from Candlesby. In 1961 the parish had a population of 144.

Gunby Hall is a country house in Gunby, near Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, England, reached by a one-half-mile-long (800 m) private drive. The Estate comprises the 42-room Gunby Hall, listed Grade I, a clocktower, listed Grade II* and a carriage house and stable block which are listed Grade II. In 1944 the trustees of the Gunby Hall Estate, Lady Montgomery-Massingberd, Major Norman Leith-Hay-Clarke and Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, gave the house to the National Trust together with its contents and some 1,500 acres (610 ha) of land.

Scremby is a village in the civil parish of Ashby with Scremby, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated about 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east from Spilsby. In 1971 the parish had a population of 57. On 1 April 1987 the parish was abolished and merged with Ashby by Partney to form "Ashby with Scremby". Scremby's red-brick church was built in 1733, and is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It is a Grade II* listed building. Scremby Hall was home to the Brackenbury family, although the last resident family member left to live in Wimbledon, Surrey in 1937. It was demolished in the 1970s. Scremby Manor was a 16th-century building with alterations in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It is Grade II listed. Scremby's C of E school – known as Scremby and Ashby C of E School from 1903 to 1935 – closed in 1960.

Ashby with Scremby is a civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 147 (2001 census), increasing to 179 at the 2011 census. The parish includes the village of Scremby, along with the hamlets of Ashby by Partney and Grebby. Rather than an elected parish council, local democracy is served by a Parish meeting. The parish is bisected by the A158 road from Lincoln to Skegness, and the Bluestone Heath Road (A1020) forms a short part of the North-eastern parish boundary. The South-western boundary is in the valley of the Steeping River.

Monksthorpe is a hamlet in the district of East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England. It lies 3 miles (5 km) east from the town of Spilsby and north from the village of Great Steeping . Monksthorpe chapel is a Grade II* listed building dating from 1701, now in the care of the National Trust. In the grounds is a Grade II* listed open air total submersion font, believed to be one of only two in the country.

Royal Air Force Spilsby or more simply RAF Spilsby is a former Royal Air Force station during the Second World War and the Cold War located in the rural village of Great Steeping, near the market town of Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England.

Welton le Marsh (or Welton in the Marsh) is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 6 miles (10 km) north-east from the town of Spilsby and approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south from the town of Alford. The hamlet of Boothby lies within the parish, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Welton le Marsh village. The name 'Welton le Marsh' derives from the Old English Wella-tun meaning 'farm/settlement with a spring/stream'. Marsh was added to distinguish from the other villages named Welton in Lincolnshire. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Martin, and was originally medieval, but rebuilt in 1792 of stone and brick, and restored in 1891. It is a Grade II* listed building. A Neolithic flint axe and perforated stone hammer head were found here in 1948 and 1906. A Bronze Age flanged axe was found just outside moated area at Hanby Hall Farm. The remains of a motte are located about 275 yards (251 m) east of Hanby Hall Farm. The motte is about 5.5 yards (5.0 m) high, and surrounded by a ditch. Thwaite Hall is a Grade II listed building, reputedly part of a former Augustinian Priory, with attached cottage; the present house dates from the 14th century. The Lincs to the Past website describes it as the site of an Augustinian Cell belonging to Thornton Abbey which was recorded in 1440 and which still existed in 1536. Welton le Marsh has a local public house, The Wheel Inn. Also within the parish is Candlesby Hill Quarry, a nature reserve which was once Gunby estate chalk pit. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) maintained by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. In June 1893, two Welton-le-Marsh residents with the names Johnson and Kime were violently killed after wandering onto part of the East Lincolnshire Railway between Willoughby and Alford. Having not noticed the oncoming train, Johnson was decapitated, his head resting nearly a hundred yards from the body, and Kime was severely mutilated.

Firsby railway station was a station in Firsby, Lincolnshire. It served as a main line station and a terminus for two branch lines to Skegness and Spilsby respectively. The station was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries for seaside connections to Skegness, but was recommended for closure in the Beeching Report and closed in 1970. The station was mostly demolished.

Burgh-le-Marsh was a railway station on the East Lincolnshire Railway which served the town of Burgh le Marsh in Lincolnshire between 1848 and 1970. It originally opened as Burgh, but was renamed in 1923. Withdrawal of goods facilities took place in 1966, followed by passenger services in 1970. The line through the station is now closed.

Bratoft is a small hamlet in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) east from Spilsby, 2 miles (3 km) west from Burgh Le Marsh, and south from the A158 road. Bratoft Grade II listed Anglican church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. The church was completely restored in 1890. The octagonal font dates from the early 15th century, and the chancel screen and parclose screens date from about 1460. On the north wall of the tower interior hangs a picture of the Armada, signed "Robert Stephenson". Between pictorial elements for England, Scotland, Ireland and France is depicted the Armada as a red dragon. The text beneath states: Spaine's proud Armado with great strength and powerGreat Britain's state came gapeing to devour,This Dragon's guts, like Pharaos scattered hoast,Lay splitt and drowned upon the Irish coast.For of eight score save two ships sent from SpaineBut twenty-five scarce sound return'd again. Non nobis Domine In 1747 the preacher and biblical commentator Thomas Scott was born in Bratoft. Near Bratoft is Gunby Hall, a National Trust property open to the public, a red-brick house, dating from 1700, with Victorian walled gardens, which Tennyson described as a "haunt of ancient peace", It is alleged that Sir William Massingberd's daughter tried to elope with one of his postilion riders but her father shot the man dead. Sir William was sentenced to appear in London annually at which time the family coat of arms was smeared with blood. It proved too much so Sir William demolished the family seat at Bratoft Castle and built Gunby Hall in 1700. It's said the ghosts of his daughter and the man walk on the path near the hall. Also within the village is Whitegates Cottage, a small thatched cottage dating from c.1770. Bratoft Meadow is an area of semi-natural species rich grassland. In 1970 a fertilizer experiment was set up to examine the effect of different forms and rates of fertilizer application on the conservation value of this type of old meadow. The particular species of interest in this study was the Green-winged Orchid Orchis morio.

Great Steeping is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 3 miles (5 km) from Spilsby. The parish includes the hamlet of Monksthorpe. There are two churches dedicated to All Saints, one being redundant and now known as Old All Saints. Old All Saints, built in 1748 on the site of a medieval church, and restored in 1908, is a Grade II* listed building. The Diocese of Lincoln declared it redundant in August 1973. In the grounds is the socket stone of a medieval churchyard cross which is an ancient scheduled monument.All Saints Church was built of red brick in 1891, after a design by William Bassett-Smith. It is Grade II listed, and has a listed churchyard cross.Great Steeping Primary School was built in 1859, and later run by the Great Steeping School Board from 1876 to 1903 as Great Steeping Board School.Kelsey Hall dates from 1854 but occupies the site of an earlier manor house which burnt down. It is first noted in 1507 as "Kelsayhall" and its name derives from the Kelsey family associated with Great Steeping. Old documents refer to "William de Kellessay in Steping" in 1299, and Ralph de Kelsay in 1327. Kelsey Hall is a private house.Great Steeping was also the base for RAF Spilsby, which originally was to be on the site of Gunby Park. However, after an appeal by Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd of Gunby Hall to the King, the RAF Steeping airfield was built as RAF Spilsby. It opened in September 1943, and in 1944 RAF Spilsby, RAF Strubby, and RAF East Kirkby joined to become the newly formed 55 Base with headquarters at East Kirkby. In September 1944 RAF Spilsby became a station for two Lancaster squadrons, the 207 and 44. It was taken over by No 2 Armament Practice School from 1945 until November 1946, after which the station was placed on care and maintenance until 1955. It re-opened to host ground units of the USAF until they moved out in 1958.

Skendleby Priory was a priory in the village of Skendleby, Lincolnshire, England. 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, and recorded by Bede in the seventh century. Bardney Abbey was founded no later than 697, but destroyed by a Danish raid in 869.