Coningsby

For the novel by Benjamin Disraeli, see Coningsby (novel).

Coordinates: 53°06′18″N 0°10′31″W / 53.1051°N 0.1752°W / 53.1051; -0.1752

Coningsby
High Street (A153)
Coningsby  Coningsby shown within Lincolnshire
Population	3,238 (Parish)
OS grid reference	TF2258
District	East Lindsey
Shire county	Lincolnshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LINCOLN
Postcode district	LN4
Dialling code	01526
Police	Lincolnshire
Fire	Lincolnshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Louth and Horncastle
List of places: UK • England • Lincolnshire

Coningsby ( /ˈkʌnɪŋzbɪ/) is a village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.

Geography

Bridge over the River Bain

Taking its name from the Old Norse 'konungr' meaning 'King' with an Old Norse suffix 'by' meaning 'the settlement of' which gives Coningsby the meaning 'The Settlement of the King'. Coningsby lies 8 miles (13 km) south of Horncastle on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, with the Lincolnshire Wolds to the west and the Fens to the east. The B1192 Kirton to Woodhall Spa road passes through the town. At its western end it meets the village of Tattershall, demarcated by the River Bain. A railway line once passed through the village which opened on 1 July 1913 and closed on 5 July 1970. The Coldham Road Industrial Estate now occupies the site of the Former Railway Station. The Line was officially known as 'The Kirkstead and Little Steeping Railway' though it was universally known by the local people and the railway workers as 'The New Line'.

Education

Coningsby St Michael's CE Primary School is on School Lane. The secondary modern school, the Gartree Community School, is just outside the Coningsby boundary in Tattershall, near the A153. Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle provides sixth form education with enrollment open to pupils graduating from both Gartree and other Secondary Modern Schools.

The nearest FE college is in Boston. In late March 2008, renovation on the Tattershall/Coningsby Library included a small learning centre provided by Boston College.^{[citation needed]}

Parish church

St Michael and All Angels church

Coningsby is overseen by the tower of its 15th century parish church, ‘St Michael's’ with its unique one-handed clock face. One of the few in the country (there is another at St Andrew's in Holt, Norfolk), it is claimed by the Coningsby Parish Council to be the largest of its kind in the world. The face is painted directly onto the wall of the tower and was probably installed in the 17th century. It is 16.5 feet in diameter and its hand is nearly 9 feet long. The driving weights are large stones and the pendulum is so long that it swings only once every two seconds. The pendulum is not actually attached to the clock; it is some distance away, linked by a long connecting rod. There are only three wheels in the timekeeping mechanism but it keeps excellent time^{[says who?]} and needs winding once a day. The tower on which the clock face is painted is quite unusual in that it is on the outside of the building. There is an arched passage under the tower which is part of a public footpath from the [A153] High Street to the School on School lane, through the churchyard.

Amenities

Public houses include the Black Swan and the White Bull, both on High Street, and also the Lea Gate Inn on Leagate Road (B1192).

RAF Coningsby

Typhoon takes off in February 2008

Half a mile (1 km) to the south of the village lies RAF Coningsby, one of the Royal Air Force’s most important stations, home of No. XI Squadron, No. 3 Squadron, No. XVII Squadron and No. 29 Squadron. The base is part of Britain’s heritage, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight formed in 1957 to commemorate the Royal Air Force's major battle honours, with a Lancaster, five Spitfires, two Hurricanes and a Dakota. These aircraft still fly and can be seen at air shows during summer.^{[citation needed]}

From 1950 RAF Coningsby was home to three squadrons of Washingtons, the RAF name for the American B29 bombers, and for the first 18 months these were maintained by National Service technicians whose conscription was extended to 24 months because of their particular skills.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Coningsby Town Council
• "St Michael & All Angels, Coningsby", geograph.org.uk
• "River Bain, Coningsby", geograph.org.uk
• "Railway Bridge at Coningsby", geograph.org.uk