Somerby (Juxta Bigby) Explained

Static Image Name:Church of St. Margaret, Somerby - geograph.org.uk - 118715.jpg
Static Image Caption:St Margaret's Church, Somerby
Country:England
Official Name:Somerby
Coordinates:53.5458°N -0.4002°W
Civil Parish:Somerby
Shire District:West Lindsey
Shire County:Lincolnshire
Region:East Midlands
Constituency Westminster:Gainsborough
Post Town:Barnetby
Postcode District:DN38
Postcode Area:DN
Os Grid Reference:TA061066
London Distance Mi:145
London Direction:S

Somerby (also known as Somerby juxta Bigby or Somerby by Brigg) is a hamlet and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 4miles east from the town of Brigg and in the ecclesiastical parish of Somerby.[1] Somerby lies in the Lincolnshire Wolds, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, between the villages of Bigby and Searby.

Church

The parish church, once described as a "small uninteresting edifice",[2] is a Grade II* listed building. It is dedicated to Saint Margaret[3] and dates from the 13th century with later additions. It was restored in 1884-85 by H M Townsend of Peterborough. An effigy of a knight dating from the late 13th century lies on the south side of the nave. In chancel niches are two marble urns dedicated to two sons of the Weston family who died in the service of the East India Company in 1762 and 1767, respectively. Another Weston, Edward, is commemorated by a large marble wall plaque on the north wall of the chancel. He died in 1770, and was a member of the Privy Council of Ireland.[4]

About 1834 the value of the living, based at the rectory and in the grant of the Crown, was £7. 7s. 6d. A few years earlier, in 1821, the hamlet comprised 13 houses, with a population of 76.[2]

Somerby Hall and Somerby Grange

Somerby Hall was for many years the home of the Weston family,[5] and was purchased in the 1740s by Edward Weston the son of the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt. Rev. Stephen Weston.[6] It was demolished in 1964.[7]

Somerby Grange Farmhouse is a Grade II listed building dating from 1756 with 19th-century additions.[8]

The Monument

Overlooking Somerby village, there is a monument that was commissioned in 1770 by Edward Weston and built by John Carr to commemorate 29 years of marriage for Edward and Ann Weston of Somerby Hall. It is an ashlar Doric column topped by an urn. It is Grade II listed.[9]

Vineyard

Today, Somerby has a vineyard. The owners state that they have unearthed several medieval artefacts and Roman coins.[10]

Community

Today, the Ecclesiastical parish of Somerby is part of The North Wolds Group of the Deanery of Yarborough.[11]

The nearest primary schools are in Barnetby le Wold or Grasby

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.achurchnearyou.com/town/21/somerby/ Ecclesiastical Parish details
  2. Book: Allen, Thomas . The history of the county of Lincoln: from the earliest period to the present time . J. Saunders, Jr. . 1834 . 15 June 2011.
  3. either Margaret the Virgin or Saint Margaret of England
  4. Web site: Church of Saint Maragret, Somerby. Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. 15 June 2011.
  5. Web site: Somerby by Bigby (Somerby by Brigg). Genuki. 15 June 2011.
  6. The Monthly Magazine . 27 . 183 . April 1809 . 312 . Sir Richard . Phillips . Provincial Occurrences: Dorsetshire and Devonshire . Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper . 15 June 2011.
  7. http://lh.matthewbeckett.com/lh_complete_list.html "Complete list of lost English country houses"
  8. Web site: Somerby Grange Farmhouse. Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  9. Web site: The Monument, Somerby. Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. 15 June 2011.
  10. Web site: Local History . Somerby Vineyards . 15 June 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325181738/http://www.somerbyvineyards.com/Public/Cart/Products/CategoryProducts.aspx?CategoryID=26 . 25 March 2012 .
  11. Web site: Ecclesiastical parish. Diocese of Lincoln . 31 March 2013 .