Scamblesby Church & Village ~ The History
Scamblesby Church & Village ~ The History
Some research and observations on the Lincolnshire village of Scamblesby and St Martin’s church
Scamblesby is a village, not far from the famous Cadwell Park Motor Racing Circuit, in a lovely, and classic, Lincolnshire Wolds setting and tucked away at the end of a quiet lane is church dedicated to St Martin
It’s primarily a Greenstone building and pretty much a complete rebuild. 1890 saw the chancel rebuilt and in 1893 the nave and bellcote were also rebuilt, both jobs by R.H. Fowler.
Nave arcades have survived and are contemporaneous with the original build circa 13th century.
One of the piers inside is actually from another church, the one demolished at Cawkwell, with elaborate zig-zag carving patterns.
Bench ends are nicely carved with poppy heads, reused and potentially Medieval
Scamblesby Church in Lincolnshire
Apologies for the picture above but it was the wrong time of day when I was there to the sun was in the wrong place - the bane of my life !
The 1672 will of Reverend Herbert Thorndike, a prebendary of Westminster, left his estate to the parish. This included a separate sum of £1,000 (how much was that in the 1600s !?) for a ‘trust fund’ which would enable there to be a vicarage in the village for perpetuity.
Scamblesby is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Scamelesbi and is held by the ubiquitous Ivo Tailbois, there’s no mention of mills or church etc.
As to how the village got its name Streatfield’s opinion on the etymology is “Skammcl is a Danish surname, and a place called Skamstrup is said to take its name from Knight Peter Skumnielson, who had a castle at this place ; but the place is much older than any such castle, and is more likely to derive its name from Skjalm”
There’s plenty of history in and around the village of Scamblesby which makes the Domesday Book look positively modern.
Prehistoric or Roman field boundaries and ditches are all over clearly suggesting Prehistoric or Roman settlement.
There’s potentially a Romano-British villa site as well. Further back still there’s a probable Bronze Age round barrow and a similar period Spear Head has also been found.
We are very keen to collate as much information, from whatever period, related to Scamblesby so if you know anything at all or have anything you’d like to contribute then please do leave a comment - many thanks indeed
All the best,
Rod
