Braceby

Braceby is a small English village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. Its population is included in the civil parish of Pickworth. The village includes a roadside nature reserve sheltering 250 species of plant life.

Braceby

St Margaret's Church, Braceby
Braceby
Location within Lincolnshire
OS grid referenceTF016354
• London95 mi (153 km) S
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSLEAFORD
Postcode districtNG34
Dialling code01529
PoliceLincolnshire
FireLincolnshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

Parishes and buildings

Braceby lies to the south of the A52 road, about 6 miles (10 km) east of the market town of Grantham. It forms part of the civil parish of Braceby and Sapperton and has a population of just under 30. Braceby belonged to the historical wapentake of Winnibriggs and Threo,[1] and within that to the Soke of Grantham.[2]

The church, St Margaret's, dates back to the 13th century, but was restored in the 19th.[3] The ecclesiastical parish is one of seven in the North Beltisloe Group in the Deanery of Beltisloe and the Diocese of Lincoln.[4] From 2006 to 2011 the incumbent was Rev. Richard Ireson.[5] Services at Braceby are held monthly, and at Easter, Harvest time and Christmas.[6]

Many village buildings, especially those dating from the 16th and 17th century, are built in part of limestone quarried in the district, at places such as Ancaster.[7] The population peaked about 1861, when there were 168 inhabitants in 37 houses, but the population declined rapidly. By 1970 it was under 20, but a decision by the local landowners, the Welby family, to sell off empty and unwanted cottages led to some recovery and saved the church from closure.[8]

Nature and land use

The 65 roadside nature reserves maintained by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, under a local-government scheme dating back to 1960, include one that covers both verges of the Braceby–Walcot road south-east of the village.[9] The list of plants found at this reserve runs to 250 species. Notable among them are early purple orchids (Orchis mascula), common orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) and cowslips (primula veris).[10]

Livestock farming (cattle and sheep) in the village has largely given way to arable since the 1970s, but a small amount of permanent grazing remains. Some mixed woodland has also been planted.[11]

References
  1. Vision of Britain Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  2. Vision of Britain Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  3. Braceby Past and Present. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  4. "Braceby P C C" Archived 12 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Diocese of Lincoln. Retrieved 14 May 2012
  5. "North Beltisloe Group Council Report for PCC AGMs."; Boothby.org.uk. PDF download required. Retrieved 14 May 2012
  6. Braceby Past and Present.
  7. Natural England – Kesteven Uplands. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  8. Braceby Past & Present: History Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  9. List of Lincolnshire roadside reserves Retrieved 7 November 2016. Archived 7 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Braceby Past & Present: Wildlife, nature and birds Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  11. Geology and landscape. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
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