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| Coningsby | |
|---|---|
 High Street (A153), showing the church's painted clockface, in 2004 | |
  Coningsby Location withinLincolnshire | |
| Area | 14.67 km2 (5.66 sq mi) |
| Population | 3,864 [1] |
| • Density | 263/km2 (680/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TF2258 |
| • London | 110 mi (180 km) S |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LINCOLN |
| Postcode district | LN4 |
| Dialling code | 01526 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Coningsby/ˈkʌnɪŋzbɪ/ is a town andcivil parish in theEast Lindseydistrict inLincolnshire, England,[3] it is situated on theA153 road, adjoiningTattershall on its western side, 13 miles (21 km) north west ofBoston and 8 miles (13 km) south west fromHorncastle.
Coningsby is the most populous parish in theelectoral ward of Coningsby and Tattershall. The population of this ward taken at the 2011 Census was 6,943.[4]
The town takes its name from theOld Norsekonungr meaning "King" and theOld Norse nounby meaning "settlement", which gives "settlement of the King".[5] Coningsby is about 7 miles (11 km) south ofHorncastle on theA153 Horncastle toSleaford road, with theLincolnshire Wolds to the east and theFens to the west. The B1192Kirton toWoodhall Spa road passes through the town. At the town's western end it is separated from the village ofTattershall by theRiver Bain.
TheKirkstead and Little Steeping Railway passing through the town opened on 1 July 1913 but closed on 5 July 1970. The formerConingsby railway station has been demolished and nothing remains except for the station master's house.[6]
A temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), which is thehighest temperature ever recorded in the UK, occurred on19 July 2022 at Coningsby.[7][8]
| Climate data forRAF Coningsby (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.3 (45.1) | 8.1 (46.6) | 10.7 (51.3) | 13.6 (56.5) | 16.8 (62.2) | 19.6 (67.3) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.1 (71.8) | 19.0 (66.2) | 14.7 (58.5) | 10.3 (50.5) | 7.5 (45.5) | 14.4 (57.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.2 (34.2) | 1.3 (34.3) | 2.7 (36.9) | 4.7 (40.5) | 7.5 (45.5) | 10.4 (50.7) | 12.4 (54.3) | 12.3 (54.1) | 10.2 (50.4) | 7.4 (45.3) | 3.8 (38.8) | 1.5 (34.7) | 6.3 (43.3) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 47.6 (1.87) | 37.8 (1.49) | 34.8 (1.37) | 40.2 (1.58) | 45.8 (1.80) | 57.0 (2.24) | 54.8 (2.16) | 58.7 (2.31) | 51.4 (2.02) | 59.5 (2.34) | 56.0 (2.20) | 50.4 (1.98) | 594.1 (23.39) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 10.2 | 9.3 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.6 | 11.0 | 112.9 |
| Source:Met Office[9] | |||||||||||||
Coningsby St Michael's C of E Primary School is on School Lane. The secondary school isBarnes Wallis Academy, theGartree Community School, is just outside the Coningsby boundary in Tattershall, near theA153.Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School provides sixth form education to pupils graduating from Gartree and other secondary modern schools.RAF Coningsby Nursery and Kids Club provides childcare for military personnel and the community.
The nearestfurther education college is inBoston. In late March 2008, renovation of the Tattershall/Coningsby Library included a small learning centre provided byBoston College.[citation needed]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire andITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from theBelmont TV transmitter,[10]BBC East Midlands andITV Central can also be received from theWaltham TV transmitter.[11]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Lincolnshire on 94.9 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire on 102.2 FM, andHits Radio Lincolnshire which broadcasts onDAB.[12]
Lincolnshire Echo is the town's local newspaper.[13]
Coningsby is overlooked by the tower of its 15th-centuryparish church,St Michael's, with its one-handed clock face. The face is painted directly onto the wall of the tower and was probably installed in the 17th century. It is16+1⁄2 feet (5.0 metres) in diameter and its hand is nearly 9 feet (2.7 metres) long. The driving weights are large stones and itspendulum swings once every two seconds. The pendulum is not attached to the clock but some distance away, linked by a connecting rod. There are three wheels in the timekeeping mechanism, which needs winding once a day. The tower on which the clock face is painted is on the outside of the building. There is an arched passage under the tower which is part of a public footpath from theA153 High Street to the school in School Lane, through the churchyard.
There is also acanonical sundial, dating from the 12th century, on the south wall of the church.
In 1730, Britain's youngestPoet Laureate,Laurence Eusden who was appointed aged thirty, was buried in the church where he had been Rector.[14] Two decades later another poet,John Dyer, was appointed as Rector and while living in the village completed his poem "The Fleece". He died there ofconsumption (tuberculosis) in 1757, and was buried without memorial in the church chancel.[15]England international footballerBeaumont Jarrett was curate there from 1878 to 1882.[16]
Public houses include the Black Swan, The Castle Inn and the White Bull, are all on High Street, and the Lea Gate Inn on Leagate Road (B1192).
Half a mile (1 km) to the south of the town is RAF Coningsby, one of theRoyal Air Force's most important stations, home ofNo. 3 Squadron,No. XI Squadron,No. 29 Squadron andNo.41 (R) Squadron
The airfield houses part ofBritain's heritage, theBattle of Britain Memorial Flight formed in 1957 to commemorate the Royal Air Force's major battle honours, with aLancaster, fiveSpitfires, twoHurricanes and aDakota. These aircraft still fly and can be seen at air shows during summer, as well as at events of national importance or RAF significance.[17]
From 1950[until when?] RAF Coningsby was home to three squadrons ofWashingtons, the RAF name for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and for the first 18 months these were maintained byNational Service technicians whose conscription was extended to 24 months because of their particular skills.[citation needed]
Pellcroft Engineering Ltd, in Coningsby, is a company selling agricultural fans.[18]
Media related toConingsby at Wikimedia Commons
