Swallow, Lincolnshire
| Swallow | |
|---|---|
 Holy Trinity Church, Swallow |
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 Swallow
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| Swallow shown within Lincolnshire | |
| Population | 289 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TA177030 |
| • London | 145 mi (233 km) S |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MARKET RASEN |
| Postcode district | LN7 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Swallow is a small village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, on the A46 road 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east from Caistor. The population (including Cabourne and Cuxwold) taken at the 2011 census was 289.
The name Swallow has been variously written as Sualan (Domesday Book), Suawa, Swalwe and Swalewe (all twelfth century). Most people seem to agree that the name derives from the Old Norse svel, meaning "to move dartingly" (the same derivation as the bird name). The Oxford Dictionary of Place Names equates it with Swale, suggesting that the village is called after a fast-moving river of that name, with eau being French for water; however, unless Swallow’s beck has changed dramatically in the last millennium this theory would seem somewhat difficult to substantiate. Others believe that the root is the Old English swillan, meaning to wash. Bob Willey, who used to live in the village, put forward the theory that it is closer to the German schwall, meaning "flood" and suggesting that water gathered on the clay bottom land below the fast-draining chalky hills. Another theory suggests that the first part of the name could be the Celtic deity Sul from the same source as Aquae Sulis (Bath). On the other hand, for generations teachers at the village school told children that the name came about because the water here was swallowed into the ground.
Archaeological finds, including flint tools at Swallow Vale Farm, indicate the presence of early settlements in Swallow. Other traces include cropmark traces of four possible barrows, a pit and a boundary ditch on Cuxwold Road, and similar barrows behind Grange Farm and on the eastern edge of the village south of Grimsby Road. Straddling the Limber parish border are the remains of an undated ring ditch in Swallow Wold Wood.
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