Swineshead | |
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High Street, Swineshead |
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Swineshead shown within Lincolnshire | |
Population | 2,449 (2001) |
OS grid reference | TF240398 |
• London | 100 mi (160 km) S |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Boston |
Postcode district | PE20 |
Dialling code | 01205 |
Police | Lincolnshire |
Fire | Lincolnshire |
Ambulance | East Midlands |
EU Parliament | East Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Swineshead is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the town of Boston. The population of the civil parish including Baythorpe was 2,810 at the 2011 census. The parish includes the areas of Swineshead Bridge and North End to the north, Fenhouses and Blackjack to the east, and Drayton to the south.
The lost village of Stenning, or Estovening, mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086 is represented by the site of the moated Estovening Hall, which was the manor house of the Holland family. Ralph, founder of the Estovening branch of the Holland family was buried in Swinehead Abbey in 1262.
A medieval motte castle is believed to have been constructed in the 12th century by the de Gresley family, lords of the manor of Swineshead at Manwar Ings. The remains of the castle are visible as substantial earthworks, which are a scheduled monument. The easiest access to the motte is by turning off the A52 at the Manor Farm Shop which is located in the Baythorpe region of the village.
Swineshead railway station opened in 1847 as part of the Sleaford and Boston Railway.
Hitherto, the parish had formed part of Boston Rural District, in the Parts of Holland. Holland was one of the three divisions (formally known as parts) of the traditional county of Lincolnshire. Since the Local Government Act of 1888, Holland had been in most respects, a county in itself.
It is one of eighteen parishes which, together with Boston, form the Borough of Boston. The local government has been arranged in this way since the reorganisation of 1 April 1974, which resulted from the Local Government Act 1972. This parish forms part of the Swineshead and Holland Fen electoral ward.