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Billinghay is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately north-east from Sleaford, and lies on the B1189 Walcott road near its junction with the A153. Just south of the village towards Sleaford is North Kyme. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,808, increasinging to 2,190 at the 2011 census. The settlement is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name originates from a Saxon name for a fishery. The topography in ancient times would have been that of a small settlement on a gravel mound surrounded by marsh which was flooded in winter. After the draining of the fens in the late 18th century the area became rich agricultural land as it is today. The parish church is of historic interest. It dates from the 13th century. Billinghay Grade I listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. The parish is part of the Car Dyke group of parishes - including Tattershall Bridge. After the phased closure of Lafford High School due to falling pupil numbers, Billinghay Primary School remains the only school in the village. In 1986 village was twinned with Ballon, in the Sarthe department of France. Until 1866 Dogdyke was part of Billinghay. It is still part of the ecclesiastical parish. [edit] Research TipsLincolnshire is very low-lying and land had to be drained for agriculture to be successful. The larger drainage channels, many of which are parallel to each other, became boundaries between parishes. Many parishes are long and thin for this reason. There is much fenland in Lincolnshire, particularly in the Boston and Horncastle areas. Fenlands tended to be extraparochial before the mid 1850s, and although many sections were identified with names and given the title "civil parish", little information has been found about them. Many appear to be abolished in 1906, but the parish which adopts them is not given in A Vision of Britain through Time. Note the WR category Lincolnshire Fenland Settlements which is an attempt to organize them into one list. From 1889 until 1974 Lincolnshire was divided into three administrative counties: Parts of Holland, Parts of Kesteven and Parts of Lindsey. These formal names do not fit with modern grammatical usage, but that is what they were, nonetheless. In 1974 the northern section of Lindsey, along with the East Riding of Yorkshire, became the short-lived county of Humberside. In 1996 Humberside was abolished and the area previously in Lincolnshire was made into the two "unitary authorities" of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The remainder of Lincolnshire was divided into "non-metropolitan districts" or "district municipalities" in 1974. Towns, villages and parishes are all listed under Lincolnshire, but the present-day districts are also given so that places in this large county can more easily be located and linked to their wider neighbourhoods. See the WR placepage Lincolnshire, England and the smaller divisions for further explanation.
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