Holland Fen with Brothertoft

Holland Fen with Brothertoft is a civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, consisting, as the name indicates, of Holland Fen and Brothertoft, but also includes the areas known as Pelhams Land , Harts Ground and Pepper Gowt Plot.[1] The population of the civil parish (including North Forty Foot Bank and Shingay) at the 2011 census was 669.[2]

Holland Fen with Brothertoft
Holland Fen with Brothertoft Location within Lincolnshire
Population	669 (2011)
OS grid reference	TF235495
• London	105 mi (169 km) S
District	Boston (borough)
Shire county	Lincolnshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Lincoln
Postcode district	LN4
Police	Lincolnshire
Fire	Lincolnshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Boston and Skegness (UK Parliament constituency)

The parish of one of 18 parishes, together with Boston, that form the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. The local government has been arranged in this way since the reorganization of 1 April 1974, which resulted from the Local Government Act 1972. This parish forms part of the Swineshead and Holland Fen electoral ward.[3]

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.

Community

Holland Fen with Brothertoft

All Saints' Church, Holland Fen

St Gilbert of Sempringham Church, Brothertoft

The Parish Council meets six times a year, and is responsible for the village hall in Brothertoft, the building that was once the school.[4]

The mobile library visits Holland Fen once a month.[5]

Public transport can be provided by the Call Connect on-demand bus service.[6]

Geography

The parish is a long, narrow, strip bounded on the north-east by the River Witham, and on the opposite edge by the 10 Foot Drain (between Sutterton Drove and Kirton Drove). It stretches from the A1121 road at Hubberts Bridge almost to Chapel Hill in the north, where the Kyme Eau forms the boundary. The land is flat.[7] A landscape evaluation for Boston Borough called it "Flat and low-lying reclaimed fenland....semi-remote, tranquil and intact working agricultural landscape."[8] There are no contours on the OS sheet, just spot heights on the roads of 2 or 3m above datum.[9]

The geology is consistent with coastal marshes throughout this area. The bedrock is Jurassic sedimentary mudstones of the Ampthill series. The superficial overlay is of tidal deposits of clay and silt.[10]

The landscape is described in Natural England's National landscape character survey as "a distinctive, historic and human-influenced wetland landscape lying to the west of the Wash estuary, which formerly constituted the largest wetland area in England. The area is notable for its large-scale, flat, open landscape with extensive vistas to level horizons. The level, open topography shapes the impression of huge skies which convey a strong sense of place, tranquility and inspiration."[11]

Places in the parish

Holland Fen with Brothertoft today comprises:[9]

Settlements

• Holland Fen 53°01′13″N 0°08′52″W
• Brothertoft 52°59′50″N 0°06′19″W
• North Forty Foot Bank 52°43′57″N 0°30′38″W

Other Locations

• Pelhams Lands 53°03′20″N 0°11′01″W Former extra-parochial strip of reclaimed land, and a farm of the same name
• Harts Ground 53°03′45″N 0°11′56″W Former extra-parochial strip of reclaimed land, and a hamlet of the same name
• Boston West 52°59′36″N 0°04′24″W The extreme eastern extension of the parish
• Hedgehog Bridge 52°59′53″N 0°07′32″W Part of the settlement of North Forty Foot Bank, location of the school and the eponymous Bridge.
• Gill Bridge 53°00′48″N 0°09′05″W A pair of cottages, and the eponymous Bridge over an ancient waterway called Gill Syke.
• Toft Tunnel 52°59′14″N 0°06′32″W A Hamlet and a junction of drainage in North Forty Foot Bank, not to be confused with the similarly named railway tunnel and nature reserve near Bourne.

References

1. "Holland Fen With Brothertoft Parish Council". Boston borough. Lincolnshire county council. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
2. "Civil parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
3. "Holland Fen with Brothertoft". Boston Borough Council. Boston Borough Council. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
4. "Holland Fen with Brotherton parish council". Boston Borough. Lincolnshire county council. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
5. "Holland Fen". South Kesteven Mobile Library. Lincolnshire county council. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
6. "Horncastle, Conningsby & Woodhall Spa" (PDF). Call connect. Lincolnshire county council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
7. Hannan-Briggs, J. "Farm track off B1192". TF2746. Geograph project. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
8. "A1 Holland reclaimed fen" (PDF). Landscape Character Assessment of Boston Borough. Ecus Ltd., on behalf of Boston Borough Council. July 2009. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
9. Boston: Tattershall, Billinghay & Heckington (Map) (A1 ed.). 1:25 000. OS Explorer. Ordnance survey of Great Britain. 13 November 2006. § 261. ISBN 9780319238172.
10. "Map Viewer". British Geological Survey.zoom to the location and left-click to inspect records
11. "National character area 46: The Fens". Natural England. Retrieved 22 September 2013.

• Google (13 August 2013). "Parish Outline" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 13 August 2013.

External links

Media related to Holland Fen with Brothertoft at Wikimedia Commons

• "all 4 historical records". Pastscape. English Heritage. Retrieved 16 September 2013.