THURLBY: South Kesteven Parish #69 of 83

THURLBY - Thorulf’s Farmstead For the second time in the Kestevens, we come to a place called Thurlby. This one is a lot different from the one we met in North Kesteven though. It sometimes goes by the name Thurlby by Bourne and sits just west of the A15. It includes the hamlets of Obthorpe and Kate’s Bridge. The name Thurlby comes from Old Danish. It means “Thorulf’s farmstead or village”, from the personal name Thorulf. That Viking echo still sits quietly behind modern street names and new houses lining the A15. Roman activity here runs deep. The Carr Dyke cuts through the parish, while the A15 follows the line of the Roman road King Street. If one feature captures Thurlby today, it is that Roman Car Dyke threading along the fen edge. By the time of Domesday, Thurlby— which was recorded back then as “Turolvebi”—held several manors and a sizeable farming population, and it has grown steadily into today’s mixed, commuter‑friendly village ever since. The Carr Dyke is far from being the only thing of note here. St Firmin’s church, with its Saxo‑Norman tower and later additions, rises just east of the main road. Cottages like the beautiful Strawberry Thatch brighten the High Street, as does the Horseshoe pub. Work here has long been tied to farming. the land. Medieval manors managed meadow and woodland, but they were later joined by brick kilns and the Bourne and Essendine railway station. Today, some work is centred around a services at Kate’s Bridge. ---- Thurlby has not produced any headline‑grabbing celebrities, but it has had notable locals. Landowner Thomas Cook Hubbard funded the east window at St Firmin’s from Thurlby Grange, while Harold Sneath left his house to become a youth hostel. Local writer and photographer Rex Needle also documented village life in detail. I’m hoping to put at least some of his work on the map in this one. There are some interesting tales to tell here. One in particular is that of an airship which crash landed here during WWI. Current talk in parish meetings ranges from planning matters to potholes on the A15, and questions over who owns small pieces of land. Out here things like that can make a difference! So in all this is quite a village. We have one anciently shaped by Romans, the Vikings, and medieval abbots and latterly, by modern commuters. We will pause by St Firmin’s, pass thatched cottages and the Horseshoe, and listen for old tales in the fen winds, while tractors and A15 traffic roll steadily by. **** #Thurlby, #Lincolnshire, #SouthKesteven, #Stamford, #Peterborough, #Bourne, #Churches, #Manors, #Chapels, #Shops, #Sport, #Airships, #Crashes, #Railways, #Stations, #Northorpe, **** Some of the following music tracks may appear in this video: Brendan Perkins - “Foxsnow” (B. Perkins)    • Foxsnow   Brendan Perkins - “Mickey's House” (B. Perkins)    • Mickey's House   The Keyhouse - "Voices" (H. Flunder)    • Voices   The Keyhouse - "Circles" (H. Flunder)    • The Keyhouse - Circles (official audio)   Helen Flunder - "Sun" (H. Flunder)    • Helen Flunder - 'Sun' (Official Audio)   Helen Flunder - “Angels” (H. Flunder)    • Helen Flunder - Angels (Official Audio)   Helen Flunder - “C Song” (H. Flunder)    • Caistor and the Lincolnshire Wolds   Ending Song made by Suno AI I have me a Facebook page too!   / the-village-idiot-226069228730989   And now an INSTAGRAM - @andythevillageidiot Come and join The Village People! (Subscribers only!)   / 1037756120085304   Please consider buying me a coffee to support the channel! The more I get the faster I'll get to your parish! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thevilla... Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @thevillageidiot