The name
The earliest mention of Bonby is in 1086 when it appears with the spelling of Bundebi. Various other spellings appear over time including, Bondebi and Bondby. The villages name is thought to translate as "Farmstead or village of the peasant farmer" although the alternative meaning of "Bondi's farmstead, village" is also offered.
More information can be found in:
- Cameron, Keith. The Place-Names of Lincolnshire.
- Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of English Place Names.
The place
Bonby lies on the western edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, six miles from Barton and has inhabitants of about three hundred. It was here that a small Priory was founded at the time of King John as a cell to the abbey of St Fromond in Normandy. The parish church of St Andrew's has a small brick tower with a pyramid cap dating to 1710 but other parts of the church building date further back to the 13th century. The small Methodist Church is located close to the main road and is built in the style of the first Methodist churches in that should Methodism not take off the churches could be converted to two farm cottages.
Population history
| Year |
Population |
|
1801 |
178 |
|
1811 |
268 |
|
1821 |
275 |
|
1831 |
339 |
|
1841 |
386 |
|
1851 |
454 |
|
1861 |
471 |
|
1871 |
413 |
|
1881 |
406 |
|
1891 |
341 |
|
1901 |
313 |
|
1911 |
322 |
|
1921 |
305 |
|
1931 |
312 |
|
1941 |
N/A |
|
1951 |
341 |
|
1961 |
298 |
|
1971 |
346 |
|
1981 |
348 |
|
1991 |
447 |
Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900
Bonby is a parish and small village, 4 miles north-west from the Elsham station on the South Yorkshire branch of the Great Central railway, 6 south-south-west from Barton and 7 north from Brigg, in the North Lindsey division of the county, wapentake of Yarborough, Glanford Brigg union, parts of Lindsey, Barton-upon-Humber petty sessional division and county court district, rural deanery of Yarborough No. 1, archdeaconry of Stow and diocese of Lincoln. The church of St Andrew is an ancient edifice of brick, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch, and a western tower containing 3 bells: the church has been partially restored at a cost of £300, of which £250 was furnished by the Rev. George Crowle Uppleby, of Barrow Hall, late vicar 1893-95, and the remainder by the parishioners: there are 150 sittings. The register dates from the year 1640. The living is the vicarage, net yearly value £216, with residence, in the gift of the Earl of Yarborough, and held since 1895 by the Rev. John Cartman B.A. of Trinity College, Dublin. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels here. Here was anciently a priory of Austin Canons, founded in the reign of King John, as a cell to the Abbey of St Fromond. The reading room here was built by subscription in 1888 on land given by the Earl of Yarborough P.C. the lord of the manor and principal landowner, and is provided with billiard and bagatelle tables. The soil of about one half the parish is a chalk subsoil, highly fertile; the other part of the parish, viz. the Carrs, consists of a clay subsoil of a black nature. The chief crops are wheat and barley. The area is 2,457 acres of land and 10 of water; rateable value, £2,549; the population in 1891 was 341.
Sexton - Thomas Curtis.
Post Office. Mark Gray, sub-postmaster. Letters through Hull arrive at 8.40 a.m.; dispatched at 4.30 p.m. Postal orders are issued here, but not paid. Worlaby is the nearest money order office and Elsham railway station the nearest telegraph office, 4 miles distant.
National School ( mixed), for 85 scholars; average attendance, 40; George Mason, master; Miss Emily Morley, assistant mistress.
Carriers. - William Trippit, to Hull, Mon. to Barton, Mon. and to Brigg, Thurs.
Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library
- Holland, John and Val. Around Brigg.
- Nelson, G.K. Over the farmyard gate country life in the 1930's.
References in the Star Newspaper Index
- Church to be restored LS 07.04.1894 page 5a.
- Wesleyan Chapel - opening LLS 24.09.1904 page 3d.
- Old Chapel plagued with rats LLS 10.12.1904 page 5a.
- Temple Bellwood Mansion to be sold SFS 07.07.1938 9.