The name
The Venerable Bede tells of a St Hygbald who was an abbot in Lindsey and it is from this information that the translation of the villages name is found, it being ''holy place where St Hygbald is buried'.
More information can be found in:
- Eminson, T.B.F. Place and River Names of the West Riding of Lindsey, Lincolnshire.
- Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of English Place Names.
The place
Hibaldstow lies about four miles south of Brigg on the A15 road better known in Roman times as Ermine Street. Hilbaldstow was founded in the seventh century, the earliest mention being in a grant of 664 when it is spelt Hibaldstow.
The Venerable Bede in his 'Ecclesiastical History' describes St Hygbald as a most holy and continent man who was an abbot in Lindsey, Lincolnshire. One theory which links St Hygbald with Hibaldstow is that in the year 669 St Chad received the Diocese of Mercia and began to preach in Lindsey, setting up a mission station at or near Cadney. It is thought that Hygbald was a pupil of Chad and that he may well have imitated his teacher and set up his own mission station at Hibaldstow. St Hygbald's links with the village were further re-enforced when during the rebuilding of the parish church in 1866 a stone coffin was unearthed. It contained the bones of a tall and powerful man and it was said at the time that they might well have been the mortal remains of St Hygbald.
Hibaldstow airfield was among the first wartime stations in the north of the county of Lincolnshire. It was opened in 1941 with 255 Squadron being based there by May of the same year. One extraordinary event, which took place at the airfield, was in the spring of 1945. After an engine had been serviced it was customary for instructors to test the engine during which it was necessary for a member of the ground staff to sit on the tail to prevent it rising. On this particular occasion ACW2 Margaret Horton on finishing working on a spitfire AB910 climbed onto the tail and remained there whilst flight Lieutenant Cox taxied the aircraft to the end of the runway to test the engine. In theory on reaching the take-off point the pilot should have stopped to allow the mechanic to slide off. On this occasion it appears that Cox had not heard this final order and took off with Margaret still in place on the tail. The craft flew to 800 feet and did a circuit of the airfield with Margaret clinging on for dear life before landing with Cox totally unaware of his passenger. Somewhat unfairly Margaret was officially reprimanded for the incident even though she was only following orders. She was even made to pay for the pair of gloves she lost while on her hair-raising flight!
Population history
| Year |
Population |
|
1801 |
443 |
|
1811 |
528 |
|
1821 |
522 |
|
1831 |
632 |
|
1841 |
688 |
|
1851 |
801 |
|
1861 |
775 |
|
1871 |
764 |
|
1881 |
800 |
|
1891 |
818 |
|
1901 |
726 |
|
1911 |
834 |
|
1921 |
898 |
|
1931 |
1002 |
|
1941 |
N/A |
|
1951 |
1034 |
|
1961 |
1142 |
|
1971 |
1271 |
|
1981 |
1522 |
|
1991 |
1899 |
Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900
Hibaldstow is a large parish and village, near the navigable river Ancholme, and on the road from Brigg to Lincoln, three-quarters of a mile south from Scawby station on the main line of the Great Central (late M. S. and L) railway, 4 miles south-west from Brigg, 4 north-east from Kirton-in-Lindsey, 19 north from Lincoln and 163 from London, in the North Lindsey division of the county, parts of Lindsey, east wapentake of Manley, petty sessional division of Winterton, union of Glanford Brigg, county court district of Brigg, rural deanery of Corringham, archdeaconry of Stow and diocese of Lincoln. The name of this village is to be found in Doomsday Book. The church of St.Hibald is an edifice of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel with vestry, nave of four bays, north aisle and south porch: the chancel was rebuilt about 1866 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, when a sarcophagus, apparently of Saxon date, was found, containing the skeleton of a man of powerful frame, possibly St. Hibald himself: the nave was rebuilt in 1876-7, under the direction of Mr James Fowler, architect of Louth, at a cost of about £1,550; the original tower fell in July 1875, after the old nave had been taken down, but its arch has been rebuilt in the west wall of the present church: the ancient Font is octagonal: the south porch was erected in 1898 at a cost of £70, and at the same time a new organ was provided by subscription, at a cost of £200, to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee: there are 200 sittings. The register dates from the year 1603. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £273, arising from 242 acres of land, with residence, is the gift alternatley of the Bishop of Lincoln and M. H. Dalison esq. and held since 1874 by the Rev. John Thomas Grey M.A. of Durham University. Here is a Weslyan chapel, built in 1814 and seating about 200 persons; a Primitive Methodist, built in 1841, with about 200 sittings; and a Free Methodist chapel, built in 1865 and seating about 250. An iron building has been erected by the vicar near the church, on a site given by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and is used for the Sunday school and for public meetings. In this parish are the remains of an entrenched camp of Roman construction, lying between two small streams; it belongs to the vicar and is known by the name "Gainsthorpe;" the western boundary, 400 yards in length, is very distinct, and the north and south limits can be traced, but the eastern boundary has disappeared: Roman coins and the pavement of a Roman house have been met with near the spot. The Blue Lias Lime and Cement Works of Messrs. H. Parry and Sons Limited, employ a large number of hands; this lime has for a long time been noted as being one of the highest hydraulic limes to be obtained in England. Max Hammond Dalison Esq. of Hamptons, Tonbridge, Kent is lord of the manor. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners and the Duke of St. Albans P.C. are the principal landowners. The soil is light loam; subsoil, limestone. The chief crops are wheat, barley and turnips. The area is 4,550 acres of land and 7 of water; rateable value, £7,479; the population in 1891 was 818.
Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library
- The Story of a Parish - A Short History of Hibaldstow (compiled by Mary Insull). 1958.
References in the Star Newspaper Index
- Schools closed due to Whooping Cough LS 23.6.1917 2f.
- Brigg Primitive Methodist quarterly circuit meeting held here LS 4.6.1910 5c.
- Farm fire - Staniwells Farm SFS 11.9.1937 9d.
- United Methodist Chapel re-opened after renovation LS 8.7.1922 2f.
- First horticultural show LS 25.7.1925 6c.