Caistor
Town and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England
title: "Caistor" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["caistor", "towns-in-lincolnshire", "civil-parishes-in-lincolnshire", "west-lindsey-district"] description: "Town and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England" topic_path: "general/caistor" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caistor" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Town and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| static_image_name | Caistor - Market Place - geograph.org.uk - 58039.jpg |
| static_image_caption | Caistor Market Place |
| country | England |
| coordinates | |
| official_name | Caistor |
| population | 2,601 |
| population_ref | (2001) |
| civil_parish | Caistor |
| shire_district | West Lindsey |
| shire_county | Lincolnshire |
| region | East Midlands |
| constituency_westminster | Gainsborough |
| post_town | MARKET RASEN |
| postcode_district | LN7 |
| postcode_area | LN |
| dial_code | 01472 |
| os_grid_reference | TA1101 |
| london_distance_mi | 135 |
| london_direction | S |
| :: |
|static_image_name = Caistor - Market Place - geograph.org.uk - 58039.jpg |static_image_caption = Caistor Market Place |country = England |coordinates = |official_name= Caistor |population = 2,601 |population_ref = (2001) |civil_parish= Caistor |shire_district= West Lindsey |shire_county = Lincolnshire |region= East Midlands |constituency_westminster=Gainsborough |post_town= MARKET RASEN |postcode_district = LN7 |postcode_area= LN |dial_code= 01472 |os_grid_reference= TA1101 | london_distance_mi= 135 | london_direction= S
Caistor is a town and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. As its name implies, it was originally a Roman castrum or fortress. It lies at the north-west edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, on the Viking Way, and just off the A46 between Lincoln and Grimsby, at the A46, A1084, A1173 and B1225 junction. It has a population of 2,601. Its name comes from the Anglo-Saxon ceaster ("Roman camp" or "town") and was given in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Castre.
Buildings
Only a few fragments of the 4th-century walls remain; for example, the original Roman wall is visible on the southern boundary of the parish church of St Peter and St Paul. The market square lies at the heart of a conservation area which contains 56, mainly Grade II, listed buildings. In numerical terms, the number of listed buildings makes Caistor the most important conservation area in the West Lindsey area; many of the buildings are Georgian or Victorian. Notable buildings in the town include Caistor Grammar School, founded in 1633, and Sessions House, built in 1662.
In 2010 the remains of a 4th-century Roman cemetery were found during the development of a new Co-op supermarket.
Education
Grammar school
Caistor Grammar School dates from the reign of Charles I. An academy with a selective pupil intake, it has specialist school status for sports and humanities. Sir Henry Newbolt, author of Drake's Drum, was educated at the school.
Caistor Yarborough Academy School
Caistor Yarborough Academy is a mixed comprehensive school named in memory of John Edward Pelham, the 7th Earl of Yarborough. Being limited to 570 pupils it is much smaller than the average British school of this type. It has Arts College status under the English specialist schools programme. In 2012 the school became an Academy.
RAF Caistor
Opened in 1940, RAF Caistor was built as a relief airfield for RAF Kirton in Lindsey, and also used for flying training from its grass runways. Closed in 1945, it later reopened as a nuclear missile base.
Between 1959 and 1963 Caistor was manned by 269(SM) Sqn. equipped with three Thor missiles. The site has now returned to agricultural use, and little remains of the military facilities.
Transport
The nearest railway station is Barnetby railway station. The town was formerly served by the stations at both North Kelsey and Moortown. Both are now closed but the station buildings survive as private residences.
The town has bus services to Brigg, Grimsby, Market Rasen and Lincoln. Operated by Stagecoach.
Humberside Airport is also located a short distance to the north of the town.
Media
Television signals are received from either the Emley Moor or Belmont TV transmitters.
Local radio stations are provided by BBC Radio Humberside, Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire, Hits Radio Lincolnshire and Greatest Hits Radio East Yorkshire & Northern Lincolnshire.
The town is served by the local newspaper, Grimsby Telegraph.
Audleby
Audleby is a hamlet just north of Fonaby. It is recorded in the Domesday Book with 33 households, which at the time constituted a significant settlement. Today it is listed as a deserted medieval village (DMV). Audleby House on Brigg Road is a Grade II listed building.
Fonaby
Fonaby is a hamlet and deserted medieval village just north of Caistor, mentioned in the Domesday Book as having 18 households and three acres of meadow, and held by William I.
Notable people
- Admiral Nigel Malim lived at Caistor.
- Gary Turner, sideshow performer and World Record holder, was born in Caistor.
Local tradition
According to a local tradition, one of Jesus's 12 apostles, Simon the Zealot, came to England, where he is supposed to have been martyred somewhere in the vicinity of Caistor. He was reputedly crucified on the orders of a Roman procurator called Catus Decianus on 10 May AD61. (However, there are competing theories as to what became of Simon the Zealot.)
References
References
- {{cite PastScape
- "Parish headcounts: West Lindsey". Office for National Statistics.
- {{cite PastScape
- church of St Peter and St Paul]], which is enclosed within the fortress, has an [[Anglo-Saxon architecture. Anglo-Saxon tower]].{{cite PastScape
- (1906). "A History of the county of Lincolnshire".
- (10 July 2010). "BBC report of Co-op cemetery find". BBC News.
- "Co-op report of co-op cemetery find".
- "Archaeological contractors for co-op dig, passing mention to ongoing work. Report will be published here".
- Chitty, Susan. (1997). "Playing the Game: Biography of Sir Henry Newbolt". Quartet Books.
- David Gervais (article 'Newbolt, Sir Henry John (1862–1938)’). (2004). "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".
- [http://www.raf-lincolnshire.info/caistor/caistor.htm "RAF Caistor"], Raf-lincolnshire.info. Retrieved 8 September 2010
- [http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/airfields/caister.html "The Wartime Memories Project – RAF Caistor"] {{webarchive. link. (10 June 2012 , Wartimememories.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2010)
- "Audleby DMV". Lincolnshire Archives.
- {{NHLE
- "Fonaby". Anna Powell-Smith/University of Hull.
- {{cite PastScape
- [https://archive.today/20130703114954/http://www.marketrasenmail.co.uk/community/obituaries/08-11-06-rear-admiral-nigel-malim-cb-lvo-dl-1-1173747 Rear Admiral Nigel Malim CB LVO DL] at marketrasenmail.co.uk, accessed 3 July 2013
- Codd, Daniel. ''Mysterious Lincolnshire''. (Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd). p.12-13. {{ISBN. 978 1 85983 563 0.
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