Kelby: Church, Cottage and Local History

Kelby combines a long history of settlement with buildings from several centuries. The Parish Church of St Andrew represents medieval building phases; Kate’s Cottage adds a house dating from the 17th century, which was altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. For your trip planning, the contrast between medieval church architecture and later changes to the cottage provides a specific historical focus.

From early settlement to the Domesday Book

11th-century pottery suggests that a settlement already existed in this area before the church was built. Kelby is first mentioned in the Domesday Book and continues to exist today. This places archaeological evidence of earlier settlement alongside a written mention of the village as distinct points in time. The pottery indicates a settlement predating the church; the reference in the Domesday Book marks Kelby’s first mention in that book.

Parish Church of St Andrew

The Parish Church of St Andrew in Kelby dates from the 12th century and was extended in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is listed as a Grade I building. Inside are stained-glass windows from the early 14th century; some remain in situ, that is, in their original position. The windows add a surviving interior detail from the later medieval development to the building’s history. Their date falls within the stated period of extensions, linking the building’s history with a specific detail from the early 14th century.

Kate’s Cottage: masonry and roof

Kate’s Cottage in Kelby dates from the 17th century and was altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dressed limestone forms the regularly coursed rubble masonry; ashlar stones frame the corners and surrounds. This makes the dressed corner and edge sections stand out from the coursed masonry surfaces. The tiled roof has raised stone gables with copings and ball finials. The gables project above the roof surface; the ball finials form their uppermost details. A single axial ridge chimney completes the roof; axial here refers to its alignment along the ridge axis. The masonry, gables and chimney draw attention to the cottage’s materials and construction, while the church’s medieval building phases take centre stage.

Conservation Area and place name

The Kelby Conservation Area covers 2.5 hectares and extends across most of the settlement. Unlike the church’s Grade I listing, the Conservation Area denotes a broader geographical context; the church, in turn, is classified as an individual building. This brings together the building and settlement levels in understanding the place. The name Kelby derives from the Old English personal name Ceol and the Old Danish suffix “by”, meaning “farmstead” or “village”. The place name thus combines a personal name with a term for a settlement, adding a linguistic-historical dimension to the architectural evidence.

When planning your trip, you can choose a historical focus for Kelby based on what interests you: settlement history, medieval church architecture, or the material details of a 17th-century house. These subjects offer different perspectives on the place.

Discover more destinations: Tealby, Cleethorpes, Laceby, West Ashby, Cranwell, Metheringham, Martin, Waltham

For the broader travel guide: Lincolnshire.