Long Bennington

History

Long Bennington Priory was an Alien house granted in 1462 to the priory of Mount Grace. The village has connections with the Younghusband family, whose members include Francis Younghusband head of a British invading force into Tibet in 1904 and negotiated a treaty after most Tibetan officials had fled with the Dalai Lama into the countryside. Long Bennington is supposed to be the last place where King Harold of Wessex camped before the Battle of Hastings.

On the morning of Friday 14 January 1966, coming back from a concert at the University of Hull, the group Manfred Mann were injured when their Ford Zodiac, driven by Anthony Hales, skidded on ice in the village. They were taken to Grantham Hospital; singer Paul Jones had a broken arm and Manfred Mann had a chest injury.

Visits

Anne, Princess Royal visited on Monday 30 October 1989, where she visited the knitting company Carole Lee Designs, owned by Carole and Roger Lee, and opened the village hall (St James's Hall), as a representative of the British Knitting and Clothing Export Council.

Geography

The Viking Way has passed to the south-east since 1997 to avoid a direct crossing of the A1. The River Witham runs to the east. Lying beside the A1 road, the village main street was once part of the Great North Road between London and Edinburgh.

In December 1968 a bypass was opened. It was made of concrete and excessively noisy until it was resurfaced with tarmac in 2003, at a cost of £4.4 million.

The British Frozen Food Federation is based in the village. Leonardo DRS (DRS Technologies UK) have a facility in the north of the village on the Long Bennington Business Park, where they have their Air Systems EW Test business.

Further south near Three Shire Oak, is the Roseland Business Park. Bennington Carriages, west of the village and the bypass at Authorpe Farm, have a Royal warrant.

Community

Long Bennington has a parish council consisting of 11 councillors. The village is twinned with the Normandy village of Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse. It contains a Methodist chapel, St Swithin's Anglican church, and a primary school. Its public houses are the Reindeer, the Royal Oak and Whittakers. The village has a football team and a bowls team.

Long Bennington and surrounding villages have a Rotary Club that meets twice a month.

References

References

1. "Home". Long Bennington Parish Council.
2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
3. (1906). "A History of the County of Lincoln". Victoria County History.
4. [https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Thirteenth-Dalai-Lama-Tubten-Gyatso/3307 Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 29 October 2020.]
5. Howarth, David. (2008). "1066: The Year of the Conquest". Paw Prints.
6. [https://books.google.com/books?id=LunP9prccAEC&pg=PA90 Grantham 1951-2000]
7. [https://www.manfredmann.co.uk/?story=1965-crash Accident]
8. [https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-music-manfred-mann-car-accident-grantham-108416088.html Picture]
9. ''Times'' Tuesday October 31 1989, page 20
10. ''Lincolnshire Echo'' Monday 30 October 1989, page 1
11. ''Lincolnshire Echo'' Tuesday 31 October 1989, page 1
12. ''Grantham Journal'' Friday 3 November 1989, page 1
13. ''Newark Advertiser'' Friday 3 November 1989, page 1
14. "Geograph:: Viking Way long distance footpath © Kate Jewell cc-by-sa/2.0".
15. "Network changes – 1960s".
16. (17 October 2001). "Concrete Roads Get The Quiet Treatment". Highways Agency.
17. Mumby, A. (7 November 2002). "Road to rue in, Letters". EMAP.
18. [http://bfff.co.uk BFFF]
19. [http://www.leonardodrs.com/locations/drs-technologies-uk-long-bennington-lincolnshire/ DRS]
20. [http://www.roselandbusinesspark.co.uk/ Roseland Business Park]
21. [http://www.benningtoncarriages.co.uk Bennington Carriages.]
22. "The Parish Council".
23. "Clubs, Facilities & Amenities".
24. [https://www.reindeerlb.com Reindeer Inn – Long Bennington's Premier Gastropub]
25. [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/935240 Royal Oak.]
26. [http://www.whittakersbarandrestaurant.co.uk Bar & Restaurant Lincolnshire I A warm welcomeI Whittakers Bar & Restaurant, Long Bennington, Newark, Nottinghamshire]