Ancient History

Extract from research by Les Gostic (local historian)
"The story of the people of Ewerby and Haverholme"

Neolithic & Stone Age	The earliest people to inhabit Lincolnshire were some Neolithic or Stone age people who settled in the Chalk Wolds around 2500BC. They were immigrant agriculturists from mainland Europe. It is believed that the Wolds were chosen because chalk hills had a cover of woodland which could be removed with their primitive tools. Evidence of their occupation can be found by the number of long barrows in which the dead wereburied near Claxby and Swaby.
Bronze Age	Further evidence of Bronze age settlement can be found through the burial grounds on Bully Hills near Haugham. The dead were buried in round barrows. Pottery from this period has also been found at Ewerby.
Iron Age	The age of warriors and tribal kingdoms. Settlements have been found in the Limestone hills as well as on the Wolds. Honington Castle south-west of Ancaster is a fine example of a defensive hilltop fort. Jeffrey May in his 'Prehistoric Lincolnshire' records that an Iron Age settlement had been located at Ewerby, where part of a bowl with rouletted decoration, together with other pottery, was found on a ploughed field. Identities of the people of ancient Britain can be traced back this far. They were Kymric Celts, and specifically the Iceni nation occupied Lincolnshire, Norfolk and the Midland counties, further sub devided into various tribes. Recent discovery at Leicestershire indicates that the local tribal people were called the Corieltauvi.
Roman presence from AD80 to AD 448	Although Julius Caesar entered Britain in 55BC, they came to this area around AD80 under the command of Agricola. The Romans true to form brought structure and organisation to the country side, which fell to its original fenny state after they departed in AD448. During this period the marshes were drained, and canals or navigable drains were created for drainage as well as transport. For example Cardyke, which ran from the River Welland at West Deeping to the river Witham near Fiskerton, touching the eastern boundary of Ewerby Waithe. Archaeological evidence suggests the the influence of the sea in the form of tidal creeks came up to the line of the Cardyke (at Howel Fen). Roads such as Ermine Street through Ancaster and King Street through Sleaford are thought to have their origins from this time, including the branch road from King Street heading north-west of Sleaford across Ewerby Waithe to Horncastle (Roman Banovallum).
Saxon intrusion AD400 to AD700	After the Romans, the Saxons entered Britain from the low lands and central mainland Europe (Benelux, Germany). The great rivers united in the Humber were highways for their invasion. Famous of them is King Offa (re Offa's Dyke) of Mercia, who around AD800 aquired overlordship over the English tribal kingdoms. A famous Ewerby resident was 'Lady Godiva' or Eddiva in Saxon, who was the wife of Leofric, Duke of Mercia. However, Ewerby's existence in name is that from the later Norsk period, and not the Saxon period. Village names like Evedon, Heckington, Ruskington, Helpringham, and Billinghay, with suffixes of: "don" - meaning hill; "ton" - an enclosure; "ham" - homestead; "ay" - an island, are derived from the languages spoken by the Saxons, the Angles and the Frisians.
Sword and fire of the Danes from AD855 to AD1042	A major Norsk force landed in Lincolnshire in AD870 at Humberston and wasted the county with fire and sword. By the peace of Wedmere in AD879, Lincolnshire fell to the Danes. The Danish rule continued until AD1042, when the 'English' line was restored by Edward the Confessor. Village names like Ewerby and those ending with Thorpe originate from the Norsk language. So it would appear that the Danes created settlements around the existing Saxon villages. Ewerby is one such village and is thought to mean Ivarr's village; Asgarby was Asgar's village.
The Norman invasion and up to the 15th Century	Shortly after Williams's famous battle at Hastings in 1066, the people of Lincolnshire presented him with a problem. In 1069, a Danish king came with a large fleet on the Humber and with the support of the Lincolnshire people, overran much of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. In December that year William inflicted a crushing defeat on the invaders and the uprisers, and laid waste the land and everything which could give support to the army. Through the Domesday survey in 1086, Lincolnshire villages, befell to the first centralized means of taxation. The records are interesting and give a picture of economic structure in the area. Click on Domesday entry page for more information.