Kexby lies on the edge of the Trent Valley four miles south-east of Gainsborough and eleven miles north-west of Lincoln. It was recorded as a settlement in the Doomsday Book (1086) under the name of Cheftesbi/Chestesbi as having 21 houses making it a large settlement at that time. In the 1870’s it was described as “a township in the Upton parish” with 61 houses and a population of 272. It is assumed that it became an independent parish in 1894 when the government of the day created some 14,000 new parishes.
Kexby continues to enjoy close ties with Upton which together form the ecclesiastical parish of Upton-cum-Kexby but both villages have their own Parish Council. Situated between the villages is a shared village hall and sports field with children’s play area and both Parish Councils take responsibility for the Upton and Kexby Burial Ground, although this is located in Upton. All Saints Church at Upton serves the local community along with an active Methodist Chapel, a village shop and country store and the Rose and Crown public house. The two villages virtually merge so these amenities are within walking distance of the main village.
There are regular bus services to Gainsborough and Lincoln from the village and the nearest railway station is Gainsborough Lea Road, some five miles away. There are local primary schools at Lea, Sturton-by- Stow and Marton (all within about five miles) and secondary education is served by Queen Elizabeth’s High School in Gainsborough.
The old school in Kexby is built with an attractive local brick and serves as a reminder of a thriving brick making business that once existed in the village.
The population of Kexby has changed very little since the 1800’s, the 2011 census recorded 340 inhabitants and 140 properties. The big change has been in the size of family, this represents 2.4 people per dwelling compared to the 1870’s where 272 people in 61 houses represented 4.4 people per dwelling.
There is a small village green in the centre of Kexby and, in 2019, local residents caried out a refurbishment and relocation of the old red telephone box from the outskirts of the village to this site of prominence. The old village well remains on the village green which served the village with drinking water before the installation of a piped water supply. It also supplied water to cattle yards in the village through an ingenious weir system. Now preserved the well, which is spring fed, has never been known to run dry even during the most severe droughts.
The spring which feeds the well may at one time have fed a small tributary of the River Till, which flows through low lying farmland to the east of the village. Some historians are of the opinion that the Danes, who first inhabited Kexby, were able to navigate their boats along the Till to a mooring pool near the settlement.
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