View source for Cranwell

{{Short description|Village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England}}
{{original research|date=July 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country =                England
|official_name =           Cranwell
|coordinates = {{coord|53.0367|-0.4619|display=inline,title}}
|population =             2,827
|population_ref =         (2011)
|population_density = 
| civil_parish=            [[Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap]]
|shire_district =          [[North Kesteven]]
|shire_county =            [[Lincolnshire]]
|region =                  East Midlands     
|constituency_westminster = [[Sleaford and North Hykeham (UK Parliament constituency)|Sleaford and North Hykeham]]
|post_town =               SLEAFORD
|postcode_district =       NG34 
|postcode_area =           NG
|dial_code =               01400
|os_grid_reference =       TF034502
|static_image_name =       Cranwell Village Centre.jpg
|static_image_caption =    Cranwell village centre, view of the medieval buttercross base with later addition 
|london_distance_mi=       105<!-- straight line per MOS – constant and comparable with other place distances -->
| london_direction=        S
}}
'''Cranwell''' is a village in the [[civil parish]] of [[Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap]], in the [[North Kesteven]] district of [[Lincolnshire]], England. It is situated approximately {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} north-west from [[Sleaford]] and {{convert|14|mi|km|0}} south-east from [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]]. The principal through road, the B1429 between the [[A15 road (England)|A15]] to the east and the [[A17 road (England)|A17]] to the west, joins the village to [[RAF Cranwell]]. The appropriate [[civil parish]] is called Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap with a population of 2,827 at the 2011 census.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122419&c=cranwell&d=16&e=62&g=6446721&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1461678656400&enc=1|title=Civil parish population 2011|access-date=26 April 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>

==Climate==
The [[British Isles]] experience a [[Temperate climate|temperate]], [[maritime climate]] with warm summers and cool winters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate of the World: England and Scotland |url=https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/climate/England-and-Scotland.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708220703/https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/climate/England-and-Scotland.htm |archive-date=8 July 2020 |access-date=8 July 2020 |website=Weather Online}}</ref> Lincolnshire's position on the east of the British Isles allows for a sunnier and warmer climate relative to the national average, and it is one of the driest counties in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate and Weather |url=http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/environment/environmental-report/part-b-background/climate-and-weather/100431.article |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122625/http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/environment/environmental-report/part-b-background/climate-and-weather/100431.article |archive-date=4 March 2016 |website=[[Lincolnshire County Council]]}}</ref> In Cranwell, the average daily high temperature peaks at {{convert|22.1|C|F}} in July and a peak average daily mean of {{convert|17.2|C|F}} occurs in July. The lowest daily mean temperature is {{convert|4.1|C|F}} in January; the average daily high for that month is {{convert|7.0|C|F}} and the daily low is {{convert|1.3|C|F}} (the latter also occurs in February).<ref name="Met Averages"/> The East of England tends to be sheltered from strong winds relative to the north and west of the country. Despite this, [[Tornado|tornadoes]] form more often in the East of England than elsewhere;<ref>{{cite web |title=Eastern England: Climate |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/weather/regional-climates/eastern-england_-climate-met-office.pdf |year=2016 |access-date=4 June 2024 |location=London |publisher=Met Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604142436/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/weather/regional-climates/eastern-england_-climate-met-office.pdf|archive-date=4 June 2024|pp=9–10}}</ref> [[Sleaford]] (within {{Convert|3|mi|km}} of Cranwell) suffered them in 2006 and 2012, both causing damage to property.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 May 2006 |title=Clean up after Tornado Hits Town |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lincolnshire/4985262.stm |access-date=2 February 2015 |work=[[BBC News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404213801/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/4985262.stm |archive-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 June 2012 |title=Tornado Hits Sleaford Area |url=http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/local/breaking-news-tornado-hits-sleaford-area-video-1-4001325 |access-date=2 February 2015 |work=Sleaford Standard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102717/http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/local/breaking-news-tornado-hits-sleaford-area-video-1-4001325 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

{{Cranwell weatherbox}}

==History==
During the medieval period the parish was originally governed as part of the ancient Flaxwell [[Wapentake]] in the North Kesteven division of Lincolnshire. The name Cranwell is thought to mean the spring or stream frequented by cranes or herons.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199609086.001.0001/acref-9780199609086-e-3886?rskey=bh0AxE&result=3911|title=A Dictionary of British Place Names|last=Mills|first=A. D.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2011|isbn=9780199609086}}</ref>

The village centres on the remains of the village cross. The cross is a 14th-century [[market cross]] (or [[buttercross]]) from which important matters of public moment were announced. The cross, which is listed as a scheduled monument, had restoration work carried out by a Mr CH Fowler between 1903 and 1904.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1254082|desc=Village Cross|access-date=7 February 2017}}</ref>

Cranwell manor was held by the Thorold family from the 16th century for over three hundred years. The manor house was demolished in 1816 and the Hall Farm's farmhouse was erected on the site. The Thorold family moved to a new mansion at Syston Park. In 1871 Sir John Thorold is recorded as owning all the land in Cranwell with the exception of the church glebelands and a single farmstead that was under the ownership of [[St John's College, Cambridge]].<ref>[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Cranwell/ Thorold Family]</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2011}}
 
In 1682, Sir William and his wife Lady Anne Thorold are recorded as establishing a charity that gave about £8 and 2 shillings (£8.10) per year for the poor, to be distributed on [[Lady Day]] (25 March and then considered to be New Year's Day). The parish also benefited from the will of Lady Margaret Thorold who granted £15 a year to apprentice four boys from the village. With the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Sleaford Poor Law Union group of parishes.<ref>[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Cranwell/ Charities]</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2011}}

Cranwell railway station, on a [[Cranwell branch|single track branch line]] from Sleaford, opened in 1917 and served the naval aviation training facility then known as RNAS Daedalus, later to become RAF Cranwell. The branch line was closed in 1956 and the track removed. However, the original station building still stands and is in use as the current RAF main guardroom. Engine sheds in a small goods yard area closer to the village were demolished and the land re-used for housing.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

In 1921, the civil parish had a population of 2191.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10409639/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Cranwell CP/AP through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=30 December 2023}}</ref> On 1 April 1931 the parish was abolished and merged with [[Byards Leap]] to form "[[Cranwell and Byards Leap]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10409639|title=Relationships and changes Cranwell CP/AP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=30 December 2023}}</ref>

==Education==
As early as 1682, Sir William and Lady Anne Thorold funded a charity that provided £3 each year for the education of poor children from within the parish. The first true school built in Cranwell opened in 1850 by public subscription and provided facilities for up to 35 children.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

The current Cranwell Primary School is housed in a modern building and has approximately 300 children on the roll between the ages of 4–11. The school is a Foundation school and is non-denominational.<ref>[http://www.cranwell.lincs.sch.uk/ Cranwell Primary School]</ref>

There are no secondary schools in the village and children instead travel to [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], [[Grantham]] or [[Sleaford]].

==RAF College Cranwell==
[[File:RAF Badge on Cranwell gates.jpg|thumb|right|Gates of College Hall, RAF Cranwell]]
Just over one mile to the west of the village is [[Royal Air Force College Cranwell]], and [[RAF Cranwell]] with its two associated airfields. The northern [[airfield]] is the older, being used for light aircraft and airships from 1916 and remains as a grassed field used regularly by [[Glider (sailplane)|gliders]] and light aircraft. The southern airfield is much larger with two paved runways and abuts the A17 road, this was first used as a flying training base in 1917. The paved runways were built in 1954, to make way for the jet aircraft, [[Gloster Meteor|Meteor]] and [[De Havilland Vampire|Vampire]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

Cranwell does not have a [[public house]]. It does, however, have a members only social club. This dates back to when the cadets training at RAF Cranwell during the [[Second World War]] used to come into the village to try to buy alcohol. The members only club was introduced as a deterrent to them, being only temporary residents in the area they were therefore unable to gain membership. To this day, no pub has ever opened its doors to the public, even though the reasons for not having one have long since become obsolete.<ref>[http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/CranwellandByardsLeap/ Cranwell, Brauncewell & Byards Leap] Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byards Leap Parish Council</ref>

==Other uses of the name Cranwell==
The surname Cranwell occurs in Buckinghamshire and Essex (at least), it appears in the ''[[Domesday Book]]''. A few very small farms and hamlets are named Cranwell in Bucks.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Cranwell}}
*[http://www.cranwell.raf.mod.uk/ RAF Cranwell Home Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040323034148/http://www.cranwell.raf.mod.uk/ |date=23 March 2004 }}
*{{mmukscaled|TF034498|100|Location map of Cranwell village}}
*[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Cranwell/ "Cranwell"], [[Genuki]].org.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2011

{{Portal bar|England|United Kingdom}}
{{Lincolnshire|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:North Kesteven District]]