Navenby - Culture and Community

Culture and Community

Navenby used to be served by several public houses, but The Butcher's Arms and The Green Man Inn have long been converted into private houses. Now, just the King's Head and The Lion and Royal remain.

The Grade II listed 18th-century King's Head is probably the oldest public house in the village; the nearby Lion and Royal dates from 1824 and is also Grade II listed. It was probably just called "The Lion" when it first opened, but added "Royal" to its name in honour of a special visitor. There is a large emblem over the front door, topped by the Prince of Wales's feathers, presented after the Prince (later Edward VII) stayed there, albeit briefly, in 1870.

The former Green Man Inn, at the junction of Green Man Lane and the A15, was once a staging post for travellers and may have also been a court house. The Lincoln Club was established here in about 1741, catering for the "distinguished gentlemen of Lincolnshire". Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the notorious Hellfire Club, was a member, as were Lord Monson of Burton and Lord Robert Manners of Bloxholm.

Lincolnshire has a number of local dishes, including stuffed chine and haslet, and Navenby is home to several local food champions. Navenby baker Pete Welbourne was named as Great Britain's Baker of the Year in 2004, for his Lincolnshire Plum Bread recipe, and Odling Bros butchers' shop has enjoyed repeated success in an annual competition to find the best Lincolnshire pork sausages in the county.

Local legend has it that Navenby is part of the Temple Bruer Pentagram. The pentagram includes the nearby villages of Temple Bruer – which has strong connections with the Knights Templar of the 12th century – as well as Wellingore and Harmston. It appears the sign is centred on the sewage works just west of Navenby. The pentagram is seen as having magical associations and is often said to have offered protection to witches. It also, however, has links with Christianity, Freemasonry and the Knights Templar, who used the pentagram symbol to represent "infinity, connectiveness and oneness".

Although the A607 trunk road passes through Navenby, the village can also be accessed from the "haunted" A15, which runs past the end of Green Man Lane. According to local legend, a hanging tree once stood at the junction of the two roads, and those who died there still haunt the area.

Scottish singer Barbara Dickson, OBE, briefly lived in Navenby in the 1970s. She went on to star in the Willy Russell musical Blood Brothers in 1982, as well as sing on the cast album recording of Chess, dueting with Elaine Paige. Another Navenby notable is Fenella Stoner, an artist who has exhibited at the Royal Academy and often paints pictures of the village and her garden.