Roman activity in Deeping has left us with the remains of the Car Dyke, a waterway which once extended from Peterborough to Lincoln. Its history – and mysteries – will be the subject of David Blessett’s talk at our January meeting. Godsey Lane in Market Deeping approximately follows the course of the Car Dyke, and has a puzzling history of its own.

No other lanes or roads in England have the name Godsey, and it is a rare surname that was shared by only sixteen people in the 1841 English census. A map from around 1800 names Godsey Lane as a narrow route leading from High Street, and then widening out to become Godsey Road as it heads towards Towngate East. At its southern end it provided carriage access to the rear of properties in Church Street and High Street, then it passed through open fields. Its alternative name of Tinkers’ Lane is mentioned in 1848, but there is no evidence that it pre-dates “Godsey”.

Did the lane exist from the time of the Car Dyke, when excavated earth was piled on to a bank? There is evidence of pre-Roman settlement in the vicinity. In 1979 when foundations were being dug for houses on the corner of Godsey Lane and John Eve Way, fragments of an ancient cremation urn were discovered, with several small flints and the bone implement pictured below.

When and why was the lane named Godsey? A survey of Market Deeping in 1563 lists only St Guthlac’s Lane, Parson’s Lane and Stamp Lane. The surname Godsawe is recorded in Deeping St James around that time, and during the late 1600s a family named Godsey was living in that village, but no reason has been found to link them to the lane which had no dwellings along it until the 1940s. At a casual glance, Godsey Lane looks like a modern development, but it has a long history which is not yet fully understood.

Jim Irvine’s talk starts at 7.30 pm in the main hall of the Community Centre, Market Deeping. Everyone is welcome. Admission £3. We look forward to enrolling members for the new season at £6 per person, with a reduced admission charge of £1 for each meeting.