Deeping St Nicholas is a large fenland village in South Holland district, southeast of Market Deeping on the road towards Spalding, and one of the five settlements commonly referred to together as The Deepings. Unlike the other Deepings, it has no medieval origins: the village grew up only after the surrounding fen was drained, becoming its own parish in the 19th century. This guide covers bin collection days, local places, and the village's own history.
Bin collection days
South Holland District Council
Currently a sack-based service: black sacks for general waste, green sacks for recycling. This is changing soon - see the notice below. Use the official checker below for your exact collection date.
Food and drink
History and heritage
Deeping St Nicholas owes its existence to the drainage of Deeping Fen. Early drainage schemes date back to the 17th century, but effective drainage only came with a steam pumping station at Pode Hole, working by 1825, which finally made the reclaimed fen fit for permanent settlement. About half of the drained fen became the new parish of Deeping St Nicholas: St Nicholas's Church was built in 1845 by Charles Kirk of Sleaford and is now Grade II listed, and the ecclesiastical parish was constituted the following year, in 1846, initially without a resident priest. The civil parish was formally established later still, by an Act of Parliament in 1856, after a resident incumbent took up the post in 1853. Because the settlement is a genuine product of 19th-century fen drainage, it has no medieval history of its own, unlike Market Deeping or Deeping St James - earlier references to "Deeping" in medieval records do not refer to this specific place.
The 2011 census recorded a parish population of 1,961, and the parish council describes the village as one of the longest in the country, stretching several miles along the road between the Deepings and Spalding. As well as the main village, the civil parish includes the smaller settlements of Tongue End and Hop Pole. Deeping St Nicholas also has its own Grade II listed war memorial.
Nearby
Market Deeping
The nearest town covered by this guide, a few miles to the northwest, with a wide range of independent pubs, restaurants and takeaways.
The wider Deepings
Market Deeping, Deeping St James, West Deeping and Deeping Gate are the other four settlements collectively known, with Deeping St Nicholas, as The Deepings.