Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 April 29

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Navenby village from the Viking Way

Navenby is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England. Lying 8.7 miles (14 km) south of Lincoln and 8.9 miles (14 km) north-northwest of Sleaford, Navenby has a population of 1,666 and is a dormitory village for Lincoln. It forms part of the North Kesteven local government district. A Bronze Age cemetery has been discovered in the village, as well as the remains of an Iron Age settlement. Historians also believe Navenby was a significant staging point on the Roman Ermine Street, as the Romans are reported to have maintained a small base or garrison in the village. Navenby became a market town after receiving a charter from Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. The charter was later renewed by William Rufus, Edward III and Richard II. When the market fell into disuse in the early 19th century, Navenby returned to being a village. The civil parish of Navenby is rural, covering more than 2,100 acres (8.5 km2). It straddles Ermine Street, a Roman road built between 45 and 75 AD, which runs between London and York. The Viking Way, a 147-mile (237 km) footpath between the Humber Bridge in North Lincolnshire and Oakham in Rutland, also cuts through the village. Among the buildings of note in Navenby is Mrs Smith's Cottage, a mid-19th century Grade II listed building made from early Victorian red bricks which is now run as a museum. (more...)

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  • On this day...

    April 29: Arbor Day in the United States (2011); Easter Friday (Christianity, 2011)

    Sir Francis Drake

  • 1587Anglo-Spanish War: In the Bay of Cádiz, Francis Drake (pictured) led the first of several naval raids on the Spanish Armada that destroyed so many ships that Philip II of Spain had to delay his plans to invade England for over a year.
  • 1910 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the People's Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent of redistributing wealth among the British public.
  • 1945The Holocaust: The Seventh U.S. Army liberated Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, and allegedly wounded and killed German prisoners of war.
  • 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convened and indicted Hideki Tojo and 27 other Japanese leaders for war crimes.
  • 1997 – The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention went into effect, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons in those countries that ratified the arms control agreement.
  • More anniversaries: April 28April 29April 30

    Today's featured picture

    Nautical map of Zwaanendael Colony

    A nautical map of Zwaanendael and Godyn's Bay, a Dutch settlement founded by Samuel Godyn in 1629 in the modern U.S. state of Delaware. Godyn made his land claim to the Dutch West India Company under jurisdiction of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions. After a short time, the initial 32 inhabitants were murdered by local Nanticokes and Godyn sold his land back to the company.

    Map: Johannes Vingboons; Restoration: Lise Broer

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