The Viking Centre was originally the village Church of England school built in 1851 by the Earl of Yarborough. Also there were 20 terrace houses built, just north of the village, to house the mine workers working at the Claxby ironstone mine and later at Nettleton mine.
With the advent of ironstone mining in the area the population, and therefore school attendance, increased. Once the mine at Nettleton closed in 1968, the population of the village decreased and with only 20 pupils attending, the school was no longer viable and so closed in 1971 and the terrace houses were also pulled down.
The building was redeveloped as the Viking Centre and re opened in 1982; this redevelopment was funded by the West Lindsey Silver Jubilee Association.
Major refurbishment work was carried out in 1997 after the Centre had been awarded a grant of £68,000 by the National Lotteries Charities Board.
Grant funding has enabled us to install central heating, PV panels, new car park, refurbishment of the dormitories, a new kitchen and accessible toilet.
