Mavis Enderby is nearly 8 miles from Horncastle, in an easterly direction, the road passing through High Toynton, skirting Scrafield, and through Winceby, and Lusby, and being part of the old Roman road from Doncaster to Wainfleet. It is about 3 miles west by north of Spilsby, where is the nearest telegraph office; the nearest money order office being at Raithby. Letters, via Spilsby, arrive at 7.30 a.m. The village is prettily situated on a slope of the wolds, the houses clustering about the church, except solitary farm residences of a substantial kind; the parish is roughly divided into Northfield and Southfield. To the north formerly stood a religious house, a dependency of Revesby Abbey. It was last occupied by C. J. H. Massingberd Mundy, Esq. It fell into decay some years ago, and nothing now remains of it, beyond the turf-covered foundations and some fine yew-trees, apparently survivals of a former avenue leading to it. A varied view is seen to the north-east, towards Aswardby and Langton, including the wooded height of Harrington Hill, and other elevated ground, with the graceful spire of Sausethorpe church conspicuous in the intervening valley, one of the most successful creations of the Architect, Stephen Lewin, who, fifty years ago, did some good work among our Lincolnshire churches, notably in his restoration of Swineshead, and his re-building of Brothertoft. The stranger might, by the name of this parish, be reminded of the lines of Sir Walter Scott. {47a} Merry it is in the good green woods, When the Mavis {47b} and Merle {47c} are singing, When the deer sweep by, and the hounds are in cry, And the hunter’s horn is ringing. But no groves or hedgerows vocal with their songsters, gave the parish its name. The Lord of the Manor, in the 12th century was Richard de Malbyse, or Malbishe, a large proprietor, and exercising considerable influence in this neighbourhood, and elsewhere. The epithet has been retained to distinguish this from Bag Enderby, and Wood Enderby; one of which is near and the other not far away. The name Malbyse or Malbishe, means, in old Norman French, an evil beast (compare Bis-on); and the arms of the family, as still preserved at Acaster Malbis, near York, once belonging to a member of the family, are a chevron, with three wild stags heads “erased,” _i.e._, raggedly severed from the body.