HALE (GREAT), a township and a parish in Sleaford district, Lincoln. The township lies ½ a mile S of Heckington r. station, and 5 ESE of Sleaford. Real property, £7, 258. Pop., 687. Houses, 151. The parish includes also the township of Little Hale; and comprises 5, 110 acres. Post town, Heckington, under Sleaford. Real property, £11, 583. Pop., 1, 059. Houses, 223. The manor belongs to the Marquis of Bristol. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lincoln. Value, £810. * Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church comprises nave, chancel, and aisles; and has a porch and a Norman tower. There are a national school, and charities £80.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))