Hide

Sewstern

hide
Hide

Description in 1871:
"SEWSTERN, a chapelry in Buckminster parish, Leicester; 1 mile S S E of B. village, and 5¼ E N E of Saxby r. station. Post-town, Colsterworth, under Grantham. Real property, £2,424. Pop., 307. Houses, 67. The manor belongs to the Earl of Dysart. The living is annexed to Buckminster. The church was built in 1842; and there is a Wesleyan chapel."
John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72

Hide
topup

Census

  • The parish was in the Waltham sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District until 1935.
     
  • In 1935, the parish was transfered to the Melton and Belvoir Registration District.
     
  • The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 587
1861R.G. 9 / 2304
1871R.G. 10 / 3298
1891R.G. 12 / 2546
topup

Church History

  • The Anglican parish church was built as a Chapel of Ease in 1842.
     
  • An older chapel existed but was destroyed many years before 1842.
     
  • The parishioners attended church at Buckminster while waiting for the new chapel to be built.
     
  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
     
  • The church seats 130.
     
  • The church holds a feast on the Sunday after October 10th.
     
  • Andrew TATLOW has a photograph of Holy Trinity Church on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
     
topup

Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1538.
     
  • The church is in the rural deanery of Framland (second portion).
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here prior to 1849. A new chapel was built as a replacement in 1904.
     
topup

Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Waltham sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District until 1935.
     
  • In 1935, the parish was transferred to the Melton and Belvoir Registration District.
     
topup

Description & Travel

Sewstern is a village, a township, a chapelry and a parish 10 miles south of Grantham, 9 miles east-north-east of Melton Mowbray and 123 miles north of London. The parish is in the Wold Hills and is bordered by Gunby parish in Lincoln county to the east and Wymondham parish to the south. The parish covered about 1,200 acres.

If you are planning a visit:

  • By automobile, take the B676 arterial road east out of Melton Mobray toward Colsterworth (Lincolnshire). Turn south at Buckminster and go about 1 mile to find Sewstern village.
     
  • There is bus service to Sewstern from Melton Mowbray.
     
  • J. THOMAS has a photograph of the Village Hall on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2012. You should stop in and ask for a schedule of forth-coming events.
     
You can see pictures of Sewstern which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

topup

History

  • Most of the parish land was held in pasturage. Much of the remaining land was used for small farms.
     
  • Small scale iron mining, in open pits, occurred here in the 1800s and early 1900s.
     
  • Tim HEATON has a photograph of the Blue Dog public house on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2006.
     
Year Person
1849Mrs. Ann GRICE
1855Richard GRICE
1861Richard GRICE, vict.
1881Thomas GRICE
1912Arthur DYER
1925Henry ARMSTRONG
topup

Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK892218 (Lat/Lon: 52.786414, -0.678812), Sewstern which are provided by:

topup

Military History

Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the War Memrorial cross on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2016.

topup

Military Records

From the War Memorial:

NameRankRegt.UnitDiedNotes
George Thomas ARMSTRONGLance CorporalLincs. Regt.B Co., 7th Batn.14 Sept. 1918Enlisted in Grantham. Wife: Lillie. Son of Alfred Armstrong and and his wife Mary.
Alfred William ARMSTRONGgunnerAustralian Field Artl.2nd Div.7-May-1917Son of Alfred Armstrong and and his wife Mary.
John Thomas DEATHstoker 1st classHMS Invincible 31-May-1916Son of Charles Thomas Death and his wife Alice Elizabeth.
Strawson Christopher TRAFFORDprivateDurham Light Infantry1/525-Sept-1916birth registered in third Qtr, 1895, Melton Mowbray District, Leics.
topup

Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient Chapelry in the parish of Buckminster and became a modern Civil Parish in December, 1866.
     
  • The parish was in the ancient Framland Hundred in the northern (or eastern) division of the county.
     
  • On 24 March, 1884, the parish was reduced in size with parcels going to Buckminster Civil Parish.
     
  • On 1 April, 1936, Sewstern Civil Parish was abolished and the remining 1,117 acres went to Buckminster Civil Parish.
     
  • See Buckminster Civil Parish for local and district governance links.
     
topup

Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Melton Mowbray petty session hearings.
     
  • As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Melton Mowbray Poorlaw Union.
     
topup

Population

 YearInhabitants
1841202
1861307
1871232
1881201
1891203
1901167
1911189
1921222
1931241
topup

Schools

  • A Council School was built here around 1860, enlarged in 1873 and rebuilt in 1898. It could hold 120 children.
     
  • The children of this chapelry/parish attended the National School at Buckminster.
     
  • The school lies on the border between Sewstern and Buckminster.