Caistor
- The Public Cemetery was formed in 1849 under a board of trustees and used principally by the non-conformist churches and chapels.
- The Cemetery is on North Kelsey Road, just after Mallard Drive.
- The parish was in the Caistor sub-district of the Caistor Registration District.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1841 |
H.O. 107 / 630 |
| 1851 |
H.O. 107 / 2113 - 2115 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2392 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3420 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2621 - 2622 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
- The church was built in the reign of Henry III.
- The church tower contains Saxon and Norman work.
- The church was restored in 1856 and again in 1863.
- Renee REDSHAW provides this history of the Gad Whip.
- The churchyard was closed for burials in 1909.
- Here are two photographs of the church supplied by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1584.
- We have the beginnings of the church parish register extract in a text file for your review. Your additions are welcomed.
- The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage indexes and a burial index for the Westwold Deanery to make your search easier.
- The Congregationists established a chapel here in 1842. The Primitive Methodists built their chapel in 1878. The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel in 1842. For more information on these chapel records, see Non-Conformist Church Records.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was in the Caistor sub-district of the Caistor Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
Caistor is a town and a parish in the north of Lincolnshire, in the Wold Hills. It is 23 miles northeast of Lincoln and 11 miles southwest of Grimsby. The parish covers some 6,500 acres and includes the small hamlets of Hundon, Fonaby, and Audleby, as well as Caistor Moor.
The town of Caistor sits on a hill and is one of the higher points in Lincolnshire. If you are planning a visit, see:
- By automobile, take the A46 Trunk Road north out of Lincoln or southwest out of Grimsby.
- The town has its own town information page.
- See our touring page for area resources.
- This place was a Roman station and traces of masonary from that era can still be found.
- The Saxon Vortigen is said to have married Rowena, daughter of Hengist, here in 453.
- Caistor was a Royal Mint from 790 'til 1042.
- Plague touched the town in 1590, but did not ravage it.
- A great fire swept through the town in 1681, consuming more than half the buildings and leaving 45 families in poverty.
- Market Day was on Saturdays.
- A Police Station was built here in 1855.
- The Caistor Gas Works was erected in 1856.
- The Public Hall in High Street was erected in 1887.
- The national grid reference is TA 1101.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- Hengist, a Saxon general, reputedly built the Castrum here after defeating the Picts and Scots. It is from that name that the town derives its name.
- The RAF opened an airfield here in September, 1940, as a relief airfield for RAF Kirton in Lindsey. Because of the hilly terrain nearby, the field was used primarily for training. The field was grass only.
- The airfield closed in 1945.
- The airfield reopened as a Thor missile base in 1959.
- The missile base closed in 1963.
There is a war memorial at the corner of Market Place and South Street and a Roll of Honour on oak panels in The Church of Saints Peter and Paul. See them and the list of names at the Roll of Honour site.
- The ancient Britons called this place "Caer-Egarry".
- Caistor is derived from the Roman word "Castra", meaning "camp" or garrison place.
- When the Romans left and the Saxons inhabited this town, they called it "Tunnaceaster".
- The name Caistor is pronounced by the locals as either "Kay-yes-ter" or "Ker-yes-ter".
- In old records you may see the name as "Caster" or "Castor".
- This place was an ancient township and parish in Lincolnshire and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the ancient Yarborough Wapentake in the West Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
- Caistor is governed by a Town Council. You may contact them regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to assist you with family hisotry searches.
- Today's district governance is provided by the West Lindsey District Council.
- A House of Industry was built on the west side of town in 1800 to employ the chronic poor under the Gilbert Act.
- The Common Lands were enclosed here in 1814.
- With the Poor Law Amendment Act reform of 1834, this parish became the centre of the Caistor Poor Law Union.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Caistor petty session hearings.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
861 |
| 1811 |
1,051 |
| 1821 |
1,253 |
| 1831 |
1,377 |
| 1851 |
2,166 |
| 1861 |
2,141 |
| 1871 |
2,012 |
| 1881 |
1,867 |
| 1891 |
1,788 |
| 1901 |
1,567 |
| 1911 |
1,544 |
- The Free Grammar School was founded in 1630 by way of the will of Francis RAWLINSON. A subsequent endowment was made by William HANSARD.
- See our Schools page for more information on researching school records.
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[Last updated: 26-December-2012 - Louis R. Mills]
