Metheringham
- The parish is in the South West sub-district of the Lincoln 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 / 620-621 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3368 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Wilfrid (also given as "Wilfred").
- The church appears to date from the 13th century, but the old church burnt down in 1599. It was restored in 1603.
- The new church seats about 450.
- There is a photograph of St. Wilfrid's Church on the Wendy Parkinson Church Photos web site.
- Here is a photo of St. Wilfrid's Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1538.
- We have a handful of entries in our Parish Register Extract text file. Your additions are welcome.
- The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage indexes and a burial index for the Graffoe Deanery to make your search easier.
- There was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel built here in Tanvats in 1887. The Wesleyans built a cahpel in Metheringham village in 1840. The Primitive Methodists built their chapel in the village in 1850, as did the Reform Methodists. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish is in the South West sub-district of the Lincoln Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
Metheringham is both a village and a parish southeast of the city of Lincoln and 10 miles north of Sleaford. Dunston parish lies to the north and Blankney parish to the south. The parish covers about 5,900 acres and includes the hamlet of Tanvats, which lies about 4 miles east of the village.
The large village of Metheringham almost merges with Blankney village to the south. If you are planning a visit:
- Take the A15 south out of Lincoln and turn left onto the B1202 trunk road. You should be heading easterly. When you are at the B1188 junction, the village should be in front of you and to the right.
- See our touring page for more sources.
- There had been an ancient cross which stood in the village, but it was replaced by a new one in 1835.
- The parish was drained by the use of a 25-horsepower steam engine. The drainage caused the spring Holywell to stop flowing.
- In 1841, the village hosted a Sick Club and a Cow Club.
- The Old Hall was divided into tenements by 1841.
- Metheringham Cottage is the name of the mansion 6 miles southeast of Lincoln.
- The national grid reference is TF 0661.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey "Explorer #272" map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- Tanvats is in Metheringham parish, in the Fen on the bank of a long drain, called Metheringham Delph. The name is self-explanatory; it was a tannery, vats being used for steeping (soaking) the skins. This usually took place a long way from a village because of the obnoxious smell. About 70 years ago there was a small but lively community which had grown up there. It is still isolated, and now almost deserted although it used to have a thriving Methodist chapel, and a school. It had a beer house which the locals said had the longest bar in the country - they had to drink on the bank of the drain! There is a bridge connecting it with Blankney, jocularly know as Tanvats Pier! The inhabitants had a sense of humour! ["tinribs," 2001].
- Locals often refer to the parish as "Meg" ["Anne Cole," 2007].
- A Mr. COLLEY left almost 4 acres of land for the poor (undated).
- In 1829, John ELLIS left an annuity of £3 for the poor.
- As a result of the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Lincoln Poor Law Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
536 |
| 1811 |
601 |
| 1821 |
626 |
| 1831 |
880 |
| 1841 |
1,197 |
| 1851 |
1,522 |
| 1871 |
1,652 |
| 1881 |
1,857 |
| 1891 |
1,614 |
| 1911 |
1,526 |
- A Church of England School was built here in 1840 as a Reading Room. It was purchased by Henry CHAPLIN and presented to the parish, upon which it became a school. It was enlarged in 1883 to hold 200 children.
- A Wesleyan Church School was built in 1840 to hold 146 children.
- A Church of England School was built at Tanvats in 1840 to hold 76 children.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
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[Last updated: 4-May-2009 - Louis R. Mills]
