Willoughton
- The parish was in the Scotter sub-district of the Gainsborough Registration District.
- The North Lincolnshire Library holds a copy of the parish census returns for 1841 through 1901.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Andrew.
- The church was rebuilt in 1794 and restored in 1888-9 and seats about 152.
- There is a photograph of St. Andrew's Church on the Wendy Parkinson web site.
- Here is a photo of St. Andrew's Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
- Parish registers exist from 1599, as do the Bishop's transcripts.
- The North Lincolnshire Library holds a copy of the parish register entries for baptisms 1600-1858, burials 1600-1898 and marriages 1600-1847.
- The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Corringham Deanery to make your search easier.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- Information on present church services and contact information can be found on the Glentworth Parishes Group web site.
- The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel here, as did the Primitive Methodists, both before 1842. For more on these chapels and their records, check our Non-Conformist Church Records page for additional resources.
- The parish was in the Scotter sub-district of the Gainsborough Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
Willoughton is both a parish and a village in a valley about nine miles east-northeast of Gainsborough and four miles south of Kirton. The parish itself is bordered on the north by Blyborough parish, to the west by Corringham parish and to the south by Hemswell parish. The parish covers about 2,700 acres.
Willoughton village sits just off the main roads. If you are planning a visit:
- The village can be accessed off of the A631 trunk road east of Gainsborough. Turn north at the B1398 and go about two miles and the village will be on your left.
- Visit our touring page for more sources.
- In ancient times, the parish belonged to the Abbey of St. Nicholas by Angiers and the Knights Templar. The Templar estates then passed to the Knights Hospitallers, who had a preceptory here. At the Dissolution, the Hospitallers property passed to the John COCK and John THURGOOD, but the Abbey lands were granted to King's College. The perceptory stood on the spot now called Temple-Garth.
- From 1842 through 1912, the chief landowners in the parish were the Earl of Scarborough and King's College, Cambridge.
- The national grid reference is SK 9293.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #271 map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- The name Willoughton comes from the Old English wilig+ton for "village where willow trees grow". The name appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as Wilchetone.
A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.
- White's 1842 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: BARRATT, BURTON, CLIXBY, COUPLAND, CUST, DAUBNER, FRANCIS, FRANKISH, GILBERT, GLOVER, GREENWOOD, HALL, HILL, JOHNSON, KEYWORTH, LIDGETT, MARSHALL, MIDDLETON, POST, RICHARDSON, ROBINSON, TORRY, TOWLER, WALTER, WATSON, WATTS, WILLEY and WOOD.
- White's 1872 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ANDREW, ATKIN, BARNINGHAM, BARRATT, BROWN, BURTON, CLIXBY, CROSS, DAUBNEY, DOWNHAM, GLEADLE, GLOVER, HALL, HILL, KEYWORTH, LEWIS, LITTLE, MARSH, MARSHALL, MUMBY, NICHOLSON, RICHARDSON, SEATON, SPROTBERRY, STOREY, TORRY, WATTS, WETHERHOGG, WILLEY, WILSHIRE, WOOD and WRIGHT.
- Kelly's 1900 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ANDREW, BARRATT, BULLIVANT, CROSS, DAUBNEY, ECHALAZ, FENTON, FIELDSON, GLOVER, HALL, HILL, MARSHALL, MUMBY, NICHOLSON, PACEY, PARISH, RICHARDSON, SKEPPER, SNOWDEN, SPROTBERRY, TREVOR, TWEED, WAINWRIGHT and WEATHERHOGG.
- Kelly's 1913 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ANDREW, BLAND, BROCKLESBY, CROSS, DAUBNEY, FENTON, FIELDSON, FORD, GLOVER, HILL, HUTCHINSON, KING, MARSHALL, MUMBY, NICHOLSON, PACEY, PARISH, RICHARDSON, SKEPPER, SWALWELL, TREVOR, WAINWRIGHT, WEATHERHOGG and WOODHEAD.
- The parish was in the ancient Aslacoe Wapentake in the West Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
- Betton's Charity contributed £5 per year to support the National School built in 1845.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Gainsborough Poorlaw Union Workhouse.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
320 |
| 1831 |
477 |
| 1871 |
606 |
| 1891 |
457 |
| 1911 |
433 |
- A National School was built here in 1845 and enlarged in 1865 and again in 1871 to accommodate up to 150 children, although attendance was about half that in 1900.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
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[Last updated: 23-May-2008 - Louis R. Mills]
