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Withern

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Cemeteries

Julian P. GUFFROGG has a photograph of the "moved" gravestones in the Old Graveyard on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2011.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Withern sub-district of the Louth Registration District.
     
  • Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 649
1851H.O. 107 / 2111
1861R.G. 9 / 2379
1871R.G. 10 / 3399
1891R.G. 12 / 2606
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Church History

  • Stain was once a parish in its own right, but the ancient church of Saint John the Baptist was destroyed centuries ago.
     
  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret.
     
  • Evidence suggests that the church was originally built in the 14th century.
     
  • The church was rebuilt in 1812.
     
  • The church was renovated in 1894.
     
  • The church seats 250.
     
  • The churchyard was expanded by 1/2 acre in 1908.
     
  • There is a photograph of St. Margaret's church on the Wendy PARKINSON Church Photos web site.
     
  • The Diocese of Lincoln declared St. Margaret's Church redundant in July, 1980. In 1983 the church was sold for residential use.
     
  • J. HANNAN-BRIGGS has a photograph of St. Margaret's on Geo-graph, taken in 2011, after its conversion to a private home.
     
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Church Records

  • Anglican parish registers exist from 1558.
     
  • Check our partial Parish Register Extract in a Portablke Document File. Note the comments made by the local vicar. Your additions are welcome.
     
  • The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage indexes and a burial index for the Calcewaith Deanery to make your search easier.
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built in 1875, but had been holding services here since around 1811. Michael PATTERSON has a photograph of the Methodist Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2006.
     
  • J. THOMAS also has a photograph of the Methodist Church on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2013.
     
  • For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
     
  • Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
     
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Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the Withern sub-district of the Louth Registration District.
     
  • Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
     
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Description & Travel

This village and parish is in the northeast of Lincolnshire about six miles southeast of Louth and four miles east of the A16 trunk road, bordered on the north by Gayton le Marsh parish and in the southeast by Strubby parish. It includes the hamlet of Stain, bringing the size of the parish to about 2,750 acres.

If you are planning a visit:

  • By automobile, the parish is on the Louth to Alford road, at the intersection of the A157 trunk road and the B1373 arterial road.
     
  • See our touring page for visitor services.
     
You can see pictures of Withern which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

  • A good history of the parish can be found in "Withern: The Story of a Lincolnshire Parish," ISBN 095395335, author: John PLATT. You can purchase this from the Louth Museum.
     
  • The Red Lion Public House off the A157 has been operating since at least 1842.
     
  • There is a photograph of the Red Lion Hotel on Flickr, taken on August 11, 2008.
     
  • Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Red Lion on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2014. At that time it was closed and boarded up.
     
  • These are the names associated with the place in various directories:
     
Year Person
1842Thomas MARSHALL
1872Thomas MARSHALL, farmer
1882John Thomas MARSHALL, vict.
1913John Thos. MARSHALL
1930Frank B. WILLMER

There was no lodger at the Red Lion in 1881, but the census entry is interesting. Here is the census entry (RG 11/3260 folio 69):

RelationshipNameSexAgeWhere born
HeadMary A. MARSHALLF52Withern, Lincolnshire
sonJohn T. MARSHALLM29Authorpe, Lincolnshire
daugh.Fanny MARSHALLF24Authorpe, Lincolnshire
sonWallis MARSHALLM22Authorpe, Lincolnshire
son (Dau?)Mary RUSHBYF20Raithby, Lincolnshire
son (Dau?)Mary A. MOODYF17Anderby, Lincolnshire
sonWilliam BROWNM18Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire
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Manors

  • The Manor House here, seat of the FITZWILLIAM family, was occupied as a farmhouse in 1900, but the moat still adjoined it.
     
  • Ken THOMAS advises that The Manor House was demolished around 1960 and the farmhouse "adopted" the name "The Manor House".
     
  • Ian S. has a photograph of the newer Manor House on Geo-graph, taken in 2012.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF428820 (Lat/Lon: 53.31568, 0.142122), Withern which are provided by:

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Military History

  • The War Memorial stands near the church on Main Street. The photo is by John READMAN, taken in November, 2005.
     
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Military Records

For another photograph of the Withern War Memorial and the list of names on the Roll of Honour, see the Roll of Honour site.

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Names, Geographical

  • The name Withern is from the Old English Widu+wudu, or "House in the Wood". In the 1086 Domesday Book, the village name is given as Widerne. Another source gives the name as deriving from ON vithr "wood" + OE aerne "house" = "the house in the wood", giving Witheren in the 14th century.
    A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in county Lincoln and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • Stain used to be an ancient parish in county Lincoln but was combined with Withern when the old church of St. John the Baptist was destroyed.
     
  • The parish was in the ancient Calceworth Wapentake in the East Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
     
  • You can contact the local Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to help with family history searches.
     
  • For today's district governance, see the East Lindsey District Council.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Louth Poorlaw Union.
     
  • The Common Lands, some 600 acres, were enclosed here in 1839.
     
  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Alford petty session hearings every other Tuesday.
     
  • In 1907 three almshouses were built in the parish for parishioners over 60 years of age.
     
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Population

Year Inhabitants
1801295
1831390
1841435
1871452
1881457
1891447
1901403
1911407
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Schools

  • A Public Elementary School was built in the hamlet of Stain in 1850 and enlarged in 1858 to hold 100 children.
     
  • The Wesleyans had a school built in 1875.
     
  • Steven FAREHAM has a photograph of the Village School entrance on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2014.
     
  • See our Schools page for more information on researching school records.