Lincolnshire county page

Contents

Lincolnshire Towns & Parishes

Nearby Places

Colsterworth

Census

• The parish was in the Colsterworth sub-district of the Grantham Registration District.
  
  
• In 1890, after the Poor Law Union was reorganized, the parish was in the "Grantham South" sub-district of the Grantham Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
  
  
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

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Church History

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
  
  
• Some arches on the south side of the building are of Saxon origin.
  
  
• Woolsthorpe hamlet once contained a Chapel of Ease, but this was no longer in use by 1842.
  
  
• St. John's was restored in 1876.
  
  
• St. John's seats 275.
  
  
• Here is a photo of St. John the Baptist's church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• Anglican parish registers exist from 1561. (Kelly's 1900 Directory tells us 1572.)
  
  
• The parish is also listed in Boyd's Marriage Index, covering the period from 1573 - 1837.
  
  
• We have a partial register extract. Your additions are welcome.
  
  
• The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Beltisloe Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The parish at one time had a thriving Wesleyan Methodist chapel, first built in 1836. For more information on researching this chapel, see our non-conformist church records page.
  
  
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
  
  

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Civil Registration

• The parish was in the Colsterworth sub-district of the Grantham Registration District.
  
  
• In 1890, after the Poor Law Union was reorganized, the parish was in the "Grantham South" sub-district of the Grantham Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
  
  

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Description and Travel

Colsterworth is both a village and parish on the River Witham. Cringle Brook forms part of the western parish border. Across the Brook is Leicestershire. Colsterworth is just 2 miles south of the township of Easton. The parish includes the hamlets of Woolsthorpe and Twyford and covers about 2,700 acres.

Woolsthorpe hamlet is an ancient village, lying about a mile west of Colsterworth. It was here that Sir Isaac NEWTON reportedly saw an apple fall, circa 1665, giving rise to his theories on gravitation. If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, take the A1 motorway between Stamford and Grantham. The village is located where the A151 from Bourne intersects the motorway, about 8 miles south of Grantham.
  
  
• Visit our touring page for more sources.
  
  

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Manors

At the Manor House, you'll find that Isaac Newton was born in the parish in the hamlet of Woolsthorpe on 25th of December 1642. We have a short extract from a biography.

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Maps

• The national grid reference is SK 9224.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #247 map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Names, Geographical

• The name Colsterworth is from the Old English colestre+worth for "enclosure of the charcoal burners," the name appeared as Colsteuorde in the 1086 Domesday Book.
  A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• The parish was in the ancient Winnibriggs and Threo Wapentake in the South Kesteven district in the parts of Kesteven.
  
  
• Around 1840, the Wapentake boundaries were changed and the parish was first moved to Loveden Wapentake. Later, it was in the Beltisloe Wapentake.
  
  
• The parish was also within the Soke of Grantham.
  
  
• For today's local governance, contact the South Kesteven District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• As a result of the Poor Law Reform Act of 1834, the parish became part of the Grantham Poor Law Union.
  
  
• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Spittlegate petty sessional division.
  
  
• The parish erected almhouses for 4 poor widows of the parish in 1861.
  
  

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Population

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Schools

• A National School was built here in 1824 by Edmund TURNOR, who also bequeathed money for the school's heating and maintenance. The school was open to poor children from nearby parishes, but they had to pay a penny per week to the master.
  
  
• An Infants' School was built here prior to 1900.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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