Lincolnshire county page

Contents

Lincolnshire Towns & Parishes

Nearby Places

Great Hale (Hale Magna)

Census

• The parish was in the Heckington sub-district of the Sleaford 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 was a Norman structure dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
  
  
• The church tower is believed to be of Saxon origin.
  
  
• The church was restored in 1896.
  
  
• There is a photograph of St. John the Baptist Church on the Wendy Parkinson Church Photos web site.
  
  
• Here are two photographs of St. John the Baptist Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• The Family History Library shows all Little Hale church records as being under Great Hale.
  
  
• The Lincolnshire FHS has a Loan Library service which has the parish registers on microfiche for Baptisms from 1636 to 1812 and Marriages from 1568 to 1812.
  
  
• I have been warned that the parish registers prior to 1674 are illegible. There are no register entries between 1647 and 1672.
  
  
• The LFHS has published several indexes for the Lafford Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• Gordon Warrington hase been transcribing the Parish Registers for Great Hale, which cover baptisms, marriages and burials from 1810-1837. These can be downloaded in MS Excel format from the Heckington site.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1851. 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 Heckington sub-district of the Sleaford 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

This parish and the village now called "Hale" lies just south of Heckington parish and eastsoutheast of Sleaford. Little Hale parish is to the southwest. The parish includes about 5,100 acres and is crossed by the Car Dyke to the east of the village.

Hale itself seems almost a suburb of Heckington. If you are planning a visit:

• The parish is drained by the South Forty Foot Drain which runs to the River Witham.
  
  
• Take the A17 trunk road that runs between Sleaford and Holbeach and turn south at Heckington onto the B1394. Alternatively, you could take the A52 between Grantham and Boston and turn north onto the B1394 at Swaton.
  
  
• Visit our touring page for more sources.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 1442.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #261 map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Names, Geographical

• The name Hale is Old English halh or "nook or corner of land". The village is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Hale, and the entry covers both Great Hale and Little Hale. Hale Magna is the Latinized form of Great Hale and may appear in some church entries.
  [A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
  
  
• The name is pronounced "GRET-tail" by the locals. Cheryl
  
  

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Newspapers

Here's a newspaper clipping mentioning the village. Unfortunately, the newspaper's name is lost, but the date is 13 Oct. 1917: Diane Maltby

GREAT HALE
DIED OF WOUNDS.- Sergt. A. D. Shaw, R.F.A., son of Mr. R. D. C. Shaw, and son-in-law of the vicar, was wounded on the 2nd inst., and died in hospital in France on the 5th. The deceased soldier joined the Boston Battery soon after the war began, and was sent to France early in 1915, where he remained, with the exception of two short furloughs, until his death. He took part in many engagements, and was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry in October, 1916. In January of the present year he was married to Miss G. McKenzie, daughter of the Vicar. He was wounded in the spring, but ..

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Politics and Government

• The parish was in the ancient Aswardhurn Wapentake in the North Kesteven district in the parts of Kesteven.
  
  
• A border change between 1871 and 1881 brought the parish down to about 3,700 acres.
  
  
• For today's governance, see the North Kesteven District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• The parish heath was enclosed in 1700.
  
  
• After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Sleaford Poor Law Union.
  
  

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Population

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Schools

• A Public Elementary School for 130 children existed here in 1911. Average attendance was only 78.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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