GENUKI: South Somercotes, LIN

South Somercotes

The parish was in the Saltfleet 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.
1841	H.O. 107 / 644
1871	R.G. 10 / 3408

The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary.
The church is often called "The Queen of the Marsh" due to its lofty spire serving as a landmark for seamen and fishermen.
The church underwent extensive repairs in 1866.
The church seats about 240.
There is a photograph of Saint Mary's church on the Wendy Parkinson Church Photos web site.
Here is a photo of Saint Mary's Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):

Saint Mary's Church

The Anglican parish register dates from 1558.
We have the beginnings of a Parish Register Extract in a text file. Your additions are welcome.
The Lincolnshire FHS has published several Marriage indexes and a Burial index for the Louthesk Deanery to make your search easier.
The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1869 to replace a small one they erected in 1813. There was also a Free Methodist chapel built in 1854, replaced in 1872. 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 was in the Saltfleet sub-district of the Louth Registration District.
Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.

South Somercotes is a village and a parish 8 miles northeast of Louth. The parish covers almost 2,600 acres.

If you are planning a visit:

The national grid reference is TF 4296.
For a modern map of the area, try: Multimaps.
You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
See our Maps page for additional resources.

The parish was in the Marsh division of the ancient Louth Eske Wapentake in the East Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
For today's governance, see the East Lindsey District Council.

In 1620 John LOWRIE left a yearly rent-charge of 10 shillings for the poor.
After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish was part of the Louth Poor Law Union.
Bastardy cases would be heard in the Louth petty sessional hearings.

A Church School was built here in 1845 and enlarged in 1871 to hold 120 children. At that time, each child paid a pence per week to attend.
See our Schools page for more information on researching school records.

[Last updated: 24-March-2009 - Louis R. Mills]