Horsington

Description and Travel

Horsington is both a village and a parish. The parish lies about five miles west of Horncastle. The parish itself is bounded on the north by Wispington parish, to the west by Bucknall, on the south by Stixwould and on the east by Woodhall. One arm of the parish slips under Bucknall and ends at the River Witham on the southwest. The parish is in the western edge of The Wolds and covers about 1,900 acres.

The parish includes the ancient village of Horsington and a number of scattered farms in the area. The village is about 3 and 1/2 miles east of the River Witham. If you are planning a visit:

• It is probably easiest to take the B1190 west out of Horncastle.
  
  
• Visit our touring page for more sources.
  
  

Cemeteries

• Some time before 1770, the parishioners purchased a burial ground, about an acre in size, which lies a little over a mile from the Anglican church.
  
  

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Census

• The parish was in the Horncastle sub-district of the Horncastle Registration District.
  
  
• The North Lincolnshire Library holds copies of the census returns for 1841 and 1881.
  
  
• 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 dedicated to All Saints and was originally a thatched structure.
  
  
• The church was rebuilt of red brick with stone dressings in 1860.
  
  
• The church seats 169.
  
  
• A photograph of All Saints Church is at the Wendy Parkinson English Church Photographs site.
  
  
• Here is a photo of All Saints Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• Parish registers exist from October 1558. Bishop's Transcripts exist from 1561.
  
  
• The LFHS has published several marriage indexes for the Horncastle Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists builkt a chapel here in 1837. The Primitive Methodists built a chapel here in 1819. The parish is now part of the Horncastle and Bardney Circuit. The Lincolnshire FHS has a fiche listing some "Lincolnshire Methodist Membership Lists - Horncastle and Grimsby areas, 1769 to 1823." Also, check our Non-Conformist Church Records page for additional resources.
  
  
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
  
  

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Civil Registration

• The parish was in the Horncastle sub-district of the Horncastle Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which started in July, 1837.
  
  

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History

• From time immemorial, five acres of land have belonged to the parish for the repairs of the Anglican church.
  
  

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Land and Property

• In 1871, the greater part of the parish was held by Magdalen College, Oxford. Other landowners included Christopher and Jabez TURNOR, the Reverend Francis H. DEANE and Mrs. CLAYTON.
  
  
• In 1913, the principal landowners included Magdalen College, WIlliam LANE-CLAYPON of Hertfordshire and Mr. Elton SCOTT of Horsington.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 1968.
  
  
• An Ordnance Survey "Explorer 273" map will show detail of 2.5 inches to 1 mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Names, Geographical

• The name derives from the Old English Horsa+ing+tun, meaning "estate or farm belonging to Horsa". It appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as Horsintone.
  A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.
  
  

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Names, Personal

• White's 1872 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ABLEWHITE, BELTON, BROWN, CHAFOX, CHAPMAN, CLIFTON, COX, CROFT, CUMMINS, DEANE, DUCKERING, ELMITT, ELVIN, FREEMAN, GRAYSON, GREEN, JACKSON, KEELEY, MAJOR, PRIESTLEY, ROBERTS, SCOTT, SHARP, SKINN, STOTHARD, TIMSON, WALTER and WHALER.
  
  
• Kelley's 1913 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ABLEWHITE, BATES, BLADES, BROWN, CHAPMAN, CLIFTON, COOK, CROFT, CUMMINS, FOWLER, GOODYEAR, GREEN, HILL, MOORE, NEWTON, PINCHBECK, POUCHER, ROOK, SCOTT, SIDEBOTTOM, SIMPSON, TINKER, WALTER and WRIGHT.
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• The parish was in the ancient Gartree Soke in the East Lindsey district and parts of Lindsey.
  
  
• For today's governance, see the East Lindsey District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• The Common Fields were enclosed here in 1760 and about 290 acres were allocated to the church in lieu of tithes.
  
  
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Horncastle Poor Law Union.
  
  

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Population

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Schools

• A National School was built here in 1861 and was attended by over 60 students in 1871. By 1913 that count had dropped to 30.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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