Humberstone (Humberston)
Description and Travel
Humberstone is both a village and parish southwest of Grimsby. Clee parish borders to the north, Waltham parish to the west, and North Summercoates parish is to the south. The North Sea provides the remaining eastern boundery. The area is about 2,950 acres.
Humberston (as it is now spelled) is a large village just south of Cleethorpes, only two miles from the coast, off of the A1031 trunk road along the coast. If you are planning a visit:
- The beach features the Beachcomber, a family holiday centre. There are caravan and overnight camping spots near the beach.
- Bird Watchers can walk from the village to the Humber Estuary where a variety of birds and other creatures await.
- Annual events include a horticultural show, a half marathon and the Humberston Messiah every December.
- Humberstone features a popular golf course, as well, at Humberstone Park.
- Check our touring page for area resources.
Researchers should be aware that there is a Humberstone in Leicester, too. There is also a town of Humberstone in Welland county, Ontario, Canada. It got its name from Governor Simcoe who named the townships of this former Lincoln county area.
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Census
- The parish was in the Grimsby sub-district of the Caistor Registration District.
- In 1891, the Grimsby sub-district became its own Registration District.
- The North Lincolnshire Library holds copies of the census returns for this parish for the years 1841, 1851, 1881 and 1891.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
| Census Year |
Piece No. |
|---|---|
| 1871 | R.G. 10 / 3415 |
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Church History
- An Abbey of Benedictine monks was founded here in the reign of Henry II, dedicated to Saints Mary and Peter, but no traces of it now exist.
- The present Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Peter.
- The church was rebuilt about 1710.
- The church has its own website at St. Peter's Humberston, with a good picture of the church and a schedule of activities, but no church history.
- A photograph of St. Peter's church is at the Wendy Parkinson English Church Photographs site.
- Here is a photo of St. Peter's Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
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Church Records
- Copies of the parish registers are held at the North Lincolnshire Library and cover baptisms 1748 - 1938, burials 1748 - 1943, and marriages 1748 - 1965.
- Copies of the Bishop's Transcripts date from 1561.
- The LFHS has published several indexes for the Haverstoe Deanery to make your search easier.
- The Wesleyan Methodists built a small chapel here in 1835. A larger, replacement chapel was built in 1907. For information and assistance in researching this chapel, 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 Grimsby sub-district of the Caistor Registration District.
- In 1891, the Grimsby sub-district became its own Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
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History
- This is where the Danes landed early in the year 870 to begin their scourge and plunder of Lincolnshire.
- One of the first Wireless Stations was built here in 1910.
- Humberstone is home to the "Humberston Fitties", one of the few surviving plotland developments in the country, dating from World War One. These chalets are open for tours on Sundays during pleasant weather.
- After World War One, a booklet was published in Humberstone which gave a short biography on the soldiers who returned alive from combat. I do not have the title, but check local area libraries to see if they have a copy (Thank you, Fiona Poulton).
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Maps
- The national grid reference is TA 3105.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer 273 map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
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Military History
- Haile Sand Fort stands near the Humberston Fitties.
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Names, Geographical
- Humberstone (more recently spelled Humberston) is from the Old English Humbre+stone for "the boundary stone in the River Humber". In the 1086 Domesday Book, it is rendered in its original form as Humbrestone.
[A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
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Names, Personal
- One famous name associated with the parish is Matthew HUMBERSTONE, Esq., who died in 1709. He is said to be a foundling from Homerton, near London, who became wealthy, purchased the estate at Humberstone and altered his name to that of the village. At his death, he left £1,000 to rebuild the parish church and additional money to build a Free Grammar School and Almshouse. Unfortunately, disputes over the will postponed the building of the school and almshouse until the year 1821.
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Politics and Governance
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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.:
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Population
| Year | Inhabitants |
|---|---|
| 1801 | 199 |
| 1831 | 258 |
| 1871 | 254 |
| 1881 | 264 |
| 1891 | 254 |
| 1911 | 388 |
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Schools
- The first school here was the Humberstone Free Grammar School, erected in 1821 along with a house for the schoolmaster. School was made free to all the male children of Humberstone, Laceby, Clee, Cleethorpes, Weelsby, Tetney, Scartho and Holton-le-Clay. A limit of 100 free scholars was set for the institution, and Humberstone parish lads were given a preference for enrollment. This school was closed in 1874 and an Elementary School built in the parish in 1879 and a higher grade school built in Clee.
- In 1841, a Girl's School was built in Humberstone. Today, parish children attend one of three schools here.
- The Humberston Church of England Primary School is on Church Lane. The website provides no history of the institution.
- The Humberston School which opened in 1977 had a website, now defunct, which provided a limited history on the institution.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
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Last updated on 22-March-2009
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