Kirkstead

Note: Researchers should be aware that there is at least one other Kirkstead parish in England.

Description and Travel

Kirkstead is both a village and parish 122 miles north of London and 7 miles southwest of Horncastle. Woodhall and Martin parishes border to the north, Kirkby on Bain to the east, and Tattershall Thorpe parish is to the south. The River Witham flows along the southwest border of the parish. The parish area before then was about 1,550 acres and about 1,440 thereafter. The hamlet of Town End is 1 mile north-east of the church.

Kirkstead village is a small affair, southwest of Woodhall Spa, west off of the B1192 trunk road. The village is alongside the River Witham. If you are planning a visit:

• The village is also in the "AA Road Atlas of Britain 2000", page 33, as being near Woodhall Spa.
  
  
• See our touring page for area resources.
  
  

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Census

• The parish was in the Tattershall 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 Cistercian abbey was founded here in 1139. The original abbot and twelve monks were from Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire.
  
  
• It appears the small, ancient Anglican church or chapel was built for the villagers by the monks of the Abbey in the 13th Century, since only the monks were allowed at services in the Abbey. It now stands near the Abbey ruins. The church here was originally a thatched-roof stone building, but the roof was converted to slate in 1790, and the bell, which had hung in a tree, was placed over the west end of the building. The graveyard is thought to date from around 1200.
  
  
• The present Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Leonard.
  
  
• The Anglican church building fell into disuse and was taken over by Daniel DISNEY as a Presbyterian chapel until 1812, when a new Anglican minister was assigned.
  
  
• Visit the Church of St. Leonard's Without page at Churchmouse for a little history and some photographs.
  
  
• Visit the Fairweather website for more information on the church.
  
  
• Tours of the village church, St. Leonard's, are held on Saturday and Sunday, 2pm - 5pm by Lincolnshire Heritage.
  
  
• There is a photograph of Saint Leonard's Church on the Wendy Parkinson Church Photos web site.
  
  
• Here is a photo of St. Leonard's Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• The Anglican parish registers date from 1638.
  
  
• The LFHS has published several indexes for the Horncastle Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• Parish registers are now on file at the Society of Genealogists, covering 1663 - 1799.
  
  
• Kirkstead marriages are in Boyd's Marriage Index, covering 1676 - 1837.
  
  
• I.G.I batch number for christenings, covering 1814 - 1845, is C029621.
  
  
• In 1821 and 1822 a new Presbyterian chapel was built at Kirkstead Wharf in Woodhall parish. It was later used by the Unitarians. For information and assistance in researching see our non-conformist religions page.
  
  
• Visit the Kirkstead Unitarian Chapel, Woodhall Spa web page.
  
  
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
  
  

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Civil Registration

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

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History

• Kirkstead wasn't a parish at the time of the Norman Conquest. At that time it was a hamlet of Kirkby on Bain. William the Conqueror awarded a manor here to Eudo, one of his knights.
  
  
• Eudo's son, Hugh BRITO (or Hugo BRETON) founded a Cistercian monestary or Abbey here in 1138, dedicated to St. Mary. Monks here complained that the area was swampy and unhealthy.
  
  
• Human bones have been discovered in the Abbey ruins, but none have been identified.
  
  
• Dr. John TAYLOR, author of "The Hebrew Concordance", was minister here from 1715 to 1733.
  
  
• In the early 1800's, as the River Witham was being dredged, six ancient iron candlesticks, presumably from the Abbey, were found.
  
  
• After the dissolution of the monasteries, the Abbey and all lands were surrendered to the King in 1537. The manor passed through several hands and in 1836 it was sold to Thomas MOORE, Esq., of Appleby Hall, Leicestershire. He became owner of all the land in the parish at that time.
  
  
• Kirkstead used to be a station on the Great Northern Railway. Kirskstead is included in the book, "Railways to Skegness" by A.J. Ludlam, published by Oakwood Press, ISBN 08536 15187, 160 pages, size A5, with over 150 photographs.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 1762.
  
  
• You can get an online map of the area by using the parishes two postcodes, LN10 6UH and LN10 6UQ as parameters on Mapquest.com or Streetmap.com.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Military History

In St. Leonard's church is an Oak tablet memorial to the men of World War One from Kirkstead who did not return home (See also: Kirkstead Memorial):

Daniel CHAPMAN
Albert CASH
Harry HOULDEN
George E. OTTER
Wilfred Henry TRAVES

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Names, Geographical

• Kirkstead is from the Old English Cirice+stede for "Site of a Church", presumably because of the Abbey of St. Mary. Shortly after the Abbey was built, the village was called Cristed.
  
  

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Politics and Government

• The parish was in the south division of the ancient Gartree Wapentake in the East Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
  
  
• In the late 1930's, quite a large portion of Kirkstead was taken into the Woodhall Spa Urban District.
  
  
• The more ancient parish of Kirkstead amalgamated with Woodhall Spa in the early 1980s. This recognized the reality that Kirkstead was the western part of Woodhall Spa between the village centre and the River Witham.
  
  
• For today's governance, see the East Lindsey District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• 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

• Daniel DISNEY funded schooling for the children of Kirkstead in the 1700's, but the children had to attend school in Langton near Horncastle. By 1900, the parish children had moved to a school in Woodhall Spa.
  
  
• No school has been built at Kirkstead.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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