Moorby

Description and Travel

Four and a half miles southeast of Horncastle, Moorby is a parish and small village in the Wold hills. Hameringham parish is to the north and Wilksby parish to the south, with Claxby Pluckacre parish to the east. The parish covered about 725 acres in 1900.

The village is small. If you are planning a visit:

• Take the B1183 southeast off of the A153, just south of Horncastle. The B1183 runs through the village.
  
  
• See our touring page for visitor services.
  
  

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Census

• The parish was in the Tetford sub-district of the Horncastle Registration District.
  
  
• The North Lincolnshire Library holds a copy of the parish 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.
  
  
• The church was rebuilt in 1864 using materials from the old church. Built of stone, it had Ancaster stone dressings.
  
  
• The church spire was struck by lightning on 8 July 1893.
  
  
• The church was restored in 1911.
  
  
• The church seated 160.
  
  
• The church was declared redundant by the Diocese of Lincoln in July, 1976. In November of 1982, the building was demolished and the site sold or leased out.
  
  

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Church Records

• Parish register entries start in 1561 and include Claxby Pluckacre.
  
  
• Burial register entries for All Saints (1813-1899) are included in the National Burial Index (NBI).
  
  
• The LFHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Horncastle Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The volunteers for Free Reg. have transcribed the marriages for this parish from 1681 to 1970. They've also included the baptisms and burials for roughly the same period.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a small chapel here, built before 1842 (some records indicate the chapel was in the Fen allotment, which later went to Wildmore Fen parish). 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 Tetford 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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Land and Property

• In 1842, J. B. STANHOPE was lord of the manor and a principal landowner, but part of the parish belonged to the Rev. W. H. RAWNSLEY and to John ELSEY and a few smallholders.
  
  
• In 1872, J. B. STANHOPE was lord of the manor and a principal landowner, but part of the parish belonged to the Rev. R. B. D. RAWNSLEY and to the trustees of John ELSEY and the trustees of Bardney School.
  
  
• In 1882, J. B. STANHOPE was lord of the manor and a principal landowner, but part of the parish belonged to the Rev. R. B. D. RAWNSLEY and to Thomas ELSEY and the trustees of Bardney School.
  
  
• In 1900, the RAWNSLEY family were the principal landowners.
  
  
• In 1913, the trustees of Rev. RAWNSLEY were the principal landowners.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 2964.
  
  
• 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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Names, Geographical

• The name derives from the Old Scandinavian mor+by, meaning "farmstead or village in the moor or marshland". It appeared in the 1086 Domesday Book as Morebi.
  [A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991].
  
  

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Names, Personal

• White's 1842 Directory lists these individuals: George BAINTON, Thos. BIRD, Martin BORROWS, John FRANKISH, William GREEN, Christopher GUY, Christopher LEONARD, Jno. LOWISH, Wm. NEWHAM, Wm. RANSHAW and John WRIGHT.
  
  
• White's 1872 Directory lists these individuals: Robert BURROWS, John CHEESEMAN, John COOK, Miss Louisa COVILL, Mrs. Elizabeth DAFT, Rev. Hamilton Llewellyn GERTY, William GREEN, Rchd. HARRISON, William NEWHAM, William RANSHAW, Rev. Francis SMITH, John VEAL and Edward WELLS.
  
  
• White's 1882 Directory lists these individuals: John BBrown BURROWS, John CHEESEMAN, John Hall COOK, Holdershaw DAFT, John FOWLER, William GREEN, James HODSON, William NEWHAM, Rev. Francis SMITH, Miss Harriet TABRAHAM, John VEAL and Mrs. Elizabeth WELLS.
  
  
• Kelly's 1900 Directory lists these individuals: James Brown BURROWS, William COOK, George Shaw CHEESEMAN, William HARDY, George MIDDLETON, Thomas MIDDLETON, Rev. Benjamin Williams RICKETTS and Frank Thos. WALTER.
  
  
• Kelly's 1913 Directory lists these individuals: Arthur BELLAMY, Fred BRACKENBURY, George Shaw CHEESEMAN, Mrs. Frances HARDY, Rev. Edward Haydock MURDOCH and Frank Thos. WALTER.
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• The parish was in the ancient Horncastle Wapentake in the East Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
  
  
• The parish was also in the Horncastle Soke.
  
  
• 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

• A parish school was built in 1855, but replaced the next year after the local parishes formed a school board.
  
  
• A National School was erected in 1856 to serve the parishes of Moorby, Wilksby, Calxby Pluckacre and Wood Enderby. The school was enlarged in 1872. Designed to hold up to 104 children, attendance in 1913 was only 48.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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