Belchford

Census

• The parish was in the Tetford sub-district of the Horncastle Registration District.
  
  
• We have an extract of a small portion of the 1901 surname index which you are welcome to review or add to.
  
  
• 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 is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.
  
  
• The church was originally built some time before 1153 out of local grey stone.
  
  
• The church was rebuilt in 1781.
  
  
• The church chancel was rebuilt in 1859-60.
  
  
• The church was restored and reseated in 1883. The tower was restored in 1892, then partially taken down in 1902. In recent photographs, the tower is only a shed at the back of the church.
  
  
• A tornado hit the village in 2006 and the church was extensively damaged. Repairs and redecoration have "recently" been completed, but the webpage author has found no dates.
  
  
• The church seats 160.
  
  
• A photograph of the Anglican parish church is at the Wendy PARKINSON English Church Photographs site.
  
  
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Peter & St. Paul's Church on Geo-graph, taken in January 2006.
  
  
• For more photographs of Saints Peter and Paul Church, taken by Patricia McCRORY (who retains the copyright), please see the Genuki parish profile for Belchford.
  
  

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Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1698. Baptisms 1698 through 1985, Marriages 1698 through 1837 and Burials 1698 through 1899.
  
  
• The Bishop's Transcript cover all entries from 1561 to 1834.
  
  
• The LFHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Horncastle Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The Society of Genealogists has Belchford burials from 1813 to 1900.
  
  
• Contact Mark in Barcelona to see if he can find your relatives in his records of Belchford.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a small chapel here, built in 1811 and rebuilt in 1871. In 1984, this chapel was declared unsafe and services are now held in the village hall.
  
  
• For a photograph of the the new red-brick Wesleyan Methodist chapel, see the FlickRiver page.
  
  
• The Primitive Methodists built their chapel in 1834. 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 after 1837.
  
  

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Description and Travel

Belchford is both a village and a parish in the Wolds, nine miles south of Louth and five miles north-east of Horncastle. Scamblesby parish lies to the north and Fulletby parish to the south. The parish covers about 2,600 acres.

Belchford village is in a shallow valley. The River Waring rises in the parish and passes through the village on its way to join the River Bain. If you are planning a visit:

• The village has its own Website.
  
  
• Visit our touring page for visitor services.
  
  
• Here are photographs of the village signs which greet you, taken in 2008 by Patricia McCRORY (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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History

• In 1858, the kennels of the South Wold Hunt Club were opened at Foxendale in this parish. They were still operating only a few years ago.
  
  
• Chris has a photograph of a Hunt horse out for exercise on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2013.
  
  
• In recent years, the parish has held a Midsummer Madness festival in June. And August is the time for the Flower and Produce Show.
  
  
• Try to find a copy of the booklet by J. N. CLARKE, "Belchford: the history of a Lincolnshire Wolds village," (Belchford, 1984). Well referenced and indexed; published by the author.
  
  
• Paul EGGLESTON has a photograph of the Blue Bell Inn on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2009.
  
  

Here are the proprietors of The Blue Bell Inn shown in various Directories:

Betsy HOPKINS, above (in 1900), was born in Horncastle, LIN, circa 1841.

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 2975.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer 273 map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Military History

There is a photograph of the World War II Memorial in the church on Flickr.

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Military Records

Eric WALKER provides this list of names from the WWI war memorial. [2000]

We do not have enough details to identify W. W. Sharp clearly.

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Politics and Governance

• This place was an ancient parish in Lincolnshire and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
  
  
• The parish was in the North division of the ancient Gartree Wapentake in the East Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
  
  
• Belchford has joined with Fulletby to establish a Joint Parish Council, which you may contact regarding civic or political issues. They are NOT funded to assist you with family history searches.
  
  
• For today's district governance, see the East Lindsey District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• The common fields here were enclosed in 1804.
  
  
• The poor of this parish received a dole of bread during the winter. The bread was purchased using rent charges on a field in the parish.
  
  
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Horncastle Poor Law Union.
  
  
• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Horncastle petty session hearings.
  
  

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Population

Year	Inhabitants
1801	275
1811	416
1821	490
1831	517
1841	554
1851	673
1871	571
1881	488
1891	403
1901	362
1911	323
1921	303
1991	275

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Schools

• A school wasn't built here until 1873. In 1912, attendance was 35 students.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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