Belton
Note: There is another Belton near Grantham, Lincolnshire. The name also appears in Norfolk, Rutland and Leicestershire.
Belton is one of the eight original parishes in the Isle of Axholme in the far north-west corner of Lincolnshire. It is just 2 miles north of Epworth and south of the M180 Motorway. The hamlets of Westgate and Sandtoft are within the parish boundary. The area is about 8,500 acres of flat moorland.
If you are planning a visit:
- The parish was part of the Epworth sub-district of the Thorne Registration District (which is mostly in Yorkshire).
- The The Lincolnshire Family History Society has published surname indexes on fiche or in booklet form for each of the census years under the title "Glanford Brigg Reg. Dist.". These are available by credit card from the Federation of Family History Societies Bookstore with worldwide shipping. Please note that these are SURNAME indexes only, and do not show first names, age or relationships.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
| Year |
LDS Film/Fiche No. |
Piece Numbers |
LFHS Surname Index |
| 1841 |
0438761 |
H.O. 107 / 627 |
Fiche |
| 1851 |
0087608 |
H.O. 107 / 7xx |
Booklet |
| 1861 |
0543146 |
R.G. 9 / 3523 |
Fiche |
| 1871 |
0847318 |
R.G. 10 / 4725 |
Booklet |
| 1881 |
1342136 |
R.G. 11 / 32xx |
| 1891 |
6098978, 2 fiche |
R.G. 12 / 3868 |
Booklet or Fiche |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to All Saints. It was built in the reign of Henry VI.
- You might find this copy of a Petition to the King interesting.
- The church was reroofed and partly restored in 1863.
- The churchyard was enlarged in 1862 to accomodate more burials.
- There is a photograph of All Saints' Church on the Wendy PARKINSON Church Photos web site.
- Here is a photo of the church, taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- The Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City has the parish register on microfilm covering 1542 to 1884 and the Bishop's Transcripts from 1599 to 1830 on another microfilm.
- The FHL also has Parish Register Printouts of Belton covering 1599 - 1812. In addition, the FHL holds a film of monument inscriptions for the Bassingdale family that covers 1700 - 1900.
- Check the Isle of Axholme Deanery to see what LFHS indexes exist.
- There were also chapels for Primitive Methodists, Wesleyan Methodists, and Connexion Methodists. For more on researching these chapel records, see our non-conformist religions page.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was part of the Epworth sub-district of the Thorne Registration District (which is mostly in Yorkshire).
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
- See the history and description of Belton provided by the Isle of Axholme FHS.
- In 1865, a water pump was built at Dirtness Bridge to keep the land drained.
- The national grid reference is SE 7807.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- David SQUIRE has a photograph of the Belton War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2006.
- The RAF opened an airfield here near Sandtoft in February of 1944 as a satellite field for RAF Lindholme. Halifax bombers were based at the field.
- After the war RAF Sandtoft was placed on "care and maintenance" status. The USAF took over the field in April, 1953, but never occupied it. They gave it back to the RAF in September, 1955.
- A flying club uses the peripheral track as a runway.
- At last report (2012), a small museum to the RAF was being developed on the site.
For a photograph of the Belton War Memorial and the list of names on the plaque, see the Roll of Honour site.
- The name Belton is from the Old English bel+tun, meaning "farmstead on dry ground in marsh." It is first recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Beltone.
[A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
- The parish was in the ancient Manley Wapentake in the West Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
- In the 1972 government redistricting, Belton became part of the Boothferry District, which was then in the County of Humberside (formerly Lindsey, Lincolnshire).
- The County of Humberside was abolished on 1st April 1996.
- You can contact the Parish Council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT staffed to assist with family history searches.
- For today's district governance, see the North Lincolnshire Council website.
- The parish became part of the Thorne Poor Law Union after the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Epworth petty session hearings.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
1,259 |
| 1811 |
1,285 |
| 1821 |
1,437 |
| 1831 |
1,597 |
| 1841 |
1,707 |
| 1851 |
1,738 |
| 1861 |
1,871 |
| 1871 |
1,941 |
| 1881 |
1,719 |
| 1891 |
1,445 |
| 1901 |
1,523 |
| 1911 |
1,531 |
| 1921 |
1,528 |
| 1931 |
1,564 |
| 1941 |
N/A |
| 1951 |
1,861 |
| 1961 |
1,613 |
| 1971 |
1,890 |
| 1981 |
2,252 |
| 1991 |
2,549 |
| 2001 |
2,871 |
- The Public Elementary School was built in 1869 for 270 children and was enlarged in 1912.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
Last updated on 17-November-2015
Click here to send any questions and/or comments about this site to the Lincolnshire County Coordinator.
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