Burton on Stather
Burton on Stather (or "Burton upon Stather") is a parish in the north of Lincolnshire, 4 miles north of Scunthorpe, 4 miles west of Winterton and 165 miles north of London. A tiny portion of the parish borders on the River Trent. The parish covers about 3,500 acres and includes the hamlets of Darby, Normanby and Thealby within its borders, including a portion of Coleby hamlet.
The village of Burton on Stather is situated on the brow of a cliff on the east bank of the River Trent. The village is famed for its magnificent views. On a clear day, the towers of York Minster some thirty miles away are visible. Just north of the village is Alkborough Hill, providing viewing points over the rivers and surrounding countryside.
Parts of the parish are flood-risk areas. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the B1430 trunk road north out of Scunthorpe.
- Campsites are available near the river.
- The tall, white sturcture that looks like a funnel, just north of the village, is a water tower.
- The waterways bring birds, so birdwatching is a popular pasttime for locals.
- See our touring page for more sources.
- The parish was in the Winterton sub-district of the Glanford Brigg Registration District.
- The North Lincolnshire Library has copies of the census returns for 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1841 |
H.O. 107 / 629 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2400 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3432 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2627 & 2628 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew.
- The church was built in 1160. The tower was added in 1230.
- The church was extensively restored in 1865 and again in 1889.
- The church is Grade I listed with British Heritage.
- The church seats about 350.
- There is a photograph of St. Andrew's 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 Anglican parish registers exist back to 1567 and Bishops Transcripts to 1599.
- The parish was part of the Manlake Deanery, for which the LFHS has created several indexes.
- The Society of Genealogists have the following Anglican parish registers on file: CMB 1567-1673, Christenings 1678-1919, Mar. 1678-1929, Burials 1678-1870.
- The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1840, as did the Primitive Methodists in 1868. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
- David WRIGHT has a photograph of the Methodist Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2006.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was in the was in the Winterton sub-district of the Glanford Brigg Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
- In 1342, a Royal Order issued for the detention of spies named Burton on Stather as a port in the County of Lincoln. Historians tell us that Burton Stather was a busier port than Gainsborough, and may have been the busiest port on the River Trent. In 1315, steamers and ferries went back and forth from Hull and the town was developed as a trading port for North Lincolnshire complete with a market and two fairs. Around 1770, a large part of the town was destroyed in a storm and the banks of the river gave way, flooding the rest of the parish. On 20 Feb., 1777, the brig Phoenix caught fire and 20 barrels of gunpowder exploded, unroofing many houses in the village, and damaging the church. In 1836, the banks of the Trent gave way again.
- In 1835, the Burton Stather Highway Accounts records there being four miles and 427 yards of road to maintain. In the early 1800's, the Wray and Son shipbuilding company built vessels up to 300 tons. In the 19th and 20th centuries bricks and tiles were made in Burton, and ironstone was mined at Thealby. In the mid 1920's, the Dugout Bus Company started operation in Burton on Stather. The buses had a dark green livery with a light green band, cream upperworks and gold lettering.
- In 1987 the village pub, The Sheffield Arms on High street, once owned by the SHEFFIELD family, celebrated its 300th anniversary. The pub, originally known as the Black Bull, had fallen into disrepair and disuse, and was rebuilt in 1903 and renamed in 1905 as the Sheffield Arms.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Sheffield Arms on Geo-graph, taken in 2008.
- These are the names associated with the Sheffield Arms Hotel (or Black Bull Inn) in various directories:
| Year |
Person |
| 1842 |
Stephen SHORTER, vict. |
| 1868 |
Thomas CHAFER |
| 1872 |
Frederick BROWN, vict. |
| 1882 |
William STAMP. vict. |
| 1900 |
John BROWN |
| 1913 |
William W. TOMLINSON |
| 1930 |
Wm. W. TOMLINSON, propr. |
- Another long-established Public House was the Ferry Boat Inn (or Ferry House Inn).
- For more on the past and present of Burton on Stather, see the North Lincolnshire Library's Local Studies Page. Or click here and view the 1900 Kelly's Trade Directory entry for Burton on Stather.
- In ancient times, Burton was a market town.
- Normanby is the ancient seat of the SHEFFIELD family.
- Typhoid broke out in the village in 1933.
- Normanby Hall, one mile south-east of Burton, is an Italian style mansion. It was for many years the seat of the SHEFFIELD family.
- The National Grid Reference for the village is SE 8717.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- Duplex Drive tanks (amphibious) were tested here in World War II. There is an old tank ramp on the banks of the River Trent still visible today.
- The name Burton is common across England and is from the Old English Burh+tun, for "fortified farmstead". Stather, on the other hand, is from Old Scandinavian stothvar, for "landing places". Or, put together, "fortified farmstead by the landing places".
- In the 1086 Domesday Book the parish appears as Burtone and in the 13th century as Burtonstather, close to the modern usage.
A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991
- "The Stather" is an area going down the hill toward the Trent bank. There was, in the 1800s, a thriving shipyard building packets. Also a landing stage where the packet from Hull to Gainsborough used to call. There was also a Brickyard there and a ferry across the Trent to Amcotts and Garthorpe.
- This place was an ancient parish in Lincoln county and it becamse a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the Manley Wapentake in the Glanford district of the parts of Lindsey.
- In March, 1887, a part of Coleby hamlet was transferred to West Halton parish.
- For today's district governance, see the North Lincolnshire Council website.
- Care for the poor of the parish extends back to 1582.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Scunthorpe petty session hearings on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.
- After the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, this parish became part of the Glanford Brigg Poor Law Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
482 |
| 1831 |
760 |
| 1841 |
799 |
| 1851 |
899 |
| 1871 |
1,099 |
| 1881 |
971 |
| 1991 |
2,800 |
- A National School was built here in Normanby in 1846 by Robert SHEFFIELD and the local vicar. It held about 130 children.
- A school was built in Burton hamlet in 1846 to hold 80 children.
- A school had been built in Thealby hamlet, but was closed by 1900.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
Last updated on 15-November-2015
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