Holland Fen
Note: This is not an ancient parish of Lincolnshire. It was formed in 1865.
- Betty BRAMMER, "Holland Fen with Brothertoft - A parish history", Publ: Holland Fen Council, 2001, ISBN not known. The book won a prize from the Boston Preservation Trust.
- The parish was in the Swineshead sub-district of the Boston Registration District.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to All Saints.
- The church is in Fosdyke Fen, close to the North Forty Foot Drain, and was built in 1812 by Act of Parliament as a chapel of ease to Fosdyke parish.
- The church seats 240.
- Saint John the Baptist church, in Algarkirk Fen, was consecrated in 1867 as a chapel of ease to All Saints Church.
- St. John the Baptist church seats 300.
- There is a photograph of All Saints Church on the Wendy PARKINSON web site under "Yet More Lincolnshire".
- Here is a photograph of All Saints Church supplied by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1812.
- The parish registers at the Lincoln Archives start with baptisms and burials from 1813 and marriages from 1839.
- The Anglican parish register for Saint John's Church dates from 1864.
- The LFHS has published several indexes for the Holland West Deanery to make your search easier.
- The church is often listed as being in the North Holland rural Deanery.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was in the Swineshead sub-district of the Boston Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which started in July, 1837.
Holland Fen is south of the River Witham and the parish of Brothertoft and 9 miles north-west of Boston. The parish covered 22,000 acres of formerly unwholesome swamp that had been drained and plowed by 1767.
If you are planning a visit:
- Take the A1121 trunk road west out of Boston. It passes just south of Brothertoft.
- See our touring page for visitor services.
- The national grid reference is TF 2476.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #261 map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
John EMERSON provides a list of Killed in Action in World War I.
- In 1767, large parts of this fen were drained and divided up between the eleven surrounding parishes. In 1861 many of these extra-parocial plots or parishes were constituted as parishes in their own right.
- The parish was in the ancient Kirton Wapentake in the Borough of Boston in the parts of Holland.
- In 1880, Amber Hill, a 30-acre gravel field and extra-parochial area, was formed as a new civil parish. It had been part of this parish's ecclesiastical area. See Amber Hill parish page for more information.
- You may contact the local Parish Councilregarding civic or political matters but they are NOT staffed nor funded to do family hisotry lookups for you.
- For today's district governance, visit the local Boston Borough Council.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Boston Poor Law Union.
- Bastardy cases wouold be heard in the North Holland petty sessional hearings.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1831 |
241 |
| 1891 |
959 |
| 1911 |
891 |
| 2001 |
652 |
- A School Board was formed in Jan., 1879, forming the North-East Holland Fen United district. It covered the areas of Brothertoft, Ferry Corner Plot, Fosdyke, Harts Ground, North Forty Foot Bank, Pelham's Lands & Swineshead.
- The South-West Holland Fen United district formed in May, 1880. It covered the areas of Algarkirk Fen, Amberhill, Dogdyke & Sutterton Fen.
- Hedgehog Bridge School was built in 1880 to hold up to 95 children.
- Barley Sheaf School was built in 1882 to hold up to 80 children.
- Amberhill Board School was built in 1882 to hold up to 134 children.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
Last updated on 19-October-2015
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