Irnham

Census

• The parish was in the Corby sub-district of the Bourne Registration District.
  
  
• 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 Saint Andrew.
  
  
• The church was entirely restored in 1858.
  
  
• The church seats 100.
  
  
• An old thatched building in Bulby served as a "chapel of ease" prior to 1841.
  
  
• There is a photograph of St. Andrew's Church on the Wendy PARKINSON web site under her "Still more Lincolnshire churches".
  
  
• Tim HEATON has a photograph of St. Andrew's Church on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2006.
  
  
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the church interior on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2012.
  
  
• Here is a photo of St. Andrew's church, taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• Parish registers exist from 1559.
  
  
• The Lincoln Archives has parish registgers of baptisms 1559 - 1968, Marriages 1559 - 1968 and burials 1559 - 1812. They also have the Bishop's Transcripts for 1562 - 1836.
  
  
• The LFHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Beltisloe Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The Catholics had a chapel here, erected by Lord CLIFFORD circa 1815. That chapel was taken down and moved to Corby in 1855-56. The CLIFFORDs and all the previous owners of Irnham were Catholics. For more on these chapels and their records, check our Non-Conformist Church Records page for additional resources.
  
  
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
  
  

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Civil Registration

• The parish was in the Corby sub-district of the Bourne Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
  
  

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Description and Travel

Irnham is both a parish and a village of the same name, on a high limestone ridge 10 miles south-east of Grantham and six miles north-west of Bourne. The parish also contains the two small hamlets of Hawthorpe and Bulby, both of which are about two miles east of the village of Irnham. Corby Glen parish lies two and a half miles to the south-west, Edenham parish to the south-east and Swinstead parish to the south. The parish covers about 3,800 acres. The East Glen River runs through the middle of the parish as it meanders south.

The village of Irnham is bisected by the roads that lead to Ingoldsby, Corby, Swinstead and Hawthorpe. If you are planning a visit:

• The village and parish lies just east of the A1 trunk road and just north of the A151.
  
  
• Visit our touring page for more sources.
  
  

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History

• In Irnham Hall was an ivory crucifix, said to be the same one held by Mary, Queen of Scots, at her execution.
  
  
• This has been primarily a farming and grazing parish since pre-historic times.
  
  
• The Griffin Public House (or Hotel) has been around since the 18th century and serves as a popular spot for local and family historians.
  
  
• Tim HEATON has a photograph of the Griffin P. H. on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2006.
  
  
• Here are the names associated with the Griffin in various Directories:
  
  

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Land and Property

• In 1841, the Honourable Charles Thomas CLIFFORD was lord of the Manor and principal landowner.
  
  
• In 1853, Charles Thomas CLIFFORD sold his manor and the estate at Irnham to William Harvey WOODHOUSE. In 1872, Mr. WOODHOUSE's trustees were lords of the manor and owners of nearly all the soil in the parish.
  
  
• In 1900, Mrs. GORDON was lady of the manor and principal landowner.
  
  

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Manors

• Richard CROFT has a photograph of Irnham Hall on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2014.
  
  
• The original Manor House was built by the LUTEREL family (often listed as LUTTRELL) who owned the estate prior to 1419. Irnham was one of the fifteen manors given by William the Conqueror to Ralph PAGANEL, and it passed from his family via an heiress to Sir Andrew LUTEREL, Knight.
  
  
• Irnham Hall, built in the Tudor style, was a large and handsome mansion standing near the church and surrounded by 264 acres of woodland park in 1841. The mansion had been built in 1510 by Richard THIMBLEBY. He gained possession of the estate on his marriage to Elizabeth HILTON, the heiress of Godfrey HILTON.
  
  
• In 1853 the Hall was sold to Woodhouse and had several owners until bought by the present owners the Benton Jones family in 1901.
  
  
• In 1871, Irnham Hall was occupied by H. F. BEAUMONT, member of parliament. In 1900, Robert Bruce WARD was the occupant.
  
  
• The manor was partly destroyed by fire in 1887.
  
  
• In 1900, Robert Bruce WARD was the occupant.
  
  
• In 1930, Irnham Hall was occupied by Sir Frederick John JONES, baronet.
  
  
• Bulby contains the remains of a moated area and traces of the foundations of a large building which may have been a manor burnt down in the Barons' Wars. Some time after 1841, the Rev. William W. SMYTH erected Bulby House (or Hall), a large mansion in the Elizabethan style.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 0226.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer 248 map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our "Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Military History

• In the parish church the stained glass east window is a memorial to Captain William Harvey WOODHOUSE. So far, his military history is unknown.
  
  

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Names, Geographical

• The name derives from the Old English Geornaham or "village of a man called Georna," and is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as Gerneham.
  A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.
  
  

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Names, Personal

• White's 1841 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: BATEMAN, BLAND, BOWNES, BOYCE, CLARKE, CLIFFORD, COCKS, COX, GRUMMITT, HARE, HEALEY, HODGKIN, KEY, KING, MITTON, MOORE, ROBERTS, SEARSON, SMITH, STRINGFELLOW and WRIGHT.
  
  
• White's 1872 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: BACON, BARNETT, BARROW, BEAUMONT, BEMBRIDGE, BLOODWORTH, COCKS, COLBY, ELLIS, HALL, HANDLEY, HARRIS, HARWOOD, HEATHCOTE, HODGKIN, HOPKINS, JOHNSON, ROBERTS, SEARSON and WRIGHT.
  
  
• Kelly's 1900 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: BACON, BRATLEY, BUTLER, CARTER, CHAPMAN, COCKS, COLBY, DYSON, EBLING, FORSTER, HARE, HARRISON, HERD, LYON, MANTON, PELL, ROSLING, SANDALL, TINCKLER, WARD and WEBSTER.
  
  
• Kelly's 1913 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: BACON, BRATLEY, COCKS, DALE, DUNN, DYSON, EBLING, FISHER, FORSTER, GADD, GAUNT, HARE, HARRISON, HUBBARD, JONES, LYON, MANTON, MILLER, PELL and SANDALL.
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• This place was an ancient parish in Lincoln county and became a modern CIvil Parish when those were established.
  
  
• The parish was in the ancient Beltisloe Wapentake in the South Kesteven district in the parts of Kesteven.
  
  
• For today's district governance, contact the South Kesteven District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Bourne petty session hearings.
  
  
• In 1712, John THIMBLEBY contributed 4 shillings per week for four poor widows of the Roman Catholic faith. The four almshouses he established are still in use.
  
  
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Bourne Poor Law Union.
  
  

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Population

Year	Inhabitants
1801	299
1831	394
1841	426
1871	366
1881	284
1891	316
1901	265
1911	271
1921	276

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Schools

• In 1841, the Honourable Charles Thomas CLIFFORD supported a school for the education of poor children.
  
  
• In 1861, an Endowed School was built to hold sixty children. The school was enlarged in 1900 and became a Public Elementary School.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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