South Willingham
South Willingham is both a village and parish, 8 miles sourth-east of Market Rasen, 10 miles north of Horncastle and situate between Louth and Lincoln. Hainton parish is just to the north, with Benniworth parish to the south. The parish covers about 2,000 acres.
The village of South Willingham sits just south of the A157 trunk road, on the old road between Hainton and Benniworth. If you are planning a visit:
- By car, take the A157 trunk road between Louth and Wragby, turn south at Hainton.
- The railway station closed to passenger service in the 1950s.
- Check out the Village Website for useful information.
- Stop in at the Village Hall and check the schedule of upcoming events. The photo is by David WRIGHT, taken in 2006.
- See our touring page for visitor services.
- The parish was in the Binbrook sub-district of the Louth Registration District.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1851 |
H.O. 107 / 2112 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2384 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3406 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2609 |
- The Anglican Parish Church is dedicated to Saint Martin.
- The church was originally built in the late 13th century.
- The church was rebuilt in 1835-38.
- The church tower was restored in 1839.
- The church interior was thoroughly renovated in 1885.
- The church seats 160.
- The church is a Grade II listed building with British Heritage.
- Here is a photo of St. Martin's Church, taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1711.
- The LFHS has published several marriage indexes and a burial index for the Westwold Deanery to make your search easier.
- The parish had both a Wesleyan Methodist and a Free Methodist chapel, but both have been converted to other uses.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was in the Binbrook sub-district of the Louth Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
- The national grid reference is TF 1983.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #282 map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- There are two war memorial plaques and a Roll of Honour in the parish church and a plaque in the Village Hall.
- Photographs and notes can be found at South Willingham History site.
- South Willingham was recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Ulingeham.
- This place was an ancient parish in county Lincoln and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the ancient Wraggoe Wapentake in the East Lindsey district and parts of Lindsey.
- You can contact the local Parish Council concerning civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed nor funded to assist with family history research.
- For today's district governance, see the East Lindsey District Council.
- After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Louth Poorlaw Union.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Wragby petty session hearings.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
180 |
| 1831 |
212 |
| 1841 |
296 |
| 1871 |
307 |
| 1881 |
330 |
| 1891 |
313 |
| 1901 |
280 |
| 1911 |
252 |
- A infants school was built here in 1834 to hold up to 30 students.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
Last updated on 17-December-2012
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