Withern

Description and Travel

This parish and large village is in the northeast of Lincolnshire about 6 miles south-east of Louth and 4 miles east of the A16 trunk road, bordered on the north by Gayton le Marsh parish and in the south-east by Strubby parish. The parish includes the hamlet of Stain, bringing the size of the parish to about 2,750 acres.

If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, the parish is on the Louth to Alford road, at the intersection of the A157 trunk road and the B1373 arterial road.
  
  
• See our touring page for visitor services.
  
  

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Census

• The parish was in the Withern 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:
  
  

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Church History

• Stain was once a parish in its own right, but the ancient church of Saint John the Baptist was destroyed centuries ago.
  
  
• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Margaret.
  
  
• Evidence suggests that the church was originally built in the 14th century.
  
  
• The church was rebuilt in 1812.
  
  
• The church was renovated in 1894.
  
  
• The church seats 250.
  
  
• The churchyard was expanded by 1/2 acre in 1908.
  
  
• There is a photograph of St. Margaret's church on the Wendy PARKINSON Church Photos web site.
  
  
• The Diocese of Lincoln declared St. Margaret's Church redundant in July, 1980. In 1983 the church was sold for residential use.
  
  
• J. HANNAH-BRIGGS has a photograph of St. Margaret's on Geo-graph, taken in 2011, after its conversion to a private home.
  
  

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Church Records

• Anglican parish registers exist from 1558.
  
  
• Check our partial Parish Register Extract in a Portablke Document File. Note the comments made by the local vicar. Your additions are welcome.
  
  
• The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage indexes and a burial index for the Calcewaith Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built in 1875, but had been holding services here since around 1811. Michael PATTERSON has a photograph of the Methodist Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2006.
  
  
• For information and assistance in researching Methodist chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
  
  
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
  
  

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Civil Registration

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

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History

• A good history of the parish can be found in "Withern: The Story of a Lincolnshire Parish," ISBN 095395335, author: John Platt. You can purchase this from the Louth Museum.
  
  
• There is a photograph of the Red Lion Hotel on Flickr.
  
  
• The Red Lion Public House off the A157 has been operating since at least 1842. These are the names associated with the place in various directories:
  
  

There was no lodger at the Red Lion in 1881, but the census entry is interesting. Here is the census entry (RG 11/3260 folio 69):

Relationship	Name	Sex	Age	Where born
Head	Mary A. MARSHALL	F	52	Withern, Lincolnshire
son	John T. MARSHALL	M	29	Authorpe, Lincolnshire
daugh.	Fanny MARSHALL	F	24	Authorpe, Lincolnshire
son	Wallis MARSHALL	M	22	Authorpe, Lincolnshire
son (Dau?)	Mary RUSHBY	F	20	Raithby, Lincolnshire
son (Dau?)	Mary A. MOODY	F	17	Anderby, Lincolnshire
son	William BROWN	M	18	Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire

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Manors

• The Manor House here, seat of the FITZWILLIAM family, was occupied as a farmhouse in 1900, but the moat still adjoined it.
  
  
• Ian S. has a photograph of Withern Hall on Geo-graph, taken in 2012.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 4382.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer #283 map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Military History

• The War Memorial, erected in 1921, stands near the church on Main Street. The photo is by John READMAN.
  
  

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Military Records

For another photograph of the Withern War Memorial and the list of names on the Roll of Honour, see the Roll of Honour site.

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Names, Geographical

• The name Withern is from the Old English Widu+wudu, or "House in the Wood". In the 1086 Domesday Book, the village name is given as Widerne. Another source gives the name as deriving from Old Norse vithr "wood" + OE aerne "house" = "the house in the wood", giving Witheren in the 14th century.
  A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• This place was an ancient parish in county Lincoln and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
  
  
• Stain used to be an ancient parish in county Lincoln but was combined with Withern when the old church of St. John the Baptist was destroyed.
  
  
• The parish was in the ancient Calceworth Wapentake in the East Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
  
  
• You may contact the local Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to help with family history searches.
  
  
• For today's district governance, see the East Lindsey District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• After the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act reforms, the parish became part of the Louth Poorlaw Union.
  
  
• The Common Lands, some 600 acres, were enclosed here in 1839.
  
  
• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Alford petty session hearings every other Tuesday.
  
  
• In 1907 three almshouses were built in the parish for parishioners over 60 years of age.
  
  

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Population

Year	Inhabitants
1801	295
1831	390
1841	435
1871	452
1881	457
1891	447
1901	403
1911	407

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Schools

• A Public Elementary School was built in the hamlet of Stain in 1850 and enlarged in 1858 to hold 100 children.
  
  
• The Wesleyans had a school built in 1875.
  
  
• See our Schools page for more information on researching school records.
  
  

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