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Edenham

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"EDENHAM, a parish in the wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 2 miles N.W. of Bourn, its post town, and 4½ N.E. of Little Bytham, to which there is a branch line of railway joining the Great Northern. It is situated on the river Glen, near the high-road from Bourn to Grantham, and contains the hamlets of Elsthorpe, Grimsthorpe, and Scottlethorpe. There are several quarries of good building stone, and two mineral springs, one of which has properties nearly resembling those of Tonbridge Wells. The living is a donative curacy in the diocese of Lincoln, value £52. The church is an ancient structure, with a square tower, containing a clock and five bells. It is dedicated to St. Michael, and has monuments of the Bertie family and others, also a font of Norman workmanship. In a vault beneath the church are the remains of the Earl of Lindsay, who commanded the king's forces and fell at the battle of Edgehill. The parochial charities produce about £17 per annum. A school, library, and reading-room are supported by the lord of the manor, Lord Willoughby D'Eresby. Grimsthorpe House, the seat of Lord Willoughby D'Eresby, is surrounded by a park of 2,000 acres, stocked with deer. Within the domain are the picturesque ruins of the Cistercian abbey of Vaudey, founded in the reign of Stephen."

"ELLOTHORP, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, county Lincoln, 4 miles W. of Bourne."

"ELSTHORPE, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 4 miles E. of Corby. It is situated on the river Glen. This is a meet for the Cottesmore hounds."

"GRIMSTHORPE, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 1½ mile W. of Edenham, and 3 miles N.W. of Bourn. Grimethorpe Castle is the seat of Lord Willoughby d'Eresby. It was originally built by the Brandons, in the reign of Henry VIII. Here are the remains of an abbey called Vallis Dei."

"GRINSTHORPE, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 4 miles S.E. of Corby."

"SCOTTLETHORPE, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 3 miles N.W. of Bourn."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2020

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Archives & Libraries

The Library at Bourne should prove useful in your research.

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Cemeteries

  • Cemetery Monument Inscriptions exist for the period of 1769 - 1911. These are available on microfilm from the Family History Library.

Robert HAVEY has a photograph of the church graveyard on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Bourne 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:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 618
1851H.O. 107 / 2095
1861R.G. 9 / 2317
1871R.G. 10 / 3314
1891R.G. 12 / 2557
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Michael and All Saints.
     
  • Inside St. Michael's Church is an 8th century Anglo-Saxon cross shaft depicting the feet and body of a tall standing figure, thought to represent St. John. Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Cross Shaft on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2014.
     
  • The parish church was formerly appropriated to the Cistercian Abbey of "Valle Dei" which stood in the parish at Grimsthorpe Park, about a mile west of the village. The Cistertian Abbey was founded by William le GROS, 3rd Earl of Albemarle, about 1147. The Abbey was granted at the Dissolution to the Duke of Suffolk. Only a few stones now remain.
     
  • The church tower is reputed to have been built in the reign of King Henry VI (1422 - 1461 and 1470-1471).
     
  • The church is Grade I listed with English Heritage.
     
  • The church seats 450.
     
  • Here are two photographs of St. Michael's Church, taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
     
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Church Records

  • The parish church registers exist from 1654, but Bishops' Transcripts take that back to 1561.
     
  • The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage and a burial index for the Aveland and Ness Deanery.
     
  • Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
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Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the Bourne 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 & Travel

This village and it's large parish (6,844 acres or 7,760 acres, depending on sources) is situated about 96 miles north of London, 3 miles west of Bourne on the A151 trunk road and 5 miles southeast of Corby parish. Witham-le-Hill parish is just to the south. The parish includes the hamlet of Grimsthorpe. The old hamlets of Elsthorpe and Scottlethorpe, now just a small cluster of houses each, are also within the parish.

The East Glen River flows southward through the village. If you are planning a visit:

You can see pictures of Edenham which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"EDENHAM, a parish in the wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 2 miles N.W. of Bourn, its post town, and 4½ N.E. of Little Bytham, to which there is a branch line of railway joining the Great Northern. It is situated on the river Glen, near the high-road from Bourn to Grantham, and contains the hamlets of Elsthorpe, Grimsthorpe, and Scottlethorpe. There are several quarries of good building stone, and two mineral springs, one of which has properties nearly resembling those of Tonbridge Wells. The living is a donative curacy in the diocese of Lincoln, value £52. The church is an ancient structure, with a square tower, containing a clock and five bells. It is dedicated to St. Michael, and has monuments of the Bertie family and others, also a font of Norman workmanship. In a vault beneath the church are the remains of the Earl of Lindsay, who commanded the king's forces and fell at the battle of Edgehill. The parochial charities produce about £17 per annum. A school, library, and reading-room are supported by the lord of the manor, Lord Willoughby D'Eresby. Grimsthorpe House, the seat of Lord Willoughby D'Eresby, is surrounded by a park of 2,000 acres, stocked with deer. Within the domain are the picturesque ruins of the Cistercian abbey of Vaudey, founded in the reign of Stephen."

"ELLOTHORP, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, county Lincoln, 4 miles W. of Bourne."

"ELSTHORPE, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 4 miles E. of Corby. It is situated on the river Glen. This is a meet for the Cottesmore hounds."

"GRIMSTHORPE, a hamlet in the parish of Edenham, wapentake of Beltisloe, parts of Kesteven, county Lincoln, 1½ mile W. of Edenham, and 3 miles N.W. of Bourn. Grimethorpe Castle is the seat of Lord Willoughby d'Eresby. It was originally built by the Brandons, in the reign of Henry VIII.

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History

  • The railway came to Edenham in 1856, but was abandoned early in the 20th century.
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Manors

  • Grimsthorpe Castle was the seat of Lord WILLOUGHBY de ERESBY. Near the castle is a lake. Most of the castle was built in the 13th century during the reign of Henry VIII, although some portions may have an earlier origin. The north front was added in 1722-3. The Great Hall is some 50 feet by 40 feet.
     
  • Check out the website for Grimsthorpe Castle.
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF062218 (Lat/Lon: 52.783341, -0.426837), Edenham which are provided by:

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Military History

  • The Royal Flying Corps established an emergency landing ground here in World War One. By war's end, this was RAF Grimsthorpe Park.
     
  • In World War II the field was used as a bombing range.
     
  • Robert HARVEY has a photograph of a framed Roll of Honour on the churchwall on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2016.
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Military Records

There are 14 names listed on the War Memorial Plaque.

The Commonwealth War Grave in the churchyard is for:

  1. William Stanley LYNN, priv., 8th Btn. Lincs Regt., age 21, died 2 Feb. 1918. Son of Thomas LYNN, Edenham.
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Names, Geographical

  • The name comes from the Old English Eada+n+ham for "Eada's homestead" and appeared in the 1086 Domesday Book as Edeneham.
    [A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
     
  • John Bland tells us (2004) that the locals pronounce the name as "Ed-e-nam", not "Eden-ham".
     
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in Lincoln county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • Jonathan THACKER has a photograph of the Village Hall on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2021. Be sure to stop in when they are open and ask to see the schedule of forth-coming events.
     
  • You may contact the Edenham Parish Council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT funded to do family history searches for you.
     
  • The parish was in the ancient Beltisloe Wapentake in the South Kesteven district in the parts of Kesteven.
     
  • For today's local governance, contact the South Kesteven District Council.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Bourne petty session hearings.
     
  • In 1727, Anthony BARNES, who died in Grimsthorpe, left property as the income for a charitable dole to poor folk.
     
  • In 1730, John PELL left the interest from £100 as a dole for the poor.
     
  • Please see our Bourne Poor Law Union page for more information.
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Population

YearInhabitants
1086450
1801513
1831777
1841699
1871635
1891528
1901503
1991335
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Schools

  • In 1841, Lady WILLOUGHBY supported a school for the education of 40 poor girls. In 1873, a new school building allowed for up to 150 students.
     
  • Also by 1841, there was a boys' school here.
     
  • For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.