Hide

Goxhill

hide
Hide

“GOXHILL, a parish in the N. division of the hundred of Yarborough, parts of Lindsey, county Lincoln, 4 miles E. of Barton-on-Humber, and 4 N. of Ulceby, its post town. It is situated to the S. of the river Humber, near the ferry, opposite to Kingston. The Ulceby and New Holland branch of the Manchester and Lincolnshire railway has a station here. Bricks and tiles are extensively manufactured. The village is considerable. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1773. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Lincoln, value £210, in the patronage of the lord chancellor. The church is a noble edifice, with lofty tower, dedicated to All Saints. The charities produce about £13 per annum. The Baptists, Calvinistic, Wesleyan, and Primitive Methodists have each a chapel. There is a National school for boys and girls; also a day school belonging to the Wesleyans. George Bradley, Esq., is lord of the manor."

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

Hide
topup

Archives & Libraries

The Goxhill Library in the Parish Room is a small community Library only open three days per week. Staffed by volunteers, it has few reference materials.

Alternatively, the Barton-on-Humber Library is an excellent resource with a Local History section and a Family History section.

topup

Cemeteries

Several members of the WENTWORTH family are buried in the church. There is an interesting monument on the chancel wall to a brother and sister of that family, aged 15 and 14 respectively who died within a week of each other.

In 1902 the church graveyard was extended by about 3/4 of an acre.

topup

Census

  • The parish was in the Barton sub-district of the Glanford Brigg Registration District.
     
  • We have a handful of entries extracted from the 1901 Census for you to search.
     
  • 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 / 635
1851H.O. 107 / 2116 & 2118
1861R.G. 9 / 2402 & 2403
1871R.G. 10 / 3436
1881R.G. 11 / 3289
1891R.G. 12 / 2630
1901R.G. 13 / 3107
topup

Church History

  • At Littleworth are the remains of a Cistercian nunnery, founded before 1185.
     
  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to All Saints.
     
  • The church dates from the 15th century with some earlier parts remaining.
     
  • The church was restored in 1878-79.
     
  • The church seats about 400.
     
  • Stop and visit the Methodist church while you are there, as well as Goxhill Hall and the nearby Thornton Abbey, which dates back to the reign of Henry 8th.
     
  • There is a photograph of All Saints Church on the Wendy Parkinson Church Photos web site.
     
  • Here is a photo of All Saints Church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyrights).
image
topup

Church Records

  • The Anglican parish church registers exist from 1561.
     
  • This site has a partial Parish Register Extract which may include some of your ancestors. Please verify anything you find there. And your additions are welcome.
     
  • The LFHS has several marriage indexes for the North Yarborough Deanery.
     
  • The Baptists, Primitive Methodists and Wesleyan Methodists all had chapels in the parish. The Wesleyan chapel was built in 1828 and the Primitive Methodist one in 1890-91. Find out about the current Methodist ministry circuit in the Barton region that serves Goxhill. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
     
  • Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
topup

Civil Registration

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

Description & Travel

This village and parish are on the south side of the Humber River, just across the river from Kingston Upon Hull. Five miles to the east is Barton upon Humber and four miles to the south is the village of Ulceby. About six miles to the south is the Humberside International Airport.

Goxhill is a fair-sized parish, covering 5860 acres of land, more or less, and it includes the hamlet of Littleworth about a mile east of the village, where the remains of Goxhill Priory (established circa 1185) can be found, and the little hamlet of Goxhill Ferry near the river. The Skitter Sand silt bed sits on the river bank where the river turns from an easterly flow to a southeasterly run. The land is low and sometimes marshy, but the soil is rich and fertile.

If you are planning a visit:

  • Goxhill can be reached off the A1077 trunk road either off of the A15 or the A160 main roads.
     
  • For folks on holiday, there is camping and a caravan park west of the village.
     
  • The Glengarth Hotel at South End provides nice accomodations, described as a "19th century Lincolnshire farmhouse surrounded by beautiful countryside within easy walking distance of the Humber River."
     
  • Goxhill also offers bird watching, bicycling, hiking and watching the other tourists for entertainment.
     
  • Ancient clay pits (Dawson City Clay Pits at Grid Ref. TA1325) near Goxhill are part of the Lincolnshire Trust.
     
  • There is an old railway line leading to an abandoned World War Two airfield once used by the US Air Force.
     
  • Goxhill is a horse lover's paradise and reputedly has more horses than people.
     
  • Goxhill also has a "Summer Fayre" in July, a popular horse show and gymkhana, but the precise date must be obtained from the tourism board.
     
  • See our touring page for visitor services.
You can see pictures of Goxhill which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"GOXHILL, a parish in the N. division of the hundred of Yarborough, parts of Lindsey, county Lincoln, 4 miles E. of Barton-on-Humber, and 4 N. of Ulceby, its post town. It is situated to the S. of the river Humber, near the ferry, opposite to Kingston. The Ulceby and New Holland branch of the Manchester and Lincolnshire railway has a station here. Bricks and tiles are extensively manufactured. The village is considerable. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1773. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Lincoln, value £210, in the patronage of the lord chancellor. The church is a noble edifice, with lofty tower, dedicated to All Saints. The charities produce about £13 per annum. The Baptists, Calvinistic, Wesleyan, and Primitive Methodists have each a chapel. There is a National school for boys and girls; also a day school belonging to the Wesleyans. George Bradley, Esq., is lord of the manor."

topup

History

  • There is a picturesque old Windmill at Goxhill in the North Lincolnshire Archives.
     
  • Stop by All Saints church to view an interesting ancient painting (circa 1450).
     
  • The railway arrived in 1848 and still serves the village via Barton-on-Humber.
     
  • In recent times the village had its own newspaper, the Goxhill Gander. Adam ELLIS advises that it is still in publication. You can reach them via e-mail at Goxhill Gander to enquire about a subscription.
topup

Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TA103214 (Lat/Lon: 53.677646, -0.332251), Goxhill which are provided by:

topup

Military History

  • During World War I the Royal Flying Corps had a landing ground here, just east of the village.
     
  • The RAF opened a barrage balloon station here, in the same spot, early in World War II to assist in the protection of the port of Hull and shipping on the River Humber.
     
  • In June, 1941, the station was transfered to 1 Group Bomber Command.
     
  • In December, 1941, the airfield was transfered to 62 Group Fighter Command.
     
  • In December, 1942, the airfield was transfered to the USA for fighter pilot training.
     
  • Fighter Command took over again in January, 1945, and flying ceased in May, 1942. (I think my source has the wrong year. It is likely 1952.)
     
  • Maintenance Command took over in December, 1953, and the airfield was sold off in 1962.
     
  • Photographs of some of the buildings show them to be very derelict. The Control Tower was demolished in 2002.
topup

Military Records

The following deaths are recorded on the Goxhill airfield memorial:

  • FERRARA, L. A., 2nd Lieut., 26 May 1944.
  • LEPIRD, Jack D., 2nd Lieut., 24 Jul 1943.
  • MATHIAS, William M., 1st Lieut., 29 Jun 1943.
  • McPHERSON, Harry H., 1st Lieut., 24 Jul 1943.
  • PETERSON, Arman, Col., 1 Jul 1943.

Be sure to review the Three memorials at the Roll of Honour website:

  1. All Saints Church Memorial.
  2. Memorial Hall Memorial.
  3. Coxhill USAAF Memorial.
topup

Names, Geographical

  • The meaning of the name of the parish is in doubt. It appears to come from Old Scandinavian gaukr married to Old English hill, meaning "hill of the cuckoo" or it could be Gaukr+leah meaning "clearing of a man named Gaukr". In the 1086 Domesday Book the name appears as Golse and in a 1212 source as Goulsele.
    [A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
topup

Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in Lincolnshire and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • The parish was in the North Division of the ancient Yarborough Wapentake in the Glandford Brigg district in the parts of Lindsey.
     
  • For today's district governance, see the North Lincolnshire Council website.
topup

Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Barton-on-Humber petty session hearings every other Monday.
     
  • Richard EMBROUGH left (undated) the interest on £20 as a charity for poor widows of the parish.
     
  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, this parish became part of the Glanford Brigg Poor Law Union.
topup

Population

YearInhabitants
1801596
1811680
1821736
1831801
1841892
18511,138
18611,192
18711,172
18811,181
18911,152
19011,174
19111,181
19611,192
19811,513
19911,804
20011,994
topup

Schools

  • In 1733 schooling started in Goxhill, with a grant of interest from 20 Pounds by Richard EMBROUGH to educate two poor children.
     
  • The Wesleyans built a Public Elementary School here in 1855.
     
  • The Wesleyan School became the Goxhill County School, now serving about 250 students. The record books of weekly classwork 1964-75 (Acc 96/6) completed by the headteacher is archived but not online. The Log Books prior to 1892 have not been found.
     
  • For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.