Willoughton

The Gainsborough Library is an excellent resource with both a Local History section and a Family History section.

Alternatively, the Libraries at Scunthorpe also have a Local History section.

• The parish was in the Scotter sub-district of the Gainsborough Registration District.
   
• The North Lincolnshire Library holds a copy of the parish census returns for 1841 through 1901.
   
• Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew.
• The church was rebuilt in 1794 and restored in 1888-9 and seats about 152.
• There is a photograph of St. Andrew's Church on the Wendy PARKINSON web site.
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Andrew's Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2006.
• Mr. CROFT also has a photograph of the Vamping Horn used to call parishioners to church on Geo-graph, taken in 2008.
• Here is a photo of St. Andrew's Church, taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):

• Parish registers exist from 1599, as do the Bishop's transcripts.
   
• The North Lincolnshire Library holds a copy of the parish register entries for baptisms 1600-1858, burials 1600-1898 and marriages 1600-1847.
   
• The Lincolnshire FHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Corringham Deanery to make your search easier.
   
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel here built in 1866, replacing an earlier chapel of 1837. It closed in 1979. The Primitive Methodists also had a chapel before 1842. For more on these chapels and their records, check our Non-Conformist Church Records page for additional resources.
   
• Jonathan THACKER has a photograph of the Primitve Methodist Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in 2011.
   
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.

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

Willoughton is both a parish and a village in a valley about nine miles east-northeast of Gainsborough and four miles south of Kirton. The parish itself is bordered on the north by Blyborough parish, to the west by Corringham parish and to the south by Hemswell parish. The parish covers about 2,700 acres.

Willoughton village sits just off the main roads. If you are planning a visit:

• The village can be accessed off of the A631 trunk road east of Gainsborough. Turn north at the B1398 and go about two miles and the village will be on your left.
   
• Stop by the Village Hall and get a schedule of current events.
   
• Visit our touring page for more sources.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Willoughton to another place.

The folklorist, historian and archaeologist Ethel H. RUDKIN lived in the village for much of her life. Her parents were Richard and Ethel HUTCHINSON; her mother's family were originally from Suffolk. In 1917 she married George RUDKIN from Folkingham. Ethel RUDKIN died on 21 September 1985, aged 92.

Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Ethel Rudkin blue plaque on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2021.

• In ancient times, the parish belonged to the Abbey of St. Nicholas by Angiers and the Knights Templar. The Templar estates then passed to the Knights Hospitallers, who had a preceptory here. At the Dissolution, the Hospitallers property passed to the John COCK and John THURGOOD, but the Abbey lands were granted to King's College. The perceptory stood on the spot now called Temple-Garth.
   
• For more on the holdings of the Knights Templar, check out the Houses of Knights Templars website.
   
• From 1842 through 1912, the chief landowners in the parish were the Earl of Scarborough and King's College, Cambridge.

• See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK931933 (Lat/Lon: 53.427998, -0.600986), Willoughton which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• J. THOMAS has a photograph of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in 2012.

For a photograph of the Willoughton War Memorial and the names on it, see the Roll of Honour site.

• The name Willoughton comes from the Old English wilig+ton for "village where willow trees grow". The name appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as Wilchetone.
  A. D. MILLS, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991.

• White's 1842 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: BARRATT, BURTON, CLIXBY, COUPLAND, CUST, DAUBNER, FRANCIS, FRANKISH, GILBERT, GLOVER, GREENWOOD, HALL, HILL, JOHNSON, KEYWORTH, LIDGETT, MARSHALL, MIDDLETON, POST, RICHARDSON, ROBINSON, TORRY, TOWLER, WALTER, WATSON, WATTS, WILLEY and WOOD.
   
• White's 1872 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ANDREW, ATKIN, BARNINGHAM, BARRATT, BROWN, BURTON, CLIXBY, CROSS, DAUBNEY, DOWNHAM, GLEADLE, GLOVER, HALL, HILL, KEYWORTH, LEWIS, LITTLE, MARSH, MARSHALL, MUMBY, NICHOLSON, RICHARDSON, SEATON, SPROTBERRY, STOREY, TORRY, WATTS, WETHERHOGG, WILLEY, WILSHIRE, WOOD and WRIGHT.
   
• Kelly's 1900 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ANDREW, BARRATT, BULLIVANT, CROSS, DAUBNEY, ECHALAZ, FENTON, FIELDSON, GLOVER, HALL, HILL, MARSHALL, MUMBY, NICHOLSON, PACEY, PARISH, RICHARDSON, SKEPPER, SNOWDEN, SPROTBERRY, TREVOR, TWEED, WAINWRIGHT and WEATHERHOGG.
   
• Kelly's 1913 Directory lists the following surnames in the parish: ANDREW, BLAND, BROCKLESBY, CROSS, DAUBNEY, FENTON, FIELDSON, FORD, GLOVER, HILL, HUTCHINSON, KING, MARSHALL, MUMBY, NICHOLSON, PACEY, PARISH, RICHARDSON, SKEPPER, SWALWELL, TREVOR, WAINWRIGHT, WEATHERHOGG and WOODHEAD.

• 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 Aslacoe Wapentake in the West Lindsey district in the parts of Lindsey.
   
• Today's district governance is provided by the West Lindsey District Council.

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Gainsborough petty session hearings.
   
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Gainsborough Poorlaw Union Workhouse.
   
• Betton's Charity contributed £5 per year to support the National School built in 1845.

Year	Inhabitants
1801	320
1831	477
1851	657
1861	620
1871	606
1891	457
1911	433

• A National School was built here in 1845 and enlarged in 1865 and again in 1871 to accommodate up to 150 children, although attendance was about half that in 1900.
   
• J. THOMAS has a photograph of Willoughton School on Geo-graph, taken in 2012.
   
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.