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Isle of Axholme

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The Isle of Axholme is the northwest corner of the old county of Lincolnshire. It is "separated" from the rest of the county by the River Trent. The Old River Don flows to the north and west, dividing the Isle from Yorkshire, and the River Idle separates the Isle from Notttinghamshire.

Historically, there were eight parishes in the Isle:

However, in the mid-1800's, four new parishes were formed:

  • West Butterwick, formed in 1841 from part of Owston.
  • Amcotts, formed in 1850 from part of Althorpe.
  • Eastoft, formed in 1855 from part of Crowle.
  • Garthorpe, formed in 1866 from part of Luddington.

There is an excellent web site at the Isle of Axholme Family History Society with detailed histories of each parish and information on resources. Epworth parish has Wesley Memorial Church, open Saturday and Sunday, dawn till dusk, with guides available to take people round this wonderful tribute to John and Charles WESLEY, built in 1888, with oak pulpit carved in the Early English style. Refreshments can be obtained in the church.

Adrian Oates welcomes you to visit the Red 1st web site which is focused on Isle of Axholme research.

For an interesting glance at history, the Isle of Axholme Family History Society published a booklet called "Storm Over Axholme" about the draining of the Fens and Dykes by Cornelius Vermuyden.

For those with more recent ancestors in the Isle, the Mechanics Institute, Epworth, holds bound editions of the Epworth Bells newspaper from 1875 to date. For a small fee, copies of obits. and other articles can be obtained.

In addition, the local Registrar's Office that covers the Isle is at:

Superintendent Registrar of Birth, Marriages and Deaths
92 Oswald Road
Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire
DN15 7PA
United Kingdom