The name
Mills states that Barrow usually means 'the wood or grove' so the full meaning of the village's name can be translated as 'the wood or grove by the River Humber'.
More information can be found in:
- Cameron, Keith. The Place-Names of Lincolnshire.
- Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of English Place Names.
The place
Barrow upon Humber is located three miles east of Barton. The town is an ancient Christian site as it was here in the seventh century that St Chad founded a monastery on land given by Wilfhere, King of Mercia.
The parish church of Holy Trinity has in its churchyard a sundial made in 1731 by James Harrison, brother of the famous John Harrison. The Harrison family moved to Barrow in 1697 where James and John's father held the post of parish clerk for many years. John Harrison's revolutionary chronometer changed the face of marine navigation. His struggle to prove his invention worked and win the 320,000 prize offered by the Board of Longitude is well documented most recently in Dava Sobel's novel Longitude which was adapted into a television series staring Michael Gambon and Jeremy Irons.
Population history
| Year |
Population |
|
1801 |
926 |
|
1811 |
1129 |
|
1821 |
1307 |
|
1831 |
1334 |
|
1841 |
1662 |
|
1851 |
2283 |
|
1861 |
2443 |
|
1871 |
2517 |
|
1881 |
2711 |
|
1891 |
2695 |
|
1901 |
2808 |
|
1911 |
2734 |
|
1921 |
2959 |
|
1931 |
2905 |
|
1941 |
N/A |
|
1951 |
2719 |
|
1961 |
2475 |
|
1971 |
2219 |
|
1981 |
2502 |
|
1991 |
2161 |
Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900
Barrow on Humber is a parish and large well-built village, 2 miles south from the Humber, 2 miles south-west from New Holland station on that branch and 1¾ south from Barrow Haven station on the Barton branch of the Great Central (late M.S. and L.) railway, 2½ east from Barton and 5 south-south-west from Hull, in the North Lindsey division of the county, parts of Lindsey, north division of Yarborough wapentake, Glanford Brigg union, Barton-upon-Humber petty sessional division and county court district, rural deanery of Yarborough No.1, archdeaconry of Stow and diocese of Lincoln. There is a ferry across the Humber to Hull. The village is lighted with gas by the Barrow on Humber Gas Co. Ltd, formed in 1877, who bought the works from the Provincial Gas Light and Coke Co. The church of the Holy Trinity is an ancient edifice of stone in the Norman and Early English styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch, organ chamber and an embattled western tower with pinnacles, containing a clock and 6 bells, which have been re-hung, at a cost of £130: a stained triplet of lancets was inserted in 1856: the chancel retains a piscina and aumbry: there are several stained windows and choir stalls of oak, erected mainly at the cost of Mrs. Maw, of The Grange: the church plate was presented by an ancestor of the late Mr. Kirk, of Barrow: the church was partially restored in 1841 and 1856, and again in the year 1869, at a cost of £1,400, under the direction of Messrs. Kirk and Parry architects, of Sleaford; in 1868 the church was reseated and further restored: there are sittings for 397 persons. The register dates from the year 1561. The Living is a vicarage, net yearly value £213, including 35 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and held since 1878 by the Rev. John Parker M.A. University College of Durham. Sir John Nelthorpe bart. In 1669 bequeathed lands to found a Sunday afternoon lectureship, the appointment to which is in the hands of trustees; the Rev. John Parker MA is the present lecturer. Here are Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist and Congregational chapels. In 1856 a cemetery was formed, at a cost of £1,000, with an area of 4 acres: it has two chapels, and is now under the control of the Parish Council. The charities left in 1596 by Roger, 5th Earl of Rutland, amount to £14 2s. 6d. yearly, of which £7 6s. 8d. is distributed among the poor by the vicar and churchwardens. Barrow Fair is held on October 11th. About a mile to the north - west of the village, on the marsh, is an earthwork called "The Castle" in about 8 acres, and consists of a large circular mound, surrounded by a fosse 40 feet wide, and surmounted by a small tumulus: round this are grouped several irregularly shaped outworks, also enfossed: the fortification was well protected on the south by a stream which formerly created a swamp or bog in that direction. A little to the north of the village is the site of a convent, founded by St. Chad in the 7th century and which Bede says remained in his time (673 -735): some years ago stone coffins, a gold ring, an iron weapon and other relics were found here. Barrow Hall, a well-built mansion of brick, on the south side of the village, is now the residence of the Rev. George Crowle Uppleby, and stands within a park of 150 acres. The manorial rights, which belonged to the Crown, were sold in the year 1859. The lords of the manor are Henry Edwards Paine and Richard Brettell esqrs. Both of Chertsey, Surrey. The principal landowners are the Rev. G.C. Uppleby, the trustees of Mrs. Maw, Tombleson's trustees and the Corbett trustees. The soil is partly loam, chalk and clay; subsoil, principally chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats and turnips. The area is 5,050 acres of land, 15 of water, 5 of tidal water and 161 of foreshore; rateable value, £15,485, including New Holland; the population in 1891 was 2,687, including New Holland (1,176).
Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library
- Barley, M.W. (ed.) The Barrow on Humber town book.1938.
- Russell, Rex C (ed.) Aspects of the history of Barrow on Humber 1713-1851. 1988.
- Gray ,H & Wilkyn, N The manor of Barrow. 1994.
- Quill, Humphrey. John Harrison: the man who found longitude. 1966.
- Gould, Rupert T. John Harrison & his time keepers. 1978.
- Sobel, Dava. Longitude. 1996.
References in the Star Newspaper Index
- History of village & New Holland LS 13.10.1894 2f.
- Ladies V gents cricket match LLS 24.08.1895 2d.
- Skeletons found near the Priory LLS 18.10.1902 4d.
- Passive resistance meeting held here LLS 07.11.1903 4d.
- Brick & Tile Yards - 90,000 tiles exported in one cargo LS 19.02.1927 4d.
- Extent of damage - air raid SFS 26.04.1941 2b.