The name
The spelling of Belton's name has changed little over the centuries it being spelt Beltone in the Doomsday Book. Translated the villages name means 'a farmstead or village on a piece of dry ground in a fen or marsh'.
More information can be found in:
- Cameron, Keith. The Place-Names of Lincolnshire.
- Eminson T.B.F. Place and River Names of the West Riding of Lindsey Lincolnshire.
- Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of English Place Names.
The place
Belton is a large village in the Isle of Axholme just to the north of Epworth. Near by is the estate of Temple Belwood, which once belonged to the Knights Templar of Balsall. Little now remains of the estate which is now bisected by the motorway. Also near to Belton is the site of Hirst Priory. This cell of Augustine canons was annexed to Nostal Priory and valued at £5 10s 1d at the dissolution.
Population history
| Year |
Population |
|
1801 |
1259 |
|
1811 |
1285 |
|
1821 |
1437 |
|
1831 |
1597 |
|
1841 |
1707 |
|
1851 |
1738 |
|
1861 |
1871 |
|
1871 |
1941 |
|
1881 |
1719 |
|
1891 |
1445 |
|
1901 |
1523 |
|
1911 |
1531 |
|
1921 |
1528 |
|
1931 |
1564 |
|
1941 |
N/A |
|
1951 |
1861 |
|
1961 |
1613 |
|
1971 |
1890 |
|
1981 |
2252 |
|
1991 |
2549 |
Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900
BELTON, by Doncaster, is an extensive parish and village, in the Isle of Axholme, one mile and a half north from Epworth, 3 ½ south from Crowle station on the South Yorkshire branch of the Great Central railway and 13 north from Gainsborough, in the West Lindsey Division of the county, western division of the wapentake of Manley, Epworth petty sessional division, parts of Lindsey, union and County court district of Thorne, rural deanery of Axholme, archdeaconry of Stow and diocese of Lincoln. A light railway now (1900) in course of construction will pass through this place. The church of All Saints is a large building of stone in the Gothic Style, consisting of chancel, celestoried nave of three bays, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower with pinnacles containing 4 bells: the chancel contains three stone stalls, a piscina and a tomb believed to be that of Richard de Belwood, of the 14th century; There is also a recumbent effigy of a knight in armour: Sir John Ferne, the well known antiquary and author of "The Blazon of Gentrie," who died about 1610, is buried here; Several of the windows are stained, and the font is of the 12th century: the Corporation of Lincoln have placed a new roof on the chancel, and many alteration and improvements were made by the late vicar: there is an endowment of 17 acres of land and a cottage, left for the repairs of the church and producing an income of £24 annually: There are 300 sittings. The registers and continuous and in excellent preservation from 1568, but some loose leaves give the date 1543, and doubtless there are earlier dates: The register contains an entry of a confirmation held at Epworth church two centuries ago, when about a thousand persons were confirmed, the greatest number going from this parish; it is signed by Joh Upsall, curate, and dated 22nd August, 1686. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value £140, including 10 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of John William Denne Johnson. Esq. and held since 1879 by the Rev. Robert Walker BA of Durham University. There are Weslyan and Methodist New Connexion chapels, and three Primitive Methodist chapels. A general cemetery of about an acre in extent was opened 6th April 1900, and is vested in 16 trustees. Two public halls were erected in 1883. A fair is held here annually on the 25th September. The late Spencer Cook Ashlin esq. of Sandtoft Grove, bequeathed £1000, which has been invested in Consols and the interest is distributed to the poor in money on Christmas Day by the trustees: John Lightfoot's Charity of about £30 yearly, in the hands of trustees, is distributed on St. Thomas' Day in clothing and flour: Barnard's bread and cloth charities, consisting of 21 yards of blue cloth and 10s in bread, is distributed yearly, about Christmastide, to the poor, and there are several other small doles, amounting in all to about £15 yearly, which sum is distributed to the poor in money on Good Friday. There was formerly at Sandtoft or Saintoft a Flemish church, the burial grounds of which is still traceable; and there was also here a cell of Benedictine monks attached to the Abbey of St. Mary, at York, and founded by Roger de Mowbray, in the time of Henry ll. . Hirst Priory, 2 ½ miles north from the village, is a large and noble mansion, in the occupation of James Stubley esq. Beautifully situated in grounds of 157 acres, and near it is the site of a monastery of Augustine canons, founded by Nigel D'Albini, in the time of Henry I, as a cell to Nostell Priory: the revenues at the Dissolution amounted to £5 only. Temple Bellwood, the property of Thomas Bellwood esq., of Upperwood Hall, Darfield, York's, is an ancient mansion of brick and stone overlaid with cement, situated in a park of about 200 acres, and now occupied by Mr. T.K.N. Radcliffe as a high-class boarding establishment.
Adjacent are the remains of an old farmhouse, which was at one time a hospital of the Knight Templars. The trustees of the late A. Parkin Esq. are lords of the manor of Epworth. The chief landowners are Thomas Wilkinson Esq. of Upperwood Hall, Darfield, York's; George Spofforth Lister Esq. of Finningley Park, Notts; Hatfield Chase Corporation and the Corporation of Lincoln. The soil is warp, silt, stiff clay and sand; subsoil, clay, sand and peat. The chief crops are wheat, barley, rye, turnips and potatoes. The area is 8,252 acres of land and 55 of water; rateable value £10,149; the population in 1891 was 1,419. The parish includes the hamlets of BELTOFT, 2 miles east; CARRHOUSES, half-a-mile west; MOSSWOOD, 2 north; SANDTOFT, 3 north-west; WESTGATE, 1 north-west; WOODHOUSE, 1 north; GREY GREEN, half a mile north, and BRACON, half a mile north-east.
Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library
- Stonehouse, W.B. The History & Topography of the Isle of Axholme. 1839. pp319 - 336.
- Read's History of the Isle of Axholme; its Manors and Parishes. 1858. pp335 - 345.
- R. & Pacey, Robert. Lost Lincolnshire Country Houses Vol. 1. (Temple Belwood). 1990.
References in the Star Newspaper Index
- Wright's Cart & Wagon Factory explosion (boiler) LLS 05.05.1900 5e.
- Richard Thomas & Co. - to open new brickyard SFS 08.06.1935 7b3.
- Gift of 4 acres of land given to parish by Alderman W.A.Ross - for playing field. SFS 22.05.1937 7c.
- Temple Bellwood Mansion to be sold SFS 07.07.1938 9.
- Belton (Isle of Axholme Family History Society).