The name
Known as Medeltone in 1986 and later as Meltuna, Miauton and Meelton Roos the Melton section of the villages name means 'middle farmstead'. The Ross section is a manorial affix from the de Ros family who had connections with the village in the 14th century.
More information can be found in:
- Cameron, Keith The Place-Names of Lincolnshire.
- Mills, A.D. A Dictionary of English Place Names.
The place
The village of Melton Ross is located five miles north east of Brigg. In his 1891 book 'By-gone Lincolnshire' William Andrews tells the legend of the Melton Ross gallows. The story is set a hundred year previous when a group of boys were playing at hanging and seeing who could hang the longest on a tree. One boy went high into the tree when at that very moment a three-legged hare (the devil) came limping past. The other boys ran after the hare trying to catch it and in their excitement forgot their playmate who was found dead on their return. Legend has it that a gallows was erected on the spot in remembrance of this tragic accident and that they were to be kept in good repair by the estate owner (the Earl of Yarborough) should they fall into decay.
Population history
| Year |
Population |
|
1801 |
102 |
|
1811 |
106 |
|
1821 |
126 |
|
1831 |
158 |
|
1841 |
175 |
|
1851 |
159 |
|
1861 |
168 |
|
1871 |
171 |
|
1881 |
176 |
|
1891 |
191 |
|
1901 |
173 |
|
1911 |
175 |
|
1921 |
153 |
|
1931 |
152 |
|
1941 |
N/A |
|
1951 |
247 |
|
1961 |
212 |
|
1971 |
206 |
|
1981 |
198 |
|
1991 |
197 |
Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900
Melton Ross is a small agricultural parish, 1 ½ miles north from Barnetby - le - Wold station on the main line of the Great Central railway, 5 miles north - east from Brigg and 166 from London, in the North Lindsey division of the country, parts of Lindsey, southern division of the wapentake of Yarborough, petty division and county court district of Brigg, union of Glanford Brigg, rural deanery of Yarborough No.1, archdeanery of Stow and diocese of Lincoln. The hamlet of New Barnetby, in Barnetby - le - Wold civil parish, was added to Melton Ross for ecclesiastical purposes only, by Order in Council May 3, 1862. The church of the Holy Ascension is an edifice of stone, consisting of apsidal chancel, nave, south porch and a turret containing 2 bells; and was rebuilt in 1867, from designs by the late Mr. Ewan Christian, architect, at a cost of £1,500, raised by subscription: there are several stained windows, presented by the family of the late Rev. Thomas Aubertin, a former rector, and three windows in the chancel given by Mr. And Mrs. John West, of Melton Ross: there are 176 sittings. The register dates from the year 1568. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £159, with residence and 11 acres of glebe, in the gift of Earl Manvers, and held since 1889 by the Rev. John Duncan Clement Wallace M.A. of Worcester College, Oxford. Here are lime and whiting works. Melton Hall is the residence of William John Graburn esq. The Earl of Yarborough P.C. is lord of the manor and sole landowner. The soil is limestone; subsoil, loam and chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley and turnips. The area is 1,775 acres; rateable value, £4,253; the population in 1891 was 191 in the civil, and 296 in the ecclesiastical parish.
Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library
- Barnetby W.E.A. Aspects of Barnetby le Wold 1766 - 1901. With references to Melton Ross & Kirmington. 1983.
- Thompson, Ian. Lincolnshire springs and wells. 1999.
References in the Star Newspaper Index
- Public enquiry - surveyor declined to pass satisfactory conditions of highway. NLS 16.1.1892 5b.
- Siding to be built by Great Central Railway for farmer's use. LLS 03.09.1904 3b.
- Primitive Methodist Chapel - new organ opening LLS 14.10.1905 4c.
- Historical item about "Gallows" field. SFS 25.02.1939 9b.