Burton Upon Stather Local History Pack

• The name
• The place
• Population history
• Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900.
• Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library.
• References in the Star Newspaper Index.

The name

Stather is the Danish word for 'landing place' so when combined with the Burton which means 'fortified farmstead', the villages name translates as 'fortified farmstead by the landing place'.

More information can be found in:

• 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

Burton Stather is situated on the brow of a cliff on the east bank of the River Trent around four miles west of Winterton. The village is famed for its magnificent views, and it is said that on a clear day the towers of York Minster some thirty miles away are visible.

Population history

Entry from Kelly's Trade Directory for 1900

BURTON-UPON-STATHER is a parish and considerable village, formerly a market town, pleasantly seated on the brow of a bold cliff, on the east bank of the river Trent, over which is a ferry to Garthorpe; it is 5 miles north-north-west from Frodingham station on the Penistone and Cleethorpes branch of the Great Central railway, 8 north-east from Crowle, 4 west from Winterton and 13 north-west from Brigg, in the North Lindsey division of the county, parts of Lindsey, north division of Manley wapentake, Winterton petty sessional division, Glanford Brigg union, county court district of Lincoln, rural deanery of Manlake, archdeaconry of Stow and diocese of Lincoln. The church of St Andrew, standing on a commanding eminence, is an edifice of stone, partly of the Transitional period, in the Decorated style, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of four bays, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower containing a clock and 3 bells: the chancel retains a piscina and three canopied stone sedilia; the church was extensively restored in 1865, under the direction of the late Mr Browning, when the southern portion of the nave - formerly a chantry chapel - was converted into a wide aisle, and a porch erected : there are several monuments to the Sheffield family, the most ancient being a mutilated figure of a cross-legged knight, brought from Owston, which now lies in a recess in the north wall of the chancel; the drapery of this figure is sculptured with great boldness and the details of the armour executed with great precision and the shield bears the arms of Sheffield; supporting a cushion for the head of the knight are remains of angelic figures delicately sculptured; an ancient sword, probably brought from Owston church, is now laid on the figure, also a cannon ball found in Sole Bay: a marble tablet in the chancel bears the following inscription: "the venerable remains of the five Sheffield's mentioned in the Itinerary of Leland, upon the printing of the book, were rescued from the danger of oblivion, and removed from Owston to this place by the pious direction of the not degenerate heir of that ancient family, John, Earl of Mulgrave, who, after the famous sea fight in Sole Bay, was at twenty-three years of age, by King Charles II made captain of the 'Royal Catherine', colonel of the Old Holland regiment, gentlemen of the Bedchamber, and Knight of the most noble order of the Garter, afterwards, by King James II. Lord Chamberlain of the Household; by King William and Queen Mary created Marquis of Normanby, and by the Queen, Duke of Buckingham, made Keeper of her Privy Seal, Lord Steward of the Household, and Lord President of Her Most Honourable Privy Council:" there is also a monument with a draped female figure standing by an urn, erected to Sir Charles Sheffield, 1st baronet, d. September 5, 1774, and to Margaretta Diana (Sebine), his wife, d.Jan.6, 1762; a similar monument, by Bacon, to Sir John Sheffield, 2nd bart.d.Feb.4, 1815, and Sir Robert Sheffield, 3rd bart. d.Feb.26 in the same year: the stained east window and oak reredos are memorials to Sir Robert Sheffield, 4th bart.d.Nov.7, 1862, and Julia Bridgida (Newbolt), his wife,d.Oct.28, 1875 : in the north aisle is a memorial window to the Rev. Charles Sheffield M.A. rector of Flixborough and vicar of Burton 1822-82, d.Feb.20, 1882: the organ chamber, and oak screen and choir stalls were erected in 1880 at a cost of about £600, in memory of Sir Robert Sheffield, 5th bart. (d.1886): there are 350 sittings. The register dates from the year 1567. The living is a vicarage, united to the rectory of Flixborough, joint net yearly value £429, including 163 acres of glebe, with two residences, in the gift of Sir B.D.G. Sheffield bart. and held since 1882 by the Rev. Francis Amcotts Jarvis M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, rural dean of Manlake, and J.P.Lincs. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels; the former was built in 1840 and the latter in 1868. A reading room opened here during the winter season. In 1777 Burton suffered from an explosion of gunpowder, on board a vessel in the Trent, when the church and other buildings were damaged to the amount of £3,000. There is a pier, erected in 1865 by Messrs. Wray and Son, late shipbuilders here, at which the steamboats to and from Gainsborough and Hull call daily. Brick and tile making is carried on. The shipbuilding yard which existed in this place for about a century is now the site of a small factory for making marine engines. The two annual fairs formerly held here, one on the first Monday after the 1st of May and the other on the first Monday after New Martinmas day, as well as a feast held at Whitsuntide, are now discontinued. Normanby Hall, a mansion in the Italian style, one mile south-east from Burton, is the seat of Sir Berkeley Digby George Sheffield bart. D.L., J.P. who is the principal landowner: it is pleasantly situated in a fine park of nearly 300 acres, well wooded and stocked with deer. This place is stated to be within the soke of Kirton-in-Lindsey. The soil is clay and red sand; subsoil, clay and ironstone. The chief crops are wheat and barley, and partly pasture land. The area is 3,508 acres of land, 2 of water, 82 of tidal water and 24 of foreshore; rateable value £4,567; the population in 1881 was 971, including the hamlets of Thealby and Normanby.
By Local Government Board Order 19,1998, March 24,1887, a part of Coleby was transferred from Burton-upon-Stather to West Halton.

THE STATHER is a small place at the river side, half a mile north-west, principally inhabited by engineers and brickmakers.

DARBY is a hamlet, a quarter of a mile east.

NORMANBY is a hamlet, 1 mile south-east, containing Normanby Hall and about twenty houses.

THEALBY is a pleasant hamlet, 1 ½ miles east from the church and has a schoolroom used for church services; There are also Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels.

Holdings in North Lincolnshire Local Studies Library

• Russell, R.C. The enclosure of Burton Stather 1803 - 1806. 1970
• Jarvis, Francis Amcotts. North Lincolnshire the parish of Burton Stather. 1999
• Emptage, Eileen & Eric. Monumental Inscriptions at Burton Stather. 1995
• Edwards, Rod & Ashberry, Jez. Lincolnshire; a portrait in colour. 1998
• Dudley, E.S. Lovely Lincolnshire poems for everybody. 1965
• West, William C.A. Lincolnshire Village at war Burton upon Stather "Seagull over Burton". 1994.

References in the Star Newspaper Index

• Skeleton unearthed at cottage SFS 10.7.1954 1c.
• Whale stranded on Brickyard sands and killed LLS 2.3.1901 5a.
• Women's Institute hold "Old Country Market" to raise funds SFS 29.12.1926 7b.
• Telephone to be extended to here (by Brigg R.D.C) LS 25.12.1926 5d.
• Typhoid outbreak in village SFS 28.1.1933 11c.
• Discovery of coffin on the Trent Bank LS 23.06.1894 4f.