Burwell is a small village and

Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the East Lindsey district of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, England. It is situated on the

A16 road This is a list of roads designated A16. Roads entries are sorted in the countries alphabetical order. * A16 highway (Australia), a road connecting Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills * A16 motorway (Belgium), a road connecting Mons and Tourna ...

, and north from

Spilsby Spilsby is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16, east of the county town of Lincoln, north-east of Boston and north-west of Skegness. I ...

. The village covers approximately 2200 acres (9 km²).

History

Now a village, Burwell was a medieval market town.Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' pp. 88 ,89; Methuen & Co. Ltd.

Cropmark Cropmarks or crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform. Such marks, along with parch marks, soil marks a ...

s indicated the extent of the settlement. Burwell Priory, which once stood here, was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery founded at some point before 1110 by Ansgot of Burwell. It was an alien priory belonging to Grande-Sauve Abbey in

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

. It was dissolved in 1427 and sold to the college of

Tattershall Tattershall is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A153 Horncastle to Sleaford road, east from the point where that road crosses the River Witham. At its eastern end, Tatter ...

, along with its chapels at Authorpe, Carlton, Muckton, and

Walmgate Walmgate is a street in the city centre of York, in England. During the Medieval period, the street was the site of a seafissh and cattle market. Walmgate Bar, was involved in the Siege of York in 1644, during the First English Civil War. Durin ...

, and other lands around Burwell. The

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, Burwell Hall, was in Burwell Park, and was built in 1760 for Matthew Lister. It was demolished in 1958, and only the stables remain. The manor itself was previously held by Henry Percy, Duke of Northumberland; John, Duke of Bedford; Ralf, Lord Treasurer Cromwell; and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. The parish church of Saint Michael, became redundant on 13 May 1981 and was taken over by the Redundant Churches Fund (now The

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

) on 27 October 1982. It is Grade I

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

. The village also had chapels of the

Wesleyan Methodists The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny We ...

and

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

churches, which merged in 1988 making the Wesleyan building redundant. The combined church has since closed. Burwell District Council School was built in 1825 as a National School. It closed in December 1941 with only eleven children on the roll.

Community

The No. 8 bus service operated by Hunts coaches connects Burwell to Alford and Louth on a Wednesday Burwell

buttercross A buttercross, also known as butter cross or butter market, is a type of market cross associated with English market towns and dating from medieval times. Its name originates from the fact that they were located at the market place, where peop ...

was converted into a

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

and is now the village hall. Dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century with later alterations, it is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The village is part of the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Legbourne, based at All Saints church in Legbourne. There is one

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

in the village, the Stags Head which is now closed down.

References

External links

*
Burwell

Genuki GENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. It "provides a virtual reference library of genealogical information of particular relevance to the UK and Ireland". It gives access to a large collection of information, with the emphas ...

.org.uk {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire East Lindsey District