Epworth, Lincolnshire
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Epworth is a market town and civil parish on the Isle of Axholme, in the North Lincolnshire unitary authority of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer Map 280: Isle of Axholme, Scunthorpe and Gainsborough: (1:25,000) : The town lies on the A161, about halfway between Goole and Gainsborough. As the birthplace of
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
and Charles Wesley, it has given its name to many institutions associated with Methodism. Their father, Samuel Wesley, was the
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
from 1695 to 1735.


History

Epworth is in the Isle of Axholme. The Isle is so called because, until it was drained by the Dutch engineer
Sir Cornelius Vermuyden Sir Cornelius Vermuyden ( Sint-Maartensdijk, 1595 – London, 11 October 1677) was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch land reclamation methods to England. Vermuyden was commissioned by the Crown to drain Hatfield Chase in the Isle of Axholme ...
in 1627–1629, it was an inland island, surrounded by rivers, streams, bogs and meres. The Domesday Book in 1086 recorded:
"Manor In Epeuerde, Ledwin had eight carucates of land to be taxed. Land to twelve ploughs. Geoffrey de Wirce has there two ploughs, and eight
sokemen __NOTOC__ The term ''soke'' (; in Old English: ', connected ultimately with ', "to seek"), at the time of the Norman conquest of England, generally denoted "jurisdiction", but its vague usage makes it probably lack a single, precise definition. An ...
, with two carucates and five oxgangs of this land; and thirteen
villane Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
s and nine
bordar Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develope ...
s with six ploughs, and eleven fisheries of five shillings, and of meadow. Wood pasture long and broad.. Value in King Edword's time £8 now £5. Tallaged at twenty shillings.
A grant of the common land to the freeholders and other tenants, made by
deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...
in 1360 by John de Mowbray, Lord of the Manor, gave privileges and freedoms over the use of common land, reed gathering, rights over fish and fowl and such wildlife as could be taken by the commoners for food. The deed caused repercussions in the reign of King Charles I (1625-1649) when Vermuyden was granted the task of draining the Isle and he and his Dutch partners came under regular attack in their stockade at
Sandtoft Sandtoft is a hamlet in the civil parish of Belton, North Lincolnshire (Where the population is included), England. Sandtoft is in Hatfield Chase on the Isle of Axholme, north-west from Epworth. Sandtoft has a public house, The Reindeer In ...
. The draining of the land saw the ancient rights of the commoners encroached upon: as the land dried up they lost their supply of wildfowl for food, foraging rights and employment as
mere Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American televisi ...
men, swanniers, and ferry operators in addition to their grazing rights. A whole way of life that had seen annual otter hunts on the
Trent Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, California, ...
, not to mention abundant salmon, was lost along with many livelihoods. The resentment felt by the Isle of Axholme towards the king doubtless explains their siding with Parliament in the English Civil War (1642-1651). Nevertheless, Vermuyden's work, an outstanding piece of irrigation engineering, turned thousands of acres of marsh and bog, which had been impassable except in high summer or hard frost, into the rich arable farmland that the Isle benefits from today. The Isle of Axholme was originally the eight parishes of Althorpe, Belton, Crowle, Epworth, Haxey, Luddington, Owston and Wroot. Lord Nathan Francis Young was born here in 1654 and is commonly referred to as a ‘founding farmer’ of the original town. He is recorded as the first to monopolise the local land between the farmers spread throughout the area. There is a plaque dedicated to him in the town centre as well as a small museum that now stands near the site of his original home.


Landmarks

The Old Rectory, a Queen Anne style building, rebuilt after the fire of 1709, has been completely restored and is now the property of the World Methodist Council. It is maintained as a museum. It is also the site of supposed paranormal events that occurred there in 1716, while the Wesley family was living in the house. The
Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of
Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
is on a hill overlooking the town. Its architecture suggests that its oldest part may have been built in the late 12th century with later additions in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Rev. Samuel Wesley, father of John and Charles Wesley, was Rector here (and is buried in the churchyard). Epworth is described as the 'Home of Methodism' and there is a Methodist church in the centre of the town. This was built in 1888 (opened for worship in 1889) and continues to be a busy hub in the centre of the community. The church (along with the town as a whole) attracts hundreds of visitors from around the world each year tracing the history of the Methodist movement. There is a trail around the town linking the sites which were significant for the Wesley family.


Demographics

Epworth had a population of 4,363 at the 2021 Census. The ethnic makeup of the town was recorded at 97.9% White British and Ethnic Minorities were recorded at 1,1% of the population. Christianity has the highest religious following at 59.7% of the local population, followed by
irreligious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...
at 38.6% and
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
at 0.7%. Other religious and faiths were less than 0.5%.


Transport

Epworth is served by buses provided by
Isle Coaches An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...
,
Stagecoach Buses A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
and First South Yorkshire which give the town services to towns such as Doncaster, Scunthorpe and Haxey. The town was served by
a station , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including ''Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and ''Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well kn ...
on the
Axholme Joint Railway The Axholme Joint Railway was a committee created as a joint enterprise between the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&Y) and the North Eastern Railway (NER) and was established by the North Eastern Railway Act of 31 July 1902. It took over ...
which ran from Goole to Lincoln via a connecting spur to the
Doncaster to Lincoln Line Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
. The station closed to passengers in 1933 and the line closing to freight and excursion services in 1956. The site has been redeveloped and is now occupied by a farm store. Another station was opened on the Doncaster to Lincoln Line in the town of Haxey. However, this station closed in 1964 lasting longer than the previous station of the same name. The nearest mainline station is now in the nearby town of Crowle.


Media

Television signals are received from either the Emley Moor or
Belmont Belmont may refer to: People * Belmont (surname) Places * Belmont Abbey (disambiguation) * Belmont Historic District (disambiguation) * Belmont Hotel (disambiguation) * Belmont Park (disambiguation) * Belmont Plantation (disambiguation) * Belmon ...
TV transmitters. The town is served by both BBC Radio Humberside and BBC Radio Sheffield. Other radio stations are
Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire is a radio station regional sub-network serving Yorkshire, Lincolnshire & the North Midlands as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network. Whilst all programming is shared either across the region, or nationall ...
,
Viking FM Viking FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. As of September 2022, the s ...
, Lincs FM and
TMCR 95.3 TMCR or Today's More Choice Radio is a community radio station in Thorne, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire. TMCR was set up as a Restricted Service Licence or 'trial station' to see how it would be received by the communities of Thorne and ...
, a community based radio station which broadcast from its studios in Thorne. Local newspaper is served by the '' Doncaster Free Press'' (formerly ''The Epworth Bells'').


Events


Epworth Show

The Epworth Show has been held for over 60 years, and takes place on the
August Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...
Monday. The show was first held before the Second World War on Battle Green, later moving to Scawcett Lane. Today it is held at Wroot Road – the site has been enlarged and extra facilities added – where a number of other community events are held. Originally the show catered only for the local area. Over the years it has grown, and whilst still having an agricultural aspect – with cattle, sheep, goats, shire horses and vintage tractors – it provides entertainment and activities including
show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
, mountain & moorland ponies, trade stands,
vintage vehicles Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...
, a beer tent, children's entertainment and a dog show. Epworth Show has links with the three Epworth churches which come together for a prior Sunday evening service, and on show day share an information tent. The Show is run by the Epworth and District Agricultural Society, a
charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...
. Its committee comprises community and honorary members, and patrons. Other activities run by the society between May and September include four horse & pony events, and an August Bank Holiday weekend Beer Festival with live bands.


Festival of the Plough

Epworth has hosted the Epworth
Festival of the Plough A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holida ...
agricultural fair for a number of years.


Notable people

Beside John and Charles Wesley, other notable people associated with Epworth are: *
John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray John (III) de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray (24 June 1340 – 19 October 1368) was an English peer. He was slain near Constantinople while en route to the Holy Land. Family John de Mowbray, born 25 June 1340 at Epworth, Lincolnshire, was the son o ...
, born in Epworth * William de Epworth, fourteenth century judge and Crown official in Ireland, born in Epworth * Alexander Kilham, founder of the Methodist New Connexion, born in Epworth *
Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one ...
, cricketer, former resident * Benjamin Huntsman, inventor and manufacturer, born Epworth 1704 * Sheridan Smith, actress, born Epworth in 1981 * Mehetabel Wesley Wright (1697–1751), poet * Charles Wesley (1707–1788), priest and hymnwriter *
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
(1703–1791), priest and one of the founders of Methodism


References


Notes


Bibliography

*


External links


"The Parishes of the Isle of Axholme: Epworth"
Axholme-fhs.org.uk

on th
Axholme.info
website {{authority control Towns in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Methodism Burial sites of the Wesley family Borough of North Lincolnshire