Middle Rasen is a 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 authority ...

in the

West Lindsey West Lindsey is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in Gainsborough. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, from the urban districts of Gainsborough, Market Rasen, along with Caistor Rural Dis ...

district of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a 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-west, Leicestershire ...

, England, located about west from the town of

Market Rasen Market Rasen ( ) is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The River Rase runs through it east to west, approximately north-east from Lincoln, east from Gainsborough, 14 miles (23 km) west of Lo ...

. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,043.

History

Rasen is mentioned in ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' of 1086, but West Rasen, Middle Rasen and Market Rasen are indistinguishable. In its entirety the list includes ten separate references to Rasen, which as a whole consists of 144 households. Today's village results from the merger of the two historic villages of Middle Rasen Drax and Middle Rasen Tupholme. Middle Rasen has had two churches. A church dedicated to ''

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Middle Rasen Drax'' took part of its name from the parent house of ''Drax Priory'' in Yorkshire. In 1846 St Paul's comprised a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

, South

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

and western tower, with the probable remains of a demolished north aisle and north chapel. – it was demolished in 1860, with parts of its fabric used to restore of the church of

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

.''Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire with the port of Hull'' 1885, p. 601 Grade II*

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 ...

St Peter's church dates from the 12th century, with later alterations and additions, and an 1861

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

by Pearson Bellamy and John Spence Hardy, of Lincoln. In 1885 ''

Kelly's Directory Kelly's Directory (or more formally, the Kelly's, Post Office and Harrod & Co Directory) was a trade directory in England that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses o ...

'' noted village

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

, and Reformed Wesleyan chapels. It described a parish land of sand and clay, with a clay subsoil, on which wheat, barley and turnips were grown, and with pasture. Parish area was , supporting an 1881 population of 928. There were 17 farmers listed, four of whom had added trades, variously a miller, cattle dealer, butcher & cattle dealer, and machine owner. Other occupations were a blacksmith, beer retailer & blacksmith,

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

, grocer, shopkeeper,

wheelwright A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright", (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkw ...

, carrier, grocer & draper, butcher & cattle dealer, miller, publican, and dressmaker, and a shoemaker who also ran the post office. Middle Rasen

A tower

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

, built in 1827 for the grinding of cereal, ceased working permanently in 1925, and is now used as a store. A previous three storey red-brick

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

dated from the late 18th century, with 1827 remodelling – its remaining wheelhouse is Grade II listed. Middle Rasen Primary School was built in 1875 to replace a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

founded through a bequest by John Wilkinson, who died in 1720. In 1878 the school became a

Board School School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools. School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaignin ...

, and in 1903 the Middle Rasen Council School. The charity still supports the current school.

Community

The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

is part of The Middle Rasen Group of the

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of West Wold. The 2013 incumbent is The Revd Charles Patrick. Since the demolition of one church the other has carried both dedications, and is known to the Diocese as ''Drax St Peter & St Paul''. The parish maintains a modern church hall which is used by the village. To mark the Millennium a new clock, new bell frame, and three additional bells were installed. The Middle Rasen

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church maintains a chapel on Gainsborough Road. The

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and Methodist churches hold joint services at a former RAF base away. The Bowling club maintains a Bowling Green on Church Street. The village has numerous sports and social clubs, including a Cricket Club and a Horticultural Society.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire West Lindsey District