England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Colsterworth St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Colsterworth lies in the southwestern portion of Lincolnshire, indeed it forms a small part of the border with neighbouring Leicestershire. Colsterworth is located on "The Great North Road" (today's A1) roughly midway between Stamford and Grantham and about 8 miles from each. Colsterworth is a substantial village built at the crossroads of the A1 with the A151 road which connects Bourne with the Leicestershire market town of Melton Mowbray. Colsterworth is today bypassed to its east by the busy A1 road. Colsterworth's main claim to fame, apart from serving as a coaching stop, is as the birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton who was born at Woolsthorpe Manor within this parish in 1642. The mainstay of the economy would have been arable agriculture although the presence of the main North to South road would have brought opportunities to the community. The parish is drained to the north by the infant River Witham which travels northward to Lincoln before reaching the North Sea through the port of Boston. Colsterworth is sited at about 100 metres above the sea the landscape is rolling and almost classically hunting country with tall hedges. Colsterworth parish was one of the larger in the area, it covered some 2,700 acres and would have supported a population of around 900 parishioners. In Domesday times the parish was unusual in still being partially held by a Saxon (one Thane) albeit shared with a holding of the Archbishop of York. The parish could offer just 4 ploughs, some woodland but did possess 2 mills.

The Church

St John the Baptist's church sits towards the northern end of Colsterworth High Street but is hidden away behind the properties to its west. The church is a very early one indeed, there are Norman features, in particular the northern arcade and eastern bays which show features of the 11th century styles. Much else is between those dates and the very earliest part of the 14th century ( a mason's date of 1305 is inscribed into the western bay). The tower has a later Perpendicular top as the building was modified over the centuries and the chancel was largely rebuilt in 1876 as part of the usual Victorian improvements. The church is best accessed from School Lane by a narrow footpath, there are some restrictions to photography, in particular the site rather crowds the western tower making photography somewhat tricky.