Biscathorpe Church & Village History
Biscathorpe in Lincolnshire ~ Research and History
A look into the past of the Lincolnshire village . . .
Biscathorpe is a small village on the River Bain, not far from Louth and has an interesting history.
The village is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, as Biscopetorp, and prior to the Norman Invasion it’s Lord was Godric, post the 1066 invasion it was ‘given’ to the Bishop of Durham.
There are 25 acres of meadows listed and 2 mills, 6 plough lands, 2 lord’s plough teams and 2.5 men’s plough teams.
There’s no mention of a church so presumably the original church dates no earlier than medieval at best, the current building appears to be relatively modern.
Coming to the church, it’s dedicated to St Helen and it’s both ornate and plain in equal measure. The tower and spire is quite nice, the carving with adorns the building is also quite impressive but the rendering is not perhaps the most attractive of features.
The village is very small, I’m thinking of a Medieval Shrunken Village perhaps ?!
There are certainly signs of greater medieval activity in and around the church, the church is ringed with earthworks for example.
In 1821 the village only consisted of 8 houses and 37 inhabitants, fairly obscure, so much so it’s not included on all Road Atlases !
St Helen’s Church in Biscathorpe
I’d be very keen to collate as much information as possible about this village and its history so if you can help in any way then please do leave a comment, many thanks.
Rod
[Edit] John Lyon, priest at Biscathorpe was Hanged as a Lincolnshire Catholic Martyr
Rev Enant said,
November 30, 2012 @ 9:34 pm
Rod,
I’m intrigued by the many weird grotesques adorning the exterior of this church, to me some look like characters featured in the “StarWars” films.
From memory I thought the font appeared much older than the church suggesting a rebuild incorporating older materials.
You’ve already mentioned in an earlier post a former priest of this Parish; John Lyon who was one of those hanged for his part in the Lincolnshire
Rev Enant said,
November 30, 2012 @ 9:37 pm
last line should read Lincolnshire Uprising.
Rod said,
December 1, 2012 @ 8:14 am
Rev,
they are strange, I thought the same which is why I featured one.
Pevsner has the font undated but says it’s white earthenware and insribed ‘St Mary Magd. Oxford. !?
Best
Rod
Richard Oliver said,
December 1, 2012 @ 12:05 pm
Another favorite Lincolnshire village! The church is an absolute gem of its sort, and I’ve used photos of the gargoyles on a few home-made greetings cards. They’re really good for ‘comic captions’. The one said thing is that there are some holes in the stained glass where some idiot fired a rifle.