Whitton, North Lincolnshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Whitton is an English village of about 170 inhabitants in North Lincolnshire. It is located at the northern termination of the Cliff range of hills, on the south shore of the River Humber, about 3 miles (4.8 km) below Trent Falls, and 9 miles (14 km) west of Barton-upon-Humber. The parish is bounded on the west by Alkborough, on the east by Winteringham and, to the south, by West Halton.
Contents |
[edit] History
Whitton may have originated at the time the Romans crossed the Humber northward in 71 AD; first as a military camp and then later as a Roman villa, overlooking the river, with its temple a few yards to the east, where the Church now stands. It is perhaps possible that Whitton was a landing stage on the south bank for the Roman fort and civitas of Petuaria Parisorum at Brough across the river. Roman Coins of Claudius Gothicus (268-270 AD) and Constantine I (the Great) (309-337AD) have been found in the fields.
Nikolaus Pevsner tells us [1] that the Church tower 're-uses massive blocks of Roman stone', but these blocks of millstone grit which are to be found in several local churches (for example neighbouring Winteringham) may have been sailed down the Ouse and the Humber from York where Roman buildings were being dismantled or may even have come from some sort of triumphal arch or structure (perhaps like the Arch of Constantine), which might have stood at the end of Ermine Street.
Whitton is mentioned in the Domesday book in 1086[2] as land that belonged to Henry de Ferrers. Mention is made of land for eight ploughs, Henry's man has another two and ten villans and 4 bordars have another 5 and of 300 acres (1.2 km²) of meadow. The land was valued at seven pounds.
The church, however is not mentioned in the Domesday survey. St. John the Baptist is a building of stone, dramatically situated overlooking the Humber, consisting of a west tower, a small nave ( 6.7m wide and 11.3 m long ) with a chancel and a south vestry attached. The partly Romanesque (or Norman) tower contains three, now untolled, bells; the third bell is said to have been brought from the village of Welton, across the river, in Yorkshire . The base of the tower forms a porch and the large tower arch, leading into the nave, is thought to be Romanesque. The font is also ancient and may be from the same period. The church seems to have been almost completely rebuilt in about 1797-8 when the elaborate crocketted pinnacles were removed from the top of the tower. A drawing, by Nattes, of 1794 shows a dilapidated structure with a south aisle and a south porch.
The church was reseated in 1865 at the expense of Lady Strickland, and between about 1892 and 1897 the nave, chancel and roof were entirely rebuilt from the designs of W. & C. A. Bassett-Smith, architects, of London. On the north side of the chancel are two stained-glass windows, erected in 1918 to the memory of Henry Spilman who was killed in the First World War. In 1952-3 cracks in the tower were repaired under the direction of A.R Haynes, architect of Brigg.
The table, below right, shows the relative stability of the population, from the decennial census figures.
| Year | Population | Year | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 207 | 1901 | 173 | |
| 1811 | 187 | 1911 | 167 | |
| 1821 | 212 | 1921 | 183 | |
| 1831 | 245 | 1931 | 196 | |
| 1841 | 217 | 1941 | N/A | |
| 1851 | 190 | 1951 | 173 | |
| 1861 | 215 | 1961 | 180 | |
| 1871 | 214 | 1971 | 136 | |
| 1881 | 201 | 1981 | 178 | |
| 1891 | 257 | 1991 | 173 |
[edit] Trivia
In August, 2005, Graham Boanas, a Hull man, became the first person to successfully wade across the Humber since Roman times. The trek started on the North bank at Boothferry, 4 hours later, he made it across onto the South bank at Whitton. The feat was attempted to raise cash and awareness for the medical research charity, DebRA.
Approximately one year later TV series Top Gear filmed a race between Graham Boanas and James May, May raced round not able to use the Humber Bridge and Boanas walked across the Humber estuary, this was aired on the 18 november 2007 (May was driving a silver Alfa Romeo).[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, London, 1989, p.797
- ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 2003. p.918 ISBN 0-14-143994-7
