Langton by Spilsby, Lincolnshire

Historical Description

Langton-by-Spilsby, a parish, with a village, in Lincolnshire, on a branch of the river Steeping, 3 miles N of Spilsby terminal station on the East Lincolnshire section of the G.N.R., and 5 SW of Alford. Post town, Spilsby; money order and telegraph office, Partney. Acreage, 1368; population, 177. The property has belonged for eight centuries to the family of Langton, who also own the manor. The family mansion, Langton Hall, was burned in the time of Henry VI., and has been thrice rebuilt-the last time in 1866. Part of the rectory is 400 years old, and in its dining-room Johnson, Boswell, and Goldsmith often sat, and in the picturesque old garden there is a circular walk called Dr. Johnson's Walk. In front of the rectory stand two fine walnut trees that were landmarks in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Dr W. Langton, of the time of James I., and Bennet Langton, the friend of Dr Johnson, were born here. Three barrows, called Spellow Hills, are near the village. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lincoln; gross yearly value, £394: with residence. The church, built in Johnson's time, is a copy of Trinity College Chapel, Oxford. The font is the only remains of the ancient church, and the belfry contains six bells. Langton was a parish with a church in 970. It originally belonged, with Sansthorpe, to the Earls of Chester.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Findmypast, in conjunction with the Lincolnshire Archives, have the following parish records online for Langton By Partney:

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Langton by Spilsby from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Langton (St. Peter))

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Lincolnshire papers online:

• Grantham Journal
• Grimsby Daily Telegraph
• Lincolnshire Chronicle
• Lincolnshire Echo
• Lincolnshire Free Press
• Louth and North Lincolnshire Advertiser
• Stamford Mercury