Wainfleet All Saints, Lincolnshire

Description
Wainfleet All Saints, a small town and a parish in Lincolnshire, with a station on the G.N.R. The town stands on the river Steeping, 3 1/2 miles Why N of the river's mouth, and 8 SE of Spilsby. It has been supposed by some antiquaries to occupy the site of a Roman station, sent a member to Parliament in the time of Edward III., and was The birthplace of Bishop Fatten, William of Waynflete, founder of Magdalen College, Oxford. It was once a considerable seaport, but suffered decline of its commerce by the partial silting-up of the reach of river between it and the sea. In 1885 the Witham General Commissioners straightened and improved the river between Salem Bridge and the sea, and constructed a new staunch at Croft Bank and a new sea sluice alongside the old one in Wainfleet Haven, with the result that the business of the town has increased. It consists chiefly of one street with a central market-place, which has undergone considerable improvement, and has a hank, a grammar school founded by Bishop Patten in 1484, a literary institution, assembly-rooms, a weekly market on Saturday, and four annual fairs. The parish comprises 1819 acres; population of the civil parish, 1446; of the ecclesiastical, 1259. There is a parish council consisting of twelve members. The manor belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lincoln; net value, £300. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The present church of All Saints is a building of stone and brick in the Perpendicular style; it was erected in 1820 and enlarged in 1887 by the addition of a chancel, and the nave was thoroughly restored in 1895. The old church stood about 2 miles from the town. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels. Northholme is a small parish ecclesiastically annexed to this parish. The church of St Thomas was destroyed in the 17th century.