Directory: Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

Crowle (St. Oswald)

CROWLE (St. Oswald), a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Thorne, W. division of the wapentake of Manley, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 35 miles (N. N. W.) from Lincoln, and 164 (N. by W.) from London; containing, with the chapelry of Eastoft and hamlet of Ealand, 2544 inhabitants. The town is situated at the north-western extremity of the Isle of Axholme, near the river Don, and within a mile of the Stainforth and Keadby canal, which passes on the north. The weekly market has been discontinued; but, from March till the end of May, a market for sheep and cattle is held on alternate Mondays, and there are fairs on the last Monday in May, and November 22nd, for cattle, flax, and hemp. The county magistrates hold a petty-session for the division; and constables are appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £14.10.; net income, £777; patron, W. Duncombe, Esq.; impropriator, R. S. Johnson, Esq. The church is a very ancient structure, of which the original character is concealed by repeated alterations and repairs. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans; and a school with an endowment in land producing £42 per annum. In 1747, the body of a woman was found in an erect position in the peat moor near the town; it appeared to have been there for several centuries.