Epworth guidebook

Market Place, Epworth

Residents of Epworth like to claim that it's the capital of the Isle of Axholme, an 18-mile long inland island in North Lincolnshire.

Although that may be open to debate, the historic significance of this place is not: Epworth was the birthplace of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church.

The town's St Andrew’s Church, was where Wesley’s father, Samuel, was rector following the family's move here in 1695.

It was from this churchyard that John gave speeches to large crowds when he was barred from entering the building because of his unorthodox beliefs. 

St Andrew's Church is still standing, as is the former home of the Wesleys, the Old Rectory, which has been restored and is now the property of the World Methodist Council who maintains it as a museum. 

These days, modern Epworth is a small but busy town, which provides shopping, banking and legal facilities for a widespread rural community.  There are also some pubs and restaurants, a library and a leisure centre.

The town is in the DN9 postcode area which has 7,734 homes, over 60 per cent of which are detached houses. It is seen as a good place for families and most property is owner-occupied.

Epworth is around half way between Goole and Gainsborough on the A161.

Sub Areas

Belton:

A village which tends to straggle the A161 for about a mile. It lies to the north east of Epworth and about six miles from Scunthorpe, and is quite big with 1,175 households.

There are four pubs and within Belton parish are the hamlets of Beltoft, Sandtoft, Churchtown, Bracon, Carrhouses, Mosswood, Grey Green and Westgate.

Haxey:

Rather a large village by Isle of Axholme standards – it had 4,359 residents in 2001 – Haxey lies between Westwoodside and Owston Ferry.

It stands on one of a series of low lying hills which are only 200ft high at the most, and is probably best known for the annual Haxey Hood event, which is said to be England’s oldest traditional tussle.

Owston Ferry:

Sitting on the bank of the River Trent this Isle of Axholme village lies nine miles north of Gainsborough and has the A161 as a boundary. In the 2001 census, it had 1,128 residents.

It remains a quiet place although there was once a time when it had river trade links to Gainsborough and Hull. It is still very much a farming community and many families have long connections with the village.

It is well placed for road connections to Robin Hood Airport at Doncaster which is eight miles away.

Wroot:

Wroot was once an island, now it’s an isolated little community of just 446 people.

It is located south of the River Torne on the Isle of Axholme, very close to the boundary with South Yorkshire, but administratively, it forms part of North Lincolnshire.