Stragglethorpe

However, slips of paper can be found in the Stragglethorpe churchwardens' accounts for 1801, 1811 and 1821, which record the population as 79, 92 and 100 respectively while denoting the number of inhabited houses and families as 14/17, 16/16 and 18/19.

The Saxon "thorpe" part of its name denotes this fact; confusingly, Holme Manor and buildings were just to the south of Sutton and were abandoned many centuries ago; the earth mounds and ramparts were levelled by the landowner in the early 1970s.

It seems to be widely accepted by recent historians, but not proved, that the other church mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the heading of Holme was in fact that belonging to Stragglethorpe.

The expression "Stragglethorpe in the parish of Beckingham" is used repeatedly in the title of the Bishops' Transcripts during the late C16th and C17th; these can be found in the Lincoln Archives.

When viewed from the inside, an early west-facing doorway with triangular stone lintel and a window opening above are clearly visible.

It was mentioned in the notes of William Monson when he visited on 9 August 1833, and a report in the Grantham Journal of 1886 tells of how it was bedecked with flowers for the Harvest Festival.

The church contains a sumptuous monument to Sir Richard Earle, who died at the age of 24 and without children in August 1697, and as his father was also deceased, the Manor of Stragglethorpe reverted to his mother who was part of the Welby family of Denton.

The exception is the piece written by Alfred C E Welby for Lincolnshire Notes and Queries in 1915, which included some of their family tree.

Stragglethorpe Hall is a Grade II listed Elizabethan "H plan" country house dating from the 16th century, and extended between 1912 and 1914.

It also appears that the village was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of this building, as in 1819 an invoice was paid by the Chapelwarden for £2-8-9d to Mr Gibson's delivery of 1500 bricks for the Poor House.

St Michael's Church
Marble monument to Sir Richard Earle