Luddington is a village on the Isle of Axholme in North Lincolnshire, England. The nearest towns are Scunthorpe, Goole and Doncaster.
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Early History
After the last Ice Age Luddington was covered by Lake Humber until about 9,000BC. When this melt water lake finally disappeared the Luddington area was an area of dry land, surrounded by wetlands, on a branch of the River Don. Luddington was amongst the last of a chain of 'islands' in the marshlands of the Isle of Axholme, stretching from Epworth northwards. The church of St. Oswald's is a pre-conquest foundation. It sits on an island separate from the rest of the village and River Don, in a circular enclosure, suggesting it might have been a ritual site well into the first millennium.
The route of the name Luddington is Anglo-Saxon, is settlement or estate belonging to Luda, however the area was settled before the English settlement of the area in the 5th century.
Medieval
The River Don was an important transport link between the Humber and the Yorkshire hinterland. A drowned sailor is reported to have come from Luddington, suggesting that some people worked the river. Nearby Crowle developed as a market town, leaving Luddington, like Haldenby [a nearby deserted Medieval Village] as way stops on the river.
Late Medieval decline
The Isle of Axholme as a whole went into decline in the late Medieval period. Climate change [the Mini Ice Age] saw the advance of marshlands, the dying of woodlands [which became bog oak] and the reduction of pasture. The river trade went into delcine, partly because the river silted, party because of the development of Hull, which took trade away from inland settlements, like Beverley. The Black Death didn't help. The Northern Isle of Axholme has two deserted Medieval settlements, Haldenby and Waterton, both within sight of Luddington. When Vermuyden drained the Isle he removed productiove marshland and the River Don, leaving behind badly drained arable land.
Victorian revival
The warping of the Isle improved the fertility of the soil. Steam pumps made the drainage of the Northern Isle effective. This lead to a growth in farming in the area and an increase in population. Luddington farmers developed crops for the growing urban market, particularly potoatoes. The need for labour was partly met by the migration of Irish workers to Luddington, following the Famine, in the 1840s. Providence Row - a collection of earth floor cottages - housed 'Irish' labourers into the 1930s.
Post war
The village Post Office marked the millennium by closing when a buyer couldn't be found for it. The public house of the village is the Luddington Arms, which recently closed.
Luddstock
In 2006, the village played host to a music festival, known, perhaps inevitably, as Luddstock. Bands included Silent Film Project, The Hitchcock Rules and Leatherat.
Population overview
1801 407, 1811 402, 1821 462, 1831 470, 1841 511, 1851 588, 1861 684, 1871 775, 1881 628, 1891 495, 1901 532, 1911 527, 1921 431, 1931 429, 1941 N/A, 1951 425, 1961 414, 1971 379, 1981 351, 1991 360, 2001 400
External links
Coordinates: 53°38′N 0°45′W / 53.633°N 0.75°W
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