The history and antiquities of Boston, and the villages of Skirbeck, Fishtoft, Freiston, Butterwick, Benington, Leverton, Leake, and Wrangle; comprising the hundred of Skirbeck, in the county of Lincoln. Including also a history of the East, West, and Wildmore fens, and copious notices of the Holland or Haut-Huntre fen ... sketches of the geology, natural history, botany, and agriculture of the district; a very extensive collection of archaisms and provincial words, local dialect, phrases, proverbs, omens, superstitions, etc. By Pishey Thompson. Illustrated with one hundred engravings.

lcbIton.?' - HE parish of Leverton is situated immediately north
from that of Benington, on the highroad from
Boston to Wainfleet, and about six miles north-east
from the former place.
The name of this parish is written Levretune in
iDomesday. Dr. STUKELEY says that this town had
its name from Leofric, "who was a potent man
thereabouts at the time of the Norman's coming,
and gave to the town much common."' Leverton,
therefore, was originally Leofric's-town." DUGDALE states the same respecting
the origin of this town, but adds that Leofric was one of the senescalls or
esquires to Earl Algar the younger, that he had a residence in this place, and
that he was slain whilst fighting against the Danes in the year 870.2 It will be
observed that these two accounts vary very materially as to the time in which
Leofric is said to have lived; DUGDALE fixing it in the middle of the ninth
century; STUKELEY in the middle of the eleventh.
This discrepancy would alone be sufficient to throw a little doubt upon the
subject; but there are other reasons for thinking that the name of the town had
not this origin. There is nothing in the parish which warrants such a conclusion, nor is there any tradition that this was the fact. In the oldest parish
record (1493) and subsequently, until 1562, the name is uniformly written
1 STUKELEY'S Itin. The Doctor adds, "Thedeed idles of INGULPHUS, and the charters of Croyland
of gift is now in the possession ofthe Rev. and worthy Abbey inserted in those Chronicles. The greater
vicar, Mr. William Falkner, which I have seen." part of these charters is regarded as spurious by
An old parish record calls this town " Leofricii Oppi- HENRY WHARTON, HICKEs, and other competent
dum," and quotes Dr. STUKELEY as the authority. authorities; and Sir FRANCIS PALGRAVE says,
2 DUGDALE'S Monasticon, p. 68, where it is the charters are forgeries of a more recent date
stated, " Another of the Earl's esquires was Wi- than the time of Ingulph. HICKES is "almost
bertus, from whence the town of Wyberton is said compelled to believe that Ingulph himself was the
to have taken its name." We do not find any forger." The oldest MS. of the Chronicle known
record or tradition of a person called Wibertus to exist is a transcript of the sixteenth century.
being connected with this town, and think Aberton, SirFRANCIS PALGRAVE has strong doubts whether
the town at the mouth of the river, is a much more the Chronicle itself (including the charters) is of
probable origin. We venture also to doubt whether much older date than the thirteenth or first half
Algarkirk derives its name from Earl Algar, be- of the fourteenth century.-See the introduction
cause we have seen ancient records in which it is to the new edition of Ingulphus. Thus the his.
termed Alder Church (a Church among the Alders), torical foundation for the origin of the names of
and Alder Church (the Elder Church). Land in Algarkirk, Leverton, and Wyberton, seems to be a
the neighbourhood of the Welland was called Alder- very doubtful one; and there is not any traditional
land, about A.D. 860.-New edition of Ingulphus, testimony, independent of INGULPHUS, of which we
p. 37. We know of no other authority for the have heard; and of the internal evidence of these
derivation of Leverton, Wyberton, and Algarkirk, derivations we do not discover the least trace.
from Leofric, Wibertus, and Algar, but the Chron.