Place:Epworth, Lincolnshire, England

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Epworth is a town and civil parish on the Isle of Axholme, since 1974 in the North Lincolnshire unitary authority of Lincolnshire, England. The town lies on the A161, about halfway between Goole and Gainsborough and also close to Doncaster. As the birthplace of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, it has given its name to many institutions associated with Methodism. Their father, Samuel Wesley, was the rector from 1695 to 1735.

The Isle of Axholme is so called because, until it was drained by the Dutch engineer Sir Cornelius Vermuyden in 1627–1629, it was an inland island, surrounded by rivers, streams, bogs and meres. The Isle of Axholme was originally the eight parishes of Althorpe, Belton, Crowle, Epworth, Haxey, Luddington, Owston and Wroot. The River Don used to flow to the north and west (it has since been diverted), dividing the Isle from Yorkshire; the River Idle separates the Isle from Nottinghamshire; and the River Trent separates the Isle from the rest of Lincolnshire.

Nathan Francis Young was born here in 1654 and is commonly referred to as a ‘founding farmer’ of the original town. He is recorded as the first to monopolise the local land between the farmers spread throughout the area. There is a plaque dedicated to him in the town centre as well as a small museum that now stands near the site of his original home.

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