Axholme

Axholme, or Axeholme (A.S. alts-holm, oaks island), a tract of land in N.W. Lincolnshire, 17 miles long by 5 broad, enclosed by the rivers Trent, Idle, and Don. It was formerly a forest, and then a marsh, but was drained in 1634, settled by Dutch and French Protestant refugees, and is now fertile, producing hemp, flax, rape, and turnip seed. The small towns of Crowle and Epworth are within its limits, the latter being famous as the home of the Wesleys.