KIRKSTEAD, a parish in the southern division of the wapentake of GARTREE, parts of LINDSEY, county of LINCOLN, 8 miles (S. W. by S.) from Horncastle, containing 132 inhabitants. The living is a donative, in the peculiar jurisdiction of. the manor court of .Kirkstead, and in the patronage of the Trustees of R. Ellison Esq. There is a place of worship for Unitarians. Daniel Disney, about the year 1736, bequeathed a rentcharge of £6 for the instruction of children. A Cistercian abbey was founded here, in 1139, by Hugo Brito, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary; at the dissolution it was valued at £338. 13. 11. per annum.