Belleau, Lincolnshire

{{Short description|Hamlet and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}

{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}

{{Infobox UK place

| static_image_name = St.John the Baptist's church, Belleau, Lincs. - geograph.org.uk - 108133.jpg

| static_image_alt =

| static_image_caption = Church of St John the Baptist, Belleau

| country = England

| official_name = Belleau

| map_alt =

| coordinates = {{coord|53.285948|0.101837|display=inline,title}}

| population =

| population_ref =

| shire_district = East Lindsey

| shire_county = Lincolnshire

| region = East Midlands

| constituency_westminster = Louth and Horncastle

| post_town = Alford

| postcode_district = LN13

| postcode_area = LN

| dial_code =

| os_grid_reference = TF402786

| london_distance_mi = 120

| london_direction = S

}}

Belleau is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately {{convert|7|mi|km|0}} south-east of Louth, and {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} north-west of Alford. The parish of Belleau includes the hamlet of Claythorpe.

According to the census of 2001, the population of Belleau in that year was eighteen, living in eight households.{{cite web|title=Neighbourhood statistics|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790456|work=2001 census|publisher=Office for national statistics|access-date=20 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007065847/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790456|archive-date=7 October 2013|url-status=dead}} At the time of the 2011 census, the population remained fewer than 100 and was included in the civil parish of Authorpe.

The name of the village is taken from the spring of the rivulet Eau which rises there.Cox, J. Charles (1916) Lincolnshire pp. 58–59; Methuen & Co. Ltd

The Grade II listed parish church of Belleau is dedicated to St John the Baptist.{{NHLE|num=1063630|desc=Church of St John the Baptist|access-date=28 June 2011}} The church was almost entirely rebuilt in 1862. Near the church are the remains of an old manor house, the former home of the Earls of Lindsey.[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Belleau/ "Bellau"], Genuki.org.uk; retrieved 28 June 2011 Other Bellau listed buildings are a pigeoncote{{NHLE|num=1063631|desc=Pigeoncote at Manor Farm|access-date=28 June 2011}} and barn{{NHLE|num=1063632|desc=Barn at Manor Farm|access-date=28 June 2011}} at Manor Farm.

A notable Belleau resident was the Puritan leader Henry Vane the Younger.{{cite web | url=https://www.pilgrimsandprophets.co.uk/historical/three-giants-of-american-history-in-lincolnshire-vane-williams-wheelwright/ | title=Three Giants of American History in One Lincolnshire Hamlet: Vane, Williams and Wheelwright | date=15 April 2017 }} Vane bought the Belleau estate after his marriage to Frances, the daughter of Sir Christopher Wray. Roger Williams, the founder of the American state of Rhode Island, dedicated one of his books to Frances after he came to stay at Belleau; he shared an interest in religious liberty with Vane.J Adamson and H Folland, Sir Henry Vane, Boston, 1973, p.120 Vane employed the radical clergyman John Wheelwright as a chaplain.

England international footballer Beaumont Jarrett was Rector of Belleau from 1895 to his death in 1905.{{acad|JRT873BG|name=Beaumont Jarrett}}