The Church dedicated to St. Mary was built in 1841 succeeded a Chapel of Ease, which was located on the site of the current School, a reference to this Chapel written in 1415 describes it as “an ancient Chapel built in honour of St Mary in the town of West buterwyk”. A section of very old painted glass from this building being “recycled” and currently resides in the middle window on the north side of the current church.
The Church clock was later installed as a memorial of the coronation of king George V. The £82 10s cost was raised by public subscription.
It formally started on 12th February 1912 and according to the Epworth Bells “at the opening ceremony, the vicar gave a capital address which started ‘on time’
Prior to the opening of the King George V or Keadby Bridge in 1916,
East and West Butterwick were inextricably linked by a passenger ferry that plied to and fro across the river, playing a crucial part in village life, East Butterwick school children crossed to school on the West side in earlier times.
The nearest road crossing over the Trent was at Gainsborough with a result that in addition to passengers, farm wagons, vehicles and livestock crossed daily here, The Ferrymen claimed in 1909 to have transported a large flock sheep across in a little over 2 hours.
West Butterwick was well served by a regular steam packet service which landed at the rear of “The Ferryboat Inn” taking passengers via the Trentside villages to Hull and Gainsborough, the Caledonia making her first journey on 23rd of October 1814. As rail services and road transport become more efficient the packet services were terminated in the early 1900s.