Barkston

NOTE: There is also a Barkston in North Yorkshire.

Description and Travel

Barkston (sometimes "Barkston le Willows" or "Barkstone in the Willows") is both a village and a parish four miles north of Grantham and 110 miles north of London. Marston parish lies to the west, Syston parish to the south. In the eastern portion of the parish is Barkston Heath, and part of that is now an RAF training airfield. The parish covers 2,100 acres in an east-west orientation.

The River Witham runs past the western side of the village, turning its flow from north to west. If you are planning a visit:

• Take the A607 trunk road, which passes through the village, north out of Grantham.
  
  
• Travellers to Barkston may wish to stay overnight at Barkston House (Tel: 01400 250555).
  
  
• Visit our touring page for more sources.
  
  

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Census

• The parish was in the Claypole sub-district of the Newark Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
  
  
• The table below shows census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

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Church History

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Nicholas.
  
  
• The church was originally constructed in the 12th century and rebuilt in the Gothic style. It underwent several restorations in the 19th century.
  
  
• The church seats about 200.
  
  
• A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built here in 1832.
  
  
• Here is a photo of the church, taken by Ron Cole (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• The parish register dates from from 1561 through 1944.
  
  
• The Lincolnshire FHS has a Loan Library service which has the parish registers on microfiche for Baptisms from 1561 to 1812 and Marriages from 1561 to 1812.
  
  
• The LFHS has published several marriage indexes for the Loveden Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists also had a small chapel here, built in 1832. For information and assistance in researching this chapel, see our non-conformist religions page.
  
  
• Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
  
  

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Civil Registration

• The parish was in the Claypole sub-district of the Newark Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which started in July, 1837.
  
  

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History

• There are several ancient quarries to the east of the village on the heath.
  
  
• Legend has it that Robin Hood used to frequent Barkston. Alas, he does not appear to have left any genealogical references behind.
  
  
• Barkston was a barren heath until about 1790.
  
  
• The Great Northern Railway used to serve Barkston with passengers and freight at Barkston Station, a mile west of the village. The railway stills runs to the west and north of the village.
  
  
• Perhaps because of the nearby airfield, there are several Barkston paranormal sites on the Internet - no, I'm not providing Links to those.
  
  

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Land and Property

• Thomas PACY was lord of the manor here under Henry VI.
  
  
• The principal landowners in 1871 were the J. A. HOUBLIN and Sir John H. THOROLD, baronet, of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and Wm. CROPLEY.
  
  
• The principal landowner in 1913 was Sir John H. THOROLD, baronet.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is SK 9342.
  
  
• Use this Multimap online map as your guide.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Military Records

• Click here to see the Barkston War Memorial and the list of names inscribed thereon.
  
  

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Names, Geographical

• The name Barkston is a combination of Old English and Old Scandinavian in Barkr+tun, for "farmstead of a man called Barkr". It appeared in the 1086 Domesday Book as Barchestune.
  [A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
  
  

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Names, Personal

• Here's a partial list of surnames found in Barkston in 1871: BAILEY, BARBER, BLACKBURN, BRETT, BREWSTER, CROPLEY, FORRESTER, GILES, GOODACRE, HAMILTON, HAND, HOLMES, HUNTER, JERMAN, JOHNSON, KENNEWELL, MARNHAM, MARSH, MILLAR, MORLEY, NIXON, PARR, PEACOCK, POWER, ROPER, STANHOPE, THOMPSON, WARD and WRIGHT.
  
  
• Kelley's 1913 Directory lists these surnames: BARNES, BURTON, CLARK, CLEMENTS, COTTAM, DICKENSON, ELMORE, GIBSON, HAMILTON, HARRIS, HUMPHREYS, MACKEARS, MORLEY, NEVILLE, NIX, NODEN, PARR, ROBINSON, SCARBOROUGH, WADKIN, WARD, WATSON and WILKINSON.
  
  

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Politics and Government

• Prior to 1842, the parish was in the ancient Loveden Wapentake.
  
  
• The parish was also in the Soke of Grantham.
  
  
• The parish was later reassigned to the ancient Winnibriggs and Threo Wapentake in the South Kesteven division of the county, parts of Kesteven.
  
  
• For today's local governance, contact the South Kesteven District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Six almshouses for the poor were built here in 1640, founded by Richard HICKSON. These were rebuilt in 1839.
  
  
• There were eight additional almshouses for the poor, along with sixteen acres of land ("poor's land") in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
  
  
• The Rev. John BROUGHTON left the interest on £10 for the poor beginning in 1736.
  
  
• After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Newark Poor Law Union.
  
  
• In the 1870's, J. A. HOUBLIN provided a yearly donation of £20 for distribution among the poor at Christmas.
  
  

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Population

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Schools

• The first Free School was built here in 1835 on land given by Mrs. NEWTON. It was enlarged once (torn down and rebuilt) in 1875 to hold 80 children.
  
  
• The parish had a small charity endowment left by Selina TOWERS in 1718 for the education of poor children.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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