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Elksley

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"Elksley Parish lies on the east side of Clumber Park, and is intersected by the Wollen, but the village of Elksley is pleasantly situated on the north bank of that river, near its confluence with the Idle, 4 miles north-north-west of Tuxford. It contains about 450 inhabitants and 2,562 acres of land, including about 400 acres in wood and plantations, a large portion of which formed a wild tract of the forest, till 1780, when it was closed and exonerated from tithes, and an allotment of 66 acres awarded to the King, as Duke of Lancaster, under which Duchy the Duke of Newcastle olds this manor of Elksley, or Elchesleig. The trustees of the late John Sharpe Esq., and St John's College, Cambridge, also have estates here, the latter of which is held on a leasehold tenuity by His Grace. It was partly soc to Bothamsall and of the fee of Roger de Busli. A great portion of the land was given to the monasteries of Worksop, Blyth, Rufford, Newark, Mattersea and Welbeck, and to the latter belonged the rectory and church, which in the 4th year of Edward VI was granted to Richard Winlove and Richard Field, and afterwards passed to the Earl of Clare, who descendant, the Duke of Newcastle, is patronage of the vicarage, which is valued in the King's books at £6 16s, now at £120, and is enjoyed by the Rev. Cornelius Postlethwaite M.A., who resides at the vicarage, a commodious house at the south side of the village, overlooking the vale of the Wollen. The rector receives from the owners, as a commutation of the small tithes of the old enclosure, about £80 a year, and possesses an allotment of 83 acres of the new enclosures."
[WHITE's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]

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Archives & Libraries

The Library at East Retford will prove useful in your research.

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Cemeteries

Richard CROFT provides a photograph of the church and churchyard at St. Giles' church on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2013.

Elksley also has a High Street Cemetery with a nice set of iron gates. It appears that the cemetery was set up in the early 1900s.

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Census

  • The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 849
1861R.G. 9 / 2416
1871R.G. 10 / 3455
1881R.G. 11 / 3303
1891R.G. 12 / 2641
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Giles.
     
  • The church was originally built circa 1300 in the Decorated Style.
     
  • The church was partially reconstructed and repewed in 1844 or 1845.
     
  • The church seats 200 people.
     
  • There are photos of St. Giles Church at the Barbara WHITEMAN site.
     
  • Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Giles Church on the Geo-graph site, taken in November, 2005.
     
  • Tim HEATON has a view of St. Giles Church showing the Lych Gate on the Geo-graph site, taken in April, 2009.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1629.
     
  • The church was in the No. 3 deanery of Retford (or the rural deanery of Worksop).
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel here by 1869, but met in a room before that. They are reported to be meeting in a room in a 1904 Directory.
     
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Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
     
  • Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
     
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Description & Travel

Elkesley is a village and a parish on the north bank of the River Poulter, 5 miles south of Retford. and 136 miles north of the city of London The parish covers 2,560 acres. Normanton is a district in this parish about 2 miles west by south of Elksley village.

The village is on the north bank of the River Wollen. If you are planning a visit:

  • Gamston Airport is just north-east of the village.
     
  • Take the A1 motorway north-west out of Tuxford for about 4 miles. The road runs right through the north side of the village, but access to the village is difficult from this motorway.
     
  • Come and chat with the locals at the Robin Hood Inn on High Street. Andrew HILL has a photograph of the Robin Hood pub on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2010
     
You can see pictures of Elksley which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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History

  • The village feast is held on the second Sunday after Old Michaelmas Day (29th September).
     
  • Andrew HILL has a photograph of The Robin Hood Pub on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2010. The pub may be closed now.
     
  • John SLATER also has a photograph of The Robin Hood public house on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2015.
     
  • Proprietors of the Robin Hood Pub are recorded to be:
 YearProprietor
1832Dd. SALVIN, vict.
1885Mrs. Mary DONCASTER, vict. & farmer
1904James ROSE
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Manors

  • The old Manor House was taken down in 1843 and replaced with a brick mansion on the same site in 1844.
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK689759 (Lat/Lon: 53.275616, -0.968216), Elksley which are provided by:

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Military History

There are two plaques in St. Giles Church - one for World War One and a smaller one, just below it, for World War Two, honoring those who fell in combat.

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Military Records

The names recorded on the memorial are (all World War One):

  1. Thomas BOWNES (also spelled BOWNS), gunner, 34th Bde. Royal Field Artillery
  2. Herbert COWLEY, rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles
  3. Arthur DUCKMANTON, driver, Army Service Corps
  4. James EVISON, pte, 10 Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment
  5. John Richard FOX. pte, 2/7 Bn Sherwood Foresters
  6. Ernest Jackson THORPE, pte. 1st. Bn. Sherwood Foresters
  7. William WARD, pte. 1st. Bn. Lincolnshire Regt.
  8. George Henry WARRENER, lcpl. 2nd Bn. Lincolnshire Regt.
  9. Cecil WELBOURNE, sapper, 511 field coy. Royal Engineer
  10. Joseph Ernest WISTOW, Royal Field Artillery

World War II:

  1. Arthur Thorpe RALPH
  2. Arthur RAYMOND
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in Nottingham county and it became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • The parish was in the Hatfield division of the ancient Bassetlaw Wapentake (Hundred) in the northern division of the county.
     
  • You may contact the local Parish Council regarding civic and political matters, but they are NOT funded to help you with family history searches.
     
  • Jonathan THACKER has a photograph of the Village Hall on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2015.
     
  • The Bassetlaw Borough Council provides district governance.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard at the Retford petty session hearings held in West Retford.
     
  • In 1694 Mary PITTS left £14 as a benefice for poor widows.
     
  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a part of the East Retford Poor Law Union.
     
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Population

 YearPopulation
1801291
1821347
1841414
1851404
1861362
1871377
1881331
1901282
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Schools

The children of this parish attended school in Haughton in the late 1800s, then at West Drayton after 1900.

Elkesley opened its own infant and primary school in 1961.