Hide

Scrooby

hide
Hide

"Scrooby Parish is within the North Soke of the archiepiscopal Liberty of Southwell and Scrooby, betwixt and near the confluence of the rivers Idle and Ryton. It contains 271 inhabitants, and 1,523 acres of land. The common was enclosed in 1775, when 160a 3p were alloted to the improprietor, and 34a 2r 22p to the vicar, in lieu of all the tithes of the parish, except those which are still paid on 319 acres of old enclosure.
Scrooby is a neat pleasant village on the south bank of the River Ryton, on the east side of the Great North Road and the Great Northern Railway, which has a small station here. It lies 1½ miles south of Bawtry, and now consists of a few farm houses and cottages,
The church is dedicated to St Wilfred, and is a neat structure which possesses none of its ancient grandeur, except its lofty spire, which was greatly injured by lightning on Sunday, August 7th 1831, but has since been substantially repaired."

[WHITE's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]

Hide
topup

Archives & Libraries

The Nottinghamshire Mobile Library visits Scrooby area every 4th Tuesday afternoon, on Station Road. Contact the Worksop Library to request specific material.

The Library at East Retford is an excellent resource.

topup

Census

  • The parish was in the Gringley sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
     
  • There are some THEAKER surnames in this parish. Some of these are recorded in this 1901 census extract website.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 851
1851H.O. 107 / 2121
1861R.G. 9 / 2412
1871R.G. 10 / 3450
1891R.G. 12 / 2638
topup

Church History

  • Many old Directories, like White's (below), refer to the Anglican parish church as Saint Wilfred. The currently accepted spelling is St. Wilfrid.
     
  • In 1490 the church is referred to as St James in a will, and it is thought that the name St Wilfrid was given to it in the 18th century.
     
  • The church dates from the late medieval period, circa 1380. This church replaced an earlier church built circa 1180.
     
  • The church spire was struck by lightning in 1817 and was severely damaged. It was struck again in 1831.
     
  • The church was restored in 1864.
     
  • Steve FAREHAM has a photograph of St. Wilfrid's Church on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2008.
     
  • John SLATER also has a photograph of St. Wilfrid's Church on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2015.
     
topup

Church Records

  • The parish register dates from 1695.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Methodist Chapel in Scrooby on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014.
     
topup

Civil Registration

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

Description & Travel

The BBC tells us: "Scrooby is only a sleepy little village, but for American historians this is the place where some of the guiding principles of the US political and judicial system hail from."

If you are planning a visit:

  • If traveling by car, mind the speed limits on the A638, which runs through the village. Residents of the village have complained to the local authorities and police about speeding motorists.  The police may be watching for you.
     
  • Look up bus and coach services on the Carlberry website for local transportation.
     
You can see pictures of Scrooby which are provided by:

topup

Directories

topup

Gazetteers

topup

History

  • Neil THEASBY has a photograph of the Old Pinfold on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2020.
     
  • This the birthplace of William BREWSTER, one of the Pilgrim Fathers, who left here in 1607 for Holland, then later went to the American colonies.
     
  • Scrooby is on the Pilgrim Roots Trail, as is Babworth.
     
  • The Southwell Church History Project site tells us that "Scrooby has become a place of pilgrimage, especially by American descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers."
     
  • There have been some excavations of a first century house here.
     
  • See the Nottinghamshire History site.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of The site of Scrooby Palace on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014 .
     
topup

Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK651908 (Lat/Lon: 53.410006, -1.022134), Scrooby which are provided by:

topup

Military History

  • The Scrooby War Memorial is a column which stands in the churchyard of St. Wilfrid's Church and was erected there in June, 1920.
     
  • Ian S. has a photograph of the War Memorial on the Geo-graph, taken in August, 2020.
     
topup

Military Records

These are the six names listed on the War Memorial plaque for World War One:

  1. driver Sydney BURTON, Royal Field Artillery
  2. pte. Ernest FENNELL, 12th Bn York and Lancaster Regt.
  3. pte. George FOSTER, 1st Bn Sherwood Foresters
  4. pte. Frederick OGLEY, 10th Bn Lincolnshire Regt.
  5. pte. Harry PAULSON, 9th Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Inf.
  6. pte. Alfred STONES, 1st Bn Sherwood Foresters
topup

Names, Geographical

  • The name means "Skropi's farmstead". Taken from old Scandinavian 'by', or farmstead, and 'Skropi', a person's name.
     
  • The name Scrooby also appears as Scrubey.
     
topup

Periodicals

You can still find online copies of the monthly newspaper for Scrooby, Torworth and Ranskill (The STAR).

topup

Politics & Government

  • This place was long a Liberty (Southwell and Scrooby) in county Notingham.
     
  • The parish was in the ancient Bassetlaw Wapentake (Hundred) in the northern division of the county.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of Scrooby village hall on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2014. Stop in when they are open and ask for a copy of the schedule of forth-coming events.
     
  • You may contact the Scrooby Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT funded to help you with family history searches.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Bassetlaw District Council.
     
topup

Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard at the Retford petty session hearings held in West Retford.
     
  • The Common Land was enclosed here in 1775.
     
  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a part of the East Retford Poor Law Union.
     
topup

Population

YearInhabitants
1801225
1841297
1851271
1871203
1881196
1891219
1901181
topup

Postal & Shipping Guides

The Postal code for Scrooby is DN10.

topup

Schools

A Public Elementary School (mixed) was erected here in 1907.