Owston Ferry
Encyclopedia
Owston Ferry is a village and civil parish
in North Lincolnshire
, England. It lies on the west bank of the River Trent
, 9 miles (14 km) north of Gainsborough
, and has a total resident population of 1,128.
Sometimes referred to in short as Owston or Ferry, the village, which forms part of the Isle of Axholme
, is bounded to the west by the A161 road and the village of Haxey
. The River Trent is directly to the east. To the north, beyond a number of hamlets and villages, lies the River Humber. West Butterwick
was originally a part of the township
of Owston.
Owston Ferry appears in the Domesday Book
of 1086 under "Ostone". Owston Ferry Castle
, also known as Kinnard's Ferry Castle, was a motte-and-bailey
fortification from the 12th century. It lay on the site of an earlier, Roman
castrum
. It was dismantled by order of Henry II of England
in 1175-76 following the Revolt of 1173–1174.
"austr+tun", meaning "east farmstead", a view shared by other sources which outline that it specifically implied the "farmstead east of Haxey". The name "Owston" is shared by at least two other settlements within the United Kingdom. In the 1086 Domesday Book
, it was rendered as "Ostone", with the suffix "Ferry" (thought to imply the water vessel which may have been used to cross the Trent), in abeyance.
Owston Ferry Castle
, also known as Kinnard's Ferry Castle, was a motte-and-bailey
fortification from the 12th century. It lay on the site of an earlier, Roman
castrum
. It was dismantled by order of Henry II of England
in 1175-76 following the Revolt of 1173–1174.
Owston Ferry Grade I listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Martin
. The church register dates from 1603.
In 1885 Kelly's reported the existence of Wesleyan Primitive Methodist
chapels, a rope-walk
, boat-building yard
, several corn mills, and the manufacture of sacking and sail cloth
. The parish was of 5,350 acres. Wheat, barley, potatoes, beans and grass were grown.
, Owston Ferry formed part of the Boothferry district of the county of Humberside
, having previously lain within the Parts of Lindsey from the historic county boundaries
of Lincolnshire
. Since 1996 however, Owston Ferry has formed part of the unitary authority area of North Lincolnshire
.
, opposite the hamlet of East Ferry
.
The closest motorway to Owston Ferry is the M180
, whilst Robin Hood Airport
is eight miles to the south east, in South Yorkshire
.
The civil parish of Owston Ferry, includes the village of Owston Ferry, as well as a number of smaller localities, including West Ferry, Gunthorpe, Heckdyke and Melwood.
, founder of the Methodist New Connexion
, worked in Owston Ferry during his teens.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
, England. It lies on the west bank of the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
, 9 miles (14 km) north of Gainsborough
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
, and has a total resident population of 1,128.
Sometimes referred to in short as Owston or Ferry, the village, which forms part of the Isle of Axholme
Isle of Axholme
The Isle of Axholme is part of North Lincolnshire, England. It is the only part of Lincolnshire west of the River Trent. It is between the three towns of Doncaster, Scunthorpe and Gainsborough.- Description:...
, is bounded to the west by the A161 road and the village of Haxey
Haxey
Haxey is a village and civil parish within North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated to the northwest of the city of Lincoln and in 2001 had a total resident population of 4,359....
. The River Trent is directly to the east. To the north, beyond a number of hamlets and villages, lies the River Humber. West Butterwick
West Butterwick
West Butterwick is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It lies in the Isle of Axholme, about north-east from Epworth and north from Owston Ferry, on the western bank of the River Trent opposite its neighbour East Butterwick....
was originally a part of the township
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
of Owston.
Owston Ferry appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 under "Ostone". Owston Ferry Castle
Owston Ferry Castle
Owston Ferry Castle was in the village of Owston Ferry, some to the north of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire....
, also known as Kinnard's Ferry Castle, was a motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
fortification from the 12th century. It lay on the site of an earlier, Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
castrum
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
. It was dismantled by order of Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
in 1175-76 following the Revolt of 1173–1174.
History
The name "Owston" is thought to derive from the Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
"austr+tun", meaning "east farmstead", a view shared by other sources which outline that it specifically implied the "farmstead east of Haxey". The name "Owston" is shared by at least two other settlements within the United Kingdom. In the 1086 Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, it was rendered as "Ostone", with the suffix "Ferry" (thought to imply the water vessel which may have been used to cross the Trent), in abeyance.
Owston Ferry Castle
Owston Ferry Castle
Owston Ferry Castle was in the village of Owston Ferry, some to the north of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire....
, also known as Kinnard's Ferry Castle, was a motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
fortification from the 12th century. It lay on the site of an earlier, Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
castrum
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
. It was dismantled by order of Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
in 1175-76 following the Revolt of 1173–1174.
Owston Ferry Grade I listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
. The church register dates from 1603.
In 1885 Kelly's reported the existence of Wesleyan Primitive Methodist
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
chapels, a rope-walk
Ropewalk
A ropewalk is a long straight narrow lane, or a covered pathway, where long strands of material were laid before being twisted into rope.Ropewalks historically were harsh sweatshops, and frequently caught on fire, as hemp dust forms an explosive mixture. Rope was essential in sailing ships and the...
, boat-building yard
Boat building
Boat building, one of the oldest branches of engineering, is concerned with constructing the hulls of boats and, for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging.-Parts:* Bow - the front and generally sharp end of the hull...
, several corn mills, and the manufacture of sacking and sail cloth
Sailcloth
Sails have been made from cloth for all of recorded history. Typically sails were made from flax , hemp or cotton in various forms including canvas. However, modern sails are rarely made from natural fibers. Most sails are made from synthetic fibers ranging from low-cost nylon or polyester to...
. The parish was of 5,350 acres. Wheat, barley, potatoes, beans and grass were grown.
Governance
As part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, Owston Ferry formed part of the Boothferry district of the county of Humberside
Humberside
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...
, having previously lain within the Parts of Lindsey from the historic county boundaries
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. Since 1996 however, Owston Ferry has formed part of the unitary authority area of North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
.
Geography
At 53°29′42.8"N 0°47′8.3"W (53.495228°, -0.785656°), and 140 miles (225 km) north-northwest of London, Owston Ferry stands on flat ground by the River TrentRiver Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
, opposite the hamlet of East Ferry
East Ferry
East Ferry is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.. It lies west from Scotton on the eastern bank of the River Trent opposite West Ferry, and is part of the village of Owston Ferry...
.
The closest motorway to Owston Ferry is the M180
M180 motorway
The M180 motorway is a short but major motorway in England from junction 5 on the M18 motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster to a point close to Humberside Airport some from the ports of Immingham and Grimsby and the east coast and provides access for major routes to Cleethorpes,...
, whilst Robin Hood Airport
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield is an international airport located at the former RAF Finningley airbase at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster within South Yorkshire, England. The airport lies southeast of Doncaster and east of Sheffield.The airport is operated by Peel...
is eight miles to the south east, in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
.
The civil parish of Owston Ferry, includes the village of Owston Ferry, as well as a number of smaller localities, including West Ferry, Gunthorpe, Heckdyke and Melwood.
Education
Owston Ferry only contains one primary school, St. Martin's Church of England Primary School.Notable people
Epworth-born Alexander KilhamAlexander Kilham
Alexander Kilham , English Methodist, was born at Epworth, Lincolnshire.He was admitted by John Wesley in 1785 into the regular itinerant ministry and became minister of a circuit in Sheffield...
, founder of the Methodist New Connexion
Methodist New Connexion
Methodist New Connexion was a Protestant nonconformist church, also known as the Kilhamite Methodists. It was formed in 1797 by secession from the Wesleyan Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church and the United Methodist Free Churches to form the United Methodist...
, worked in Owston Ferry during his teens.
External links
- Owston Ferry, GENUKI article.
- The Parishes of the Isle of Axholme: OWSTON FERRY, a local history website.
- Isle of Axholme website