Folkingham (also "Falkingham")

Folkingham, "a small but ancient and well-built market town, is pleasantly situated on the Lincoln and London road, on the southern acclivity of a picturesque valley, 3 miles W. of Billingborough Railway station, on the Bourn and Sleaford branch of the Great Northern system, 9 miles N. of Bourn and S. of Sleaford, and 12 miles E. by S. of Grantham."
WHITE's History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire, 1872

Census

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

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Church History

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew.
  
  
• Portions of the church building are of the Norman era.
  
  
• The church underwent alterations and repairs in 1857.
  
  
• The church is a grade I listed building with British Heritage.
  
  
• The church is currently part of The Barkwith Group of the West Wold Deanery.
  
  
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the St. Andrew's tower on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2007.
  
  
• Here is a photo of St. Andrew's Church, taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
  
  

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Church Records

• Anglican parish registers exist from 1583.
  
  
• Check our Parish Register Extract text file. Your additions will be welcome.
  
  
• Gordon Warrington has captured Baptisms, Marriages and Burials from 1709 - 1837 at Rootsweb.
  
  
• The LFHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Lafford Deanery to make your search easier.
  
  
• The Lincolnshire FHS has a Loan Library service which has the parish registers on microfiche for Baptisms from 1584 to 1812 and Marriages from 1584 to 1812.
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel in Folkingham built in 1841. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, 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 Aslackby sub-district of the Bourne Registration District.
  
  
• Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
  
  

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Correctional Institutions

• The House of Correction (Gaol) was originally built in 1808 for all of the Kesteven district. It was redesigned and rebuilt on the site of Folkingham Castle (see History) in 1825 and extended in 1849 and 1858. The surviving part is the former gate and governor's house. The Gaol could accommodate 70 prisoners in solitary cells until closure in 1877. Now the property is in the Landmark Trust who maintain it for holiday lets.
  
  
• It was in this village that Quarter Sessions were held, thus the need for the prison.
  
  
• In 1841, census records tell us that the Gaol held 49 prisoners. Mr. Matthew Edis MAILE was the gaoler then.
  
  
• Ian PATERSON has a photograph of the House of Correction on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2008.
  
  

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Description and Travel

This village and parish is bisected by the A15 trunk road as it travels north from Bourne to Sleaford. The parish lies 107 miles north of London, just about midway between the two towns of Bourne and Sleaford, and some 26 miles southeast of Lincoln. Laughton parish lies to the south and Walcot parish to the north. A small stream runs past the northeast side of the village, enventually joining the South Forty Foot Drain on the other side of Billingborough. The parish covers slightly more than 1,900 acres.

Folkingham is a large village with an attractive square, dominated by the Greyhound Inn, a tall three-storey building from the 17th century. It offered hotel accommodations, meals and liquid refreshments, but closed several years ago and is falling into decline (JB). The town was a popular stop for coaches in the 19th Century.

If you are planning a visit:

• You should read current issues of the Folkingham Flyer before visiting.
  
  
• See our touring page for area resources.
  
  

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History

• There are several natural spings in the parish, one of which is highly chalybeate.
  
  
• Folkingham was probably already a small hamlet when the Romans came and built the Roman Road that runs a few miles west of the village. It is part of the old Kingdom of Lindsey that existed in King Arthur's time, although considered part of Kesteven now. The village is best known after the battle of Hastings in 1066 when William the Conqueror gave vast estates in the counties of Lincoln and York to (Baron) Gilbert de Gant (or Gaunt), his nephew and a General in the Norman army, in return for service rendered. Folkingham was the seat of his estate. Gilbert's son Walter married Maud, daughter of Stephen, Earl of Richmond.
  
  
• Henry de Beaumont built a castle at Folkingham, but little remains of this medieval moated castle, although the earthworks can still be traced. Beaumont was created a Baron in 1309. The earthen banks to either side are part of the old castle bailey which occupied the site until the mid 16th century. The castle prison is now known as the House of Correction.
  
  
• A Savings Bank was established in 1818.
  
  
• The Falkingham Gas Light Company was erected in 1863.
  
  
• The Folkingham Fayre is held each July.
  
  
• The Greyhound Inn dates back to 1650 and was popular with travellers because it was just off the main Roman Road, Ermine Street (now the A15). At last report (2008), it was being converted into flats.
  
  
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Greyhound Inn on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2006.
  
  
• These are the names associated with the Greyhound Inn in various directories:
  
  

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Manors

• Folkingham Manor House is architecturally interesting and was built for Lord Clinton in the 17th century. It was constructed of stone taken from the castle.
  
  
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of Folkingham Manor House on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2006.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is TF 0733.
  
  
• 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 History

• The RAF opened a dummy airfield here early in World War II (the date is not recorded).
  
  
• The airfield was equiped with dummy planes and lots of activity in order to lure Luftwaffe pilots away from the real airfield at Grantham (RAF Spitalgate). It even had landing lights to draw attention at night.
  
  
• The RAF closed the field after the war, using it for a Regimental depot for a while.
  
  
• The runways were used in the 1950s by BRM Racing Motors to test their cars.
  
  
• The field was re-opened in 1959 as a Thor missile base.
  
  
• The site closed as a missile base in late 1963 and fell into decay and disuse.
  
  
• For an aerial view, click on Airfields of Britain, the Conservation Trust which keeps an eye on such things.
  
  

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Military Records

For a photograph of the Folkingham War Memorial in St. Andrew's Church and the names on it, see the Roll of Honour site.

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Names, Geographical

• Locals usually pronounce the name as "Fockingham" or "Fokkinham". John Bland tells us in 2004 that he hears it as "Fok-ing-hum".
  
  
• The parish name is often spelled "Falkingham" in old records.
  
  
• In the 1086 Domesday Book, the village name is rendered as Folchingeham, from the Old English Folca+inga+ham meaning "Homestead of a man called Folc(a)".
  A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991
  
  

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Politics and Governance

• This place was an ancient parish in county Lincoln and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
  
  
• The parish was in the ancient Aveland Wapentake in the South Kesteven district in the parts of Kesteven.
  
  
• You may contact the local Folkingham Parish Council regarding divic or political issues, but they are NOT tasked with assisting you with family history searches.
  
  
• For today's district governance, contact the South Kesteven District Council.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Bastardy cases were heard in the Bourne petty session hearings every Monday.
  
  
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Bourne Poor Law Union.
  
  

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Population

Year	Inhabitants
1801	531
1831	744
1841	781
1851	763
1871	696
1891	502
1911	479

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Probate Records

Ros DUNNING provides a transcript of the will of BROOKE, John Moore of Folkingham.

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Schools

• A Free School was established in the town prior to 1710.
  
  
• The old School House is a grade II listed building with British Heritage.
  
  
• A National School was built here in 1875 to hold up to 130 children.
  
  
• For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
  
  

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