Long Bennington
Note: There is also a Benington parish in Lincolnshire.
This village and parish overlooks the Vale of Belvoir to the west in Nottinghamshire. The town of Grantham is eight miles down the A1 trunk road to the south-east and Newark-on-Trent is only six miles away in the other direction. The parish of West Allington lies to the south-east and Foston and Westborough to the east. The parish covers just over 4,400 acres. Bennington Grange, about two miles south of the village, was established as a separate civil parish under Queen Victoria.
The village lies on the old road between Grantham and Newark-on-Trent. The River Witham flows northward along the east side of the village and forms one border of the parish. It is here that the River Witham comes within three miles of the River Devon, a tributary of the River Trent, before changing its mind and heading north toward Lincoln. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the A1 trunk road between Grantham and Newark-on-Trent.
- Fishing is popular due to the wealth of local rivers.
- Hiking and rambling is also available.
- Stop at The Reindeer on Main Road for a little refreshment. Telephone: 01400 281382.
- Visit our touring page for more sources.
- The parish was in the Bennington sub-district of the Newark Registration District in Nottinghamshire.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1841 |
H.O. 107 / 615 |
| 1851 |
H.O. 107 / 2138 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2481 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3544 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2715 |
- The church has a long history here, with a priory of Cistercian monks founded here in 1175. A house near the present church, called Priory House, is said to be near the site of the monestary.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Swithin (Spelling variations abound) and parts of it date back to Norman times.
- The church went through extensive repairs between July 1891 and June 1903.
- The church seats 420.
- A photograph of the church is at the Wendy PARKINSON English Church Photographs site.
- Gary BROTHWELL has a photograph of St. Swithun's Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2010.
- Here is a photo of St. Swithin's, taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- In 1890, An iron structure, Saint James's Church, was erected in the middle of the village by Mrs. Grote JOYCE.
- The parish registers for burials and baptisms exist from 1560 and include baptisms and burials for Foston from 1623 to 1799 and of marriages until 1776.
- In the I.G.I., the batch numbers for parish baptisms are C029981 for 1813 - 1838 and C029982 for 1562 - 1811.
- Parish registers are on file at the Society of Genealogists, covering 1560 - 1837.
- Boyd's Marriage Index holds marriages from 1651 to 1837, and Pallot's Marriage Index covers 1790 - 1837.
- Long Bennington burials from St. Swithin, 1813 - 1900, are included in the National Burial Index (NBI).
- There are some entries in our Parish Register Extract. Please submit your additions to expand it.
- The LFHS has published several marriage indexes for the Grantham Deanery to make your search easier.
- The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here about 1870 and the Primitive Methodists had one even earlier, which they rebuilt about 1870. For information and assistance in researching these chapels, see our non-conformist religions page.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was in the Bennington sub-district of the Newark Registration District in Nottinghamshire.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which started in July, 1837.
- Evidence of pre-Roman occupation has been found at several locations in Long Bennington.
- In 1066, Long Bennington parish was held by Ralf the Staller. It had earlier been held by Siward, Earl of Northumbria (1033 - 1055) and his wife (later widow) Godiva (no, not the one of Coventry fame). Ralf's Lincolnshire lands were granted to Count Alan of Brittany as a Conquest prize.
- The local church and four caracates of land were given by Ralph de FILGERUS (or FOULGERS) to the abbey of Savigny in Normandy before 1175. The land was later seized by Richard II.
- The parish used to be the site of a limestone quarry and limekilns. In 1871, the quarries all belonged to a Mr. SHORT.
- And check the Loveden Org website for local history.
- J. HANNAH-BRIGGS has a photograph of The Royal Oak on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2013.
- You might enjoy this notice from the 1836 Stamford Mercury contributed by Eric Hollis.
- In 1871, much of the land in the parish was owned by the Earl of Dysart, J. E. WELBY, but several smaller owners had parcels here.
- In 1913, The Earl was still the principal landowner, but additional smallholders could be found.
- Long Bennington Manor House, in 1900, was the residence of the Rev. Charles and Mrs. GROTE-JOYCE.
- The national grid reference is SK 8344.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer 247 or 260 map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Commonwealth War Graves of World War II inside the churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2013.
There are three Commonwealth War Graves in the churchyard from the March 1943 crash of a Lancaster bomber. There are four other CW Graves as well:
- Flight Sergeant Gerald Russell AVEY, RCAF, of Norwich, Ontario, Canada.
- Flight Sergeant Rene Rodger LANDRY, RAF, aged 23, of Norman, Ontario, Canada.
- Sergeant Grey Doyle CUMBERBATCH, RAF Vol. Rsrv., aged 21, of St. Michael, Barbados.
The other Commonwealth War Graves in the churchyard are for:
- Flgt. Srgt. Alvin John BROEMELING, 467 Sqdn. RCAF, aged 20, died 16 Jan 1943. Son of Stephen and Mary BROEMELING, of Provost, Alberta, Canada
- Flgt. Srgt. Federick William DYDE, 207 Sqdn. RAF, aged 23, died 2 Oct. 1943. Son of Henry and Elizabeth Anne DYDE, of Broadway, Worcestershire
- Sergeant Benjamin PRATT, 467 Sqdn. RAF Vol. Rsrv., died 3 Aug 1943. Son of William and Harriet Ann PRATT, of Foot's Cray, Sidcup, Kent.
- Private George SIMSPON, Labour Corps, age 40, died 3 Mar, 1919.
- The name is from the Old English Long+Beonna+ing+tun, meaning "Long Farmstead of Beonna" and appears as Beningtun in the 1086 Domesday Book.
[A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
- The name was Bennington for centuries, but as the village grew along the road, restricted on one side by the River Witham, it added the adjective "Long" as a descriptive phrase.
- In 1871, William DRING was the local postmaster. Dr. Irving WILLIAM BELL was the local surgeon.
- In 1913, Charles Frederick HALDENBY was the sergeant at the Long Bennington police station. Miss Mary E. FOSTER was the local subpostmistress. William Beedham WADSWORTH was the local schoolmaster. Dr. Herbert Elwin MIDDLEBROOKE was the local surgeon.
- This place was an ancient parish in Lincoln county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the ancient Loveden Wapentake in the South Kesteven district in the parts of Kesteven.
- For today's district governance, contact the South Kesteven District Council.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Spittlegate petty sessional hearings.
- The parish had a "poor's land" of 13 acres from which the revenue was distributed in cash to deserving poor.
- GROTE's charity provided £3 and 5s. yearly.
- Charles LUPTON of Long Bennington left by will £500 in India, the interest to be paid to the poor.
- After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Newark Poor Law Union in 1837.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
723 |
| 1831 |
982 |
| 1841 |
991 |
| 1871 |
947 |
| 1881 |
910 |
| 1891 |
804 |
| 1911 |
701 |
| 1991 |
1,527 |
- In 1847, a National School (later a Public Elementary school) was built here by subscription to hold 120 children, enlarged in 1893 to accomodate 160, but in 1913 average attendance was only 112.
- The Long Bennington CE Primary school web site was abandoned and taken over by pornographers. The school can be reached by surface mail at:
Long Bennington CE Primary school
Main Road
Long Benington
Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG23 5EH
United Kingdom
Telephone: 01400 281353
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
The village has a local History Society. They do NOT provide assistance for family history research:
Long Bennington Local History Society
Long Bennington
Newark, Notts., NG23 5DJ
United Kingdom
Last updated on 17-January-2016
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