| Barkston | |
|---|---|
 The spire of Barkston church | |
  Barkston Location withinLincolnshire | |
| Population | 497 (2001 census)[1][2] |
| OS grid reference | SK930415 |
| • London | 100 mi (160 km) S |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Grantham |
| Postcode district | NG32 |
| Dialling code | 01400 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Barkston is an English village andcivil parish[3] in theSouth Kesteven district ofLincolnshire. The parish population was 497 at the 2001 census and 493 at the 2011 census.[4] The village lies about 4 miles (6 km) north of themarket town ofGrantham, on theA607, just south of the junction with theA153 toAncaster.
The village is named in theDomesday Book as"Barchestune", which probably means "the farmstead of a man called Barkr." Thedeserted medieval village ofRingsthorpe lay just to the west of Barkston, on the far side of theRiver Witham.SK927414 It is mentioned in the 1087Domesday Book. The latest archaeological discoveries at the site are from the Medieval period, and the last documentary mention of Ringsthorpe is in the 14th century.[5]
Hickson's Almshouses,[6] built in 1640 and re-built in 1839, still provide homes for local elderly people.[7]
Barkston railway station, closed in 1955, was near theBarkston South junction of theEast Coast Main Line and Sleaford railways.
During the Second World War,Arthur Lowe, the actor who played the main character in the television seriesDad's Army, was stationed at Barkston with theRoyal Army Ordnance Corps, which had the task of servicing searchlights.[8]
RAF Barkston Heath was in recent years the base of the Joint Elementary Flying Training School (RAF andFleet Air Arm) in 1995; theArmy Air Corps joined in 1996, so that it became the Defence Elementary Flying Training School in 2003, when the RAF withdrew. Now the703 Naval Air Squadron and674 Squadron Army Air Corps are parts of the RAF'sNo. 3 Flying Training School. The airfield is also used for theBritish Model Flying Association national championships. In June 2003, theBBMF moved to Barkston Heath for four months.[9]
The present route of the A607 through the village dates from the 1930s. TheRiver Witham passes through the west of the village. At the 2001 census there were 229 households,[2] 100 per cent of the population were white, 87 per cent declared themselves to be Christian, and 20 per cent of the population were retired.[1]
To the east, on top of theJurassic limestone escarpment,RAF Barkston Heath stands next to the course of theRoman RoadErmine Street.
The parish boundary crosses the A607 at the north end ofSyston bypass. Going south,[10] it then crosses the River Witham, the north side of Hambleton Hill,[11] and theEast Coast Main Line at Shire House to the west. North are the Barkston South railway junctions, unused since 2004, either side of Westfield Farm.[12] The boundary follows the north edge of Hurn Wood to meetMarston. Northwards it crosses the Grantham Avoiding Line at Sand Lane,[13] then the East Coast Main Line, and follows theViking Way eastwards[14] to meetHougham and the Witham south of Frinkley Plantation. At Far Hill, it leaves the Viking Way, passing north through Old Gorse Wood to the west of the former Barkston Gorse Farm and Frinkley Lane.[15] Eastwards it touchesCarlton Scroop and at the hilltopHonington at Spellar Wood, following its southern edge.[16]] To the south-west it crosses Frinkley Lane, the Viking Way, Hough Road along the southern edge of Grove Plantations, and theGrantham–Sleaford railway line. It crosses the A607 at the A153 junction and Minnetts Wood north of Heath Farm,[17] tops Honington Heath to meet Ancaster, and runs acrossRAF Barkston Heath.[18] Along Ermine Street (B6403 road) it meetsWilsford andNorth Kesteven, and is briefly the South Kesteven boundary. At the southern edge of Barkston Heath, it follows Heath Lane westward and meets Syston. At this point a track passes through Minnett's Wood along Minnett's Hill.
The ecclesiastical parish of Barkston belongs to the Barkston and Hough group in theDeanery ofLoveden andDiocese of Lincoln. The incumbent since 2013 is Rev. Stuart Hadley.[19]
The parish church is dedicated toSaint Nicholas of Myra, a philanthropist bishop from whom the legends and customs of Santa Claus derive. It includes aNorman window, a 14th-century spire and 15th-century porch.[20]
TheMethodist Chapel in West Street was built as aWesleyan Methodist chapel in 1832. It closed in 2002, but the congregation continued to meet in the village hall as part of the Grantham and Vale of Belvoir Circuit until 2013.[21]
The village pub isThe Stag in Church Street, which also serves "locally sourced" food.[22] A mobile library calls once a month, a mobilefish and chip van every Thursday, and a mobilegreengrocer every Friday. There is a petrol station with a shop on the main road. Adjacent to it is a hand car wash and a mechanic's garage. The village has a primary school, catering for pupils aged 5-11 and is adjacent to the church. The school serves children from Barkston, Syston, Grantham and surrounding villages.
Barkston hasGirl Guide andBrownie troops, and a mother-and-toddler group. A produce show is held every summer. The village has a cricket club, an indoor bowls team, and an association football team. The latter plays in the Grantham and District League Premier Division since finishing third in the 2007–2008 season in Division One.
Media related toBarkston at Wikimedia Commons
