Colston Bassett
"This village and parish lies on the River Smite, bordering upon Leicestershire,
5 miles south of Bingham, and contains 337 inhabitants and about 2,400 acres of
land, of which 1,800 acres belong to the lord of the manor and impropriator,
Henry D. Martin Esq., to whose father it was bequeathed by the Honourable Mrs
Kaye, sister to Viscount Westworth, whose ancestors bought it in 1714 of Sir
Edward Godling. The other part belongs to Mrs Pigon of Reading, and several
other freeholders.
The manor anciently belonged to the family of Basset, and from then descended
to the Staffords, Dukes of Buckingham, from whom it descended to various
families.
The church, dedicated to St Mary, stands half a mile from the village. It is an
ancient edifice with south aisle, chancel, and low tower, in which is an
excellent peal of five musical bells. It is a vicarage, valued in the King's
books at £8 7s 6d, now £300. It has 42 acres of glebe. The patronage
is in the gift of the Crown, and the Rev. Joshua Brooke is the incumbent. The
vicarage, which formerly stood in front of the hall, was taken down about 17
years ago, and a neat mansion built a little more to the north. Here is a neat
Catholic chapel, erected in 1840, and the priest is the Rev. Joseph Bick. A
Primitive Methodist chapel was also built in the same year. The parish feast is
on Whit Sunday."
[White's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]
- The parish was in the Ratcliffe-on-Trent sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
- In a November, 1883, re-organization, the parish was re-assigned to the Bingham sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2485 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2718 |
- The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Mary.
- The church was built on the site of an older church in 1293.
- In the late 1700s, portions of the church were taken down as the building was deemed too large for its requirements.
- Saint Mary's Church is now considered a ruin. The new parish church is Saint John the Devine.
- Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of St. Mary's Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2007.
- There is a brief history of St. Mary's Church on the Southwell Churches History Project website.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. John the Devine Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2012.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1591 and is in good condition.
- Evelyn YOUNG made a transcription in full of the parish register covering 1591 to 1925. The web page author does not know where a copy may be found, but an online search will reveal several writings by that author.
- The parish was in the #1 deanery of Bingham (the rural deanery of South Bingham).
- The Roman Catholics had a church here prior to 1869.
- The Primitive Methodists had a chapel here prior to 1869.
- The parish was in the Ratcliffe-on-Trent sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
- In a November, 1883, re-organization, the parish was re-assigned to the Bingham sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Colston Bassett is a village and a parish on the River Smite, 5 miles south of Bingham, 10 miles south-east from Nottingham city and sits on the western edge of the Vale of Belvoir. The parish borders on Leicestershire to the south-east and covers 2,391 acres. The Grantham Canal passes to the south of the parish.
If you are planning a visit:
- The nearest rail service appears to be at Bingham. However there is no public transport from Bingham to Colston Bassett.
- By automobile, take the A46 and turn east at the signpost for Cotgrave (you'll be going the other way), and watch for the Colston Bassett sign.
- Bus service is infrequent but available from Nottingham and Bingham.
- The village is noted for its Stilton Cheese.
- It's a Sign! that you are getting close, as photographed by Rob HOWL on Geo-graph, taken in 2013.
- The old Market Cross still stands, as photographed on Geo-graph, taken in 2010.
- The village has its own website, but no family or village history is provided.
- The village feast is on Whit Sunday.
- The old cross in the village was rebuilt in 1831.
- In 1604 a terrible plague visited the village.
- The village has its own Local History Group.
- Colston Hall was the seat of Robert Millington KNOWLES, lord of the manor, in 1869.
- The national grid reference is SK 7033.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey "Explorer" map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- In St. John's churchyard is a memorial to those military men who died in World War One. See the Nottingham History page to get a list of the names.
- The name often appears with only a singe T in "Basset".
- This place was an ancient parish in the county of Nottingham and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the southern division of the ancient Bingham Wapentake (Hundred) in the southern division of the county.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
220 |
| 1841 |
403 |
| 1851 |
337 |
| 1861 |
297 |
| 1881 |
310 |
| 1901 |
302 |
- A National School for both sexes was held here prior to 1869. The village school was erected in 1872 on School Lane by Georeg DAVY. It was shared with Owthorpe parish (to the west).
- The Primary School at Colston Bassett on School Lane closed in 2006 due to declining enrollment, but was "reborn" in 2007 as the Colston Bassett Independent Preparatory School.
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[Last updated: 16-March-2013 - Louis R. Mills]
