Nottinghamshire

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Nearby Places

Elksley (Elcheslsig)

"Elksley Parish lies on the east side of Clumber Park, and is intersected by the Wollen, but the village of Elksley is pleasantly situated on the north bank of that river, near its confluence with the Idle, 4 miles north-north-west of Tuxford. It contains about 450 inhabitants and 2,562 acres of land, including about 400 acres in wood and plantations, a large portion of which formed a wild tract of the forest, till 1780, when it was closed and exonerated from tithes, and an allotment of 66 acres awarded to the King, as Duke of Lancaster, under which Duchy the Duke of Newcastle olds this manor of Elksley, or Elchesleig. The trustees of the late John Sharpe Esq., and St John's College, Cambridge, also have estates here, the latter of which is held on a leasehold tenuity by His Grace. It was partly soc to Bothamsall and of the fee of Roger de Busli. A great portion of the land was given to the monasteries of Worksop, Blyth, Rufford, Newark, Mattersea and Welbeck, and to the latter belonged the rectory and church, which in the 4th year of Edward VI was granted to Richard Winlove and Richard Field, and afterwards passed to the Earl of Clare, who descendant, the Duke of Newcastle, is patronage of the vicarage, which is valued in the King's books at £6 16s, now at £120, and is enjoyed by the Rev. Cornelius Postlethwaite M.A., who resides at the vicarage, a commodious house at the south side of the village, overlooking the vale of the Wollen. The rector receives from the owners, as a commutation of the small tithes of the old enclosure, about £80 a year, and possesses an allotment of 83 acres of the new enclosures."
[White's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]

Census

• The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
  
  
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

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Church History

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St. Giles.
  
  
• The church was originally built circa 1300.
  
  
• The church was partially reconstructed in 1844 or 1845.
  
  
• There are photos of St. Giles Church at the Barbara WHITEMAN site.
  
  

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Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1629.
  
  
• The church was in the No. 3 deanery of Retford (or the rural deanery of Worksop).
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel here by 1869.
  
  

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Civil Registration

• The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
  
  
• Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
  
  

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Description and Travel

Elkesley is a village and a parish 5 miles south of Retford. and 136 miles north of the city of London The parish covers 2,560 acres.

The village is on the north bank of the River Wollen. If you are planning a visit:

• The village feast is held on the second Sunday after Old Michaelmas Day.
  
  
• Take the A1 motorway north-west out of Tuxford for about 4 miles. The road runs right through the north side of the village, but access to the village is difficult from this motorway.
  
  
• Come and chat with the locals at the Robin Hood Inn on High Street.
  
  

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Directories

• We have an extract from White's 1853 Directory relating to this parish.
  
  

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Manors

• The old Manor House was taken down in 1843 and replaced with a brick mansion on the same site in 1844.
  
  

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Maps

• The national grid reference is SK 6875.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordinance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

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Politics and Government

• The parish was in the Hatfield division of the ancient Bassetlaw Wapentake (Hundred) in the northern division of the county.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a part of the East Retford Poor Law Union.
  
  

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Population

Year	Population
1801	291
1851	404
1861	362
1871	377
1901	282

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