White's Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1853

Hayton and Tilne

Hayton parish on the east side of the Idle, and intersected by the Chesterfield canal, comprises the hamlets of Hayton and Tilne, which contain 260 inhabitants, and 2,610 acres of land, chiefly a strong clay soil, having abundance of gypsum underneath the hills, of which 775a 3r 31p are in Tilne; which is the only part of the parish mentioned in Doomsday Book, but the whole belongs to the Archbishop of York's fee of Sutton, commonly called the north soke of Southwell and Scrooby.

Hayton is a straggling village, pleasantly situated betwixt the canal and the Gainsboro' road, three miles N.N.E. from Retford. The church, dedicated to St Peter, is an ancient fabric, with a lofty tower and three bells; the living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4 15s 5d, now at £152. The Archbishop of York is the patron, and lord of the manor, and the Rev. William Mee incumbent. The tithe was commuted in March 1844, on 1184a 1r 4p of land, for £264 10s to the late Hon. J.B. Simpson, and £14 to Robert Hartshorn Barber Esq., as impropriators. At the enclosure of the commons in 1769, land was alloted in lieu of the great tithes of the Commons to the impropriator Lord George Cavendish, who sold his estates here to R.H. Barber Esq. and others; Mr Barber being subject to the reparation of the chancel of the church; the present owners are Henry Bridgeman Simpson, R.H. Barber, H.C. Hutchinson, F. Fearnley Esq. and others, with several resident owners.

Hayton Castle, formerly the mansion of the De Hayton's, about a mile north east of the village. was moated round, of which a part of the moat was made into a fish pond by Arthur Hartshorn Esq., the maternal uncle of the present proprietor, R.H. Barber Esq., who resides in the castle farm house, situated about 300 yards from the ancient site. From an eminence called Burnt Leys is a fine prospect, extending to Sheffield and the Derbyshire hills on the west, and Lincoln minster can be clearly seen on the south east. In the village is a small Wesleyan chapel.

Charities:- The poor's land, called Little Close, was purchased by the overseers in 1682 for £19 4s 4d, and is now let for £2 12s 6d per annum, which with an annuity of £2 left by an unknown donor, out of a farm belonging to R.H. Barber Esq., is distributed at Easter.

Tiln or Tylne, on the east bank of the Idle, 1½ miles north of Retford, is but a small hamlet consisting of four farms and a few cottages. "Here", says Mr Gough, "was found a Druid amulet of an opacous transparent colour, with yellow streaks, and many Roman seals on Cornelians". In one of Mr Peck's fields, a few years ago, several human skeletons were dug up; the place is supposed to have been a burial ground.

Residents of Hayton and Tilne, 1853

Barber Robert Hartshorn Esq. Hayton Castle
Mee Rev. William, vicar
Moore Thos., millwt & machn mkr
Peck Miss Ann
Pettinger Like, joiner & vict Anchor
Smith Ann, vict Boat

Farmers

Ash John
Barlow Thomas
Barber S.W. Hayton Castle
Beeley Jonathan
Bingley George
Bucklow John
Chappel William
Foster Job
Peck George
Peck John Tiln
Ramaker Jas. & Geo. Tiln
Smith George (& butcher)
Smith John
Storey William
Taylor William
Tomlinson John

[Transcribed by Clive Henly]