Lowdham
"Lowdham parish includes the three townships of Lowdham, Caythorpe and Gunthorpe, containing together 1,578 inhabitants and 2,901 acres of land, which was enclosed in 1765, when 268 acres were allotted to the Duke of Kingston and 93 to the vicar, in lieu of tithes.
Lowdham is a pleasant village, situated near the Dover Beck, six miles south-south-west of Southwell. It was of the fee of Roger de Busil, and afterwards possessed by the Lowdhams, who took their name from it, one of who was high sheriff of the county. Peter Broughton Esq. is the principal owner and lord of the manor. Charles Story Esq., Mr Samuel Abbott and Earl Manvers have estates here, and the latter is the impropriator and patron of the vicarage, which is valued in the King's books at £4 18s 4d, now £276, and is enjoyed by.the Rev. John Henry Browne B.A., who resides at the vicarage house, a neat.mansion at the north end of the village. The tithes of the woodland were commuted in 1838, when £26 9s 4d was apportioned to Earl Manvers, and £14 6s 4d. to the vicar.
The church is a neat structure, with a spire and five bells, and has some ancient monuments of the Lowdhams and Broughtons. The National School was built in 1843, and will accommodate 100 children. The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists each have a chapel here."
[White's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]
- The parish was in the Southwell sub-district of the Southwell Registration District.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2471 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2707 & 2708 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin.
- The date of construction is in the 13th century, although the tower dates from 1170.
- In 1850, a small chapel of ease was built in the village of Gunthorpe.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Mary's Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2007.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1559 for baptisms and burials, 1564 for marriages and is in good condition.
- The church was in the rural deanery of Southwell.
- The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here by 1853. They also had a chapel in Caythorpe.
- The Primitive Methodists built a chapel here in 1844.
- Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Primitive Methodist chapel on Geo-graph, taken in 2008.
- The parish was in the Southwell sub-district of the Southwell Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Lowdham is a village and a parish near the Dover Beck. The Dover Beck and Cocker Beck both feed into the River Trent and run through the parish. The parish is 6 miles south-west of Southwell, 8 miles north-west of Nottingham and 138 miles north of London.
The hamlet of Caythorpe is to the east and Gonaldson parish is to the north-east. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the A612 arterial road out of Nottingham. This road runs right through the village of Lowdham.
- Check the Carlberry site for Bus service.
- There is still a railway station at Lowdham, but the webpage author is unsure if passenger service is still available.
- Lowdham village held a feast on the first Sunday in September.
- Gunthorpe village held its feast on the second Sunday in October.
- The castle mound is to the west of the bypass.
- In the 1800s many of the people in the parish were employed as framework knitters.
- "LOWDHAM IN THE 19TH CENTURY. Portrait of a Village," Lowdham Local History Society.
- The national grid reference is SK 6646.
- You'll want an Ordinance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- The village has a War Memorial out near the Magna Charta Public House.
- There is a photograph of the War Memorial on Panoramio, taken in 2012.
For transcripts of the War Memorials in the church, see the Southwell Church History site.
- This parish contained three townships: Lowdham, Caythorpe and Gunthorpe. Each township had its own village with the same name as the township.
- The parish was in the south division of the ancient Thurgarton Hundred (Wapentake) in the southern division of the county.
- Today, Lowdham is in the Newark and Sherwood district.
- Agnes CROSS left a charity (undated) that provided 50 shillings per year to the parish poor.
- The Common Land was enclosed here in 1765.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act reforms, this parish became part of the Southwell Poor Law Union.
| Year |
Lowdham |
Caythorpe |
Gunthorpe |
| 1801 |
553 |
168 |
278 |
| 1851 |
930 |
315 |
351 |
| 1861 |
868 |
304 |
331 |
| 1881 |
740 |
294 |
318 |
| 1901 |
923 |
232 |
368 |
- The National School was built in 1843 to hold 100 students.
- There is a: Lowdham Local History Society.
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[Last updated: 1-March-2010 - Louis R. Mills]
