Thorney (Thorneshay and Thorneshagh)
"Thorney is a small village, 8 miles east of Tuxford, and 14 miles north by east of Newark. Its parish forms a tongue of land which stretches into Lincolnshire, and comprises the three townships of Thorney, Broadholme and Wigsley, in which are 413 inhabitants and 4,140 acres of land, of which 300 acres are in woods, of the value of £2,690. The manor of Thorney has long been possessed by the Nevile family, and now belongs to the Rev. Christopher Nevile, who resides in the Hall, a neat modern mansion near the church.
The church is a handsome edifice with two bells, dedicated to St Helen. It was rebuilt of stone at the sole expense of the present vicar and the Nevile family. It is in the Norman style and will seat 300 persons. The pews are all open, and all the windows are of beautifully stained glass. It was consecrated April 11 1850. In the vestry are two ancient tablets of the Nevile family. The living is a vicarage, valued in the King's books at £4 7s 6d, now at £1,600. The Rev. Christopher Nevile B.A. is the patron and incumbent, and the Rev. Henry Nevile B.A. the curate. There is a small vicarage house and 18 acres of glebe, purchased with £400 of Queen Anne's bounty. In 1841, a Sunday School was erected by Captain Nevile, father of the present incumbent, and about 50 children attend. The township contains 2,380 acres of land, of the rateable value of £1,400. The vicarial tithe was commuted in 1843 for £170."
[White's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]
- The parish was in the North Collingham sub-district of the Newark Registration District.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2476 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2711 |
- Legend has it that the local people asked to settle here around 662 and the place was known as "Ancarig", or "the island of the hermits".
- Danish invaders destroyed the religious settlement here in 870 AD.
- Thorney had a monastic settlement until 1550.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Helen (Helena).
- The church was rebuilt in 1849-50.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Helen's Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2008.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1562 and is in fair condition.
- The church was in the rural deanery of Collingham.
- The parish was in the North Collingham sub-district of the Newark Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Thorney is a small village and a parish which contains three townships: Thorney, Broadholme and Wigsley. The parish is 149 miles north of the city of London, on the A47 trunk road near the navigable Fossdyke Canal and about 11 miles south-east of Retford. The parish covers 4,140 acres.
If you are planning a visit:
- Bus service out of Newark is available on the #67 line operated by Travel Wright.
- Archaeologists have found traces of Iron Age, Bronze age and Roman settlement around the parish.
- The Saxons built a settlement here around 500 AD.
- The village was built upon a low island in the swampy Fens that was about 5 metres high.
- The surrounding Fens were drained in the 17th century.
- Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of Thorney Bridge on Geo-graph, taken in 2012.
- Thorney Hall was the residence of George NEVILE, esq, J. P. in 1881. It was a red brick building.
- The national grid reference is SK 8572.
- You'll want an Ordinance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- RAF Wigsley was opened on 8 February 1942.
- Built mostly in Wigsley township, the airfield extended across the border into Lincolnshire.
- The airfield operated as a satellite to RAF Swinderby in Lincolnshire as a part of Bomber Command.
- The airfield saw a little combat usage during the war. It was used primarily as part of RAF Swinderby's training role.
- The airfield closed on 1 July 1958.
- Photographs of the Control Tower show the present condition of the Control Tower.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of War Memorial gates to St. Helen's Church on Geo-graph, taken in 2006.
- Richard CROFT also has a photograph of five War Graves from WWII in the churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in 2006.
- The name Thorney is from the Old English Thorn+haga, or "thorn-tree enclosure". In the 1086 Domesday Book, the village is given as Torneshale.
[A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991].
- This place was an ancient parish in county Nottingham and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the northern division of the ancient Newark Wapentake (Hundred) in the southern division of the county.
- You can contact the local Parish Council concerning civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to assist you with family history searches.
- For today's district governance, contact the Newark and Sherwood District Council.
| Year |
Thorney |
Broadholme |
Wigsley |
| 1801 |
134 |
47 |
62 |
| 1851 |
191 |
115 |
106 |
| 1881 |
162 |
95 |
91 |
| 1891 |
186 |
102 |
78 |
| 1901 |
192 |
90 |
89 |
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[Last updated: 10-February-2013 - Louis R. Mills]
