Helpston

"HELPSTONE, a parish in the Peterborough liberty, county Northampton, 4 miles S.W. of Market Deeping, its post town, and 7 N.W. of Peterborough. It is a station on the Midland line of railway. It is situated on the river Welland, and is a station on the Great Northern railway. The land is chiefly arable. The village is neatly built, and in the centre is an ancient cross. The tithes were commuted for land under an Enclosure Act in 1774. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough, value £99. The church, dedicated to St. Botolph, has been re-roofed and thoroughly restored. It is an ancient stone structure, with a tower surmounted by an octagonal spire. The parochial charities produce about £40 per annum. There is a Sunday-school, chiefly supported by Earl Fitzwilliam and the Rev. Charles Mossop. The Wesleyans have a small place of worship. The Marquis of Exeter and Sir John Trollope, Bart., are lords of the manor. On occasion of the enclosure of the parish in 1774, 20 acres of land were allotted to the poor, which is let out in small portions for garden ground." [Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2010]