Hide

Colston Bassett

hide
Hide

"This village and parish lies on the River Smite, bordering upon Leicestershire, 5 miles south of Bingham, and contains 337 inhabitants and about 2,400 acres of land, of which 1,800 acres belong to the lord of the manor and impropriator, Henry D. Martin Esq., to whose father it was bequeathed by the Honourable Mrs Kaye, sister to Viscount Westworth, whose ancestors bought it in 1714 of Sir Edward Godling. The other part belongs to Mrs Pigon of Reading, and several other freeholders. The manor anciently belonged to the family of Basset, and from then descended to the Staffords, Dukes of Buckingham, from whom it descended to various families.
The church, dedicated to St Mary, stands half a mile from the village. It is an ancient edifice with south aisle, chancel, and low tower, in which is an excellent peal of five musical bells. It is a vicarage, valued in the King's books at £8 7s 6d, now £300. It has 42 acres of glebe. The patronage is in the gift of the Crown, and the Rev. Joshua Brooke is the incumbent. The vicarage, which formerly stood in front of the hall, was taken down about 17 years ago, and a neat mansion built a little more to the north. Here is a neat Catholic chapel, erected in 1840, and the priest is the Rev. Joseph Bick. A Primitive Methodist chapel was also built in the same year. The parish feast is on Whit Sunday."
[WHITE's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]

Hide
topup

Archives & Libraries

The Library at Nottingham will prove useful in your research.

topup

Bibliography

Colston Bassett Local History Group, "The Village of Colston Bassett: A Pictorial History", CB History Group, paperback, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0955962905.

topup

Census

  • The parish was in the Ratcliffe-on-Trent sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
     
  • In a November, 1883, re-organization, the parish was re-assigned to the Bingham sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 853
1861R.G. 9 / 2485
1871R.G. 10 / 3548
1891R.G. 12 / 2716
topup

Church History

  • The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Mary.
     
  • The church was built on the site of an older church in 1293 by the Abbey of Laund in Leicestershire.
     
  • Derek HARPER has a photograph of Saint Mary's Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2014.
     
  • In the late 1700s, portions of the church were taken down as the building was deemed too large for its requirements.
     
  • Saint Mary's Church is now considered a ruin. The new parish church is Saint John the Devine.
     
  • Jonathan THACKER has a photograph of Saint John the Devine on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2016.
     
topup

Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1591 and is in good condition.
     
  • Evelyn YOUNG made a transcription in full of the parish register covering 1591 to 1925. The web page author does not know where a copy may be found, but an online search will reveal several writings by that author.
     
  • The parish was in the #1 deanery of Bingham (the rural deanery of South Bingham).
     
  • The Roman Catholics had a church here in 1840.
     
  • The Primitive Methodists had a chapel here in 1840.
topup

Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the Ratcliffe-on-Trent sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
     
  • In a November, 1883, re-organization, the parish was re-assigned to the Bingham sub-district of the Bingham Registration District.
     
  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
topup

Description & Travel

Colston Bassett is a village and a parish on the River Smite, 5 miles south of Bingham, 10 miles south-east from Nottingham city and sits on the western edge of the Vale of Belvoir. The parish borders on Leicestershire to the south-east and covers 2,391 acres. The Grantham Canal passes to the south of the parish.

If you are planning a visit:

  • The nearest rail service appears to be at Bingham. However there is no public transport from Bingham to Colston Bassett.
     
  • By automobile, take the A46 and turn east at the signpost for Cotgrave (you'll be going the other way), and watch for the Colston Bassett sign.
     
  • Bus service is infrequent but available from Nottingham and Bingham.
     
  • Wikipedia reports: "Colston Bassett has weekday, daytime bus services to Radcliffe on Trent and Nottingham."
     
  • The village is noted for its Stilton Cheese.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Village Sign for you on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2014.
     
  • Tim GLOVER has a photograph of the River Smite on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2003.
     
  • Richard CROFT has a photograph of the ancient Village Cross on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2012 These were frequently erected near the village green and often served as a "preaching cross" for those who wished to provide their own interpretation of the Bible.
     
You can see pictures of Colston Bassett which are provided by:

topup

Directories

topup

Gazetteers

topup

Genealogy

We find this entry in the 1861 census: RG 9 / 2483, pg 14, Shelton, Notts: Thomas TOWE, male, age 63, married, born 1798, Colston Bassett, Notts; Head, Ag. Lab., wife, Sarah TOWE, 64, born Barnby, NTT.

topup

History

  • The village feast is on Whit Sunday (late May).
     
  • In 1604 a terrible plague visited the village.
     
  • Colston Bassett was the residence of Colonel Francis Hacker II, a staunch Parliamentarian in the Civil War of the mid 17th century, who made arrangements for the execution of King Charles I. The Colonel was born in Stathern, Leicestershire in 1618.
     
  • The old cross in the village was rebuilt in 1831.
     
  • The village dairy, which opened in 1913, is one of only five that are permitted to name their blue cheese Stilton cheese. It also manufactures smaller quantities of White Stilton and Shropshire Blue.
     
  • Andrew TATLOW has a photograph of the Colston Bassett Dairy on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2017.
     
  • Kate JEWELL has a photograph of Martin's Arms Inn on School Lane on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2010. The Inn was built in the early 1700s.
 YearProprietors
1881John GREEN, farmer
topup

Manors

  • Colston Hall was the seat of Robert Millington KNOWLES, lord of the manor, in 1869 and 1881.
     
topup

Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK698332 (Lat/Lon: 52.89173, -0.963976), Colston Bassett which are provided by:

topup

Military History

14 names are listed on the War Memorial plaque mounted on the wall of the nave in St. John the Divine Church.

There is a War Memorial cross in St. John the Devine's churchyard.

According to a report of his WW1 death in the NottinghamEvening Post, Arthur ANDERSON was the first man from Colston Bassett to enlist. At the time of his death, three of his brothers are also serving.

topup

Military Records

These are the names recorded on the wall of the church:

  1. Arthur ANDERSON, pte. 1st Bn Sherwood Foresters
  2. Albert William BIRKIN, lcpl. 2nd Bn Royal Fusiliers
  3. John Alfred FAULKES, corp. 12th Bn Royal Fusilier
  4. John William GREEN, pte. 10th Bn Sherwood Foresters
  5. Albert LANE, pte. 2nd Bn Royal Fusiliers
  6. Charles NEWTON, pte. 2/6th Bn Sherwood Foresters
  7. Ernest PARNHAM, pte. 11th Bn Sherwood Foresters
  8. Thomas Charles PARNHAM, pte. 10th Bn Sherwood Foresters
  9. Alfred RICHARDS, pte. 2/5th Bn East Lancashire Regt.
  10. Robert Henry ROGERSON, lsrgt. 22nd Bn Royal Fusiliers
  11. Amos SHAW, pte. 17th Bn Sherwood Foresters
  12. Benjamin SHEPHERD. pte. 2/5th Bn Lincolnshire Regt.
  13. John Alfred WAGSTAFF, srgt. 1/1st Bn Dorset Yeomanry
  14. George Edwin Maylor WESTMAN, gnr. Royal Field Artillery
topup

Names, Geographical

  • The name often appears with only a single T in "Basset".
     
topup

Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in the county of Nottingham and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • The parish was in the southern division of the ancient Bingham Wapentake (Hundred) in the southern division of the county.
     
  • You may contact the local Colston Bassett Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to help with family history lookups.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Rushcliffe Borough Council.
     
topup

Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Bingham petty session hearings held every other Thursday.
     
  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, this parish became part of the Bingham Poor Law Union.
     
topup

Population

 YearInhabitants
1801220
1831310
1841403
1851337
1861297
1881310
1901295
1911302
2001226
topup

Schools

  • A National School for both sexes was held here prior to 1869. The village school was erected in 1872 on School Lane by George DAVY. It was shared with Owthorpe parish (to the west).
     
  • The Primary School at Colston Bassett on School Lane closed in 2006 due to declining enrollment, but was "reborn" in 2007 as the Colston Bassett Independent Preparatory School.
     
topup

Societies

Colston Bassett has a local history group, but this web page's author was unable to get their home page to display.