North Muskham

The Library at Newark will prove useful in your research.

The Library at Southwell would also be a good resource.

The churchyard is roughly L-shaped and covers an area of 0.7 hectares. The church is situated in the north-east section of the churchyard and is surrounded by burials on all sides.

In 1876 a Burial Board was set up in North Muskham, and negotiations started to obtain a piece of land to extend the churchyard to the south, the existing area being full. In early 1877 the churchyard was extended by the inclusion of this land.

• The parish was in the Kneesal sub-district of the Southwell Registration District.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Wilfred (spelling variations abound!).
   
• The church was constructed circa 1190.
   
• The western church tower was added circa 1350.
   
• The church chancel was rebuilt circa 1530.
   
• The church was entirely restored in 1906 through 1907.
   
• The clock was added to the church in 1914 in memory of Thomas THOMPSON's wife Emma THOMPSON. In 2004 the clock was fitted with an electric winding mechanism.
   
• The church is Grade 1 listed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
   
• Julian P. GUFFROGG has a good photograph of St. Wilfrid's tower on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2016.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of St. Wilfrid's Church on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2014.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph inside St. Wilfrid's nave on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2012.
   

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1706 for all entries, but is in poor condition.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of Southwell.
   
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built here in 1814. They moved to a new chapel in 1905.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Methodist Chapel on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2009.
   

• The parish was in the Kneesal sub-district of the Southwell Registration District.
   
• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
   

This village and parish are about 128 miles north of London and 3 miles north of Newark-on-Trent. The parish covered 1,096 acres in 1881.

The village is on the west bank of the River Trent. If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, the village is just off of the A1 motorway north of Newark.
   
• Trevor RICKARD has a photograph of Main Street at North Muskham on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2011.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the approach to Bathley (just west of North Muskham on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2014.
   
• Michael WESTLEY has a photograph of the Village sign on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2010.
   
• Chris MORGAN has a photograph of the River Trent on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2016.
   

• Geograph
• Flickr

• We have an extract from White's 1853 Directory relating to this parish.

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from North Muskham to another place.

• The village had a ferry across the Trent River to the village of Holme for centuries. You must drive north to High Marnham to find a bridge over the River Trent.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the North Muskham cross on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2011. The cross is believed to be a 14th century roadside cross on the old Great North Road.
   

• See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK796588 (Lat/Lon: 53.120444, -0.812047), North Muskham which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

The Newark Great War Bulletin for February 15th, 1915; tells us that Violet COGAN had a "makeshift" hospital in North Muskham during World War I. Hospitals were not required to archive patient records and it appears that the hospital closed after the war.

Ms. COGAN's Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital is also mentioned in a July 19th Bulletin, where it notes that Major Francis John Leslie COGAN of the Royal Field Artillery was also promoted to Squadron Commander in the Royal Flying Corps (the future RAF).

One of Ms. COGAN's patients, a Belgian refugee named Alfonse Van GOMPEL, was noted in that July Bulletin as being recovered and ready to return to Belgium to fight for his country.

The Newark Great War Bulletin for September 20th, 1915; tells us that Mrs. Violet COGAN had to attend a Newark Police Court hearing where she was fined 2s and 6p for having an unlicenced dog.

The Great War Bulletin for December 7, 1914 tells us that two men of North Muskham, J. PRICE and Ernest SLATER, had been appointed as "Special Constables" to assist the police force in the event of a German invasion.

The Great War Bulletin for April 26th, 1915 tells us that a local lad was alive and serving at the front lines: Langstroth G. BROWN who had enlisted in the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The PPCLI was formed in August of 1914 and the whole unit landed in France in December, 1914 - the first Canadian field unit to enter the trenches.

The Great War Bulletin for December 6th, 1915 tells us that Belgian Refugees Gerald William and Marie NYSSEN were very pleased by the safe-haven in a pleasant cottage in the village when they arrived penniless in 1914.

Arthur MEE tells us that the "crucifix shrine" in St. Wilfred's Church is "made of wood from the Naval cadet training ship, HMS Britannia." The memorial lists 8 men who died, six of them during the Great War.

There is a War Memorial plaque in the Methodist chapel as well. There is some overlap in the names with the above memorial and some men are Methodists from outside North Muskham.

The Great War Bulletin for January 1st, 1915; tells us that A. WESSON volunteered to fight in the Great War (in the 8th btln. Sherwood Foresters).

These are the names listed on War Memorial plaque in Saint Martin's church:

1. private Frederick Wilson BOULTON, 2/4th Bn Lincolnshire Regt.
2. sergeant Edward GASCOIGNE, 17th Bn Sherwood Foresters
3. private John Arthur GUY, Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars
4. private John Thomas HOUGH, 6th Bn King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
5. gunner John KNOWLES, 17th Bde Royal Field Artillery
6. private George Henry TALBOT, 1/8th Bn Sherwood Foresters
7. private Charles Belfield WALTON, 7th Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry
8. sergeant Frederick WARD, 11th Bn Sherwood Foresters

These are the eleven names listed on War Memorial plaque in the Methodist chapel:

1. private William Henry BECKETT, 10th Bn Sherwood Foresters, name misspelled on memorial.
2. sergeant Edward GASCOIGNE, 17th Bn Sherwood Foresters
3. able seaman Charles Richard GASCOIGNE, HMS Moth
4. private Arthur D GRAVES, 1st Bn Royal Warwickshire Regt.
5. private John Arthur GUY, Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars
6. private Alfred PARR, 1/7th Bn Royal Fusiliers
7. private Arthur SMITH, 1/8th Bn Manchester Regt.
8. private George Henry TALBOT, 1/8th Bn Sherwood Foresters
9. private Charles Belfield WALTON, 7th Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry
10. sergeant Frederick WARD, 11th Bn Sherwood Foresters
11. lance corporal Frederick WILSON, 10th Bn., The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regt.
     

HMS Moth, above, was a 237-foot gunboat which entered service in 1916. She was scuttled in Hong Kong in December 1941 when the Royal Navy had to abandon her.

The Newark Great War Bulletin for June 7th, 1915; tells us that private Charles HERROD of the KOYLI had written home from the front lines to his sister to tell her of the constant danger and how lucky he was to be unharmed.

The Newark Great War Bulletin for September 20th, 1915; tells us that Major Arthur Edward YOUNG, age 46, who had been a solicitor before the war, had been killed in action with the 10th Btln. Sherwood Foresters.

Wikipedia tells us that the parish is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as "Muscham" in the hundred of Lythe.

• This place was an ancient parish in Nottingham county, and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• At the time of the 1086 Domesday Book, the parish was in the Lythe Hundred.
   
• The parish was in the northern division of the Thurgarton Wapentake in the southern division of the county.
   
• The Bathley township was split off as its own Civil Parish in December, 1866.
   
• The Holme chapelry was split off as its own Civil Parish at the same time.
   
• You may contact the North Muskham parish council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT funded to help you with family history searches. At last check, some of the pages at this site were not completed (2018).
   
• District governance is provided by the Newark and Sherwood District Council.
   

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Newark petty session hearings.
   
• The Common Land was enclosed here in 1771.
   
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act reforms, this parish became part of the Southwell Poor Law Union.
   

Year	North Muskham	Bathley	Holme
1811	336	179	109
1831	681
1851	663	214	144
1871	552
1881	542
1901	559	171	100

John SMITHE died in 1581. In his Will he left a charity: "giving to the 'six poor scholar' 'twenty six shillings and eightpence yearly unto every one of them at four times in the year'."

Charles Richard GASCOIGNE estate was probated on 6 February 1917. His widow Violetta Ann GASCOIGNE received all his estate valued at £166 10s. 3d.

• Mary WOODHOUSE endowed a school which was built as a one-room school in 1798.
   
• A school board was formed of 7 members in 1875.
   
• A Board School was built here in 1880 on a site previously devoted to the Mary Woodhouse endowed School. This school closed circa 1965.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of Woolhouse Cottages on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2014.
   
• The new school was opened in 1966. This school has its own Web site with a history section, but no mention of earlier students.
   

The Great War Bulletin for December 7, 1914 tells us that:

"MISS SLATER and her fellow ‘assistants’ to the North Muskham School head master, Joseph Woodward, quickly became involved in preparing the children to stage a concert in aid of the village’s Belgians. After a fortnight of rehearsals, the performance took place in the large schoolroom on the evening of 27 November. There is no mention in the School Log Book of the programme that was performed; but the children were routinely taught patriotic songs – usually around Empire Day each year – and were accustomed to learning recitations for Church and Chapel Sunday School anniversaries. The evening was so successful that it raised the sum of £5 8s 6d (£5.42½).
It meant that the 28 soldiers and three refugees who had been found room in either The Grange or unoccupied cottages in North Muskham, each received 3s 6d (17½p) - and the knowledge that each was welcome in the community."