White's Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1853

Sibthorpe

Sibthorpe village and parish lies on the Cardike, 7 miles south-south-west of Newark, and was once a place of considerable importance, having a college founded by Geffrey de Scroop, in the reign of Edward II. It was also for a long time the residence of the Burnell family, who had a large mansion here, of which nothing now remains. The lordships contains 908 acres of land, a tithe-free estate of the rateable value of £1,721, and 154 inhabitants, and is all the property of the Duke of Portland, who is also patron of the living, which is enjoyed by the Rev. John Ince Maltby of Shelton.

The church, dedicated to St Peter, is a donative of the certified value of £20. It is an ancient edifice, and was originally much larger than it is at present. It has a spacious chancel, in which is a monument of Edward Burnell, the date on which is 1589, and in black letters are inserted, "By me, Barbara Burnell, God grant us a joyful resurrection." In the church-yard is a stone erected to the memory of four children of the name of Hall, who died in infancy, at the foot of which are these lines:

The cup of life just with their lips they pressed,
They found it bitter and declined the rest.
Averse, then, turning from the face of day,
They softly sighed their little souls away.

A neat Wesleyan chapel, built of wood, and standing on wheels, was opened for service in July 1844. In 1846 a neat school was erected, and is supported by Mrs Joseph Banks Wright. The Duke of Portland has alotted 800 yards of land to each poor family in the parish at a very moderate rent, a practice we cannot too highly recommend, and which is extending itself all over the country. In many places noble dukes are establishing horticutural societies among the cottages, and they are found to have a moral tendency, and substantial benefit necessarily follows from a well cultivated garden to the poorer classes.

Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury, was born here in 1693. A few years ago several oak trees of large dimensions were found deeply embedded in the earth while deepening Hawksworth's Gutter. A plantation of 11 acres was made by the Duke about 25 years ago, consisting of oak and larch which, from the luxuriance of growth, appears much older. A sandstone is found in the parish which makes good roads.

[Transcribed by Clive Henly]