Thorney

The Library at Newark on Trent will prove useful in your research.

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

• 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.
   
• There is no mention of a church here in the 1086 Domesday Book.
   
• There was very likely a church built here prior to 1201.
   
• Thorney had a monastic settlement until 1550.
   
• The church was repaired in 1635.
   
• 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 October, 2006.
   

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1562 and is in fair condition.
   
• Also, you can search the East Trent Genealogy site for church records.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of Collingham (recently Newark East).
   

• 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.
   

• Geograph
• Flickr

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

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

• Archaeologists have found traces of Iron Age, Bronze age and Roman settlements around the parish.
   
• The Saxons built a settlement here around 500 AD.
   
• The parish used to have lands on the west side of the Trent River, but, after a deanery judgement in 1301, the parish surrendered all the holding on the west side of the River Trent.
   
• 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.
   
• In 1855 there was a Public House called "The Buffalo Head" in Drinksey Nook, run by Robert RABY.

• Thorney Hall was the residence of George NEVILE, esq, J. P. in 1881. It was a red brick building.

• See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK859728 (Lat/Lon: 53.24528, -0.714178), Thorney 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.

• In 1904, Lt.-Colonel George Holden HUTTON of the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers resided in Thorney Hall. He was born in Lincolnshire in 1845. His death was recorded in 1908.
   
• The hamlet of Wigsley is a "Thankful Village", having sent 7 lads off to war in world War One and all returned alive.
   
• 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.
   
• The gate and gate posts to the parish church are a War Memorial. Richard CROFT has a photograph of the War Memorial gates on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2006.
   

There are the 4 names listed on the north gate of the WWI War Memorial gateway:

There are the 4 names listed on the south gate of the WWI War Memorial gateway:

Richard CROFT has a photograph of five Commonwealth War Graves on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2006. The description includes the monument inscriptions. Four of the men died on the same day.

The churchyard contains a total of ten Commonwealth War Graves from World War II. They are for:

1. Raymond George ALEXANDER, srgt., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 27, died 31 Aug. 1944. Husband of Joan Nora ALEXANDER of Egham, Surrey.
2. Patrick BROOK, srgt., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 27, died 2 Mar 1943. Son of Evan and Violet Emily BROOK of Hampstead, London.
3. William Ernest John COX, flgt. srgt., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 21, died 31 Aug. 1944. Husband of Gladys Ethel COX of Hornchurch, Essex.
4. Robert William HOLDITCH, pilot ofcr., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 22, died 17 Jan. 1945. Son of Robert Reginald and of Hilda Edith HOLDITCH.
5. Aereon HUGHES, srgt., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 20, died 31 Aug. 1944. Son of Harry and S. E. Hughes, of Tan-y-fron Denbighshire.
6. James William HUMPHREY, srgt., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 23, died 14 Jan. 1945. Son of Mr. and Mrs. James Henry HUMPHREY of Penge, Kent.
7. Walter Stephen JOBLING, Flying ofcr., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 34, died 1 Sep. 1943. Husband of Dinah Annie JOBLING of Lincoln
8. James LAMBELL, srgt., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 36, died 31 Aug. 1944. Son of Samuel and Eleanor LAMBELL, of Darlington, Co. Durham.
9. Joseph John Gordon NICHOLSON, flgt. srgt., RAF Vol. Rsrv., age 28, died 12 Apr. 1944. Husband of Joan NICHOLSON of South Africa.
10. Robert William RASHBROOK, flgt. srgt., RAAF., age 20, died 1 Sep. 1943. Son of Ethel May RASHBROOK of Bassendean Western Australia.
     

• 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.
   

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Newark petty session hearings every other Wednesday.
   
• After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Newark Poor Law Union.
   
• The Common Lands were enclosed in 1843.
   

Year	Thorney	Broadholme	Wigsley
1801	134	47	62
1851	191	115	106
1881	162	95	91
1891	186	102	78
1901	192	90	89

The estate of Colonel George Holden HUTTON was probated on 29 December 1908 in London. His benificiary was Eva Henrietta HUTTON.

Thorney had a mixed Public elementary School for 40 children.

Braodholme had a mixed Public Elementary School for 35 children.