COSTOCK. Location and boundaries. is bounded to the north by Bunny, to the east by Wysall, to the south by Rempstone and to the west

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VCH Nottinghamshire On-line Texts in Progress This version: January 2013 Author: Sheila Leeds COSTOCK Location and boundaries The ancient parish of Costock occupies 1,688 acres 1 about 9½ miles south

1 VCH Nottinghamshire On-line Texts in Progress This version: January 2013 Author: Sheila Leeds COSTOCK Location and boundaries The ancient parish of Costock occupies 1,688 acres 1 about 9½ miles south of Nottingham. It is bounded to the north by Bunny, to the east by Wysall, to the south by Rempstone and to the west by East Leake. The northern boundary is marked by field hedges and Bunny Hill Wood, and the eastern boundary by field hedges and a brook. To the south the boundary runs along field hedges, as does the southern part of the western boundary. The northern part is formed by a stream which joins the remaining part of the western boundary which is formed by the Kingston brook. No changes to either the civil or ecclesiastical parish boundaries have been recorded. 2 Geology and geography Most of Costock lies on clay soil, with some gravel and alluvium towards the centre where the Kingston brook flows through, over an area of mudstone and siltstone. 3 The village sits in a valley at about 175 feet above sea level. To the north of the village is Costock Hill (229 ft) and the ground rises to 290 ft further north. To the south the land rises to about 270 ft. The Kingston brook flows from east to west through the parish just north of the village. Various smaller watercourses flow into the brook, which joins the Soar near Kingston on Soar. In the north-east of the parish are 1 VCH Notts., ii

2 small, separate areas of woodland known as Intake Wood, Rookery Wood and Little Spinney. In the north-west is the southern part of New Wood. Population In households in Costock were assessed to the hearth tax and a further 8 were discharged by reason of poverty. 4 In 1743 there were 31 families in the parish. 5 In 1801 the population was 244. During the early 19 th century the population rose to a maximum of 493 in By 1861 it had fallen slightly to 440 in 114 households. 7 It fell further to 287 in 1891 and 1901 before gradually increasing during the 20 th century. In 1971 the population was 495 in 165 households and in 1991 it was 551 in 207 households. In 2001 there were 532 people in Costock. 8 Communications Costock lies on the main road from Nottingham to Loughborough. This route was turnpiked under an Act of , as the Trent Bridge, Nottingham to Cotes Bridge (Leics.) trust. It remained turnpiked until The road slopes down from the north at the top of Bunny Hill to the crossroads at Costock, before climbing again to reach Rempstone in the south. A small section of road was straightened at the crossroads. The road crossing it links Wysall on the east to East Leake on the west. The only other roads in the parish are short lanes in the village centre which give access to housing. Church Lane and Chapel Lane serve the older houses Youngs, Admin. Units, ii Geol. Survey map 1:50,000, sheet 142. Hearth Tax, 84. Visitation Returns, VCH Notts., ii White s Dir. Notts. (1864), 545. Census reports. Cossons, Turnpike Roads, 35. 2

3 The nearest railway station was at Widmerpool on the Midland Railway, It was opened in 1880 and closed to passengers in There was also a station at East Leake on the Great Central Railway which was opened in 1899 and closed in Landscape and settlement Although the parish is now known as Costock it was previously Cortlingstock, with many variations. In 1086 it was Cotingestocke and in 1219 Kertlingestock, i.e. the place of the people of a Saxon named Cortel or Cyrtel. 12 Roman pottery and tile fragments were found, c. 1959, by the then rector in his garden, which may have been on the site of a Roman building. 13 Evidence of medieval settlement can be seen on the west side of the Nottingham to Loughborough road, where there were two fields known as The Granges. Earthworks represent a possible moat, a pond bay, a hollow way and ridge and furrow in the fields, although more recent ploughing has disturbed much of the evidence. 14 The village grew up to the west of the Nottingham to Loughborough road and along the East Leake to Wysall road, which became Main Street. The church and the late 15 th -century manor house were built on the north side of Main Street. Within what is now a conservation area in the centre of the village there were four farms, named Hall, Fulwell, Home and Croft. After enclosure other farms were built outside the centre, including Field and Glebe farms to the east and Bars farm to the south-west. The land around the village centre appears always to have been used for mixed farming C. Aldworth, The Nottingham and Melton Railway (1990), 70; R. V. J. Butt, The Directory of Railway Stations (1995), 250. D. A. Rogers (Ed.), Great Central: the remains of a railway (1980), 10; Butt, Railway Stations, 88. P N Notts., EH List (Monument No ), East Midlands Archaeological Bulletin 1959, EH List (Monument No ), SMR, M32, L32, L7867, L

4 In the 15 th century Garendon abbey had sheep granges on land on the east side of the parish. 15 In the 17 th and 18 th centuries the open fields are named as Mill or West field, Middle and East field. There was also Stone Meadow. 16 In1760, 787 acres of open and common fields, meadows and commons were enclosed. 17 An earlier church was replaced by a stone building in the 14 th century. During the 19 th century much restoration and rebuilding took place. The rectory was built to the north of the church and the present building, no longer a parsonage house, dates from the 19 th century. In 1827 a Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built south of the church on Chapel Lane. It was demolished in the 1970s. 18 The manor house dates from the late 15th century and originally had an attached chapel. It is built of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings and red brick and has a slate roof. The original house had two gables. Over the centuries various alterations and additions have been made to the building. It still has an Elizabethan wooden floor in a downstairs room and what is said to be a priest hole in a bedroom. A newel spiral staircase of quarter oak rises to the second floor. The house stands in grounds of 1.6 acres and has two cottages, stables and other outbuildings. Recent additions include a tennis court and a heated outdoor swimming pool. The Bagnall-Wild family lived in the house for c.400 years before it was sold to Jesse Boot. There have been several owners since VCH Leics., ii. 5. NA, DR 1/3/2/1/41/1, 4, 5. Tate, Enclosures, 29. Below, Relig. Sale catalogue

5 Hall farm on the north side of Church Lane is also built of coursed rubble and red brick, with a pantile and plain tile roof. It dates from the early 17 th century with an 18 th -century extension and 20 th -century restoration. Next to it is a large barn, converted in the 1970s into a dwelling house. 20 Fulwell farmhouse, on the north side of Main Street, dates from the late 17 th century and has a later extension, dated 1778 in blue brick on the gable end. It is built of red brick with a slate roof on the original part of the house and tiles on the newer part. The now central doorway has a decorative overlight and shaped lead hood. On the ground floor, either side of the door, are bay windows and on the first floor sash windows. The top half-storey has small casement windows. Some of the outbuildings have been converted to houses. 21 Home farm, on Church Lane, near to the manor house, was the demesne farm. It has been altered and is no longer a farmhouse. Further along Church Lane is a cottage which was also once a farmhouse occupied by Ernest Followes who was renowned for making butter and cheese there. 22 On the north side of the eastern end of Main Street is a row of terraced cottages. They were built originally as a malthouse and then became a bakery occupied by John Hallam, the miller. He used to grind corn at the windmill on the East Leake road leading out of Costock. Later he used the barn which is at the back of The Paddocks and dates from the late 18 th century. The windmill became unstable and was demolished c From 1893 to 1959 members of the Hallam family ran the post office there. The building further along on the Main Street has been a stocking-frame workshop and was later the village shop. From 1962 to 1975 it was also the post office. 24 Opposite Church Lane is a small area called The Square. Next to it is Kings Cottage. Its original owner, John King, died in 1802 and in his will requested to be buried near his house EH List. EH List. Except where otherwise indicated the following is based on G. Harrison & T. Kerry, An Evening Walk in Costock 1980, Leake Historian No. 7 (2003), 2-8. Members of Notts. W.I., The Nottinghamshire Village Book (1989),

6 Although he had been a churchwarden for some time, he left the church and joined the Baptists. He was a carpenter, as were his son and grandson. The Bagnall-Wild family purchased the house c.1900 and it was rented out. In 1946 it was put up for sale and at the first auction was withdrawn as it did not reach the reserve price of 625. However it was sold soon afterwards. 25 Next to Kings Cottage is the site of a single-storey stockinger s shop demolished in the 1960s. On the corner of The Square and Main Street is a brick house once owned by the local butcher, which had a slaughter house behind it. Further along Main Street to the east is the White House which dates from the mid 18 th century, with 19 th -century alterations and extensions. It is built of red brick with render over and a plain tile roof. At one time it was the home of the local doctor. On the east side of the Nottingham to Loughborough road is Cherry Tree cottage with its attached outbuildings. It dates from the 18 th century and is of whitewashed brick with a pantile roof. 26 There were two public houses in Costock in recent times. The Generous Briton stands on the north side of Main Street near the crossroads. It has been in existence at least from the early 19 th century and continues at the time of writing. The Red Lion was an inn on the turnpike road. When the line of the road was straightened it was not in such a good position. In the 21 st century it has not fared well and was closed at the time of writing. The 19 th -century village school and adjoining master s house were built on the south side of Main Street. In 1971 the school was replaced by a new CLASP building for 60 children, 27 when the old school building became a village hall D. Humphreys, History of the Post Office in Costock, Leake Historian No. 11 (2009), I. Jefferies, Kings Cottage, Costock and some of its occupiers, Leake Historian No. 7 (2003), EH List. 6

7 The village pinfold, built of brick with blue brick capping, is on the north side of Main Street. Rebuilt and repaired by the parish and borough councils, it is the smallest pinfold in the county. It no longer has a gate as it now has a seat and flower beds round the walls. 28 About a mile north of the village is High Fields, built in1729 by Sir Thomas Parkyns of Bunny Hall as a dower house. For some years it was a farm and there are several outbuildings. The house is built of brick and stone. In the early 20 th century alterations were made to the roof. 29 In the early 21 st century it was bought by the Community of the Holy Cross as an Anglican Benedictine convent. 30 There is a pet crematorium nearby. After 1945 three pairs of council houses were built on the north side of Main Street at the west end. Further council houses were built on the Nottingham to Loughborough road, north of the crossroads. In the 1960s land formerly the village cricket ground, west of Church Lane, was used to build Manor House Close, a private development of about 30 houses. At the beginning of the 21 st century land on the west end of the south side of Main Street has been developed for housing. There is also a small engineering works and a rope-making firm in the parish. 31 Costock was the site of a Civil War skirmish in September A Parliamentary supply convoy, on the way from Leicester to Nottingham and Manchester, was ambushed by the Royalists at a place now known as Warrills (or War Hills). Four men were killed and buried at East Leake. 32 A Second World War concrete and brick pillbox stands near the main road to the north of the village. It dates from Nottingham Guardian Journal, 26 Oct P. Lyth, The Pinfolds of Nottinghamshire (1992), 8. TTS, cxii (2008), 241. Below, Relig. Below, Econ. K. Raynor, The English Civil War Skirmish at Costock, Leake Historian No. 10 (2008), EH List (Monument No ). 7

EAST LEAKE LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY. VCH Nottinghamshire: Texts in Progress: East Leake

VCH Nottinghamshire On-line Texts in Progress This version: May 2014 Author: Sheila Leeds EAST LEAKE LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES The ancient parish of East Leake occupies 2,530 acres 1 about 10 miles south-west