Owston Ferry
Owston Ferry is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the west bank of the River Trent, and 9 miles (14 km) north from Gainsborough. It had a total resident population of 1,128 in 2001 including Kelfield.[1] This increased to 1,328 at the 2011 census.[2] Sometimes referred to as Owston or Ferry, the village forms part of the Isle of Axholme. It is bounded to the west by the A161 road and the village of Haxey. The River Trent is directly to the east. To the north, beyond a number of hamlets and villages, lies the Humber estuary. West Butterwick was originally a part of the township of Owston.
| Owston Ferry | |
|---|---|
Church of St Martin, at Owston Ferry | |
Owston Ferry Location within Lincolnshire | |
| Population | 1,328 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | SE805005 |
| • London | 135 mi (217 km) SSE |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DONCASTER |
| Postcode district | DN9 |
| Dialling code | 01427 |
| Police | Humberside |
| Fire | Humberside |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| |
History edit
The name "Owston" is thought to derive from the Old Norse "austr+tun", meaning "east farmstead",[3] a view shared by other sources which outline that it specifically implied the "farmstead east of Haxey".[4] The name "Owston" is shared by at least two other settlements within the United Kingdom. In the 1086 Domesday Book it is listed as "Ostone",[4]
Owston Ferry Castle, also known as Kinnard's Ferry Castle, was a motte-and-bailey fortification from the 12th century. It lay on the site of an earlier, Roman castrum.[5] It was dismantled by order of Henry II of England in 1175–1176 following the Revolt of 1173–1174.[6]
Owston Ferry Grade I listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Martin.[7] The church register dates from 1603.[8]
In 1885 Kelly's reported the existence of Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels,[9] a rope-walk, boatbuilding yard, several corn mills, and the manufacture of sacking and sail cloth. The parish was of 5,350 acres (2,165 ha). Wheat, barley, potatoes, beans and grass were grown.[8]
Governance edit
As part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, Owston Ferry formed part of the Boothferry district of the county of Humberside, having previously lain within the Parts of Lindsey from the historic county boundaries of Lincolnshire. Since 1996 however, Owston Ferry has formed part of the unitary authority area of North Lincolnshire.
Assessment as nuclear site edit
In 2009, a specific area of land in Owston Ferry was highlighted in a study by W. S. Atkins for the Department of Energy on alternative sites for a nuclear power plant as a potentially suitable site "worthy of further consideration".[10] (It had featured in a 1970s CEGB list of possible sites for such plant.) By 2010, the department had issued another document saying it had given the matter further consideration;[11] it had concluded that, although the site nominally met its "strategic site assessment criteria" for new nuclear power sites, it was not a credible site for deployment of new nuclear by the end of 2025 – adding that anyway, no firm had expressed any interest in building such plant there.[citation needed]
Geography edit
Owston Ferry stands on flat ground by the River Trent at 53°29′42.8″N 0°47′8.3″W / 53.495222°N 0.785639°W (53.495228°, -0.785656°), 140 miles (225 km) north-northwest of London.
The closest motorway to Owston Ferry is the M180. Robin Hood Airport is 10 miles (16 km) to the west, in South Yorkshire.
The civil parish of Owston Ferry includes the village of Owston Ferry and some smaller places, including West Ferry, Gunthorpe, Heckdyke and Melwood.
Education edit
Owston Ferry contains one primary school, St Martin's Church of England Primary School.
Notable people edit
- Philippa Foot, philosopher and inventor of the branch of ethics known as "trolleyology", which means thinking about the trolley problem, was born in Owston Ferry on 3 October 1920, and died on 3 October 2010 in Oxford, aged 90.[12]
- Epworth-born Alexander Kilham, founder of the Methodist New Connexion, worked in Owston Ferry during his teens.[13]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ United Kingdom Census 2001. "Owston Ferry CP (Parish)". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Civil parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ Mills, A. D. (1991) A Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford University Press
- ^ a b North Lincolnshire Council. "Owston Ferry Local History Pack". Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
- ^ Webster, Graham (2003). Rome against Caratacus. Routledge. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-415-23987-5.
- ^ Fry, Plantagenet Somerset (2005). Castles: England + Scotland + Wales + Ireland. David & Charles Publishers. p. 66. ISBN 0-7153-2212-5.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Martin (1083261)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ a b Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire with the port of Hull 1885, pp. 593–594.
- ^ Historic England. "Centenary Methodist Chapel (1049072)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ "Owston Ferry assessed by Atkins for DECC as "worthy of further consideration" as new nuclear site" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ "After initial preferment, Owston Ferry later deprecated by government as new nuclear site due to unfamiliarity in GB with river cooling for nuclear power plant". Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ ODNB: Lesley Brown, "Foot, Philippa Ruth (1920–2010)". Retrieved 7 March 2014, pay-walled.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1892). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 31. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 102.
External links edit
- Media related to Owston Ferry at Wikimedia Commons
- "Owston Ferry", Genuki.org.uk
- The Parishes of the Isle of Axholme: Owston Ferry, Isle of Axholme Family History Society
- Isle of Axholme, TheAxholmeInformer.net