Monument record MLI91195 - Settlement of Wilsford

Summary

The settlement of Wilsford is first mentioned in Domesday Book, and survives to the present day.

Type and Period (3)

  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Modern - 1000 AD to 2050 AD)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1500 AD? to 1900 AD?)
  • (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1500 AD? to 1900 AD?)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Wilsford is first mentioned in Domesday Book. Land there belonged to two lords, Godfrey of Cambrai and Robert Malet. It had a minimum population of 21 sokemen, 6 villeins and 4 bordars. A church and a mill, which is described as "quit from all service except the host", are also mentioned. {1} The place name Wilsford is of Old English origin and means "Wifel's ford". {2} On the 4th August 1316, Edward II granted permission to A and C of the abbey of Bec-Hellouin for a market and a fair to be held in Wilsford at the manor. The market was to be held on Tuesdays, and the fair on the festival of Holy Trinity. {3} The Lay Subsidy of 1334 lists the wealth of Wilsford "with part of Ancaster" as £4 2s 4 3/4d, around average for its wapentake (Threo). {4} The Diocesan Return of 1536 records 34 households at Wilsford. {5} By the late 17th-early 18th century, there were 60 families, falling to c. 50, at Wilsford (which is also referred to as "Willesworth"). {6} By 1801, the population of Wilsford was 251 people, rising to 689 by 1881 before falling slightly to 656 by 1901. {7} The landowners at Wilsford from medieval times to the 19th century are discussed by Trollope. {8} Notable residents of the village in 1856 are listed in White's Directory. Wilsford is included in Flaxwell wapentake in the Directory, rather than Threo. {9} Medieval settlement earthworks are visible to the north of The Beck (c. TF 003 432), but these are thought to be associated with the deserted settlement of Hanbeck (see PRN 62736). {10} Small pit features and wall foundations of uncertain function were recorded during monitoring of a water pipeline (PRN 65226a - TF 0035 4306). They could not be reliably dated, but are thought to be no earlier than late medieval. {11}

Sources/Archives (11)

  •  Bibliographic Reference: C.W. Foster and T. Longley. 1924. Lincolnshire Domesday and Lindsey Survey. 51/12; 58/7.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Kenneth Cameron. 1998. A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names. p.140.
  •  Website: Letters, Samantha (Dr). 2003. Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516: Counties and Wales. www.history.ac.uk/cmh/gaz/countyframe.html. Wilsford.
  •  Article in Serial: R.E. Glasscock. 1964. 'The Lay Subsidy of 1334 for Lincolnshire' in Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Society Reports and Papers. vol.10.2, p.126.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Gerald A.J. Hodgett. 1975. Tudor Lincolnshire. p.24.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: R.E.G. Cole. 1913. Speculum Dioeceseos Lincolniensis sub Episcopis Gul: Wake et Edm: Gibson A.D.1705-1723. Part 1: Archdeaconries of Lincoln and Stow. pp.141-2.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William Page (ed). 1906. The Victoria County History: Lincolnshire - Volume 2. p.364.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Edward Trollope. 1872. Sleaford and the Wapentakes of Flaxwell and Aswardhurn in the County of Lincoln. pp.320-1.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire - Second Edition. pp.455-6.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Wilsford O.S. cards. Wilsford. TF 04 SW; 8.
  •  Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. 1993. Wilsford Relay Pipeline 1993. LAS site code: WIL93.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 0043 4306 (643m by 371m) Estimated from sources
Civil Parish WILSFORD, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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