Nottinghamshire history > Notes on the History of the parish of Ordsall

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The Tithe Award.

Ordsall Tithe Award consists of a large map, now in a somewhat dilapidated condition, dated 1839. This shows all the fields, houses and roads then existing. Each one is numbered and there are also a number of large parchment folios showing the owners and amount of acreage and tithe to be charged on each plot of land. Altogether there are 530 separate plots of land set out and a description of each is set out in seven columns namely, owner, occupier, number on plan, name and description of premises, state of cultivation, quantity, amount of tithe charged. Tithe on an acre of land seems to have been assessed at about 8/-, but it varied a good deal according to the position and cultivation. There were 102 separate owners of 1989 acres of land. The Tithe Act for conversion of the old system of collecting the tithe in kind from the various owners, was passed in 1836. The Ordsall apportionment was presented on May 15th and signed by the Tithe Commissioners on May 16th, 1840. The Agreement had been made on April 10th, 1838, so evidently it took two years to complete. The Rev. Francis Foxlow was Rector and received all the tithes, both great and small. The whole parish was said to contain by estimation 2001 acres, namely: ARABLE 811 acres; MEADOW 1090 acres; WOODLAND 100 acres. The woodland paid no tithe because it was grown for ornament or large timber, and had no underwood or annual fall. There were 27 acres of glebe land belonging to the Rectory, on which the tithe was dormant as the Rector did not pay it to himself. George Unwin of Whitwell was the Valuer and he also set forth the amount due to the Rector in Bushels of Wheat, Barley and Oats. The price per Bushel was at that time—Wheat 7/0¼, Barley 3/11½, Oats 2/9.

Owners of land in Ordsall in 1840:

Amcotts, Sir W.	Bower, Martin
Appleby, Ann	Bradley, Sarah
Baker, Valentine	Brown, Mary
Batty, John	Brown, Sarah
Bedford, Mary	Burton, Sarah
Bedford, Thomas	Cartwright, Mary
Black, William	Chappell, William
Black, John	Chesterfield Canal
Blagg, John	Clarke, George
Clater, William	Newton, William
Cooke, John	Newton, John
Cottam, John	Duke of Newcastle
Cottam, Joshua	(under Crown).
Creswell, George	Overseers
Dawson, John	Parker, John
Dawson, Samuel	Pashley, George
Dickenson, Peter	Philips, William
Retford Corporation	Proctor, Rev. R.
Grammar School	Rector of Babworth
Edeson, Joseph	Richardson, Mary
Ellis, William	Riley, William
Eyre, Rev. C.	Roberts, John
Fisher, William	Rogers, Mary
Foljambe, Henry	Rooke, Mary
Fowe, Edward	Sharpe, George
Fowe, Mary	Sharpe, William
Hancliff, Robert	Sharpe, Gervase
Hemsworth, Francis	Simpson, Hon. J. B.
Hewitt, John	Small, Wm.
Hirst, James	Small, George
Hirst, Mary	Smith, William
Hodgson, Francis	Starr, Sarah
Holmes, John	Stead, Thomas
Hudson, John	Sugden, William
Hudson, Robert	Swinburn, Thomas
Hudson, James	Taylor, George
Hudson, Jonathan	Thornhill, Henry
Hempsall, William	Thornton, George
Huthwaite, Stoakham	Townrow, George
Jackson, Swinscho	Vernon, G. Harcourt
Jackson, Robert	Watkinson, Ann
Jackson, William	West Retford Parish
Johnson, Thomas	Trinity Hospital
Johnson, John	White, Edward
Kippax, John	Wilkinson, Thomas
Kippax, George	Williams, Joseph
Mason, Rev. John	Wootton, John
Mee, John	Worthington, Sarah
Millington, Robert	Ordsall Parish
Moss, Thomas	(They owned the Village
Nelson, Ann	Pound in High Street).
Nettleship, Richard	Rev. F. Foxlowe

Articles of Agreement of the Commutation of the Tithe of Ordsall Parish were drawn up at a meeting held in the School-House on March 31st, 1837. The Agreement was actually signed a year later in April, 1838. If we inspect the Tithe Map and the list of owners and occupiers, we can get some idea of what the parish must have been in that year. We shall naturally find a great change, and it is interesting to compare phis description with the parish to-day, exactly one hundred years later. In the year that Queen Victoria was crowned the population was just over 800 and the number of houses 205. We do not know the exact number of houses to-day but there must be more than 1700, and the population is growing towards 7000. It is difficult to imagine that there were enclosed fields all the way between the Village and Dominie Cross. The houses were almost all situated in the Village or Thrumpton and White Houses, which were then small hamlets. All Hallows' Street, High Street, Church Hill and Church Lane contained all the houses in Ordsall. There were a few at Thrumpton, where there was a large pond in the middle of the village green, which is now the School playground. The only street in South Retford was then Wright Wilson Street, which was the first sign of the expansion of the Borough beyond the old boundary of East Retford Parish at Dominie Cross. The Rectory had just been built a few years before and is shown with the garden and croft. Below the Churchyard the houses were very much as they are to-day, and if we begin a short tour we shall be able to make some comparison.

The owners are put first and then the occupiers, with the number on the Award Map.

All Hallows' Street. Right hand side.
164b	Seven Houses (now called Birkett's Row). These were owned by the Trustees of James Hirst and occupied by themselves and others.
164	House, Building's and Maltkiln. John Cooke Owner and Occupier (now called Manor Cottages).
165	Homestead and Garden. The Gate Inn. Hon. J. B. Simpson. Stephen Hemsworth lived here, who was Parish Clerk, 1826-1865. He was also a plumber and glazier.
168	3 Houses and Gardens. John Hewitt. Occupied by John Blagg, Christopher Merrills and James Northedge. There are now 4 Houses Nos. 82-88.
168a	House and Garden. Thomas Stead. Occupied by George Barthorpe. This is now made into three houses 90-94, next to the footpath over the fields.
171	Homestead, Yard, and Gardens. Hon. J. B. Simpson. Occupied by Robert Lindley. The Laurels Farm.
Left hand side.
162	House and Garden. Hon. J. B. Simpson. Robert Stead, Parish Clerk 1865-1870 lived here. It is now Mr. F. Caudle's house.
161	Blacksmith's Shop and 2 Houses. Wm. Jackson and Richard Jackson. The footpath into the Churchyard is shown next the shop.
159	House and Garden. Mary Black. This is the sunk garden below the North side of the Church. The house was near the Churchyard footpath, where there is now a large tree in the garden. To the West of Laurel Farm, there were only fields from the old Ollerton Road down to the river. In West Fields we find a few traces of the past.
186	A small wood. This now the site of the Station Master's House.
200	Cobwell Close and Gravel Pits. These were at the top of Albert Road.
201	A wood, 1 acre. Executors of Peter Dickonson. Now the Crescent and Gardens with some of the old trees.
206	Plantation. Chesterfield Canal Company. This can still be seen at the back of the Brewery in Cobwell Road. Ollerton Road went straight to Woodcock's Bridge, and for part of the way was the road which we now call Back Queen Street. It was diverted when the Great Northern Railway was made about 1845. The Parish Boundary passed through the middle of Babworth Lake, and two acres of it are still in Ordsall Parish. Only four houses are shown in all the West part of the Parish.
19	Homestead, Buildings, Yard, Gardens and Pleasure Grounds. George Kippax built this house, which was called The Biggins for many years, and is now Ordsall Hall. It was said to be very much the same, at that time, as The Elms, London Road, which was built by John Kippax. Writing in 1828, Piercy says "The house recently erected by George Kippax, Esq. with its bold and commanding situation renders it a very prominent object, and the picturesque scenery which displays itself in every direction, may be said to make it a very desirable residence."

The Map and Award were completed in 1838, just a century ago, and give us a record of the parish and the people who lived in it at that time. The owner of the property is given first and then the occupier's name in every case, with the number on the Award Map.

8	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Biggins Homestead and Garden. Occupied by one of the men on the Babworth Estate. This now converted into three known as Biggins Cottages.
38	John Kippax. Farm House. Occupied by himself. Now known as West Hill Farm. The fields at the back were known as Broom Close.
Church Street. Left hand side.
157a	Rev. F. Foxlowe. Glebe. Rev. F. O. Morris. Rectory and Garden (2 acres).
	The Rectory had been built a few years before. The Rector was the Rev. F. Foxlowe, who lived at Elton Rectory, near Worksop, and was also the owner of Staveley Hall, where he died in 1841. The Rev. F. O. Morris lived at Ordsall as Curate in charge. He was the great authority on British Birds, and planted some of the large trees round the garden. He afterwards became Vicar of Nunburnholme in Yorkshire, and his son succeeded him there. There was a garden and paddock in front of the house.
157	Glebe. William Roberts. Broom Close. 3 acres. (Now the upper garden and small field on Ollerton Road).
147	Glebe. William Roberts. The Croft. Grass. 4 acres. This was one field from Ollerton Road to Church Lane. The old Tithe Barn stood here, which can still be seen at the back of the Parish Hall. The Rector's Corn was brought here in Harvest time, and threshed out with a flail on the old brick floor. All Churches formerly had these Tithe Barns, but they have generally been pulled down, as they were no longer needed after the Tithe Act of 1836, which converted the tithe of corn and produce of the land into an annual payment in money.
148	Glebe. Homestead and Garden. John Lambert. (This was sold by Rev. T. King and is now called Beech Cottage).
149	Thomas Stead. Four Houses and Shop. John Lambert and others. Three are now pulled down, and only No. 3 and shop are left.
Church Street (Right).
157	John Mee. 3 Houses. George Ingram, Henry Vallance and Mary Walsh. These were 6, 8, and 10. Now pulled down.
152	Edward Fowe. 2 Houses. Sarah Cobb and Sarah Drakard.
153	Hon. J. B. Simpson. School House and Garden Thomas Simpson.
Hill Street.
154a	Ann Nelson. 6 Houses and Shop. John Eddington and others. These are Nos. 5, 7, 9
154	Samuel Dawson. Houses and Garden. Himself and others.
155 & 156.	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Homestead, Yard Garden and Croft. Thomas Black. (Now Bridge House).
Goose Moor Lane. Left hand side.
398.	135. Hon. J. B. Simpson. Paper Mill and Corn Mill. Ann Nelson. (The Bridge formerly went across the site of the present mill. The foundations can still be seen. A warehouse and Drying Houses were on the right-hand side of the bridge).
229.	230. Hon. J. B. Simpson. Jenny Carr. John Pearce. Grass. 11 acres. (The Gravel Pit).
231	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Tenter Close. Grass. 6 acres.
232.	233. Hon. J. B. Simpson. Norcroft. Grass. 2½ acres (next the Feeder).
234	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Norcroft. Robert Lindley Grass. 4 acres. (Now the house Moorlands)
Right hand side.
400	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Mill Carr. Robert Lindley. Grass. 6 acres.
401	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Hall Park. Robert Lindley. Grass. 12 acres.
402	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Goosemoor and Hall Park. Robert Lindley. Grass. 11 acres.
396	Stoakham Huthwaite, Esq. White House and Crab Tree Close. David Jackson. Grass. 6 acres. (Now Ordsall Lodge and a field).
High Street. Right hand side.
146	John Kippax. Croft. Himself. Grass, 2 acres. The Old Hall once stood in this narrow field between High Street and Ollerton Road.
145	John Parker. Homestead and Croft. John Cooke. Grass. 8 acres. Now Wilmot's farm, but the house stood in the middle of the field near High Street, with buildings near the gate, and it was called the Old Hall Farm.
144	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Homestead, Yard and Garden. Ann Nelson. Now The Grange Farm.
High Street. Left hand side.
136	Hon. J. B. Simpson. Homestead. John Ollivant. Now altered and the house turned into Farm Buildings.
137	Hon. J. B. Simpson. House and Garden. George Stokes. (Now Mr. Staniland's house).

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