Cawthorpe :: Bourne :: Lincolnshire :: England |
The hamlet of Cawthorpe, one mile north and within the parish of the Lincolnshire market town of Bourne, is situated on the edge of a limestone escarpment which runs in a broad sweep north through to Lincoln and on northwards to the Humber estuary. Although the hamlet is set in rolling countryside it is only 20 metres (65 feet) above sea level at its highest point. From these top fields, one can see 20 or so miles east across the Fens, which cover most of south-east Lincolnshire and parts of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. From the same spot, and turning westward, one experiences the dramatic contrast of a more intimate landscape of gently undulating fields and distant woods. The Roman road King Street, built in the third and fourth century AD, ran from the towns of Castor (nr Peterborough) to Bourne, then passing through Cawthorpe to Ancaster. The line of the road can still be seen in aerial photographs. There is evidence of human activity from Neolithic times through to the Roman occupation. Following the decline of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, a Saxon settlement was established, and following the Danish invasions of the 800s, Cawthorpe was occupied by a Dane named Kali – the Danish word ‘thorpe’ describing a small outlying settlement. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is written as Caletorp. Before the enclosures of 1770, the typical pattern of farming found at Cawthorpe would have consisted mainly of smallholdings, and crops of oats and malting barley, the barley grown on land owned by the abbots of Bourne. |
Nearby Bourne Wood supplied the hamlet with fuel and food for pigs and geese. Other farming activities would have been the rearing of sheep and cattle, fruit growing, the breeding of rabbits in fenced warrens, and pigeon rearing in dovecots (for winter meat and fertiliser). As recently as the 1930s, Cawthorpe Farm is recorded as having 36 milking cows, 200 grazing sheep, and several kinds of crops. In 1665 there were recorded 120 inhabitants in Cawthorpe. Now there are just 20 dwellings in the hamlet comprising 17c and 19c cottages, an early 18c farmhouse, two large Georgian mansions and several post-war houses.
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We need your help! This website is very much in its infancy. It is hoped that through research, and more importantly individuals’ contributions, it may evolve into a valuable record of the hamlet and its occupants past and present. We are especially interested in hearing from anyone who has images (photographs old and new or Gardner paintings) available for us to scan. Even images that you may consider poor quality or of little importance may well still be of interest e.g. images of past residents especially those showing buildings and gardens in the background. We would also like accounts of memories of the hamlet. |
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