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 town 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 is located in Lincolnshire
Owston Ferry
Owston Ferry
Location within Lincolnshire
Population1,328 (2011 census)
OS grid referenceSE805005
• London135 mi (217 km) SSE
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDONCASTER
Postcode districtDN9
Dialling code01427
PoliceHumberside
FireHumberside
AmbulanceEast Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Lincolnshire
53°29′43″N 0°47′08″W / 53.495228°N 0.785656°W / 53.495228; -0.785656

History

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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

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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 been 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 and the county of Lincolnshire.

Assessment as nuclear site

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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

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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 / 53.495222; -0.785639 (53.495228°, -0.785656°). The civil parish of Owston Ferry includes the village of Owston Ferry and some smaller places, including West Ferry, Gunthorpe, Heckdyke and Melwood.

Education

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Owston Ferry contains one primary school, St Martin's Church of England Primary School.

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ 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)
  2. ^ "Civil parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  3. ^ Mills, A. D. (1991) A Dictionary of English Place-Names, Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b North Lincolnshire Council. "Owston Ferry Local History Pack". Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  5. ^ Webster, Graham (2003). Rome against Caratacus. Routledge. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-415-23987-5.
  6. ^ Fry, Plantagenet Somerset (2005). Castles: England + Scotland + Wales + Ireland. David & Charles Publishers. p. 66. ISBN 0-7153-2212-5.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Martin (1083261)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  8. ^ a b Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire with the port of Hull 1885, pp. 593–594.
  9. ^ Historic England. "Centenary Methodist Chapel (1049072)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ ODNB: Lesley Brown, "Foot, Philippa Ruth (1920–2010)". Retrieved 7 March 2014, pay-walled.
  13. ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1892). "Kilham, Alexander" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 31. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 102.
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