The History of ..

Alkborough and Walcot are a 2800 acre site in the north west corner of old Lincolnshire, consisting of two settlements dating back to Saxon times. It may surprise some people to know that part of the Alkborough parish boundary is in the middle of the rivers Humber and Trent and the spelling of Alkborough in the Doomsday Book was Alchebarge.

Alkborough is an ancient parish that was in Manley Wapentake, and later in Glanford Brigg Rural District in the Administrative County of Lindsey. In 1974 it became part of the Glanford District of Humberside County, which became, with Scunthorpe District, North Lincolnshire Unitary Authority when Humberside County was abolished in 1996.

The south and south eastern boundaries of the parish are irregular, probably due to Burton upon Stather and Alkborough absorbing nearby middle age settlements.

Where the parish boundary crosses West Halton Road it can be seen as a hedged bank running towards Whitton and indicates the size of the open field called “Alkborough Field” which used to extend back to the village and was communally farmed until 1768. This spot was marked by a large ash tree called “the Lordship Ash”. After its demise a replacement tree, an oak, was planted by Rev. G Towell as Chairman of the Parish Council.

Alkborough is also home to Alkborough Maze, more commonly referred to as Julian’s Bower. One of only eight remaining turf mazes in the UK, the maze is a scheduled ancient monument. Its presence was first recorded in 1697 and its origins are thought to be medieval or roman. In the absence of tangible evidence, many theories exist regarding who first cut the maze.

In 1620 Martin Brighouse, the owner of Walcot, was called before the Star Chamber, a royal court, to explain why he had enclosed Walcot. The government of the day was concerned that the reduction in jobs, if arable land was turned over to sheep, would cause unrest amongst the labourers. At the hearing, is supporters, some of the inhabitants, agreed that “the land was better in grass than in corn”. So Walcot land remained enclosed and areas like Scamblings (between Jerusalem Cottage and Walcot) were grassed and given over to sheep walks.

From the mid 17th century Walcot was owned by the same family. It was bought by the Hull Alderman and merchant Nicholas Denman, whose daughter married a Goulton and thus began the Goulton-Constable line. They did not own the whole of Alkborough but gradually bought more property, peaking towards the end of the 19th century.