History continued

Thomas Goulton (1745-1826) had the hall grounds laid out in 1800 and was responsible for the planting of the trees from the village to Burton along the hill top and down the hillside. His great niece Mary, Lady Strickland (1797-1865), amongst other charitable works, was responsible for the building of the National and Infants’ Schools, now Watersmeet and the Old Library in Back Street.

Her grandson, James Goulton-Constable (1850-1922 became a typical Victorian squire, a strong supporter of the church and school. He was a driving force behind the building of the present school in 1874 and a generous benefactor to the Cricket Club which played On Westcroft, south of the hall and to welfare organisations like the Cow Club, Coal Club and Sick Club.

The Dents, a prominent North Lincolnshire Quaker family owned property centred on Prospect Farm from the early 18th century. John Dent was fined several times for not attending church.

Another prominent landowner from this time was Magdalene College, Cambridge, which was endowed with the farm in Alkborough in 1624 by Frances Dowager, Countess of Warwick for the education and maintenance of two scholars and a fellow. The College still has a farm here and has always been reluctant to part with it, as it is one of their earliest endowments.

Alkborough was also home to quite a few small farmers, who often carried on another trade, such as weaver, tailor or shoemaker to make ends meet, as the amount of land they had was small and scattered all over the parish. Change was slow to come to the village until the 1960’s when the village, at long last, went on to main sewerage.

The population has remained very stable too. At the first census in 1801, there were 345 people but by 1861 the population had risen to 497 living in 99 houses. By 1985 there were 185 inhabited houses but only 469 people.

If anyone from these earlier times returned, as they wandered around the heart of the village, they could still find much that was familiar. If they looked carefully they could perhaps find their 18th century cottage hidden behind a brick façade, modern rendering or made higher with another storey. They would look in vain for the old thatched cottages; Major Dent had the last one demolished in 1901, to be replaced by a fine pair of brick and stone semi detached houses in Front Street. They might wonder at the churchyard with no gravestones and the fine “new” 1887 chancel, but they would probably still feel at home.