Welham is a hamlet in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of
Clarborough and Welham
Clarborough and Welham is a civil parish in the Bassetlaw district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. The parish includes the village of Clarborough and the hamlet of Welham. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1088. It is 130 mile ...
, of
Bassetlaw district, in the county of
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
, England. It is 130 miles north of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 28 miles north east of the city of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, and 2 miles north east of the market town of
Retford
Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England, and one of the oldest English market towns having been granted its first charter in 1105. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfie ...
.
There are 7
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s in Welham.
Geography
Location
This is south of
Clarborough
Clarborough is a village in the civil parish of Clarborough and Welham, in the district of Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, England. Clarborough is located north-east from the centre of Retford. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 1305.
Hist ...
, separated by greenfield land, Primarily residential, it is a linear village along the A620, lying to the south west of the parish. It which gets its name from a once celebrated spring (St Johns Well) near the place, which was formed into a large bath. The spring is still located in a private house. Welham is listed in ''Domesday'' as "Wellun" (meaning 'at the spring'). Welham Grange, an intact house dating from 1667 which listed as a Grade II building by the English Heritage on 1 February 1967. Also in Welham is the early 19th-century Welham Hall.
Welham Bridge, although spanning the canal along the A620 road close to the village, is outside the boundary. It was formerly within the larger Clarborough parish.
Welham is surrounded by the following local areas:
* Clarborough to the north
*
Little Gringley
Little Gringley is a hamlet in the Bassetlaw district of northern Nottinghamshire, England. It is north of London, north east of the county town and city of Nottingham, and east of the nearest town Retford.
Toponymy
Little Gringley was ...
to the south
* Christone,
North Leverton
North Leverton with Habblesthorpe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Nottinghamshire. The population (including Coates) as at the 2011 Census was 1,047.
Unlike other civil parishes with a name of the form "X with Y", No ...
,
South Leverton
South Leverton is a village and civil parish in Bassetlaw, north Nottinghamshire, England, four miles from Retford. According to the 2001 census it has a population of 478, increasing only marginally to 480 at the 2011 census.
A website for the ...
,
South Wheatley,
Sturton Le Steeple
Sturton le Steeple is a village located east of Retford, Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population (including Littleborough, Notts) of 497, reducing slightly to 486 as at the 2011 Census.
Origin of the name
The ...
and Westholme to the east
*
Bolham, Retford and
Tiln to the west.
Landscape
Woods
Primarily farmland throughout the parish outside the village, there is some small forestry east of Welham:
* Clarborough Nature Reserve alongside the railway line.
* Caddow's Wood and Hutchinson's Holt are wooded areas in the far south east.
Water features
The
Chesterfield Canal
The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 a ...
runs from the south west to the north of the parish, west of Welham.
The Guns Beck stream forms part of the western parish boundary, before feeding into the canal.
Land elevation
Welham is low-lying, at around .
History
This was also reported in the Domesday Book, as Wellun (at the spring). It is so named due to a well located at a house on Bone Mill Lane. In the early 1700s it was considered the waters had medicinal properties and a spa was built by John Henry Hutchinson of Clarborough Hall. It lost its popularity with the advent of the railways, which allowed travel by locals to other warmer spas.
The wider Nottinghamshire region was a heartland for the
Puritans
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
. One of the
Mayflower pilgrims
The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who came to North America on the ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony in what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts, named after the final departure port of Plymo ...
, Edward Southworth was born in the village. Southworth was due to join the voyage to the Americas but eventually only realised the first portion of the overall journey via England, possibly due to ill health, so returning to Holland and dying there in 1621. His spouse
Alice Carpenter eventually went to America, remarrying another English settler who became governor of the
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...
settlement,
William Bradford.
The Chesterfield Canal in 1777 was opened to transport minerals and iron from Derbyshire to the River Trent. This enters the parish from the south west and passes Welham to the west. A number of locks and bridges are in near proximity.
By the turn of the 20th century
Francis John Savile Foljambe of Osberton Hall, was a notable landowner and
Lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
. Other key locals by this time included C. E. de More Thorold of Welham Manor (son of
Charles Thorold Wood
Charles Thorold Wood, senior (15 January 1777 – 13 March 1852) was an English army officer and country gentleman whose sons Charles Thorold Wood, junior (1817–1849) and Neville Wood (1818–25 March 1886) were ornithologists. Several acc ...
), with Arthur Robert Garland of Welham Hall also having substantial landholdings.
Since 1945 Welham has increasingly become more residential in nature rather than solely agriculturally associated. There was an influx of workers into the area in the late 1950s when the
Cottam and
West Burton power stations
The West Burton power stations are a pair of power stations on the River Trent near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. West Burton A is a coal-fired power station, which was commissioned in 1966, and West Burton B is a combined cycle gas tur ...
were built.
The oldest part of the village is by a sharp corner on the A620 road. Given its small size Welham has a number of listed buildings, 17th century Welham Grange, Welham Park House and Welham Hall (two manor houses dating from the early 19th century). Whinleys Farmhouse situated at one of the high points is also a listed building.
The parish was named "Clarborough" until 1 December 2006, when Welham was officially added.
The village has occasional impact from flooding. The floods of 2007 had a notable impact, causing the closure of the A620 for over 12 hours due to flood water accumulating in the dip of the road surface under the low bridge between Clarborough and Welham.
Governance and demography
Council administration
The settlements Welham and Clarborough are combined as one parish for administrative identity.
It is managed at the first level of public administration by Clarborough and Welham Parish Council.
At district level, the wider area is managed by Bassetlaw District Council.
Nottinghamshire County Council
Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election ...
provides the highest level strategic services locally.
Community & leisure
Chesterfield Canal
The canal runs to the west of Welham, from the south west to the north of the parish. A long distance walking path called the Cuckoo Way runs alongside, reusing its
towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...
. The whole of the canal is designated as a
site of special scientific interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI).
Clarborough Nature Reserve
This is atop the railway line and surrounding area. It is a limestone grassland and scrub woodland covering 5 hectares. It too is registered as an SSSI, and run by the
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust founded in 1963 is a wildlife conservation charity working to protect and enhance the wildlife and habitats of Nottinghamshire. They care for over 60 nature reserves covering more than of wildlife habitat rangi ...
.
Education
There is a nearby primary school in Clarborough .
Landmarks
Listed buildings
There are 7 listed structures throughout the hamlet, all at Grade II designation, including:
* Welham Hall
* Welham Grange
* Whitsunday Pie Lock Bridge 60 over the Chesterfield Canal
Transport
The
Sheffield to Lincoln railway line traverses the parish, south west to east, running between Clarborough and Welham. Two railway bridges cross the A620 road, one on either side of Welham.
Clarborough tunnel is to the east of Welham along the railway line, and is long.
References
External links
Clarborough & Welham community website
{{Nottinghamshire
Hamlets in Nottinghamshire
Bassetlaw District