Helpston (also, formerly, "Helpstone") is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

village in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. Historically; it was formerly in the

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, subsequently (1965–1974) in

Huntingdon and Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative county, administrative and Geographical counties of England, geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgesh ...

, then in Cambridgeshire. It is administered by the

City of Peterborough The City of Peterborough, is a district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The district is named after its largest settlement, Peterborough, but also covers a wider area of o ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Helpston covers an area of and had an estimated population in 2011 of 981. The parish church is dedicated to

St Botolph Botolph of Thorney (; also called Botolph, Botulph or Botulf; later known as Saint Botolph; died ) was an English abbot and saint. He is regarded as the patron saint of boundaries, and by extension, of trade and travel, as well as various aspec ...

; the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

window was created by

Francis Skeat Francis Walter Skeat (3 December 1909 – 31 August 2000) was an English glass painter who created over 400 stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals, both in England and overseas. Skeat was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow ...

and depicts "

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory () is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership change ...

". The poet

John Clare John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and his sorrows at its disruption. His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20t ...

was born in Helpston in 1793 and is buried in the churchyard of St Botolph's. The thatched cottage where he was born was bought by the John Clare Trust in 2005. The John Clare Cottage, at 12 Woodgate, has been restored using traditional building methods and is open to the public. In 2013 the John Clare Trust received a grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

to help preserve the building and provide educational activities for youngsters visiting the cottage. John Clare Primary School is named after the poet. The name Helpston is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

in origin and means the farmstead (''tun'') first settled by ''Help'' (an

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

personal name). Helpston is well known for its athletics club, Helpston Harriers AC, who aspire to improve local running standards.

Gallery

File:UK Helpston.jpg, Village sign File:John Clare's birthplace, Helpston, Peterborough - geograph.org.uk - 217344.jpg, John Clare Cottage File:Bluebells at Helpston Heath - geograph.org.uk - 641739.jpg, '' Bluebells'' at Helpston Heath File:Butter Cross and parish church, Helpston, Peterborough - geograph.org.uk - 87485.jpg, Butter Cross and parish church

History

In July 1822 it was reported that a

deodand A deodand is a thing forfeited or given to God, specifically, in law, an object or instrument that becomes forfeited because it has caused a person's death. The English common law of deodands traces back to the 11th century and was applied, on ...

of 20 shillings was laid upon the cart held responsible for the death of John Price, aged twelve, the driver of the cart. The inquest was held at the Bell Inn. Deodands were abolished under the

Deodands Act 1846 The Deodands Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. 62) was an act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that abolished the ancient remedy of deodands. Background By the early nineteenth century, the ancient remedy of deodands had largely ...

24 years later.

References

External links

Helpston Parish Website

A website about the village

Clare Cottage

Saint Botolph's Church, Helpston
Villages in Cambridgeshire Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire Geography of Peterborough {{Cambridgeshire-geo-stub

Gallery

History

See also

References

External links