Pickworth is a
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 ...
and small village in the county of
Rutland
Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town.
Rutland has a ...
. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 81. This remained less than 100 at the 2011 census and was included in the town of
Stamford.
The village's name means 'enclosure of Pica'.
In the 13th century Pickworth was quite a substantial village, but by the end of the 14th century it was almost non-existent. It now comprises a small parish church, a disused
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
chapel, a few large houses and a couple of rows of terraced and council houses.
It lies in a landscape characterised by Rutland County Council as the clay woodlands of the Rutland Plateau (a Jurassic limestone plateau). At the southern boundary of the village is a crossroads leading to
Great Casterton
Great Casterton is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in England. It is located at the crossing of the Roman Ermine Street and the River Gwash.
Geography
The village is approximately three miles to the north-west of Stamford ...
about to the south, the
A1 road at Tickencote Warren to the west,
Lincolnshire Gate and
Castle Bytham to the north and an unmaintained track to
Ryhall
Ryhall is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is situated close to the eastern boundary of the county, about 2 miles (3 km) north of Stamford, Lincolnshire, ...
Heath to the east.
All Saints' Church, Pickworth was built in 1821 and lies to the west of the village. The church is a Grade II listed building.
Maps previously showed the spire of the demolished church under the name Mockbeggar to the west of the current village site.
The remains of the old medieval village lie mainly to the west of the current village centre in an area referred to as Top Pickworth.
The only visible remains, other than earthworks, is a stone arch.
Just to the west of the village lie the remains of a
lime kiln
A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2
This reaction can tak ...
. In 1817 this was the workplace of local 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 ...
. About south-east is Walk Farm, formerly known as Walkherd Lodge, which was the home of Martha "Patty" Turner, who became John Clare's wife. Both the lime kiln and Walk Farm featured in a television documentary that was made about the poet in the late 1960s.
About to the west of the village is the site of the
Battle of Losecote Field in 1470. It has been claimed that the village was depopulated as a result of the fighting.
[
]
See also
* Clipsham Old Quarry and Pickworth Great Wood (SSSI)
* Newell Wood (SSSI)
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Rutland
Civil parishes in Rutland