Folkingham

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude = 52.88725
longitude = -0.40596
map_type=Lincolnshire
official_name = Folkingham
population = 1,000
shire_district= South Kesteven
shire_county = Lincolnshire
region = East Midlands
constituency_westminster = Grantham and Stamford
post_town = SLEAFORD
postcode_district = NG34 0xx
postcode_area = NG
dial_code = 01529
os_grid_reference= TF072332

Folkingham is a small village situated eleven miles of north of Bourne on the northern edge of South Kesteven, in southern Lincolnshire, England.

Village

The village owes its origin to the meeting place of traders, farmers, huntsmen, robbers and pedlars. The name “Folkingham” (or “Falkingham”, as the village was originally known) comes from the "Domesday Book" being Folchingeham and is said to derive from the word Folch or Falx meaning a sickle. The village lies on the A15 road. Within the village you'll find several historical buildings such as the House of Corrections and The Greyhound which both contribute to the history of Folkingham (see below). Today the local economy is still mainly rurally-based, revolving around agriculture, but there are also important tourism activities such as the several public footpaths that pass through. The father of ex-Major ex-Haileybury and Sheffield University-educated Lance Gerrard-Wright (former husband of Ulrika Jonsson) lives in the "Market Place", and indeed Folkingham is where Lance is from.

History

In the late 1700s, the market place of Folkingham was used for stacking timber and surrounding that was a horse pond with a market cross and a small town hall. The market place was divided up with chains into areas for the sheep, cattle, horses and poultry, and for the sale of farm produce and other wares. In 1788, the third Richard Wynne, who was then Lord of the Manor, was in financial difficulties and so he sold off the estate to Sir Gilbert Heathcote whose great-grandfather, the first baronet, was a Member of Parliament, Lord Mayor of London and Governor of the Bank of England. When Sir Gilbert took over, he wanted to transform Folkingham into a small market town. His changes included clearing the market place of and equipped it to cater for the stage coaches using the main London to Lincoln road which passed through.

hops, businesses and public houses

The Corner Shop

The Londis corner shop (Formerly SPAR) is at the heart of Folkingham’s "Market Place". In recent years, the corner shop is mainly used by locals for minor shopping (such as the newspaper) opting out for a weekly shop at the supermarket for the larger shopping. Folkingham Fine Foods also operate out of the corner shop selling locally produced food such as cheese and jam. Up to early 2007 there was a Furniture store located upstairs but recently has been closed down, making way for a large flat.

Hansen's Chocolate House

[http://www.mrchocolate.co.uk Hansen] 's has been operating out of Folkingham since 2005 (moving from Billingborough) providing homemade chocolate and various other sweets. The property which Hansen occupies was once a public house in 2003 called the Whipping Post, named for the fact a Whipping Post stood outside the property.

The New Inn

The [http://www.newinnfolkingham.com New Inn] is a public house situated in "West Street" just off the "Market Place". Once one of three pubs in Folkingham, the "New Inn" is now the last and strives not only being a pub but also a restaurant. Its history stretches back to the 18th Century but has always been a traditional English pub.

The Post Office

Folkingham's post office is currently situated in the old primary school's playground. It used to be situated over the road from the corner shop and operated more than just a post office, selling cold drinks and was the only shop in Folkingham to sell newspapers (now sold by the corner shop).It looks more and more likely that the post office will disappear from Folkingham altogether, going along with the Post Office decision to cut down on local post office. There is a current [http://www.bournelocal.co.uk/news/SAVE-village-POST-OFFICE.3261274.jp petition] (13/10/07) to stop the closer

Kimes

[http://www.kimesbuses.co.uk Kimes Coaches] is a small local bus transport company that is based in Folkingham. Its main routes are to Grantham, Boston and Spalding

Notable buildings

The Greyhound

Dating back to 1611, the Greyhound sprang to prominence during the 18th century when the village of Folkingham became a key staging post on the Lincoln to London stagecoach route. During the 18th century, when Sir Gilbert Heathcote was reforming Folkingham, he invested a huge amount of money in rebuilding the Greyhound, creating the present imposing red brick frontage.It became one of the main stopping posts for coachman travelling between Lincoln and London. Up to 2003, it was known as the "Greyhound Inn" being Folkingham’s most popular public house, and was for a short while an antiques showroom. Ever since 2003, it has been put up for sale (and auctioned unsuccessfully several times), until recently when it was bought by property developers to turn into luxury flats.

"Fire damage to The Greyhound"

In April 2005, fire broke out at the Greyhound in one of the wings in the early hours of the morning. A passing motorist raised the alarm and damage was restricted to three rooms on the top floor. The damage is now clearly seen approaching Folkingham from the south hill of Folkingham. It was not initially known how the fire started and who was responsible, but most put the blame on intruders.

The House of Correction

In the early 19th Century, Folkingham was part of Quarter Sessions, the higher court that dispensed justice for the area, which is why the House of Correction, or prison, was built. The present building dates back to 1808 and replaced an earlier one that stood in the village "Market Place", and consists of the original 19th century gateway and governor's house. It was closed in 1878 but was taken over in recent years by the Landmark Trust, an organisation that seeks out unusual and empty buildings throughout Britain and turns them into holiday accommodation with all mod cons. They transferred the House of Correction into a luxury holiday home with almost an acre of land that has become a desired stopping place with visitors from America and Japan.

t Andrew's Church

Folkingham Church is a notable feature of the village when coming down the hill but still seems tucked away within the "Market Place". It is not known when the church was built, but some say it to be between the 14th and 15th Century. The [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/87197 church] currently holds the old village whipping post and stocks. In 2006, the church was harshly damaged when gale force winds [http://homepages.which.net/~rex/bourne/folkingham5.htm blew down] two of the four pinnacles (clearly seen in Folkingham’s main picture), one of which crashed into the roof causing damaging costing more than £100,000.

The water tower

Although not technically in Folkingham, most agree the water tower a landmark of Folkingham. It was built in 1982 on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. It is 70 feet high and has a capacity of 54,000 gallons of water to boost supplies to the area in times of shortage. Before the current modern water tower was built, an iron water tower was used on the A151 from 1939.

Recent decline in Folkingham's businesses

The recent decline in businesses within small villages is especially apparent in Folkingham. In 1997, Folkingham had eight stable businesses including three public houses, a restaurant and a petrol station; now only four remain.

Folkingham's disappearing businesses

The Old Reading Rooms

The Reading Room was a very popular restaurant for Folkingham’s villagers in the 90s. In 1999, the restaurant moved to a new property over the road (and renamed it over the road) but didn't strive and closed a year later. The original restaurant is now a residential home.

The Greyhound

The Greyhound struggled to cope with several new owners over the late 90s and closed in 2003. It looks unlikely to return as a public house in the near future.

Butlers petrol station

Folkingham’s petrol station date back to the 1940s and was a family business up to its closure in 2003. The original petrol station stood opposite the old school but was later moved further down the "Market Place" due to lack of space. The business struggled in the later years due to bigger competitors selling petrol at a much reduced price. The location where the petrol station once stood is now occupied by three modern homes.

Floods

Every 5-6 years Folkingham suffers with floods that occur due to the water gathering up from the old RAF base and flowing down to the river that flows through the Village. The Floods Start at the Millennium green and over flows onto the A15 and up onto Billingborough road. In 2007 Folkingham saw some of its worst floods, both the police and the fire brigade was called to assist traffic and eventually closing the road altogether.

External links

* [http://homepages.which.net/~rex/bourne/folkingham.htm Portrait of the village]
* [http://www.astoft.co.uk/folkingham.htm Photos]
* [http://www.everingham.com/family/data2/falkingham.html Folkingham Castle]
* [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003201876,,00.html Ulrika with Mr Right in Folkingham]
* [http://boar.org.uk/ariwxo3PGFolkingham.htm Folkingham's entry in the Parliamentary Gazetteer of 1843-4]