monthly articles for the parish magazine
The Parish Magazine, The Diary, is part of village life and an important way of communicating news and events.
This is a collection of some of the articles that have appeared in the publication.
This is a collection of some of the articles that have appeared in the publication.
The Balding Family
The late Georgian house on the corner of Royston Road and the High Street in Barkway is known as the Flint House, but for most of its life was known as the Chestnuts. It was built by James Balding, a medical practitioner, and member of the Royal College of Surgeons ...
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Dorothy Bond
Spelling and arithmetic were the most important items in Barkway school. As we got older, Friday afternoons were for handiwork. The girls used to do sewing, and the boys used to do cane. They were allowed to redo cane chairs for people in the village, and they made boxes which were sold.
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Archaeological Dig
Saturday the 16th of July saw our group carry out our first archaeological dig. With the kind permission of Nicholas and Meriel Tufton, we dug two test pits in their grounds opposite the Red House. In a map of 1780, the plot had a row of cottages extending along the roadside ...
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Robert Dimsdale Part I
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| Robert Dimsdale Part I |
Robert Dimsdale Part II
Boyhood Memories
The garden at Barkway House seemed to have a lot of people involved, most important of which was Mr George Crouch. Commanding the garden and in charge of the glass, and often dressed in complete sort of macintosh outfits with a canister on his back and constantly spraying everything ...
| Robert Dimsdale Part II |
Robert Dimsdale part III
Boyhood Memories
Another feature of living in Barkway House is that it backs onto Church lane or it sides onto Church Lane and Manor Farm, which is at the end of it, the only other thing up there apart from the Vicarage and bred its own life. As a young boy I particularly remember Albert Sharp ...
| Robert Dimsdale III |
The Barkway
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| The Barkway Roman Hoard |
THE CLINTON
VAULT
In the graveyard of Barkway church next to the boundary hedge to the east, by the Barkway House boundary, lies the Clinton vault. It is surmounted by an enormous stone slab of around 4 metres square. The nearest quarry would be north of Peterborough. It must weigh at least a ton, so transportation methods ...
| The Clinton Vault |
DR THOMAS DIMSDALE
OF HERTFORD
The Diary recorded the death of Robert Dimsdale who was born in Barkway House. Robert was a direct descendant of Dr Thomas Dimsdale of Hertford (1712-1800) and had been working on a biography of this ancestor at the time of his death. Dr Dimsdale practised medicine as a young man in the 1730s.
| Dr Thomas Dimsdale |
Barkway Farms
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| Barkway Farms and Working Yards |
Fire Insurance
Marks
Fire insurance marks are metal plaques marked with the emblem of the insurance company which were affixed to the front of insured buildings as a guide to the insurance company's fire brigade. These identification marks were used in the eighteenth and nineteenth century in the days before municipal fire services were formed.
| Fire Insurance Marks |
Newsells Estate
in barkway - PART i
Newsells was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 and has been a major manor within Barkway over the centuries. The estate was in the possession of the Scales family for a long period in medieval times, but since then had not been in the ownership of a particular family for any lengthy period.
| Newsells Estate |
Newsells Estate
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| Newsells Estate Part II |
Barkway
School Memories
Barkway school memories from 1930s onwards; notes from an oral history interview with Geoff Whitby, recorded in 2007.
Barkway School. In the Infants we had Miss Parker. We started at 5 years of age, in my case in 1933. The middle class was Miss Hurry and Miss Lambert. Top class was Mr Williams, Headmaster ...
Barkway School. In the Infants we had Miss Parker. We started at 5 years of age, in my case in 1933. The middle class was Miss Hurry and Miss Lambert. Top class was Mr Williams, Headmaster ...
| Barkway School Memories |
the Saltonstall
Family
The Saltonstall family had an important association with Barkway in the 1600s.
Richard Saltonstall came originally from landed estates in Yorkshire and was a key figure in London during Queen Elizabeth the 1st’s reign. He was very much involved with the Skinners Guild of which he eventually became master ...
Richard Saltonstall came originally from landed estates in Yorkshire and was a key figure in London during Queen Elizabeth the 1st’s reign. He was very much involved with the Skinners Guild of which he eventually became master ...
| Manor Farm and Saltonstall Family |
The Burrs
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| The Burrs of Barkway |
Royston Road
old chapel site
The small graveyard beside the Royston Road is the site of a mid-Georgian chapel built around 1770. On the Newsells estate maps of 1780 it is shown within the existing plot, and identified as a Presbyterian Meeting House. Presumably it was in a poor state of repair by the 1870s, because a new chapel was constructed in the High Street...
| Royston Road old chapel site |
Barkway
Ravaged by Fire
In the year 1748 on August 18th, part of Barkway was ravaged by a fire.
A total of nineteen households submitted claims for lost household contents to local relevant charities. Existing records show that those making claims were probably tenants, and so not seeking compensation for loss of a dwelling...
A total of nineteen households submitted claims for lost household contents to local relevant charities. Existing records show that those making claims were probably tenants, and so not seeking compensation for loss of a dwelling...
| Barkway Ravaged by Fire |
Medieval Woodland in Barkway
In this area we have a number of ancient woods. They are usually characterised by having within their precincts plants such as bluebells, dog mercury, and wild garlic.
In medieval times woodland was regarded as a valuable asset. It contained timber for building, and small wood for poles, hurdles, and most importantly for domestic fuel...
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Memories of 1920
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| Memories of 1920s Barkway |
Windmills in
Barkway
Hertfordshire as a county is relatively rich in river systems, so that water mills are common. However, Barkway was one of those places in the higher north of the county which employed wind power. There is record of a windmill in existence in the 13th century, but its exact whereabouts is not clear...
| Windmills in Barkway |
