 |
 |
| Pickworth, about 1900. The Blue Bell Inn, with thatched cottage and The Manor House behind. | Part of the Pickworth entry in the Domesday Book, 1086 |
Early Pickworth
The village dates from early Saxon times; the name means ‘the place or settlement of Pica’ (There is another Pickworth, some 15 miles to the south, in Rutland. Was our ‘Pica’ perhaps a Saxon property developer?)
In the Domesday Book (1086) three land holders are recorded in Pickworth: the Bishop of Durham, Gilbert of Ghent (who held extensive lands elsewhere), and Colsuain (a Saxon who held a large area in Pickworth). Details of their ox-teams, their farmed land and woodland are given. The text of the Pickworth Doomsday in given in the Pickworth Project book.
 |
|
Folkingham Road. Wide road verges are a feature of the area; many were once occupied by gardens and cottages. |
Village life through the ages
The Project’s book tells of villagers’ lives at different times in history, using sources such as wills and personal inventories, and church records. The early enclosure of Pickworth’s open fields, some interesting houses, the care of the poor, and village trades are recorded, and, covering more recent times, older residents contributed their recollections of village life before the recent changes.
The story of a school
In 1878 a school together with a headteacher’s house was built on a site between Pickworth and Walcot to serve the children of both villages. The school log books recorded the lives of the children and village, and told of attendance and absence, behaviour and attainments, inspectors’ reports and high days and holidays.
The school closed in 1971, and the buildings were converted as two houses.
A chapter in the Project’s book is devoted to the story of the school, and further detail is given in a small supplementary book on the school.
 |
|
Pickworth and Walcot School before conversion to two houses |