Eastoft
Before the boundary changes of 1974 and the emergence of Humberside, Eastoft village held the unusual distinction of being located within two counties, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. This was most evident when, before Vermuyden's drainage of the Isle, the navigable River Don meandered through the very centre and formed a natural boundary line. Now the river is no more, the channel finally drying up in the mid 1800's.
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A grassed area running midway and half the length of the A161 and High Street, provides a clue as to where the old boundary existed, several mature trees now grow there. A marble plaque close by tells us, "The seven trees opposite were planted to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII 1901. The improvement to the green was carried out to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II 1977. St Bartholomew’s church is situated on the "Yorkshire" side of the village and was consecrated the Archbishop of York on the 13th November, 1855. The whole cost of the church, with churchyard and parsonage was borne by Lady Strickland. Immediately to the south stands the Church of England Primary School, opened on 28th November 1961. The original school, on almost the same site, was built in 1847, chiefly through the solo efforts of Rev. F. Sugden, Vicar of Adlingfleet. It was enlarged in 1873 and further enlarged in 1902. The Primitive Methodist Chapel, erected in 1869, is one of several properties that are actually built upon the old river bed. The adjoining building was originally a Sunday school.
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The earliest known record of Eastoft dates from 1164, when there was a dispute between the Vicar of Adlingfleet and the abbot of Selby. Both claimed rights to the tithes from Reedness and Eastoft, and the dispute was settled when the Archbishop of York intervened, and ruled that the vicar of Adlingfleet should receive the tithes during his lifetime, but that he should make a payment of 40 shillings each year to the Abbey at Selby.
Eastoft became a separate parish on 25 September 1855, when it was created from parts of Adlingfleet and Crowle. In 1900 Kelly's Directory noted that although it was a single ecclesiastical parish, it was still two civil parishes, known as Eastoft, Yorkshire and Eastoft, Lincolnshire. The area of the parish was listed as 1,327 acres (537 ha) in Yorkshire and 1,312 acres (531 ha) in Lincolnshire. At the time, the church, the school and the vicarage were all located in Yorkshire, The River Don used to run directly through the middle of the village, on its route to its confluence with the River Trent near Adlingfleet. However, in 1626, Cornelius Vermuyden began the drainage of Hatfield Chase, and re-routed the river northwards from Stainforth to join the River Aire. He also re-routed the River Idle and the River Torne, both of which joined it at Sandtoft and contributed to its flow. Parts of the original course are marked on modern maps, one to the south-west and the other to the north-east of the village and their orientation points to the presence of several large meanders in the vicinity. The Paupers Drain to the south of Eastoft predates the works of Vermuyden. Following his work, there was social unrest, which was not finally resolved until 1717. After that, some improvements to the drainage of the area were made, including a new sewer, which crossed the Pauper's Drain, and was designed to remove water from Eastoft, Crowle and Luddington. It drained into the River Trent through a sluice at Keadby, but the sluice failed in 1761, resulting in devastating floods. Between 1903 and 1965, the village was served by Eastoft railway station on the Fockerby branch of the Axholme Joint Railway, although passenger services ended in 1933. The station was by the main road over 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north of the village, the first sod was cut on 22 September 1898 by William Halkon of Eastoft Hall, the chairman of the directors. One of the contractors' locomotives used in the building of the line was named Halkon, after the chairman, and was used to convey a special train when the North Eastern Railway inspected the line, prior to taking it over from the original company. At the time, only Eastoft station was finished, and was cited as an example of how the others should be completed. The final train carrying passengers was chartered by North Axholme Secondary School and ran on 1 April 1965, four days before closure. |