Place:Barnack, Northamptonshire, England

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NameBarnack
Alt namesBeornicansource: Oxford: English Place Names (1960) p 27
Bernacsource: Oxford: English Place Names (1960) p 27
Bernecasource: Oxford: English Place Names (1960) p 27
Bernechsource: Oxford: English Place Names (1960) p 27
Berneksource: Oxford: English Place Names (1960) p 27
Pilsgatesource: hamlet in parish
Southorpesource: hamlet in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish
Coordinates52.633°N 0.407°W
Located inNorthamptonshire, England     (1011 - 1965)
Also located inSoke of Peterborough, England     (1888 - 1965)
Huntingdon and Peterborough, England     (1965 - 1974)
Cambridgeshire, England     (1974 - )
See alsoNassaborough Hundred, Northamptonshire, Englandhundred in which it was located
Barnack Rural, Soke of Peterborough, Englandrural district in which it was located 1894-1974
Peterborough District, Cambridgeshire, Englandnon-metropolitan district since 1974
City of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Englandunitary authority since 1998


Barnack is a village and civil parish which was part of Northamptonshire from the formation of that county in Saxon times. From 1888 it was part of the Soke of Peterborough, which had a County Council independent of the rest of Northamptonshire, although remained nominally part of that county.

In 1965 the Soke of Peterborough merged with neighbouring Huntingdonshire to the south, creating the county of "Huntingdon and Peterborough". This authority was short-lived, being absorbed into Cambridgeshire in 1974. In 1996 the Peterborough District (including the parish of Barnack) became a unitary authority indepedendent of Cambridgeshire administration, but remaining nominally part of the county. To further confuse the question of in which county Barnack lies, the postal address is "Barnack, Stamford, Lincolnshire", as Stamford in Lincolnshire is nearest post town, but Barnack itself has never been part of Lincolnshire.

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Barnack is a village and civil parish, now in the Peterborough District unitary authority of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Barnack is in the northwest of the unitary authority, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Pilsgate about 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Barnack. Both Barnack and Pilsgate are on the B1443 road. The 2011 UK census recorded a parish population of 931.

Barnack is historically part of the Soke of Peterborough, which was associated with Northamptonshire but had its own County Council from 1888 until 1965. From 1894 until 1965 there was a Barnack Rural District that was a subdivision of the Soke, and which formed part of Huntingdon and Peterborough until 1974.

Barnack is notable for its former limestone industry, its Anglo-Saxon parish church and an unusual early Bronze Age burial.

Pilsgate

Pilsgate is a hamlet in Northamptonshire. Historically it was part of the parish of Barnack, but in 1866 it became a civil parish in its own right, having already been treated as a separate parish for the purposes of the 1851 and 1861 censuses. However, Pilsgate's independence was short-lived, with the civil parish abolished in 1887 and its territory absorbed back into Barnack parish, where it remains today. There was no church at Pilsgate and baptisms, marriages and burials of Pilsgate residents continued to be at St John the Baptist church in Barnack. (References to Pilsgate are redirected to Barnack.)

Southorpe

Southorpe is a small village and civil parish. Prior to 1866 it was a hamlet in the parish of Barnack. There is no church at Southorpe, and for ecclesiastical purposes it remains part of Barnack, therefore baptisms, marriages and burials relating to Southorpe residents will all be found in the Barnack registers.

Notable People

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Charles Kingsley, author of The Water Babies, spent his childhood at the Rectory. His brother Henry Kingsley was born there in 1830. They were the sons of the Rev. Charles Kingsley the elder and Mary, née Lucas. The Rectory was largely rebuilt later in the 19th century and is now called Kingsley House.

The painter Wilfrid Wood (1888–1976) lived in a 17th-century thatched cottage, Littlefield on Station Road, Barnack from 1938. The village hall is now named after him.[1]

Research Tips

  • If you are researching anyone whose lifetime preceded (or even mostly preceded) 1889, the places in which he or she lived are going to be in Northamptonshire rather than the Soke of Peterborough. The Soke of Peterborough was actually a section of Northamptonshire.
  • Original historical documents relating to the Soke of Peterborough are held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office in Peterborough.
  • GENUKI does not provide webpages for the Soke of Peterborough and its provision for Northamptonshire is very limited.
  • The FamilyTree Wiki has a series of pages on Northamptonshire (including the Soke of Peterborough).
  • A Vision of Britain through Time, section "Units and Statistics" leads to analyses of population and organization of the county from 1889 through 1974. There are pages available for all civil parishes, municipal boroughs and other administrative divisions.
  • Map of Northamptonshire in 1900 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time shows the Soke of Peterborough (not labelled as such) in the top right hand corner.
  • Map of Northamptonshire divisions (including the Soke of Peterborough) in 1944 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Barnack. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.