| Folkingham |
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| 1870-1873 | 1879-1881 | Census Mystery | 1881-1899 | National School |
When my great grandfather John Pile died in 1954 his obituary in the Sleaford Standard said that he moved to Folkingham with his family when he was four years old; if this is correct then they arrived in Folkingham between 25 January and 2 April 1871.
The reasons why David Pile would go to Folkingham are just as unclear as why he should move from Westbourne to Grantham in the 1840’s, I had previously thought that the reason may have been connected with the railways, during David’s early years in Grantham he had been a labourer on the railways. However by 1868 David had become a shopkeeper in Inner Street, Kelly’s Directory of that year lists him as such but gives no clue as to the type of shop he kept and he may have had a connection with another trader, Charles Lockton in Grantham who several years later would witness David’s will.
The Pile family appear in Folkingham in the 1871 census taken on 2 April. This shows David Pile as a 44 year old gardener, his wife, Mary was 50 and their children Emma, Edmund, Henry and John were fourteen, twelve, ten and four years respectively; Edmund and Henry are referred to as scholars. The census confirms the birthplaces as Westbourne for David and Spittlegate for the rest. Also in the household is Jane Orman, the younger sister of Mary Pile. Jane was 46 years old, unmarried and described as an annuitant; she too is confirmed as being born in Spittlegate. The family were living in a property called Barnack, this house has never been located although in the census schedule Barnack appears immediately before the gas works and the House of Correction, this possibly places the property at the south end of the market square near the farmhouse known as The Elms and in an area long established as orchards. Several mid nineteenth century maps of Folkingham show a range of buildings on the east side of the main road in the orchards which may be cottages, these buildings no longer exist.
White's Directory of 1872 gives a further clue to how David Pile made his living listing him as a 'Market Gardener' which suggests that he may have operated a fruit growing business from the orchards at the south end of the village, growing the produce and selling to the local population, whether this was any more than a cottage industry is not known.
In February 1873 the Folkingham Vestry Minute Book records that the Magistrates at Bourne received a recommendation that David Pile (amongst others) be made a Parish Constable. This would have given him some responsibility for upholding law and order within the parish. The position of Parish Constable was an ancient role which originated as a law keeper for the manorial court, after the decline of the manorial system the constable became a parish official appointed by the Vestry; in 1842 the Parish Constables Act required them to be appointed by local Justices. The Parish Constable survived into the nineteenth century gradually being replaced as County police forces were established. Parish Constables were entitled to payment by the Vestry unfortunately there are no record of these in the Vestry minutes.
