Folkingham is an English village and civil parish on the northern edge of the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It lies on the A15 road north of Bourne. The civil and ecclesiastical parishes have the same boundaries. The 2001 Census gave a population of 729, which rose to 796 at the 2011 census.
Village
The village has several historic buildings, such as the House of Correction and The Greyhound. The area around the castle site became a designated conservation area in 1968. The local economy today is still based mainly on agriculture. There are several footpaths that pass through the village, providing one of a number of activities that attract visitors. The New Inn is a pub/restaurant in a 17th-century building in West Street. There is a tea shop and Hansens Handmade Chocolate shop in the Market Place.
Toponomy
The place-name Folkingham seems to contain an Old English personal name, Folc, + ingahām , the village of the people of such-and-such; the village of the people called after so-and-so, so perhaps "Homestead or village of Folc's" or "Folca's people". Folkingham appears in the Domesday survey of 1086 as Folchingeham, Folchingham and Fulchingeham.
History
A castle was built in the 12th century by Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln and enlarged by Henry Beaumont in the 14th century. He was given a licenceito to crenelate it in 1312. The last documentary record of occupation of this castle dates from 1372. John Leland described it as a ruin in 1535, in which state it survived until the Civil war. The site was later used as the village house of correction. In the late 18th century, Folkingham market place was used for stacking timber. Around it was a horse pond, a market cross and a small town hall. The market place was divided by chains into areas for sheep, cattle, horses and poultry, and for the sale of farm produce and other wares. In 1788 the third Richard Wynne, then lord of the manor, was in financial difficulties and sold off the estate to Sir Gilbert Heathcote, whose great-grandfather, the first baronet, was a member of Parliament, Lord Mayor of London and governor of the Bank of England. When Sir Gilbert acquired the estate he wanted to transform Folkingham into a small market town. His changes included clearing the market place and having it equipped to cater for the stage coaches using the main London to Lincoln road which passed through. Folkingham was the birthplace of Elizabeth Wynne Fremantle, the main author of The Wynne Diaries. The Falkingham Gas Light Company was founded in 1863. The installation almost certainly used a Water gas or combined Water Gas/Producer gas system to produce gas from coal. No large-scale plant was installed in the village. In 1940 RAF Folkingham, to the south-west of the village, began use as a Second World War airfield. It provided for troop carrier and airborne units and acted as a decoy airfield. During the 1950s and 1960s it was occupied by Bomber Command as a ballistic missile base. It is no longer in service.
Notable buildings
The House of Correction
In the early 19th century Folkingham was part of Quarter Sessions, the higher court that dispensed justice for the area, which explains why a House of Correction, or minor prison, was built. It was constructed on the site of Folkingham Castle. The surviving Grade II* listed buildings consist of the original 19th-century governor's house and gateway, dating from 1808 and 1825. It was closed in 1878 but was taken over in about 1980 by the Landmark Trust, which converted the Gateway into a holiday home.
''The Greyhound''
The Greyhound, once a coaching inn, dates back to 1650. It has since been converted into flats. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Parish church
The Church of England parish church of Saint Andrew originates from the late 12th century and was largely completed by the late 15th, with restorations carried out in 1825, 1858 and 1860. It has early Decorated Gothicarcades and a mainly Early Englishchancel, with a Normanpier where there was an opening into a chantry chapel. On the south side of the church are the remains of stocks and a whipping-post. The church is a Grade I listed building. The church is a prominent feature of the village, but is inconspicuous from the Market Place. In 2006 gale force winds blew down two of the four pinnacles, one of which fell onto the roof causing damaging costing more than £100,000 to repair. Folkingham parish is part of the South Lafford Group of parishes in the Lafford Deanery, Diocese of Lincoln.
Folkingham Manor
Folkingham Manor House is located just off the Market place in the centre of Folkingham. It was built for Lord Clinton in the 17th century, out of stone taken from the castle/
Public transport
There is a daily express coach service to London and Hull. There are one to three buses per weekday to Grantham, one per weekday to Bourne and Sleaford, and an extra Sleaford run on schooldays. The nearest railway station is at Heckington. Lincolnshire County Council operates a pre-booking bus service from the village to nearby towns and back.
