Gamston

The Library at East Retford will prove useful in your research.

• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of St. Peter's Church graveyard on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2014.
   
• 17 Mar 1851 - Joshua BROOKE (rector of Gamston from 1812 to 1851 son of the Revd S BROOKE rector of Gamston from 1743 to 1778) was buried on 17 Mar 1851 aged 90.
   

• The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

• There was no mention of a church here in the Domesday Survey of 1058.
   
• There is some evidence of a church here in 1185.
   
• The Anglican parish church was built in the late 13th century and dedicated to Saint Peter.
   
• The church chancel was thoroughly rebuilt in 1517.
   
• The church was restored in 1855.
   
• The church was restored again in 1938-39.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Peter's Church on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
   
• And Richard has another photograph of St. Peter's Church on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Church tower on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2014.
   
• John MELLORS tells us this about the weight of Gamston Bells finished in April 1722:
   
  1. 1st Bell 4h 0q 15p ( 463 lbs)
  2. 2nd Bell 5h 1q 14p ( 602 lbs)
  3. 3rd Bell 6h 1q 22p ( 722 lbs)
  4. 4th Bell 7h 2q 15p ( 855 lbs)
  5. 5th Bell 8h 3q 11p ( 991 lbs)
  6. Total Wt 32h 1q 21p (3633 lbs)

Make up

• Old metal 23h 0q 13p (2589 lbs)
• New metal 9h 1q 8p (1044 lbs)
   
• The church closed for worship on 1 November 2015 and the ecclesiastical parish merged with Eaton.
   
• The Churches Conservation Trust re-opened the church on 3 Novembber, 2021, but religious services were not being held at last check.

• The Anglican parish register dates from the sixteenth century.
   
• The International Genealogical Index (IGI) includes the Bishop's Transcript from this parish for the period 1747-1843.
   
• You might find this bit on Mary SHAW interesting.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of Worksop.
   
• In 1881 the parish had a small Baptist chapel operating.
   

• Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
   
• The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
   

This village, township and parish lie 136 miles north of London and 3 miles south of East Retford. The River Idle runs through the parish. Gamston Wood stands just to the east and is owned by the Forestry Commission since 1984. The parish covers 1,974 acres.

The River Maun joins the River Meden just south of Gamston Village and they become the Idle River. If you are planning a visit:

• Roger GEACH has a photograph of the River Idle on Geo-graph as it passes through Gamston, taken in May, 2009.
   
• Roger GEACH also has a photograph of Gamston village on Geo-graph from the Retford Road, taken in September, 2008.
   
• By automobile, turn north off the A1 motorway at East Drayton on to the A638.
   
• Gamston Village has a Facebook connection to current information on what is happening in the village.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Gamston to another place.

• See our Maps page for additional resources.
   

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK709760 (Lat/Lon: 53.276251, -0.938206), Gamston which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

The Gamston Medical Centre was founded in 1994 and is part of the National Health Service. Patient records are protected by a 100-year closure law.

• B. HILTON has a photograph of the World War II Firing Range, which is closer to Eaton than it is to Gamston, on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2005. It was used by men from surrounding towns.
   
• West of the village on the B6387 road is the former RAF aerodrome which has become Retford Gamston Airport. The RAF field opened in December, 1942. In May 1943 the field was transferred to Bomber Command Training.
   
• After the war, the airfield was closed and sat unused.
   
• In May 1953 the airport was reopened as a satellite for nearby Worksop Airport and 211 Advanced Flying School (later No. 4 Flying Training School) made it their home.
   
• In 1993 Gamston Aviation Limited purchased the airport and took over operations.  Many smaller civilian aircraft use the runways.
   
• The War Memorial is a bell hung in the churchtower and a brass commemorative plaque in the church.
   

• For a list of names on the War Memorial plaque, see the Nottingham County Council site.
   
• The inscription on the War Memorial plaque can also be seen at the Southwell and Nottingham Church History site.
   
• These are the names inscribed on the brass plaque at St. Peter's Church:

1. Harry Borwick
2. Joseph Carnall
3. Sidney Holland
4. Harold Orwin
5. James Slater
6. Herbert William Steads
7. Arthur Swannack

The name often appears as ‘Gamelston’ in older records.

The West Bridgeford Wire includes Gamston in its reporting area.

• The place was an ancient parish in Nottingham county and it became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• The parish was in the Hatfield division of the ancient Bassetlaw Wapentake (Hundred) in the northern division of the county.
   
• You may contact the local Holme Pierrepont & Gamston Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to help with family history lookups.
   
• District governance is provided by the Rushcliffe Borough Council.
   

• Bastardy cases would be heard at the Retford petty session hearings held in West Retford.
   
• After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, this parish became a part of the East Retford Poor Law Union.
   

Year	Population
1841	331
1871	251
1881	252
1891	238
1901	221
1911	244

• The Revd. Mr. BROOKE A. M. Rector of Gamston was appointed headmaster of the Grammar Free School at Leeds Yorks in Aug 1764.
   
• Gamston Primary School has its own website, but there are NO students records online.
   
• B. HILTON has a photograph of the new Gamston Village School on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2005. The school was built on the east side of the village and opened in 2005.