Owston Ferry One-Place Study

Owston Ferry is situated in the Isle of Axholme, occupying a position on the west bank of the River Trent roughly halfway between Gainsborough and Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire.

It is home to the remains of Kinairds Motte and Bailey Castle, a scheduled monument. This would have overlooked the settlements of Owston, from the Old Norse for ‘east farmstead’, on the slightly higher ground just west of the Trent and containing the Parish Church of St Martin’s and West Kinnard’s Ferry along the riverside.

A market was here until the late nineteenth century, and the village still possesses its Market Place. The village had over 40 shops at one point in its history as well as four public houses. There are several listed buildings within the village, and there is evidence of the village’s history both as a port and market, some shop fronts still being retained, and with old mills and malt kilns converted for residential use.

This study will research the people who lived in Owston Ferry, focusing on the nineteenth century and then working backwards. We also have an interest in the buildings in the village and how they changed over time.