Papcastle Local History Group


PAPCASTLE LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

In the spring of 2007, a Papcastle Local History Group was formed. This followed a stimulating talk by one of the six inhabitants who have lived all their lives in the village .

The aim of the group was to research and record as much of the history of the village as possible.

There are 19 listed buildings in the village. These date back to late 17th and early 18th centuries.

There are also several other properties, smaller cottages, which date back this far and probably earlier.

The group set off to research anything of historical interest; the range covered

  • history of the houses from deeds
  • more recent history by interviews with persons with long associations with the village
  • analysis of census returns to identify patterns of social life development
  • collating the development of the village from the maps available

In the Spring of 2009, a decision had to be made – should the research continue? There is plenty of scope for more to be done –

  • by researching newspaper columns
  • studying the archives at the County Record Office
  • church records and so on

But this would involve many trips to the archives locations, involving many more tedious hours of work and not inconsiderable travel costs. Or should the group publish what it had already? The decision was made to publish now.

Eric Apperley wrote the first compilation and took this through to the finished product. The book “Papcastle History” was launched at an event in the Village Hall on 20th November 2009, at a price of £9.95 . Within days, over 125 copies had been sold and the costs of printing covered. The initial print run is now sold out and there are no plans to produce another one – not least because of the significant discoveries about Roman Papcastle which have taken place since 2009.

The further research is assigned to the next generation of local historians.