Helpston

Helpston

St Botolph's Church
Helpston
Helpston shown within Cambridgeshire
Population 870 
OS grid reference TF1205
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Peterborough
Postcode district PE6
Dialling code 01733
Police Cambridgeshire
Fire Cambridgeshire
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England

Helpston (also, formerly, "Helpstone") is an English village formerly in the Soke of Peterborough, geographically in Northamptonshire, subsequently (1965–1974) in Huntingdon and Peterborough, then in Cambridgeshire, and administered by the City of Peterborough unitary authority.

The civil parish of Helpston covers an area of 1,860 acres (750 ha) and had an estimated population in 2005 of 870.[1]

The parish church is dedicated to St Botolph; the chancel window was created by Francis Skeat and depicts "Christ in Majesty".[2][3]

The poet John Clare was born in Helpston in 1793 and is buried in the churchyard of St Botolph's.[2] The thatched cottage where he was born was bought by the John Clare Trust in 2005.[4] The Cottage, at 12 Woodgate, has been restored using traditional building methods and is open to the public. In 2013 the John Clare Trust received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help preserve the building and provide educational activities for youngsters visiting the cottage.[5]

The name Helpston is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means the farmstead (tun) first settled by Help (an Old English personal name).[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Peterborough City Council Population Estimates Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 Peel, Robin. "Helpston, St Botolph". Parish churches in and Around Peterborough. robschurches. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "Stained glass window". St Botolph's Barn. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  4. ↑ clarecottage.org
  5. ↑ "Peterborough heritage sites gets big lottery boost" Peterborough Telegraph 13 June 2013
  6. ↑ A Key to English Place-Names


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