Surveyors Field

The Surveyor's Field is located off Torksey Ferry Road on the opposite side of the road from Cottam Power Station. The 10.695 acre site. The field was allocated to the parish under the 1845 Inclosure Act, initially two fields, 1 for the Surveyor of the Highways and 1 for the Surveyor of Roads and Drains. The Highway Act 1835 made changes to the administration of highways. From 1836 each parish was to appoint a surveyor, and was empowered to make a rate to keep the roads under its control in good order. The surveyor could be convicted and fined by the county justices for failing to keep the highways in repair. The 1835 Act also changed the law, with new roads not being declared highways, and therefore repairable by the parish, unless they met certain criteria. The lands of the Surveyors passed to Parish Council's under the Local Govt Act 1894. Parish Council holds the account book of this 'body' dated 18/04/1881 at this time it was referred to as 'The Freeholders of Rampton' This name was reverted back to 'Surveyor of Roads & Drains' on 1/04/1888 and remained under this name collecting the rental income from the field until 06/10/1953. At this point the account book ceases and the ownership of the field and its accounts is transferred to Rampton Parish Council.

The Old Minute books report the annual appointment of the position of Surveyor of Roads and Drains, it was a paid position of £3 per year and similar to the village warden, if a sign needed putting up the council got him to do it, he had various warden like duties.

17/04/1900 Annual Parish Meeting – It was proposed by Mr Quickfall seconded by Mr Hoyland that J H Olivant be elected as Surveyor of Roads and Drains. The Roads and drains fields to be grazed and not mown, Mr Quickfall 6 months notice to quit 30s per acre.

The field continued to be rented to local farmers by the Parish Council along with the nearby 2 Acre Pinder Field and 0.5 Acre Moorpool Charity field until the 1990's when the expansion of the Gravel Quarry resulted in the land being rented to Tarmac (formally Redland). The quarrying and extraction finished in recent years and the land is in the final stages of restoration by Tarmac.

The Parish Council recently obtained a grant for an energy study to take place to ascertain whether the land could be utilised for a renewable energy project.