Branston is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Croxton Kerrial in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the A607 road, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Grantham and 7 miles north-east of Melton Mowbray, on the southern edge of the Vale of Belvoir, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Belvoir Castle. Knipton Reservoir is 700 yards (640 m) to the north. In 1931 the parish had a population of 249. [1]
According to A Dictionary of British Place Names, Branston could be "a farmstead or a village of a man called Brant" – "Brant" from an Old English person name and "ton" for "enclosure, farmstead, village, manor, [or] estate". [2] [3]
In the 1086 Domesday account Branston is referred to as "Brantestone" [4] in the Framland Hundred of north-east Leicestershire. It had 21 households, 10 villagers, 1 smallholder 6 freemen and 4 slaves, with a meadow of 16 acres (0.1 km2) and 2 mills. In 1066 Leofnoth of Branston was Lord of the Manor; after 1086 this transferred to Ralph of Kimcote, with the Bishop of Lincoln becoming Tenant-in-chief. [5]
The Parish Register of 1732 calls itself "A true register of all the Births, Burials & Marriages in Braunston near Croxton Kyriall in the County of Leicester in the sixth year of the reign of King George the second". [6]
On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Croxton Kerrial. [7]
The Grade II* listed St Guthlac's Church, Branston originated in the 13th century, with alterations up the 15th. New chancel and nave roofs were added in 1895–1896 by George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner, Gothic Revival architects. [8] Further Grade II listed buildings are three 18th-century farmhouses, [9] [10] [11] the early 19th-century Old Rectory, [12] and the Village Hall dating from 1843. [13]
Iron ore was quarried in two areas near Branston. The first quarry was north of the village on the east side of the Barkestone Road. Ore was first obtained in 1915 and the quarrying worked its way southwards and then northwards again, a little to the east, back to a point close to where it started. The quarries closed in 1949. The ore was carried by narrow-gauge tramway to the tipping dock at the terminus of the Great Northern Railway's Eaton Branch Railway, from where it was taken away by railway. The quarries were worked at first by hand with the aid of explosives. A steam digger was introduced in 1923 and diesel diggers in 1936. The tramway was worked by steam locomotives. [14]
There was a second set of quarries to the west of the village on either side of the Eaton Road. Quarrying began on the south side of the road close to Eaton Grange in 1922 and finished close to the road leading to Lings Hill in 1951. In 1952, new quarries were opened on the north side of the road, working towards the village. The last ore was obtained in 1957. The ore was taken away by a second narrow-gauge tramway via Eastwell and trans-shipped onto the main railway near Harby. A bridge had been constructed on the road to Lings Hill ready for the tramway to reach a new quarry east of the road, but this quarry was never started. Quarrying was first done with the aid of steam diggers; diesel machines were introduced in 1936. [15]
Woolsthorpe by Belvoir, also known as Woolsthorpe is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 415. It is situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) west from Grantham, and adjoins the county border with Leicestershire. The neighbouring village of Belvoir lies on the other side of the border. Grantham Canal is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north-east at its closest point.
Brixworth is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162, increasing to 5,228 at the 2011 census. The village's All Saints' Church is of Anglo-Saxon origin.
Pitsford is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. According to 2001 census, the parish's population was 636 people, increasing to 671 at the 2011 census.
Lamport is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is on the A508, about 8 miles (13 km) south of Market Harborough and 8 miles (13 km) north of Northampton. Nearby is Lamport Hall. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 207 people, including Hanging Houghton and increasing to 225 at the 2011 Census.
Denton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 273 at the 2011 census. It is situated approximately 3 miles (5 km) both south-west of Grantham and west from the A1 road.
Ab Kettleby is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, located 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Melton Mowbray, on the A606 road. It had a population of 501 in 2001; at the 2011 census this had increased to 529.
Tilton on the Hill is a village and a former civil parish, now in the parish of Tilton on the Hill and Halstead in the Harborough district of Leicestershire. The population of the civil parish of Tilton on the Hill and Halstead at the 2011 census was 601. It lies 2 miles north of the A47, on the B6047 to Melton Mowbray. Halstead civil parish was merged with Tilton on 1 April 1935, while the deserted medieval village of Whatborough was merged in on 1 April 1994. Marefield remains a separate civil parish, but is part of the Tilton Electoral Ward. In 1931 the parish of Tilton had a population of 152. St Peter's Tilton, the Parish Church is in the parish of Halstead, as is the vicarage.
Belvoir is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The nearest town is Grantham, 13 kilometres (8 mi) east of the village.
Waltham on the Wolds is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold, in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It lies about 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Melton Mowbray and 11 miles (17.7 km) south-west of Grantham on the main A607 road. In 1931 the parish had a population of 510. The population of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold was 967 in 2011.
Sproxton is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Melton in Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Lincolnshire. It has approximately 80 occupied dwellings (2021) and a population of 480, rising to 658 at the 2011 census.
Croxton Kerrial is a village and civil parish in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England, 6.6 miles (10.6 km) south-west of Grantham, 7.9 miles (12.7 km) north-east of Melton Mowbray, and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) west of Leicestershire's border with Lincolnshire. The civil parish includes the village of Branston and had a population of 530 at the 2011 census.
Eaton is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, situated in the Vale of Belvoir. The population at the 2011 census was 648. The civil parish includes nearby Eastwell to the west of the village. Eaton has a church, a village hall and a children's park, but the public house called The Castle and its adjacent shop have closed.
Dallington is an area and former civil parish about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the centre of Northampton, now in the parish of Northampton, in the West Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. Dallington was formerly a separate village. At the 2011 census the population was listed in the Spencer ward of Northampton Council.
Knipton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Belvoir, in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It lies about 6 miles (10 km) from the town of Grantham, just off the A607, and 10 miles (16 km) from Melton Mowbray. It borders the Duke of Rutland's estate at Belvoir Castle. Although the village is in Leicestershire, it has a Nottinghamshire postcode and a Lincolnshire (Grantham) STD code. In 1931 the parish had a population of 273. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Belvoir.
Harston is a crossroads village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Belvoir, in the Melton district, in Leicestershire, England, near the border with Lincolnshire. The nearest town is Grantham, about 6 miles (10 km) to the north-east. It once contained several quarries for iron ore. Part of the village borders Lincolnshire. In 1931 the parish had a population of 182. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Belvoir.
Eastwell is a village and ecclesiastical parish in Leicestershire, England.
The Waltham Iron Ore Tramway was a 1,000 mm gauge industrial tramway serving the ironstone pits of the Waltham Iron Ore Company, a subsidiary of the Staveley Coal and Iron Company. It was located to the north of the village of Branston in Leicestershire on the edge of the Belvoir Estate. The tramway operated from 1884 until 1958.
The Eaton Branch Railway was a standard gauge industrial railway built to serve ironstone quarries around the village of Eaton in Leicestershire. It operated from 1884 until 1965.
St Guthlac's Church is a church in Branston, Leicestershire. It is a Grade II* listed building.