Little Ponton and Stroxton is a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. [1] According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 135 across 62 homes, [2] increasing to 235 at the 2011 census. [3]
The civil parish contains the villages of Little Ponton and Stroxton, the Nature reserve of Woodnock Valley, The site of a Roman settlement, and part of the Roman road of Ermine Street (known locally as the High Dyke). [4]
The parish was created in 1931 by combining the former civil parishes of Little Ponton and Stroxton. [5]
Local democracy is represented by a parish council, which has been criticised for certain technical failings. [6] [7] A Community Governance Review exploring whether to abolish the council, restore it, or instigate a merger with its neighbour at Great Ponton, was initiated in 2023. [8] Concluding in 2024, 65.9% of Community Governance Review respondents answered that they preferred no change, with 55% of those who wished change backing merger with Great Ponton's parish council. [9]
The site of a Roman settlement at Saltersford on the Witham has been identified as the Roman town of Causennae or Causennis mentioned in the Antonine itinerary. [10] [11] [12] Saltersford itself was part of an ancient trading route from Droitwich to the Wash. [10] [13]
Part of the Roman road of Ermine Street (known locally as the High Dyke) passes through the parish. [4]
The parish is bisected by the A1 road, in the south following the path of its predecessor, The Great North Road. At SK921319 they diverge. The new route heads NorthWest as the Grantham Bypass; the older route still runs North into Grantham over Spitalgate Hill, now numbered B1174. [4]
The older Roman road, High Dyke, crosses the eastern end of the parish. The River Witham flows south to north through the parish, and the East Coast Main Line runs parallel to that, slightly more to the east. [4]
Little Ponton , Saltersford and the River Witham are in a valley at around 60 m above sea level. The land to the east of the Witham rises to about 120 m at Poplar farm the edge of the parish. To the west of the river, the land also rises. Sproxton is in the far west of the parish, at 108 m, on Ponton Heath. This basic 'V' shape is further complicated by the Woodnock Valley and the valley of the little stream from Sproxton cut across this landscape, little deep valleys at right angles to the Witham. Outside the villages themselves the land is almost entirely arable. There are small, isolated, wooded coverts, but the only significant woodland is at Ponton Park Wood . [4]
The bedrock of the parish is the Lincolnshire limestone. To the west, on Ponton Heath, the lower series and to the east, around High Dyke, the upper Lincolnshire limestone. The valley of the Witham includes its own alluvial deposits of clay, silt and gravel, and the small elevated platform on which Little Ponton sits is formed of post-glacial sand and gravels. The host of springs around Stroxon are typical of the Lower Lincolnshire limestones. [4] [14]
Woodnook Valley has been a SSSI since March 1986. [15] It is an example of a calcareous grassland. On the site are two types of orchid - the early purple orchid, and the man orchid. There is also the carline thistle, the mouse-ear hawkweed, harebell, glaucous sedge and the common centaury. Insect life is apparent when grassland plants are in flower. Garden bumblebees can be seen on field scabious and lycaenid butterflies typical of this habitat such as the small copper and common blue, and a variety of browns including meadow brown, gatekeeper and ringlet can also be seen. Raptors such as the kestrel, buzzard and red kite also inhabit the area, hunting small rodents and rabbits which inhabit the grassland.
Grantham is a market town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies 23 miles (37 km) south of Lincoln and 22 miles (35 km) east of Nottingham. The population in 2016 was put at 44,580. The town is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of the South Kesteven District.
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. Its council is based in Grantham. The district also includes the towns of Bourne, Market Deeping and Stamford, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Ancaster is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, on the site of a Roman town. The population of the civil parish was 1,317 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,647 at the 2011 census. The civil parish includes the settlements of Sudbrook and West Willoughby.
Waddington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) south of Lincoln on the A607 Grantham Road. The village is known for its association with RAF Waddington. At the 2001 Census Waddington had a population of 6,086, increasing to 6,122 at the 2011 census. It grew to 12,622 and this included the village of Bracebridge Heath,
Barkston is an English village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The parish population was 497 at the 2001 census and 493 at the 2011 census. The village lies about 4 miles (6 km) north of the market town of Grantham, on the A607, just south of the junction with the A153 to Ancaster.
The Lincoln Cliff or Lincoln Edge is a portion of a major escarpment that runs north–south through the historic divisions of Lindsey and Kesteven in central Lincolnshire and is a prominent landscape feature in a generally flat portion of the county. Towards its northern end, near Scunthorpe, it is sometimes referred to as the Trent Cliff. The name preserves an obsolete sense of the word "cliff", which could historically refer to a hillside as well as a precipitous rock face.
Belton and Manthorpe is a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, consisting of Belton and Manthorpe, just north of Grantham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 517 in 192 households. By 2011 the authorities recorded 528 people in 216 homes.
Great Ponton is an English village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, 3 miles (5 km) south of Grantham on the A1 trunk road, which bisects the village. The tower of the parish church is a roadside landmark. The 2001 census recorded a population of 333, of whom all were of white ethnic origin and 87 per cent described themselves as Christian. The average age was 40. The population of the civil parish had risen to 379 at the 2011 census. It was estimated at 369 in 2019.
Colsterworth is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, less than half a mile (0.8 km) west of the A1, about 7 miles (11 km) south of Grantham, and 12 miles (19 km) north-west of Stamford. The village with the hamlet of Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth had a recorded population of 1,713 at the time of the 2011 census, in an area of 1,465 hectares.
Wyville is a village in the civil parish of Wyville cum Hungerton, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, and situated approximately 5 miles (8 km) south-west from Grantham The whole parish covers about 1,670 acres (6.8 km2). The population is included in the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton.
Stroxton is a village in the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) south from the centre of Grantham and about 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west from Great Ponton and the A1 road.
Careby Aunby and Holywell is a civil parish in the district of South Kesteven, south-west Lincolnshire, in England. It stretches from the county border with Rutland in the west to the River West Glen in the east. The B1176 road from Corby Glen passes through Careby and on past Aunby toward Stamford. The main London to Scotland railway line passes through the parish, the line upon which Mallard took the speed record for the LNER.
Manthorpe is a village in the civil parish of Belton and Manthorpe, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is on the northern edge of the town of Grantham and on the Grantham to Lincoln A607 road, between the East Coast Main Line and the River Witham.
High Dyke is a minor road following a length of the Roman Road Ermine Street in the English county of Lincolnshire, between Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth and Ancaster, and onwards nearly to Bracebridge Heath. It is also the name of a small settlement on that road, 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east from Great Ponton, near to the mouth of Stoke Tunnel on the East Coast Main Line. High Dyke is also a name for the general area between Easton and Great Ponton. On the Ordnance Survey 1:25000 sheets it is spelled High Dike.
Little Ponton is a village in the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies 2 miles (3 km) south of Grantham, about 60 metres (200 ft) above sea level.
Winnibriggs and Threo was an anciently established wapentake in the Parts of Kesteven, the south-east division of the English county of Lincolnshire. Most of the administrative functions of the wapentake had been lost to other local units of government by 1832.
Gunby and Stainby is a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 141, falling to 136 at the 2011 census. It includes the hamlets of Gunby and Stainby.
Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without is a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 4,344, in 1743 households, increasing to a population of 5,133 at the 2011 census. It includes the village of Londonthorpe and the hamlet of Harrowby, Lincolnshire.
The Ponton Heath Barrow Cemetery is a group of at least eleven Middle Bronze Age round barrows south of Grantham, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Five of the barrows were destroyed by ironstone quarrying in 1959; the remaining six are scheduled monuments. The sites have been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register.
This public interest report relates to Little Ponton and Stroxton Parish Council's failure to prepare an annual return about its finances and governance for the year ended 31 March 2012.
...the more ancient Salters Way that joined the salt mines at Droitwich in the West Midlands to the Wash.
Media related to Little Ponton and Stroxton at Wikimedia Commons
