Wilsford | |
---|---|
Wilsford's parish church, dedicated to Saint Mary | |
Location within Lincolnshire | |
Population | 400 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | TF005435 |
• London | 105 mi (169 km) SSE |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | GRANTHAM |
Postcode district | NG32 |
Dialling code | 01400 |
Police | Lincolnshire |
Fire | Lincolnshire |
Ambulance | East Midlands |
Wilsford is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 400 at the 2011 census. [1]
Wilsford is geographically 4 miles (6.4 km) west-south-west of Sleaford, and 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Grantham. According to the 2011 Census the village had a population of 400. [2] Some 9 hectares (22 acres) of the north-eastern part of the village, along Main Street, form a mainly residential conservation area. [3]
Wilsford is located off Ermine Street. The parish of Ancaster lies to the north-west and North and South Rauceby to the north-east. The parish covers about 2,900 acres (12 km2) and includes the eastern edge of the village of Ancaster. [3]
Wilsford seems to contains the Old English personal name Wifel + ford (Old English), so 'Wifel's ford'. [4] It appears in the Domesday survey of 1086 as Wivelesforde. [5]
The earliest archaeological evidence of Wilsford consists of Bronze Age and Iron Age artefacts. There are some Romano-British building remains and possibly a cemetery with seven stone coffins to the north of the village. A Roman carved stone relief of a male figure was found at Slate House Farm, west of the village. In 1969, fragments of Romano-British grey ware pottery were found on the Wilsford housing estate site, just opposite the north-east corner of the Roman town of Ancaster. [6]
In the Middle Ages it included a Benedictine priory, founded in the early 13th century but poorly funded. It was secured to the Abbey of Bourne in 1401. [7]
In the late 17th to early 18th centuries, Wilsford (also referred to as Willesworth) had 60 families, which fell to about 50. The enclosure act covering the village was passed in 1774. By 1801, the population was only 251, rising to 689 in 1881, but falling to 656 in 1901. [8]
The medieval village of Hanbeck lay in the area of present-day Wilford. It lost population in the early modern period, and by 1856 it was described in White's gazetteer as "only a farm of 400 acres [160 hectares]". [9]
The parish belonged to the historical wapentake of Winnibriggs and Threo. [10]
The disused Ancaster stone (limestone) quarry on scenic Wilsford Heath is now screened by a coppice. The output of the quarry is reflected in the present appearance of the village, with its "attractive limestone buildings with a distinctive church". [11]
The Grade 1 listed parish church of St Mary, including its tower and spire, dates from the 11th to 15th centuries. It was restored in 1860–1861 by the Sleaford firm of Kirk and Parry. All the fittings are from the 19th century except the 15th-century octagonal font. [12] It currently belongs to the Ancaster Wilford Group of parishes in the Diocese of Lincoln. [13] The incumbent is Canon Mike Cooney. [14]
Wilsford Hall, built in 1649 and enlarged in 1776, was demolished in 1918. The village school and schoolhouse built in 1857 have been converted into a private house. [3]
The nearest doctors' surgery is in Ancaster. The nearest school is Ancaster Church of England Primary School, which was rated overall as Good in a January 2017 Ofsted short inspection. [15]
The village hall can also be used for indoor sports, [16] and there is a playing field. The village public house is the Plough Inn in Main Street, which serves meals. [17] Main Street also a pizzeria [18] and a local store that acts as a sub-post office. [19]
The local community supports a Women's Institute branch, a theatre group, a club for the elderly, a horticultural society, horticultural allotments, and a Brownies group for girls aged seven to ten. [19]
There are two-hourly daytime, weekday buses to Sleaford and Grantham. There are also demand-response minibus services. [20]
The Grantham to Skegness railway line passes close to the north of the village, running alongside the A153 road and crosses the road at a level crossing close to the east. The nearest station is at Ancaster (1.8 miles (2.9 km), which has a six-day-a-week daytime service of three to five trains a day.
The A153 used to go through the village along Main Street before it was bypassed in the 1930s.
Grantham is a market and industrial 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 some 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 South Kesteven District.
Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the north and Old Sleaford to the east. The town is on the edge of the fertile Fenlands, 11 miles north-east of Grantham, 16 mi (26 km) west of Boston, and 17 mi (27 km) south of Lincoln. Its population of 17,671 at the 2011 Census made it the largest settlement in the North Kesteven district; it is the district's administrative centre. Bypassed by the A17 and the A15, it is linked to Lincoln, Newark, Peterborough, Grantham and King's Lynn.
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Bourne, Grantham, Market Deeping and Stamford. The 2011 census reports 133,788 people at 1.4 per hectare in 57,344 households. The district borders the counties of Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. It is also bounded by the Lincolnshire districts of North Kesteven and South Holland.
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.
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.
Ruskington is a large village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Sleaford on the north–south B1188 road and slightly north of the A153 road. The village contains approximately 2,200 dwellings and is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in length, measured from east to west. The population of the civil parish was 5,169 at the 2001 census, increasing to 5,637 at the 2011 census.
Aswarby and Swarby is a civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Aswarby is the ecclesiastical parish formed in 1850 from the two ancient parishes of Asarby and Swarby. The civil parish of Asarby and Swarby also includes Crofton. The parish therefore consists of both Aswarby and Swarby.
Foston is a village and a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Grantham. The A1 road runs through the parish and borders the south of the village. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 525.
Great Hale is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 778. It is situated on the B1394 road, immediately south from Heckington and 1.7 miles (2.7 km) north from Helpringham.
Heckington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Sleaford and Swineshead Bridge, and south of the A17 road. Heckington, with 1,491 households, is one of the largest villages in Lincolnshire.. The population of the civil parish including Boughton was 3,353 at the 2011 census.
Navenby is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Lying 8 miles (13 km) south from Lincoln and 9 miles (14 km) north-northwest from Sleaford, Navenby had a population of 2,128 in the 2011 census and in March 2011, it was named as the 'Best Value Village' in England following a national survey.
Little Hale is a hamlet and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 5 miles (8 km) south-east from the town of Sleaford, and directly south from the larger villages of Great Hale and Heckington. Adjacent villages include Burton Pedwardine, Great Hale and Helpringham. Little Hale, a village of approximately 60 houses, lies on the eastern western edge of the Lincolnshire Fens.
Manthorpe is a village 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. The village is part of the civil parish of Belton and Manthorpe.
Pickworth is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish including Braceby and Sapperton was 243 at the 2011 census. It is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) both east from Grantham and south from Sleaford.
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.
Quarrington is a village and former civil parish, now part of the civil parish of Sleaford, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, a non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands of England. The old village and its church lie approximately 1.2 miles (2 km) south-west from the centre of Sleaford, the nearest market town, but suburban housing developments at New Quarrington and Quarrington Hill effectively link the two settlements. Bypassed by the A15, it is connected to Lincoln and Peterborough, as well as Newark and King's Lynn. At the 2011 census, Quarrington and Mareham ward, which incorporates most of the settlement, had an estimated population of 7,046.
Culverthorpe is a hamlet in the civil parish of Culverthorpe and Kelby, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies 5 miles (8 km) south-west from Sleaford, 9 miles (14 km) north-east from Grantham and 3 miles (5 km) south-east from Ancaster.
Evedon is a village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east from the town of Sleaford.
Walcot is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west from the A15, 7 miles (11 km) south from Sleaford, 9 miles (14 km) east from Grantham, and 1 mile north from Folkingham. The population is included in the civil parish of Newton and Haceby.
Holdingham is a hamlet in the civil parish and built-up area of Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It is bisected by Lincoln Road (B1518) which joins the A17 and A15 roads immediately north of the settlement; those roads connect it to Lincoln, Newark, Peterborough and King's Lynn. Sleaford railway station is on the Nottingham to Skegness and Peterborough to Lincoln Lines.