Little Ponton is a village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Little Ponton and Stroxton Little Ponton and Stroxton is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 135 across 62 homes, increasing to 235 at the 2011 census. The c ...

, in the

South Kesteven South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, 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, ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. It lies south of

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish 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 (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

, about above sea level.

History

Part of the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earninga ...

(known locally as the High Dyke) passes through the parish. The village belonged to the historical

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

of Winnibriggs and Threo. It was described in John Marius Wilson's ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (1870–1872) as "a parish in Grantham district, Lincoln; on Ermine-street, the river Witham, and the Great Northern railway, 1½ miles N of Great Ponton r. station, and 2 S of Grantham. It has a post-office under Grantham. Acres, 1, 490. Real property, £2,590. Pop., 208. Houses, 43. The property belongs to Turnor, Esq. P. Hall was occupied formerly by the Duke of Cleveland, and is occupied now by Broke Turnor, Esq. Many Roman relics have been found. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lincoln. Value, £400.* Patron, Turnor, Esq. The church is old but good, and has a low tower." Little Ponton Hall is a Grade II listed building. It dates from 1725 with later additions. In 1921 the civil parish had a population of 202. On 1 April 1931 the parish was abolished and merged with Stroxton to form "Little Ponton and Stroxton".

Geography

Little Ponton belongs to the

. It lies just off the B1174 (the former A1). Its

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

follows a footpath across the west side of the A1 as far north as Warren Plantation. The boundary crosses the A1 just before the summit of the hill (as viewed northwards). It follows Tollemache Road South on the industrial estate and the road down to the Saltersford, passing north of Daily Mail Farm, where it meets the parish of Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without. Most of the sewage works is in the parish. The boundary crosses the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

and to the east meets Whalebone Lane, crossing it on the north edge of Whalebone Spinney. Eastwards it crosses the High Dike or

( B6403), where it meets the parish of Old Somerby. To the south it includes Woodnook and Woodnook Farm, then follows a footpath south-west through Griff's Plantation. At a point east of the B6403, th
boundary
meets Boothby Pagnell. South of Poplar Farm and north of Boothby Great Wood, the boundary meets the parish of Great Ponton, then crosses the B6403 next to Ponton Park Wood (east of the B6403). It runs due west to cross the East Coast Main Line north of Great Ponton and then the River Witham, and crosses the A1 to reach Gibbet Hill. At Stroxton Spinney, the boundary crosses the Stroxton–Little Ponton road and follows a footpath.

Woodnook Valley

Woodnook Valley has been a Site of Special Scientific Interest since March 1986. It is described by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

as "a very good representative example of calcareous imygrassland developed on soils derived from Eastern Jurassic Limestone." It consists of two grazed fields, one facing north and the other south. The grasses are generally short and typical limestone herbs can flourish. It supports several species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

, including early-purple orchid '' Orchis mascula'', bee orchid ''

Ophrys apifera ''Ophrys apifera'', known in Europe as the bee orchid, is a perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant of the genus ''Ophrys'', in the family of Orchidaceae. It serves as an example of Sexual mimicry#Interspecific deceptive mimicry, sexually d ...

'', and man orchid ''Aceras anthropophorum'' (now termed ''

Orchis anthropophora ''Orchis anthropophora'' (formerly ''Aceras anthropophorum''), the man orchid, is a European species of orchid whose flowers resemble a human figure. The head is formed by the petals and sepals, and the suspended torso and limbs by the lobes of t ...

''), which at this site is near its northern limits of distribution in Britain.

Community

With Stroxton, the

had a population in 2001 of 135. There are no village amenities. The

is part of the Colsterworth Group of the

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

of Beltisloe. The 2013 incumbent is Reverend Eric John Lomax. Little Ponton

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

dates from the Norman period, but is largely of Decorated style. The west front was rebuilt in 1657. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

arch may be

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

. The dedication is to St Guthlac of Crowland (674–715), a hermit who gained popularity as a saint in

the Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

of Eastern England.Bertram Colgrave, ed. and tr., ''Felix's Life of Saint Guthlac'' (Cambridge: CUP, 1956).

Notable residents

* Richard Todd (1919–2009), 20th century actor, lived in the village. His grave is in St Guthlac's churchyard.

References

External links

*
Little Ponton: St Guthlac's churchWoodnook Valley High Dyke to Little PontonWoodnook Valley
{{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Former civil parishes in Lincolnshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Lincolnshire South Kesteven District Areas of Grantham