Ruskington is a large village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...
in the
North Kesteven
North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln. Its council, North Kesteven District Council, is ...
district of
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...
, England, located approximately 4 miles (7 km) north of
Sleaford
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 n ...
on the north–south
B1188 road
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A road
A roads may be
*motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian).
* m ...
and slightly north of the
A153 road
The A153 is a non-primary A road entirely in Lincolnshire in the east of England.
Route description
The A153 starts at the T-junction with the A607 at Honington and heads east to Sleaford, passing a crossroads with the B6403 - the Roma ...
. The village contains approximately 2,200 dwellings and is approximately 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.
Geography

Ruskington is approximately to the north of
Sleaford
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 n ...
, from
Newark and
Grantham
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 the Lincoln a ...
, and from
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
and
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Linco ...
, with a flat landscape. The ''Spires and Steeples Trail'' passes north–south through the village, following the
River Slea
The River Slea is a tributary of the River Witham, in Lincolnshire, England. In 1872 the river was described as "a never-ending source of pure water", and was a trout river renowned throughout the East coast of England. But in the late 1960s, ...
into Sleaford. The High Street is split into two parts, High Street North and High Street South, by The Beck, a brook that flows from
Bloxholm
Bloxholm is a hamlet, and part of the civil parish of Ashby de la Launde and Bloxholm, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately south-west from the village of Digby.
Bloxholm Hall
Bloxholm Hall is ...
west of the village before merging into the Slea at
Haverholme
Haverholme is a hamlet and site of Haverholme Priory in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated about north-east from the town of Sleaford, and in the civil parish of Ewerby and Evedon.
Haverholme was a civil ...
Park. A large number of
Mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
ducks inhabit the Beck and surrounding gardens.
Roxholm is to the west of the civil parish, and the boundary passes south of Roxholm Grange. On the road to
Dunsby it meets
Brauncewell, passes eastward through Cottage Farm, crossing the road to Bloxholm, then crossing the B1188, Lincoln Road, north of the village, where it meets
Dorrington, skirting the northern edge of the village.
The border crosses the railway south of Cedar Farm (in Dorrington), then follows to the south of the road from Dorrington out onto the
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...
s (Ruskington Fen). At Sylcote, it meets
North Kyme, following Farroway Drain to the south at Ruskington Dales. It then follows Anwick Bank westward, where it meets
Anwick to the south. At Highfield, it follows the Anwick road to the south, crossing the A153. North of
Haverholme Priory (outside the parish), meeting
Ewerby
Ewerby is a village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north-east from Sleaford and south from Anwick. The hamlet of Ewerby Thorpe lies to the east from Ewerby.
History
The 'Ewerby' place name is derived from t ...
and
Evedon at the
River Slea
The River Slea is a tributary of the River Witham, in Lincolnshire, England. In 1872 the river was described as "a never-ending source of pure water", and was a trout river renowned throughout the East coast of England. But in the late 1960s, ...
, which it follows for over to the west, before meeting
Leasingham. It follows the northern edge of the wood westward along a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
of the River Slea, then follows parallel to the A153 westward to the south. It crosses the A153 south of the 400 kV pylons, before meeting Roxholm at a copse north of Rigg Farm.
History
Etymology
Ruskington is first attested in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, where it appears as ''Rischintone'' and ''Reschintone''. This means "town or settlement where rushes grow", from the
Old English *ryscen (with Scandinavian -sk-) + tūn.
Early history
The remains of a
Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman R ...
also run parallel and to the west of Lincoln Road, but are apparent only in
aerial photographs
Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.
Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing air ...
. Ruskington's
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
burial ground is situated on Lincoln Road near Mill House. At the time of the ''Domesday Book'', it was part of the ancient Flaxwell "
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, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...
" (a collection of local
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
es).
Local government and public services
Policing in Sleaford falls under the responsibility of the
Lincolnshire Police
Lincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, which ...
, and fire-fighting under the responsibility of the
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service.
The medical centre is in Brookside Close. There is a dental surgery on High Street North, and an optician on High Street South. Brookside Close has a veterinary surgery, with another vet's surgery on High Street North.
East Midlands Ambulance Service
The East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) provides emergency medical services, urgent care and patient transport services for the 4.8million people within the East Midlands region of the UK - covering Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire (exc ...
(EMAS) operates a station on Kesteven Street, Sleaford. The
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is an NHS trust which runs County Hospital Louth, Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Skegness and District Hospital, and Grantham and District Hospital.
The trust established the Path L ...
provides services at three main hospitals in the county,
Pilgrim Hospital (
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
),
Grantham and District Hospital, and
Lincoln County Hospital
Lincoln County Hospital is a large district general hospital on the eastern edge of north-east Lincoln, England. It is the largest hospital in Lincolnshire, and offers the most comprehensive services, in Lincolnshire. It is managed by the Unite ...
, all of which run 24-hour accident and emergency departments as of January 2015.
Economy
The main employer in Ruskington is the Pilgrims Pride factory on the Sleaford Road. Pilgrims acquired the former owners Tulip, a division of
Danish Crown (previously "George Adams"), in August 2019.
The factory is a pork and chicken products factory which originally produced primarily
sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...
s and
pork pie
A pork pie is a traditional English meat pie, usually served either at room temperature or cold (although often served hot in Yorkshire). It consists of a filling of roughly chopped pork and pork fat, surrounded by a layer of jellied pork stock ...
s. Pilgrims's Ruskington site now produces fried crumbed products like
Scotch egg
A Scotch egg is a boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and baked or deep-fried .
Origin
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives the first instance of the name as of 1809, in an edition of Maria Rundell's '' A New Syste ...
s, mini eggs, chicken straws and cocktail sausages. It was the manufacturer of
Spam fritter
A spam fritter is a slice of Spam fried in batter. Commonly eaten with chips and mushy peas, spam fritters are served in fish and chip shops and burger bars in the UK. They were first introduced during World War II due to fish being unavailabl ...
s and Wicked Pigs, but these products have been discontinued. Stores and local shops provide other employment.
Transport
The B1188 road runs through the village, terminating south of the village, at Speedway Corner. A
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
, which originally opened on 1 August 1882, and reopened on 5 May 1975, is on the
Peterborough to Lincoln Line
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...
. Passenger trains do not run on Sundays. Ruskington is on a bus route between
Sleaford
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 n ...
and Lincoln, and a local bus operating company, Phillips of Ruskington, operates the local school buses.
Education
Primary schools
Ruskington has two
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
s: Ruskington Winchelsea Primary School and Chestnut Street Church of England Primary School. Winchelsea was judged to be at a "good" standard when it was inspected by Ofsted in 2013; at which time it had 156 pupils on roll. Chestnut Street School converted to an Academy in 2012; at its latest Ofsted inspection (2013), it had 293 pupils on roll and was judged to be at a "good" standard.
A
national school was opened in 1868 to house 120 children and was not provided for by local rates under the
Education Act 1902
The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7 c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial Act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conservat ...
.
[''Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire'' 1913 p. 498] In 1878, the Ruskington School was established and erected a school two years later; in 1903, the Board was abolished and the school became Ruskington Infants' Council School, provided for by local rates; in or about 1947 it was renamed Ruskington County School. The Winchelsea School replaced it, opening in 1974 and moving to its current, purpose-built site in 1992.
Secondary schools
The nearby town of Sleaford has three secondary schools, each of which were rated "good" standard at their latest
Ofsted inspections:
Carre's Grammar School (male grammar school),
Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy (female grammar school) and
St George's Academy
St George's Academy is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school based in the English market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, with a satellite school at nearby Ruskington.
Its origins date to 1908, when Sleaford Council School opened ...
(mixed non-selective secondary school).
The grammar schools are based in Sleaford, but St George's operates across two sites (one at Sleaford, the other at Ruskington) where pupils are educated separately; the
Sixth Form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
, however, is based solely at Sleaford. The school had 2247 pupils on roll in 2012, across both sites and including the Sixth Form.
The grammar schools require students to sit the eleven-plus test and achieve a minimum score before applying; providing they fall within the catchment area, applicants are then given priority based on home location in the event of a tie. St George's is not selective, but gives priority based on home location in the event of it being over-subscribed.
In 1957, Ruskington County Secondary Modern School was officially opened. Renamed
Coteland's Community School by 1999, the school was under-performing by the 1990s: closure was being considered in 1994 and, in 1997, the school's
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...
performances were ranked second-lowest in the country; however, under the guidance of headteacher David Veal (1994−2007), the school was recognised as one of the most improved schools in the country in 2000 and received a School Achievement Award for its progress between 2000 and 2002. In April 2007, a plan to merge St George's College of Technology in Sleaford with
Lafford High School,
Billinghay, and
Aveland High School
The Aveland High School was a secondary-level, co-educational Community School in the Billingborough, a village in the English county of Lincolnshire. The school served pupils aged 11 to 16 before it closed at the end of 2009. The school used a se ...
,
Billingborough
Billingborough is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north of Bourne and 10 miles south of Sleaford, and on the B1177 between Horbling and Pointon just south of th ...
was announced; Coteland's was invited to join. After Veal's retirement in 2007, the Governors opted in and the school became part of the federation; in 2010, the Government authorised a scheme to merge St George's, Aveland and Coteland's into a single Academy.
St George's Academy: Inspection Report
' May 2012 ( Ofsted). Retrieved 4 February 2015.
Religion

The village is served by several churches. The
Anglican parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activitie ...
is dedicated to All Saints is at the west end of the High Street. The
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
church was built in 1086 to replace an earlier,
Anglo Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wi ...
wooden structure. Parts of the tower are believed to date from 1086, but the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
...
portion was built in the 13th–14th century. The tower was damaged in 1618 and rebuilt in 1620.
Other churches include the Ruskington
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
Church, South Lincs Church (a
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement church formerly known as Emmanuel Christian Centre) and the Ruskington Free Church.
Culture
Sport
The village has a
bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-g ...
club and a junior
football team called the Ruskington Lions. The Ruskington Lions girls' team is now entering a newly founded Lincolnshire County Intermediate Women's Football League. The village hall hosts a
dance school
A dance studio is a space in which dancers learn or rehearse. The term is typically used to describe a space that has either been built or equipped for the purpose.
Overview
A dance studio normally includes a smooth floor covering or, if used fo ...
on Saturdays, and another dance school is located on Brookside Close near the doctors' surgery.
Pubs and clubs
There are three pubs, the Shoulder of Mutton Inn on Church Street, the Red Lion on High Street North and the Black Bull on Rectory Road. Potters Restaurant on Chestnut Street is now closed.
Amenities
Shops
Ruskington's High Street North has a
co-op
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
(including a
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
and sub-post office), an
optician
An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...
, farm shop, three charity shops, a carpet shop, three
barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
s, a number of ladies
hairdresser
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be r ...
s, two tea and coffee shops, a
florist
Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related su ...
, five
take-aways (one Indian, one kebab and three Chinese), a Chinese restaurant, and two
fish and chip
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...
shops, one with a restaurant. Church Street has a card shop, a butcher-cum-baker, and a butchers'
cash-and-carry factory shop. There is a pet supply outlet and a general supply with hardware shop on Manor Street, and two
news agents
A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency ( Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of l ...
, a building society-cum-estate agent, a computer shop, and a garden centre
Ruskington Garden Centre
/ref> on Newton Lane. Priory Road has another farm shop, and Rectory Road has a petrol station-cum-garage (which includes Spar
SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well ...
retailing). The village hall is off Parkfield Road.
People from Ruskington
* George Davy Kelley, Labour MP from 1906 to 1910 for Manchester South West
* Sir Robert Pattinson, Liberal MP from 1922 to 1923 for Grantham
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 the Lincoln a ...
* Samuel Pattinson
Samuel Pattinson (17 December 1870 – 15 November 1942) was a British businessman and Liberal politician.
Early life and family
Samuel Pattinson was born on 17 December 1870 in Ruskington, the son of a contractor and businessman, William Pa ...
, Liberal MP from 1922 to 1924 for Horncastle
Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman walls remains.
History Romans
Alt ...
* William Moroni Gibson (1847–1917), emigrated in 1856 to the United States, an early Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into seve ...
pioneer and polygamist
* Joseph Tomlinson III, bridge and lighthouse engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
* John Gillespie Magee Jr., the war-time fighter pilot who wrote the celebrated poem ''High Flight'', was killed aged nineteen near Ruskington after a mid-air collision
References
External links
*
*
Parish council