Witham on the Hill

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Witham on the Hill
Lincolnshire

St Andrew, Witham on the Hill
Location
Grid reference: TF053165
Location: 52°44’10"N, 0°26’28"W
Data
Population: 260  (2011)
Post town: Bourne
Postcode: PE10
Dialling code: 01778
Local Government
Council: South Kesteven
Parliamentary
constituency:
Grantham and Stamford

Witham on the Hill is a village in Kesteven, the south-western part of Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 260 at the 2011 census.

History

Witham-on-the-Hill stocks

The hall is a Grade II listed building, dating from ca 1730 but extended several times.[1] The hall was once owned by descendants of Archdeacon Robert Johnson, the founder of Oakham and Uppingham Schools, including Lieutenant-General William Augustus Johnson MP.[2]

The parish church is dedicated to St Andrew. The tower and steeple were re-built in a mediæval revival style by the Stamford architect George Portwood in 1737-8.[3]

The original village stocks and whipping post are preserved under a modern canopy.[4]

In 2002, West Farm (on the Little Bytham road) had trials for genetic engineering rapeseed planted by Aventis.[5][6]

Geography

The village is between the east and west tributaries of the River Glen, and despite its name, is not on the top of its 'hill', which reaches a peak a mile west towards Careby. It is about half a mile from the A6121 Bourne-Stamford road. To the west is Little Bytham, and to the east are Manthorpe and Toft. The predominant landowner in the area is the Grimsthorpe Estate.

Community

Witham Hall

The village has a co-educational preparatory school, Witham Hall, which marked its 50th year in 2009. The nearest state primary school is on Creeton Road in Little Bytham. Secondary schools are in Bourne.

The Six Bells public house was built in 1905 by the architect A. N. Prentice and is Grade II listed[7]. It is on the road to the A6121.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Witham on the Hill)

References

  1. National Heritage List 1240121: Witham Hall and three archways (Grade II listing)
  2. Needle, Rex. "Village history". http://homepages.which.net/~rex/bourne/witham.htm. 
  3. National Monuments Record: No. 348189 – Church of St Andrew
  4. National Monuments Record: No. 348192 – National monument record for stocks
  5. "GM weeds finally destroyed". Archived press release. Friends of The Earth. 7 December 2001. http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/1207weed.html. 
  6. Lean, Geoffrey (28 October 2007). "GM: The Secret Files". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/gm-the-secret-files-395453.html. "The spectre of GM contamination has cost John Turner dear. A succession of trials near his 250 acre farm in Little Bytham, between 2000 and 2002 forced him to stop growing certain crops – suffering heavy financial losses as a result." 
  7. National Heritage List 1240120: The Six Bells Public House