Pointon

Pointon and Sempringham is a civil parish in the English county of Lincolnshire. Forming part of the non-metropolitan district of South Kesteven its main populated places are Sempringham, Pointon and Millthorpe. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 532.

Sempringham is a village in the civil parish of Pointon and Sempringham, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south from the A52 road, 12 miles (19 km) east from Grantham and 8 miles (13 km) north from Bourne. The hamlet is on the western edge of the Lincolnshire Fens, the closest village being Billingborough, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the north on the B1177 road. Sempringham is noted as the home of Gilbert of Sempringham, the son of the lord of the manor. Gilbert is the only English Saint to have founded a monastic order, the Gilbertines. In 1921 the parish had a population of 112. On 1 April 1931 the parish was abolished to form "Pointon and Sempringham".Sempringham consists of a church and a holy well, with other houses east from the church scattered along the B1177 between Pointon and Billingborough. The church stands at an altitude of about 52 feet (16 m), on land rising out of flat fenland. Pointon is the chief township of the civil parish, which includes Millthorpe and the fens of Pointon, Neslam and Aslackby, and a part of Hundred Fen at Gosberton Clough. Formerly, Birthorpe, now part of Billingborough, was included in the parish. The parish church is a Grade I listed building, dedicated to Saint Andrew and dating from 1170. It was restored and the chancel rebuilt in 1868-69 by Edward Browning.Sempringham is noted in the Domesday account as "Stepingeham" in the Aveland Hundred of Kesteven. In 1086 the manor consisted of 35 households, 8 villagers, 2 smallholders and 14 freemen, with 4.3 ploughlands, a meadow of 11 acres (0.045 km2) and woodland of 7 acres (0.028 km2). In 1066 Earl Morcar was Lord of the Manor, which was transferred to Jocelyn, son of Lambert in 1086, with Tenant-in-chief as Alfred of Lincoln.In the early 17th century, Sempringham was a centre of the Puritan movement in Lincolnshire. Samuel Skelton, curate of Sempringham, sailed to Massachusetts Bay in 1628 with the first group of Puritan settlers, who landed in Salem. Another member of the Sempringham congregation at the time was the young Anne Dudley, later Anne Bradstreet, the colony's first published poet.

Sempringham Priory was a priory in Lincolnshire, England, located in the medieval hamlet of Sempringham, to the northwest of Pointon. Today, all that remains of the priory is a marking on the ground where the walls stood and a square, which are identifiable only in aerial photos of the vicinity. However, the parish church of St Andrew's, built around 1100 AD, is witness to the priory standing alone in a field away from the main road.The priory was built by Gilbert of Sempringham, the only English saint to have founded a monastic order. The priory's religious accentuation as an important religious pilgrimage site began when St Gilbert established the Gilbertine Order in 1131 by inducting "seven maidens" who were his pupils. Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, helped in establishing the religious buildings to the north of St Andrew's Church as a protected area.St Gilbert died at Sempringham in 1189 and was buried in the priory church. He was canonised on 13 October 1202, for the many miracles noted at his tomb in the priory. His name is prefixed to the Sempringham Priori, which is known as "St Gilbert Sempringham Priory," and is thus a well-visited pilgrimage centre. The priory, which functioned as a dual community made up of canons and nuns, was dissolved in 1538. The Clinton family, who took possession of the priory, demolished it completely without leaving any trace of it on the ground. They built a mansion from the building material they extracted from the demolished structure.

Billingborough is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Bourne and 10 miles south of Sleaford, and on the B1177 between Horbling and Pointon just south of the A52.

St Andrew's Church is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church dedicated to Andrew the Apostle, in Billingborough, Lincolnshire, England. The church is 7 miles (11 km) south-east from Sleaford, and at the western edge of the Lincolnshire Fenlands. St Andrew's is in the ecclesiastical parish of Billingborough, and is part of the Billingborough Group of churches in the Deanery of Lafford, and the Diocese of Lincoln.

Billingborough and Horbling railway station was a station serving the villages of Billingborough, Horbling and Threekingham, Lincolnshire on the Great Northern Railway Bourne and Sleaford railway. It opened in 1872 and closed to passengers in 1930. The section from Bourne to Billingborough remained open for goods until 1964.

Dowsby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the western edge of The Fens at the junction of the east–west B1397 road and the north–south B1177. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east from Rippingale and just south of Pointon. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Graby. Nearby to the east, along the B1397 at Dowsby Fen, is Car Dyke. The civil parish population taken at the 2011 census was 204.

Dowsby Hall is an early 17th-century house situated in Dowsby, Lincolnshire, England, and 6 miles (10 km) to the north of Bourne. Originally a much grander house, attributed to the architect John Thorpe, it was converted to farm house in the late 18th century. It is listed Grade II*. From about 1920 to 1987, it was the home of Henry Burtt, who suggested the idea of the radio programme The Archers to the BBC producer Godfrey Baseley.

Birthorpe is a hamlet in the civil parish of Billingborough, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated less than 1 mile (2 km) west from Billingborough and the B1177 Pointon Road, and 2 miles (3 km) east from Folkingham. Birthorpe was formerly in the parish of Semperingham, in 1866 Birthorpe became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1931 the parish was abolished and merged with Billingborough. In 1921 the parish had a population of 46.Birthorpe is regarded as a shrunken medieval village. The Manor House and farm house are listed buildings.There was a substantial manor here well before 1300: the family who owned it took their name from the village. The most notable family member was Roger de Birthorpe (died c.1345), who had a distinguished career as a judge in Ireland, becoming Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1327. Roger was a somewhat controversial figure, who fled to Ireland after being outlawed for his part in a private war with Sempringham Priory, but eventually received a royal pardon. Birthorpe passed to the Deyncourt family before 1343.

Horbling is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the B1177, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Sleaford, 14.5 miles (23 km) north-east of Grantham and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of Billingborough. Village population recorded in the 2001 census was 397 in 162 households.

Rippingale railway station was a station serving the villages of Rippingale, Dowsby and Dunsby, Lincolnshire on the Great Northern Railway Bourne and Sleaford railway. It opened in 1872 and closed to passengers in 1930. The section from Bourne through Rippingale to Billingborough remained open for goods until 1964.The station building is now a private residence.

Stow Fair was an English medieval fair inaugurated in 1233 and held at Stow Green Hill in Lincolnshire.The Prior of Sempringham was granted permission in 1268 to hold this annual fair, from 23 to 25 June, confirming an earlier charter. The fair continued until living memory, being run as a horse fair until 1954. It seems likely that earlier fairs were held on the same days, one of which is the feast day of St Ætheldreda, long associated with the site. Historian Graham Platts' view is that there should be scepticism over a belief that the fair developed from earlier summer solstice rites.The North Kesteven Council has erected an information board at the site, with historical text and a photograph of the horse fair in 1908.