Gunby and Stainby

Gunby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Gunby and Stainby, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies close to the borders with Leicestershire and Rutland, 9 miles (14 km) south from Grantham, and 2 miles (3 km) west from the A1 road. In 1921 the parish had a population of 119. On 1 April 1931 the parish was abolished and merged with Stainby to form "Gunby and Stainby". To the east is North Witham, to the north, Stainby, and to the west, Sewstern. The parish is administered by Colsterworth and District Parish Council, which covers a group of rural parishes. The village name derives from a "farmstead or village of a man called Gunni", from the Old Scandinavian person name, and 'by', a farmstead, village or settlement. Gunby's Grade II listed Anglican church is dedicated to St Nicholas. Of 15th-century origin, it was rebuilt by Richard Coad in 1869, although the Perpendicular tower remained. The closest amenities are in Colsterworth, South Witham and Buckminster.

Stainby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Gunby and Stainby, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 2 miles (3.2 km) west from the A1 road, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east from the Viking Way and the Leicestershire border, and 8 miles (13 km) south from Grantham. In 1921 the parish had a population of 117. Stainby is part of the civil parish of Gunby and Stainby, which is now administered as part of the Colsterworth district parishes. Stainby had been a parish in its own right until 1931. Adjacent villages include Buckminster, North Witham, Colsterworth, Gunby, Sewstern and Skillington. Stainby is on the B676 road which runs between Melton Mowbray (Buckminster Road) and Colsterworth (Colsterworth Road). The road is used by heavy goods vehicles from the nearby industrial estate at Sewstern and by vehicles heading from the Midlands towards East Anglia; an alternative route is through Wymondham and South Witham. There are no shops or public houses - the nearest are in Colsterworth. The church, on Main Road, is dedicated to St Peter. The former Stainby quarry is an event venue for vehicle off-roading.

North Witham is a small village and nominally a civil parish in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. The village is located along the upper course of the River Witham 1.5 miles downstream (north) of South Witham, and approximately 9 miles (14 km) south from the nearest major town, Grantham. It has an estimated population of 143 in around 72 households, at a density of 0.1/hectare. The current civil parish of Colsterworth includes the hamlet of Lobthorpe. Nearby villages include Gunby, Colsterworth and Stainby. The village is perhaps best known for its links with Isaac Newton, who is known to have lived nearby and visited the village on numerous occasions and made carvings in the wall of the church porch, and for the presence of nearby RAF North Witham.

Withham Preceptory, one of the smallest Knights Templar preceptories in England, was founded, before 1164, at Temple Hill, near South Witham, Lincolnshire, and was abandoned in the early 14th century. The site of the former preceptory at Temple Hill, South Witham. It 'has been largely under pasture' since the Knights Templar left in 1308.

South Witham is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,533. It is situated 10 miles (16 km) south of Grantham, 10 miles east of Melton Mowbray and 10 miles (16 km) north of Oakham. The village is close to the Leicestershire and Rutland borders.

South Witham railway station was a station in South Witham, Lincolnshire on the Midland Railway. It was Midland Railway property but train services were operated by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway. It was closed in 1959 along with most of the M&GN.The station consisted of wooden buildings and platforms on the embankment, with a goods yard to the north, which could hold 50 wagons. It was built by a Mr. C. Barnes of Melton Mowbray, similar in style to Edmondthorpe and Wymondham. The platforms had a length of 400 ft (122 m), the passing loop was 279 ft (85 m) long.

Cribb's Meadow is a 4.2-hectare (10-acre) nature reserve east of Wymondham in Leicestershire. It is owned and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, and is designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest under the name Cribb's Lodge Meadows. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2.The embankment of a disused railway runs through this ridge and furrow neutral meadow on boulder clay. The diverse flora includes adder's tongue fern, pepper saxifrage, hayrattle and green-winged orchid.There is access from Fosse Lane, and a footpath runs through the southern end.

Thistleton is the most northerly village in the county of Rutland, and a civil parish, in the East Midlands of England. The population of the village at the 2001 census was 99. It remained less than 100 at the 2011 census and was counted together with the civil parish of Stretton. The village's name means 'farm/settlement which is thistly'.The Thistleton area has shown evidence of Romano-British occupation including a large temple precinct and a possible small market settlement. To the north of the village there has been extensive mining for ironstone, a stone that has featured very prominently in the building of many churches and other buildings in the area for centuries. It was thought that the mining had obliterated evidence of the former greater extent of the village but much archaeology has survived showing that the original Romano-British settlement extended some 100 acres (0.40 km2) at least. Extensive surveys, brought about by the planning of a haulage road to the quarry to pass through the site of the ancient township, revealed features including a well-preserved Roman road and the skeleton of a child buried well away from the cemetery. The archaeology is ongoing as the mining continues.The village contains several listed buildings including the Old Rectory and the Church of St Nicholas. Many of the village's buildings are stone-walled and thatched. Although the church is of medieval origin, only the 14th-century three-stage tower, complete with gargoyles, remains. The church was rebuilt in the late 18th century by the Brudenells, and the rector, the Rev.d Sir John Henry Fludyer, 4th Baronet to whose family the elaborate chancel is a memorial. The newer building is 14th century in style; however, the shape of the apse is half an octagon externally but semi-circular inside. Most of the internal fittings, including the font and the organ, are relatively modern.Close by, to the south of the village, lies the RAF Cottesmore airfield which opened in 1938. The airfield is now the Army's Kendrew Barracks.

St Nicholas' Church in Thistleton, Rutland, England, is a former Church of England parish church, now a chapel of ease. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Sewstern is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Buckminster, in the Melton district of east Leicestershire, England. It lies just south of Buckminster, with which it shares a primary school, situated between the two villages. It is 9 miles east of Melton Mowbray, 10 miles south of Grantham and 4 miles from the A1 at Colsterworth. It is the easternmost village in Leicestershire.

Stoke Rochford is a small English village and civil parish 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Grantham in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 230 (including Easton). It has two notable Grade I listed buildings: Stoke Rochford Hall and the doubly dedicated St Mary and St Andrew's Church.

St Andrew and St Mary's Church is a Grade I listed Church of England parish church dedicated to Saint Andrew and Saint Mary, in the parish of Easton and the village of Stoke Rochford, Lincolnshire, England. The church is 5 miles (8 km) south from Grantham, and at the western side of the Lincolnshire Vales in South Kesteven. St Andrew and St Mary's is significant for its association with, and memorials to, the Easton Hall Cholmeley and the Stoke Rochford Hall Turnor families. The church is in the ecclesiastical parish of Stoke Rochford with Easton, and is part of the Colsterworth Group of Parishes in the Deanery of Loveden and the Diocese of Lincoln. Other churches in the same group are St John the Baptist's, Colsterworth; St James’, Skillington; Holy Cross, Great Ponton; and St Cuthlac's, Little Ponton. St Andrew and St Mary's is within the Stoke Rochford conservation area.