Waltham on the Wolds is a village and former

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

, now in the parish of

Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold Waltham may refer to: Business * Waltham Watch Company, American watch manufacturer, pioneer in the industrialisation of the manufacturing of watch movements * The Waltham system, industrial efficiency system Music * Waltham (band), American roc ...

, in the Melton borough of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, England. It lies about north-east of

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...

and south-west of

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 and ...

on the main

A607 road The A607 is an A road in England that starts in Belgrave, Leicester and heads northeastwards through Leicestershire and the town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, terminating at Bracebridge Heath, a village on the outskirts of Lincoln. It is a primary ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 510. The population of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold was 967 in 2011.

Geography

The parish is the site of Waltham television transmitting station, which serves most of the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

. Apart from the main village, the parish includes the village of Thorpe Arnold, just to the north-east of Melton. To the south-east is

Stonesby Stonesby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sproxton, within the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is northeast of Melton Mowbray, and southeast of Waltham on the Wolds. In 1931 the parish had a populati ...

, which is nearer to the transmitter. The village is on a ridge, which has an escarpment close to the north-west that dramatically overlooks the

Vale of Belvoir The Vale of Belvoir ( ) covers adjacent areas of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, England. The name derives from the Norman-French for "beautiful view" and dates back to Norman times. Extent and geology The vale is a tract ...

History

One of the earliest mentions of this place is 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 ...

where it is listed among lands given to

Hugh de Grandmesnil Hugh de Grandmesnil (1032 – 22 February 1098), (known in French as ''Hugues'' and Latinised as ''Hugo de Grentmesnil'', aliter ''Grentemesnil'', etc.), is one of the proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle ...

''Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration''. London: Penguin, 2003. p. 653 . by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. There were of meadow and land for 11 ploughs. It was valued at six pounds. The village had 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 tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

north of the village, which opened in 1883 on a branch line from

Scalford Scalford is a village and civil parish in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It lies to the north of Melton Mowbray at the southern end of the Vale of Belvoir. In the 2011 census the parish (including Chadwell and Wycomb) had a ...

, but was used only occasionally by passenger trains for special occasions, such as events at

Croxton Park Croxton Park is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Croxton Kerrial Croxton Kerrial (pronounced �kroʊsən ˈkɛrɨl is a village and civil parish in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England, south-west of ...

. The station was a terminus, and there was no regular passenger service. The line was owned by GNR and was used mainly by

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

trains from quarries near

Knipton Knipton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Belvoir, in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It lies about from the town of Grantham, just off the A607, and from Melton Mowbray. It borders the ...

, Eaton and Branston. The remains of the line are still visible. There was a trailing junction with the

Eaton Branch Railway The Eaton Branch Railway was a standard gauge industrial railway built to serve ironstone quarries around the village of Eaton in Leicestershire. It operated from 1884 until 1965. History Iron ore quarrying flourished throughout the East ...

(opened in 1884) to the south west of the station. The ore trains came off this branch and then reversed before travelling to Scalford. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with

Thorpe Arnold Thorpe Arnold is a farming village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold in the district of Melton, which is approximately northeast of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. In 1931 the par ...

to form "Waltham".

Quarries

Two iron-ore quarries were operated at Waltham briefly in the 1880s. One was begun in 1882 by the Waltham Iron Ore Company either side of what is now the A607 north of the village. The other was further north in the northern angle between the A607 and the narrow road to Eaton. Both quarries closed in 1885. Each had a horse-drawn

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

tramway which carried the ore to the railway. The more southerly of the two quarries may have possessed a steam locomotive. Nothing can now be seen of the two quarries except (in 1992) the stone parapets of a bridge under the A607. This was used by the more southerly of the two tramways. There was a quarry close to the railway, which was worked for limestone between 1931 and 1941.

Pet nutrition

Waltham is also known for its connection with

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

(previously Masterfoods UK), and the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition which carries out research into the effect of diet on cats, dogs and horses (for Spillers).

Amenities

The parish church, dedicated to St

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, is built of a local, honey-coloured ironstone used for several churches in the district (e. g. at

South Croxton South Croxton (traditionally pronounced "crow-sun" �kroʊsən is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It had a population of 261 in the 2011 census. Nearby villages include Beeb ...

). On 27 February 2008, the church spire was badly damaged by the 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake. The top of it had to be rebuilt, at an estimated cost of some £100,000. The work was completed in 2009. The church contains some Norman features, with much building from about 1300. It was restored and extended in 1850, when the supervising architect was

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

primary school has a pre-school attached. It received a grade of outstanding in a 2011 inspection by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

. The one surviving pub in the village, the ''Royal Horseshoes'', is in Melton Road. It was refurbished in 2010 and also provides meals and accommodation.Pub sit
Retrieved 2 February 2018.
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Gallery

File:Waltham St Marys Churchyard.JPG, Waltham St Mary Magdalene Churchyard File:Royal Horseshoes Waltham on the Wolds Closed.JPG, Royal Horseshoes Waltham on the Wolds. File:Waltham on the Wolds Well Church and Telephone Box.JPG, Waltham on the Wolds Well, Church and Telephone Box. File:Marquis of Granby Waltham on the Wolds.JPG, Marquis of Granby, Waltham on the Wolds File:Waltham on the Wolds St Mary Magdalene.JPG, Waltham on the Wolds St Mary Magdalene

References

External links

Leicestershire VillagesParish CouncilPrimary schoolChurch spire appealWikimapia
{{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Melton