Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth (to distinguish it from
Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir in the same county) is a
hamlet in the
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Bourne, Lincolnshire, Bourne, Grantham, Market Deeping and Stamford, Li ...
district of
Lincolnshire, England. It is best known as the birthplace of
Sir Isaac Newton.
Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth is 94 miles (150 km) north of
London, northwest of the village of
Colsterworth on the
A1 one of the UK's primary north–south roads. The A1 is the old
Great North Road, on which Colsterworth grew. Woolsthorpe is two to three miles from the county boundary with
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 ...
, and four from
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
.
Woolsthorpe lies in rural surroundings. It sits on
Lower Lincolnshire Limestone, below which are the
Lower Estuarine Series
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
The Lower Estuarine Series, also called in more modern publications, the Grantham Formation, is a relatively complex but generally thin set of geological strata which are usually considered as a group. It forms a ...
and the
Northampton sand of the
Inferior Oolite Series of the
Jurassic period. The Northampton Sand here is cemented by
iron and in the 20th century the hamlet was almost surrounded by
strip mining for
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 ...
. In 1973 the local quarries closed due to competition from imported iron ore. The same year the
Great Northern Railway's High Dyke branch line closed it was opened in 1916 to carry iron ore, and lay to the north of the village. There was an unsuccessful attempt to preserve the line. The railway's bridge spanned the A1 until it was removed in 2009 during road junction improvements.
Woolsthorpe Manor, Newton's birthplace, is a typical 17th-century
yeoman farmer's limestone house, with later
farmyard buildings. It is owned by the
National Trust and is open to the public.
References
*
Ordnance Survey
* Geological Survey 1:50 000 Sheet 143.
External links
*
Woolsthorpe by Colsterworthpage in the website of England'
Local Heritage Initiative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolsthorpe-By-Colsterworth
Hamlets in Lincolnshire
South Kesteven District