Welbourn is a village and

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 authorit ...

in the

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln. Its council, North Kesteven District Council, is b ...

district of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 647. The village is situated on the

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 ...

, south from

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and north-west from

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the nor ...

, and between the villages of

Leadenham __NOTOC__ Leadenham is a village and civil parish in North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 410. It lies north from Grantham, 14 miles (22 km) south of Lincoln and ...

and Wellingore. To the east lies the course of

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas' ...

, now the

Viking Way The Viking Way is a long distance trail in England running between the Humber Bridge in North Lincolnshire and Oakham in Rutland. History The route was officially opened on Sunday 5 September 1976 at Tealby, by the Deputy Chairman of Lincol ...

. The name 'Welbourn' derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''wella-burna'' meaning 'stream with a spring'. Castle Hill - geograph

The village church is St Chad's, part of the Loveden Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln. The village

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

is the Joiners Arms. At Castle Hill to the north of the village are the earthwork remains of Welbourn Castle, a medieval

ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the sit ...

. The site was purchased in 1998 by Welbourn Parish Council, with the help of a grant from the Heritage Memorial Fund, and is now maintained as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and community open space. Memorial to Field Marshal Sir William Robertson - geograph

In 1598 Francis Trigge, Rector of Welbourn, arranged for a library to be set up in the room over the south porch of

St Wulfram's Church, Grantham St Wulfram's Church, Grantham, is the Anglican parish church of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England. The church is a Grade I listed building and has the second tallest spire in Lincolnshire after Louth's parish church. In his book ''England's ...

for the use of the clergy and the inhabitants of the town; the

Francis Trigge Chained Library The Francis Trigge Chained Library is a chained library in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England which was founded in 1598. Located in the parvise, over the south porch of St Wulfram's Church, it has been claimed to be "the first public library" in B ...

is claimed as the first public library. The anti-slavery campaigner and academic

Peter Peckard Peter Peckard (c. 1718 – 8 December 1797) was an English Whig, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, Church of England minister and abolitionist.

was born in the village, the son of the Rev. John Peckard. Field Marshal Sir William Robertson, who served in the First World War, was born in Welbourn. The village secondary school,

Sir William Robertson Academy Sir William Robertson Academy (formerly Sir William Robertson High School) is a coeducational secondary school of around 890 pupils, situated in Welbourn, near Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The school is sited on a former WWII munitions dump ...

, is named after Robertson.

Saperton

The village is associated with the site of the lost settlement of Saperton. The exact location of the site is unknown. There is self-catering accommodation at Hilltop Farm on the Cliff Edge overlooking the village but no accommodation in the village itself

References

External links

*
William Robertson High School
{{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District