Winterton is a town in

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Bar ...

, England, north-east of

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A ...

. The 2021 census found 4,765 inhabitants living in the town. Winterton is located near the banks of the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

and is south-west of the Humber Bridge which can be seen from many parts of the town. As of 2022, the mayor of Winterton is Marilynne Harrison.

History

Winterton has a history going back to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times and several large

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

floors and other Roman remains have been found there. In October 1968, during road-widening works on the A1077, workers found a massive stone

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for j ...

containing a

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

later identified as being that of a young woman aged between 20 and 25 years of age, who stood tall (the so-called Winterton Lady). She was of high status, as evidenced by the high quality of the coffin made from a single block of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

and she was also found to be laid on a sheet of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

. Down the hill from this spot are the remains of one of the Winterton

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...

s, which is famous for its mosaic pavements where it is most likely she lived. Both Winterton and neighbouring Winteringham seem to contain mention of ''Winter'' or ''Wintra'', the first of the kings of Lindsey with any pretence to an historical basis (after the mythological

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victor ...

). The position of the two settlements on the south bank of the Humber, close to the point where the main Roman road from the south reaches the river, may be significant, as it is the obvious point from where the settlement of Lindsey is likely to have originated.

Winterton Agricultural Show

The Winterton Agricultural Society was formed in 1872 to further the interests of a rapidly modernising agricultural community. For many years the society held a two-day Agricultural Show and sports in the town. Winterton Show 2022

Today, the two day show occupies over 20 acres, which the society now owns to accommodate the growing demand for trade stands, sideshows and entertainment. The show caters for many agricultural and countryside pursuits involving all elements of the local and neighbouring communities. It successfully blends a variety of events appealing to both rural and town dwellers; as a consequence it is very well supported, drawing crowds in excess of twelve thousand from across the region.

Toponymy

The village's name is thought to mean the ‘farmstead, the village or the estate of the ''Winteringas'' ', who were perhaps followers or dependants of someone called ''Winter'' or ''Wintra''. 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 ...

'' of 1086 the place is called variously ''Wintrintune'', once; ''Wintrintone'', four times; ''Wintritone'', twice and ''Wintretune'', once.

Notable people

* Wallace Sargent – Former director of the

Palomar Observatory Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...

, he was one of the world's foremost astronomers and a leading academic at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. Born in nearby Elsham, he attended school at Winterton Comprehensive School * Neville Tong – cyclist * William Fowler – (1761–1832); artist, architect and builder

Twinning

Winterton has been twinned with: * Saffré, France - since 1993.

References

External links

* *
Winterton Rangers Football Club
{{authority control Towns in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Borough of North Lincolnshire