Great Ponton

File:Great Ponton Manor House - geograph.org.uk - 164595.jpg

The village is named in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Magna Pamptune, probably meaning "farmstead by a hill". Some material remains have been found dating back to the Neolithic age. Remains of a mid-Bronze Age round barrow cemetery were discovered between Great Ponton and Sproxton in 1959.[http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-1045-1/dissemination/pdf/264_GreatPontonQuarry_Great.pdf "Great Ponton Quarry"], Archaeology Data Service. Retrieved 18 March 2016. The village belonged to the historical wapentake of Winnibriggs and Threo.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10005838&c_id=%20 "Winnibriggs and Threo Wap"], A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 16 March 2012.

The village church dedicated to the Holy Cross dates from the 13th century. Its pinnacled tower was added in 1519 at the expense of Anthony Ellys, a wool merchant of Ellys Manor House, which is open to the public.[http://www.colsterworth5.org.uk/public/great_ponton.php "Holy Cross, Great Ponton"], Colsterworth Group of Parishes. Retrieved 18 March 2016.[http://www.ellysmanorhouse.com/about "Ellys Manor House"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023224553/http://www.ellysmanorhouse.com/about |date=23 October 2014}}, Ellysmanorhouse.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014. The church weather vane depicts a gilded fiddle. The educationalist and school textbook writer Charles Hoole was briefly rector from 1642.Watt, Francis; [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hoole,_Charles_(DNB00) "Hoole, Charles"] Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 27. Retrieved 18 March 2016. Joshua William Brooks, who had been responsible while vicar of St Mary's Church, Nottingham for founding six new churches there, was rector in Great Ponton in 1864–1882.M. W. Bowen (1997) The Anglican Church in the Industrialised Town, St. Mary's Parish, Nottingham 1770–1884, October 1997.

The Grade I church is among nine listed buildings in the village, six of them residential.[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/lincolnshire/great+ponton#.Vuw_8NIrI9Y "Listed Buildings in Great Ponton, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire"], British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

Great Ponton railway station opened in 1853 and closed for passengers on 15 September 1958.Gerald David Daniels and Leslie Alan Dench, Passengers No More, 2nd ed, London: Ian Allan, 1973, p. 56.

Great Ponton has a limestone quarry.

Great Ponton is bisected by the A1 about {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} south of Grantham. A footbridge gives pedestrian access between the west and the east of the village.Fareham, Steve; [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1291660 "Footbridge over the A1 at Great Ponton"] Geograph, 7 May 2009. Retrieved February 2019. Further east is the River WithamBrian Green; [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/694161 "River Witham valley"], Geograph, 17 February 2008. Retrieved February 2019. and the East Coast Main Line.

File:Ponton Road near Boothby Pagnall - geograph.org.uk - 211709.jpg

Nearby villages include Stoke Rochford, Stroxton and Little Ponton. To the north is the parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton, and the parish boundary crosses the A1 at {{convert|200|m|yd|abbr=off}} south of the electricity pylons, opposite Gibbet Hill, to the west. Due east, it crosses Ermine Street (B6403) south of Ponton Park Wood. It meets Boothby Pagnell west of Boothby Great Wood, and the boundary skirts the wood's western edge. East of Ponton Great Wood, on the road to Boothby Pagnell, it meets Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe, with the boundary following the road westwards, to the north of Bassingthorpe New Plantation.

The boundary follows the western side of the plantation southwards to the Bassingthorpe road, west of Stoke Tunnel Farm, where it meets Stoke Rochford. It follows the road, south of Pasture Farm,Tatlow, Andrew; [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1294837 "Track to Pasture Farm"], Geograph, 19 April 2006. Retrieved February 2019. to the west of the East Coast Main Line road bridge,Pepper, Duncan; [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1321043 "Railway Bridge over Ermine Street"], Geograph, 24 May 2009. Retrieved February 2019. and from the bridge runs due west to the A1 at North Lodge Plantation, and meets Cringle Brook, which meanders alongside the A1 northwards to the village. The boundary passes to the south of Cindertrack Plantation, and to the north of Halfmoon Plantation, where it meets Wyville cum Hungerton. A half mile north it meets Little Ponton and Stroxton.

The hamlet of High Dyke lies {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} south-east of Great Ponton, where the East Coast Main Line bridges High Dyke, a stretch of Roman road forming part of Ermine Street.

File:Gargoyle with glasses, Holy Cross church, Great Ponton (geograph 3483666).jpg with spectacles, Holy Cross church tower]]

Great Ponton Parish Council meets every two months.[http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/GreatPonton/section.asp?catId=30547 "Great Ponton Parish Council"] Lincolnshire Parish Councils – South Kesteven, Lincolnshire County Council. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

Holy Cross Anglican Church, with St Guthlac's Church at Little Ponton, is in the Colsterworth Group of parishes in the Diocese of Lincoln. The Methodist Dallygate Chapel, built in 1805, closed for worship in 1975.

[https://www.greatpontonprimaryschool.co.uk/ Great Ponton Church of England Primary School], is a small rural primary school situated in the village with an intake of 10 per year group. The ages of the children in school range from 4-11 years of age. The school occupies a premises in Mill Lane overlooking the countryside. The school benefits from large expansive grounds including a variety of equipment and facilities such as astroturf play area, separate sports and football field, book nook reading shed and climbing equipment. Serving to educate the children of Great Ponton Village and surrounding areas the school benefits from wraparound childcare and works closely with other local childcare providers. [http://www.greatpontonprimaryschool.co.uk/ Great Ponton Primary School], web site. Retrieved 18 March 2016.[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/694180 "C of E Primary School"], Geograph, photograph. Retrieved 18 March 2016. A November 2023 Ofsted inspection rated the school, 'Good' for "overall effectiveness" stating that "This is a small school with a big heart".{{cite web|access-date=2024-11-16 |title=Great Ponton Church of England School |url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/120602 |website=ofsted.gov.uk}}

Great Ponton Village Centre, on Archers Way, is a community centre for social events and functions. The village playing fields are used by local cricket and football clubs.[http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/GreatPonton/ "Great Ponton Parish Council"], Lincolnshire County Council. Retrieved 18 March 2016.[http://greatponton.org/ Great Ponton Village Centre] web site. Retrieved 18 March 2016. The Ponton Plod is an annual long-distance walk and run that raises money for charity. It starts and finishes at the Village Centre.[http://thepontonplod.co.uk/ The Ponton Plod] web site. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

There is a garage-come-shop at Ponton Main Service Station on the north-bound carriageway of the A1. The former Blue Horse public house facing the south-bound carriageway has been converted into flats.[http://www.granthamjournal.co.uk/news/local/blaze-in-cellar-of-former-pub-off-the-a1-at-great-ponton-1-6829651 "Blaze in cellar of former pub off the A1 at Great Ponton"], The Grantham Journal, 2 July 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2016.

The village has a daytime, weekday bus service to Grantham.[https://bustimes.org/localities/great-ponton. Timetable]

{{reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Great Ponton}}
• [http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/GreatPonton/imageLibrary.asp?catId=30553 "Picture Gallery"], Great Ponton Parish Council

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Category:Villages in Lincolnshire

Category:Civil parishes in Lincolnshire

Category:South Kesteven District