Londonthorpe

{{Short description|Village in Lincolnshire, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}

{{Infobox UK place

| official_name = Londonthorpe

|static_image = Londonthorpe - geograph.org.uk - 479737.jpg

|static_image_width = 240px

|static_image_caption= High Road, Londonthorpe

| country = England

| region = East Midlands

| population =

| os_grid_reference = SK953379

| coordinates = {{coord|52.92|-0.58|display=inline,title}}

| label_position = right

| post_town = Grantham

| postcode_area = NG

| postcode_district = NG31

| dial_code =

| constituency_westminster = Grantham and Stamford

| civil_parish = Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without

| shire_district = South Kesteven

| shire_county = Lincolnshire

| london_distance_mi= 110

| london_direction= S

}}

Londonthorpe is a village in the civil parish of Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without, in South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} to the north-east from Grantham, {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} to the west from the B6403 (Ermine Street Roman road), and borders Belton Park in the west.

In 1921 the parish had a population of 183.{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10433587/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Londonthorpe AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=5 January 2024}} On 1 April 1931 the parish was abolished to form "Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without".{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10433587|title=Relationships and changes Londonthorpe AP/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=5 January 2024}}{{cite book|last=Youngs|first=Frederic A|title=Guide to Local Administrative Units: Northern England|year=1991|publisher=Royal Historical Society|location=London|isbn=978-0861931279|page=271}}

According to A Dictionary of British Place Names 'Londonthorpe' derives from the Old Scandinavian lundr+thorp, meaning an "outlying farmstead or hamlet by a grove."Mills, Anthony David (2003); A Dictionary of British Place Names, Oxford University Press, revised edition (2011), pp. 305. {{ISBN|019960908X}} In the Domesday account the village is written as "Lundertorp."Marrat, W. (2010) [https://books.google.com/books?id=mBAHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA269 The History of Lincolnshire, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive] pp. 269-272 BiblioBazaar {{ISBN|1-143-37575-0}}{{Cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SK9537/londonthorpe/|title=Londonthorpe | Domesday Book}}

The enlarged parish includes the Grade II listed Harrowby Hall,[http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/LondonthorpeandHarrowbyWithout/section.asp?catId=15138 "History of the Parish"], Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without Parish Council, Lincolnshire County Council. Retrieved 19 June 2011{{cite PastScape|mnumber=505928|mname= Harrowby Hall|accessdate=17 January 2015}} formerly the family home of the Ryder family. Londonthorpe was an estate village of the Belton Estate. The village listed buildings include The Grange farm house,[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-436361-the-grange-londonthorpe-and-harrowby-wit The Grange, Londonthorpe], British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 19 June 2011 the Manor House,[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-436367-manor-house-21-londonthorpe-and-harrowby Manor House, Londonthorpe], British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 19 June 2011 and various other houses and cottages.[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/lincolnshire/londonthorpe+and+harrowby+without British Listed Buildings: Londonthorpe]. Retrieved 19 June 2011 Listed buildings within the larger Londonthorpe and Harrowby parish include the Officer's Mess of the Second World War RAF Spitalgate, and buildings and structures within Belton Park.

The Grade II* listed parish church is dedicated to St John Baptist, the tower of which dates to the early 13th century and parts of the rood screen to the 15th. The church was rebuilt with a new roof in 1850, with considerable further restoration taking place in 1879.Cox, J. Charles (1916) Lincolnshire. Methuen & Co. Ltd., p. 218[http://www.stjohnlondonthorpe.org.uk/public/index.php The Parish of St John the Baptist Londonthorpe], stjohnlondonthorpe.org.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2011{{cite PastScape|mnumber=325554|mname= Church of St John the Baptist|accessdate=17 January 2015}}{{NHLE |num=1253207 |desc=Church of St John the Baptist, Church Lane |grade=II* |accessdate= 17 January 2014}} The churchyard contains the war graves of 32 Commonwealth armed service personnel of the First World War, at which time an army training camp existed at Belton Park to the west.[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/41467/LONDONTHORPE%20(ST.%20JOHN%20THE%20BAPTIST)%20CHURCHYARD Londonthorpe (St John the Baptist) Churchyard], Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 17 January 2015

Earthworks, presumed to be remains of a garden terrace. lie to the west of the church. [https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI34011 "Earthworks, west of Londonthorpe Church, Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without"], Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer. Retrieved 12 April 2024

File:HARROWBY SETTLEMENTS.jpg

Londonthorpe Wood, created in 1993 by the Woodland Trust, and Alma Park Wood are within the parish {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} to the west.[http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/4478/londonthorpe-wood/ Londonthorpe Wood], The Woodland Trust. Retrieved 19 June 2011[http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/4613/alma-park/ Alma Park Wood], The Woodland Trust. Retrieved 17 January 2015 The parish also includes Prince William of Gloucester Barracks (previously RAF Spitalgate) and parts of eastern Grantham, particularly Alma Park Industrial Estate.[http://www.streetmap.co.uk/place/Alma_Park_Industrial_Estate_in_Lincolnshire_504611_448611.htm Alma Park Industrial Estate], streetmap.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2011

During the 1930s the parish was a centre for the Land Settlement Association scheme, a social experiment where unemployed Durham and South Wales miners were offered specially built cottages with smallholdings of land and livestock, to encourage self-sufficiency.[http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/research/merl-landsettlement_1.aspx "Land Settlement Association"], University of Reading. Retrieved 18 August 2011

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