Stoke Rochford

Stoke Rochford is a small village near Grantham in Lincolnshire.

Geography

For administration purposes, the parish is shared with Easton, which also has a country estate of its own. Stoke Rochford's church is in the parish of Easton, and so is the post office. The southern boundary of the parish follows the road, east-west, that crosses the A1 at a dangerous junction. The parish extends westwards to the Leicestershire boundary and the north edge of Saltby Airfield near the Viking Way. It follows the Lincolnshire boundary northwards for about 400 metres. North of the parish here is Wyville cum Hungerton. The parish extends to around 1 mile north of the village to North Lodge Plantation, where there is a bend westwards in the A1 as it approaches Great Ponton, which is the parish north of here. The parish extends east to the point where Ermine Street meets the East Coast Main Line. The bridge is actually just inside Great Ponton parish. Just under a mile of the line is in the parish, including the Stoke Tunnel. Just to the east is Stoke Tunnel Farm, which is actually in Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe. Just south of Stoke Tunnel is Highdyke Farm. South of here is the large Stoke Park Wood, and the eastern boundary here follows the railway line until it meets Easton parish, just south of Old Park Wood. It also borders here with Burton Coggles, just north of Sleight's Wood.

The Cringle Brook flows northwards from the village and on the opposite side of the A1 is the River Witham.

The village

Stoke Rochford is part of the civil parish of Stoke Rochford and Easton.

The ecclesiastical parish is known by the same name, and is part of The Colsterworth Group in the Deanery of Beltisloe, Diocese of Lincoln. The incumbent is The Revd E J Lomax. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew and Saint Mary, and also serves as the parish church for Easton.

Local enterprise

There is a golf club and Welland Enterprise, who give advice to local small businesses, are based on Cringle Road. The small village has a post office. About nine miles south on the A1 is the Greetham Valley Golf Club, which offers similar packages to what the Hall and the Golf Club provide, but without the scenery.

Adjacent to the Golf course is a filling station on the A1. The associated failed cafeteria has been rebadged and The meeting place a commercial business venue.

Opposite the golf course in a former roadside cafeteria, a shop for adult products began operating in 2009. It is called Pulse and Cocktails.

People

The village's most famous current residents are Geoff Capes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale. Her husband, Neil, is on the parish council

History

The church was originally dedicated to St Mary, and village were originally South Stoke until the expansion of the park in 1843 when North Stoke was removed. The present village was laid out in 1843 to complement the architectural scheme of the new Hall, built for Christoper Turnor by William Burn. The dedication of North Stoke church to St Andrew was transferred so that the church in Stoke Rochford has a double dedication.

Hall

Stoke Rochford Hall, designed by William Burn and built in 1845, was gutted by fire on 25 January 2005. This is the NUT's national training centre, and a popular and picturesque venue for conferences and wedding receptions.

On 28 April 1945, a Canadian (RCAF) an Avro Lancaster crashed in the grounds of the Hall.

In December 2009, the Hall was named the Les Routiers Best Country Retreat in the UK.

Lost villages

• The Deserted medieval village of Ganthorpe, mentioned in Domesday, is now only known as a field name, Ganthrops, from the park.SK924291
• North Stoke (Nortstoches) is mentioned in the Domesday Survey as a possession of Earl Morcar, claimed by the Norman baron, Drew de Beurere. It survived until the 19th century, when it was cleared in the creation of the current park.SK916284 The remains of a Saxon cross from the old church discovered after the demolition are now in Stoke Rochford Church.