Belton, South Kesteven

Belton is a village in the civil parish of Belton and Manthorpe, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A607 road, and 3 mi north from the market town of Grantham. In 1921 the parish had a population of 145.

History
The Saxon meaning of Belton is "a bell-shaped hollow".

The village is significant for the 1686 Grade I listed Belton House. The house is the property of the National Trust and is open to the public.

A church at Belton is recorded in the Domesday Book. The Church of St Peter and St Paul is significant for its Norman, late Medieval, Georgian and Victorian alterations and additions.

In May 1643 Parliamentary cavalry, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, clashed with Royalist forces at the south of Belton Park, to the east of Manthorpe. The Belton church register records "May 1643, buried three unknown soldiers, slain in Belton fight".

On 1 April 1931 the civil parish was abolished to form "Belton and Manthorpe".

Community
Belton comprises thirty-one predominantly stone-built houses, most standing within a defined Conservation Area, with a further twelve homes outlying the village centre.

The village is part of the ecclesiastical parish of Belton. The church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, and is part of the Loveden Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln. The 2014 incumbent is Rev Stuart Hadley.

Businesses in the village include a hotel with golf course, a farm equipment dealer, an auto parts manufacturer and a garden centre.

Belton is bypassed by the A607, a road which links Grantham to the south, and Lincoln to the north along which runs a Stagecoach Group bus service.