St Mary
Wilsford, Lincolnshire
A church at Wilsford is mentioned in Domesday Book, but the building dates to the 11th to 15th centuries, with a restoration in 1860 by Kirk and Parry.
St Martin's church stands alongside a Roman road, Ermine Street, and has Norman arches and font.
There is a green man on the south nave ceiling and a Sheela-Na-Gig on the tower's western wall.
In 1200, St Hugh's body was rested in the church on its way to be buried in Lincoln Cathedral. There is a banner commemorating the 1986 pilgrimage to Lincoln cathedral for St Hugh. Two different geological formations meet in Ancaster and provide the base for varied flora. There is the sand/gravel area, part of which was quarried by Turnbulls and is now Woodland Waters, and the limestone area. In the 1920s there were two lime kilns north of the station.
There are two nature reserves which are looked after by the Lincolnshire Trust, the Valley and Moor Closes plus SSSIs, sites of special scientific interest. In the cemetery you will find tall thrift growing.
From stones which have been discovered it is certain that a Roman temple existed on or near the site of the present church. In the Roman cemetery it was revealed that during the latter part of the Roman occupation practically all the burials were Christian. This suggests there has been a Christian church in Ancaster for at least 1,600 years.
