# Winterton, Lincolnshire

Winterton is a market town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England, 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Scunthorpe. The 2021 census found 4,765 inhabitants living in the town. Winterton is located near the banks of the Humber and is 8 miles (13 km) south-west of the Humber Bridge which can be seen from many parts of the town.
As of 2022, the mayor of Winterton is Marilynne Harrison.

## History

Winterton has a history going back to Roman times and several large mosaic floors and other Roman remains have been found there.
In October 1968, during road-widening works on the A1077, workers found a massive stone coffin containing a skeleton later identified as being that of a young woman aged between 20 and 25 years of age, who stood 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) tall (the so-called Winterton Lady). She was of high status, as evidenced by the high quality of the coffin made from a single block of limestone and she was also found to be laid on a sheet of lead. Down the hill from this spot are the remains of one of the Winterton Roman villas, which is famous for its mosaic pavements where it is most likely she lived.
Both Winterton and neighbouring Winteringham seem to contain mention of Winter or Wintra, the first of the kings of Lindsey with any pretence to an historical basis (after the mythological Woden). The position of the two settlements on the south bank of the Humber, close to the point where the main Roman road from the south reaches the river, may be significant, as it is the obvious point from where the settlement of Lindsey is likely to have originated.
The town was also served by the former North Lindsey Light Railway which connected the town to Scunthorpe via Winteringham. The former railway station is now long since closed and is currently disused. The station was between the town and neighbouring village Thealby.

## Winterton Agricultural Show

The Winterton Agricultural Society was formed in 1872 to further the interests of a rapidly modernising agricultural community. For many years the society held a two-day Agricultural Show and sports in the town.
Today, the two day show occupies over 20 acres, which the society now owns to accommodate the growing demand for trade stands, sideshows and entertainment. The show caters for many agricultural and countryside pursuits involving all elements of the local and neighbouring communities. It successfully blends a variety of events appealing to both rural and town dwellers; as a consequence it is very well supported, drawing crowds in excess of twelve thousand from across the region.

## Toponymy

The village's name is thought to mean the ‘farmstead, the village or the estate of the Winteringas', who were perhaps followers or dependants of someone called Winter or Wintra. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the place is called variously Wintrintune, once; Wintrintone, four times; Wintritone, twice and Wintretune, once.

## Notable people

* Wallace Sargent – Former director of the Palomar Observatory, he was one of the world's foremost astronomers and a leading academic at the California Institute of Technology. Born in nearby Elsham, he attended school at Winterton Primary School
* Neville Tong – cyclist
* William Fowler – (1761–1832); artist, architect and builder

## Twinning

Winterton has been twinned with Saffré in France since 1993.