Gelston, Lincolnshire
Gelston is a village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is west from the A607 road, north from Grantham, and in the civil parish of Hough-on-the-Hill, a village to the north-east. It is in the civil parish of Brant Broughton and Stragglethorpe.
The village is included in the ecclesiastical parish of Hough-on-the Hill, part of the Loveden Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln.History
According to A Dictionary of British Place Names, Gelston could be "a farmstead or a village of a man called Gjofull" - 'Gels' from an Old Scandinavian person name and 'ton' Old English for "enclosure, farmstead, village, manor estate".
Gelston is referred to in the 1086 Domesday account as "Chevelestune" in the manor of Hough-on-the-Hill, and in the Loveden Hundred of Kesteven. It had 26 households, 18 villagers, 6 smallholders and 2 freemen, with 16 ploughlands, a meadow of and a woodland of. In 1066 Earl Ralph was Lord of the Manor; after 1086 this transferred to Count Alan of Brittany, who also became Tenant-in-chief.
In 1885 Kelly's Directory noted: "at Gelston there is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists; and an ancient cross". The Wesleyan chapel was built in 1839, closed in 1958, and is now a private residence. The medieval limestone cross on the village green dates from the 15th century, is Grade II listed and is a scheduled ancient monument.
