Branston is a large village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, south-east of Lincoln on the B1188 road to Sleaford. It is the principal settlement in the civil parish of Branston and Mere, population 4,019 (in the 2001 census). History Neolithic and Bronze Age axes have been found in the village, including ten Bronze Age axes in the grounds of Branston Hall in 1906. Evidence has also been found of a Roman villa or villa farm near Folly Lane: a Roman memorial stone, part of a statue, a bronze candlestick and pottery fragments. The inscription on the Roman memorial stone is incomplete but has been translated as 'In this estate (lie the bones of) Aurelia Concessa, a very pure girl'. The 1086 Domesday Book records a village population of 350, a figure which stayed relatively stable until the 19th century. In the 19th century the population almost tripled, rising to 1216 in 1901. In the 20th century the population trebled further, to exceed 4000. The character of the village changed much over the second half of the 20th century but Branston has retained much of its historic centre, where the majority of buildings are constructed from local limestone. The 'Bran' in 'Branston' may refer to a leader with the Norse name 'Brandr', in which case the name was likely coined during the Danelaw in the 9th-11th centuries, or it could be from the same Saxon root as 'bourne' in old English and 'burn' in Scots, referring to the three streams in the village. In the Domesday book it is listed as Branztune or Branztone. In the Norman Conquest, land in Branston was passed from Haminc (Hemming, Thegn of Blankney) to Walter de Aincurt (a Norman Baron and kinsman of Remigius de Fécamp). In 1219 the De Aincurt estate passed from Oliver De Aincurt to his wife Amabila Camville, who remarried to Henry Le Eueske. Farming in Branston followed an open-field system, with commons for grazing, until Enclosure in 1765. The village's most notable buildings are Branston Hall, built 1884-86 and Branston All Saints' Church (parts dating to the 11th century). Branston Hall was preceded by Branston old hall, dating to 1735, which burnt down in 1903. There was also a major fire at Branston All Saints Church on Christmas Day in 1962. Other historic buildings include a rectory house, built in 1765, and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel, built