Wilsford is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 400 at the 2011 census. Geography Wilsford is geographically west-south-west of Sleaford, and north-east of Grantham. According to the 2011 Census the village had a population of 400. Some of the north-eastern part of the village, along Main Street, form a mainly residential conservation area. Wilsford is located off Ermine Street. The parish of Ancaster lies to the north-west and North and South Rauceby to the north-east. The parish covers about and includes the eastern edge of the village of Ancaster. Heritage Wilsford seems to contains the Old English personal name Wifel + ford (Old English), so 'Wifel's ford'. It appears in the Domesday survey of 1086 as Wivelesforde. The earliest archaeological evidence of Wilsford consists of Bronze Age and Iron Age artefacts. There are some Romano-British building remains and possibly a cemetery with seven stone coffins to the north of the village. A Roman carved stone relief of a male figure was found at Slate House Farm, west of the village. In 1969, fragments of Romano-British grey ware pottery were found on the Wilsford housing estate site, just opposite the north-east corner of the Roman town of Ancaster. In the Middle Ages it included a Benedictine priory, founded in the early 13th century but poorly funded. It was secured to the Abbey of Bourne in 1401. In the late 17th to early 18th centuries, Wilsford (also referred to as Willesworth) had 60 families, which fell to about 50. The enclosure act covering the village was passed in 1774. By 1801, the population was only 251, rising to 689 in 1881, but falling to 656 in 1901. The medieval village of Hanbeck lay in the area of present-day Wilford. It lost population in the early modern period, and by 1856 it was described in White's gazetteer as "only a farm of ". The parish belonged to the historical wapentake of Winnibriggs and Threo. The disused Ancaster stone (limestone) quarry on scenic Wilsford Heath is now screened by a coppice. The output of the quarry is reflected in the present appearance of the village, with its "attractive limestone buildings with a distinctive church". Early buildings The Grade 1 listed parish church of St Mary, including its tower and spire, dates from the 11th to 15th centuries. It was restored