Beltisloe is a Deanery

Deanery

A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...

 of the Diocese of Lincoln

Diocese of Lincoln

The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...

 England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and a former Wapentake.

The Wapentake of Beltisloe, was an old administrative division of the English county of Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

. In England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 a wapentake was the division of a shire

Shire

A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...

 for administrative, military and judicial purposes under the common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

. The term wapentake is of Scandinavian origin and meant the taking of weapons; it later signified the clash of arms by which the people assembled in a local court expressed assent. Danish influence was strong in those English counties where wapentakes existed.

The Wapentake of Beltisloe was bounded on the north by Winnibriggs and Threo Wapentake; on the east by Aveland

Aveland

Aveland was a Wapentake of Kesteven from the time of the Danelaw until the Local Government Act 1888. Its meeting place was The Aveland at in the parish of Aslackby.-Origins:...

 Wapentake; on the south by Ness Wapentake and Rutlandshire and on the west by Grantham

Grantham

Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...

 soke and Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

. This wapentake contained the market town of Corby

Corby

Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...

 and the villages of Basingthorpe, Bitchfield

Bitchfield

Bitchfield is a small village in Lincolnshire, England, consisting of two groups of buildings connected by Dark Lane, known as Bitchfield and Lower Bitchfield, collectively called Bitchfield. It lies on the B1176, running east and parallel to the A1 road, and south east of Grantham.Bitchfield is...

, Burton Coggles

Burton Coggles

Burton Coggles is a small village and civil parish located south of Grantham in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England...

, Castle Bytham

Castle Bytham

Castle Bytham is a picturesque village and Civil Parish of around 300 houses in South Kesteven in south Lincolnshire.At one time the village was an important commercial centre for the surrounding agricultural communities, but it is now largely a dormitory, although a number of farming families...

, Little Bytham

Little Bytham

Little Bytham is a small village in South Kesteven in south Lincolnshire, situated between Corby Glen and Stamford on the B1176, which is straddled by brick railway viaducts of the East Coast Main Line as the road passes through the village.On the edge of the village to the east is the West Glen...

, Careby

Careby

Careby is the principle village in the a civil parish of Careby Aunby and Holywell in the South Kesteven district of South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. The River West Glen flows through the parish, near Careby, forming part of the parish boundary....

, Creeton

Creeton

Creeton is a hamlet in the civil parish of Counthorpe and Creeton in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies 5 miles south west from Bourne and 3 miles south from Corby Glen, on the River Glen...

, Edenham

Edenham

Edenham is a village in Lincolnshire, England situated about north-west of Bourne on the A151. The village is part of the civil parish of Edenham Grimsthorpe Elsthorpe & Scottlethorpe.-The Village:...

, Gunby, Irnham

Irnham

Irnham is a village in Lincolnshire in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is about ten miles south east of Grantham, To the north is Osgodby, to the south Swinstead, and to the west Corby Glen. The village is on a high limestone ridge that forms the southern part of the Lincolnshire...

, Lavington

Lenton, Lincolnshire

Lenton is a small hamlet in the district of South Kesteven, in Lincolnshire, England. It is situated roughly 9.5 miles south east of Grantham, and is part of the Lenton, Keisby and Osgodby parish.-Village:...

, Skillington

Skillington

Skillington is a rural village, located to the south-west of Lincolnshire and is within three miles of the Leicestershire border. Nearby villages include Buckminster, Sproxton, Stainby, Sewstern, Colsterworth and Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, with the latter famous as the birthplace of Sir Isaac...

, Stainby

Stainby

Stainby is a small hamlet of around 30 houses located in south west Lincolnshire in the district of South Kesteven. It is only a very short distance to the border with Leicestershire ....

, Swayfield

Swayfield

Swayfield is a small village of approximately 138 houses situated just off the A1 in South Kesteven, southern Lincolnshire, England.-The Village:...

, Swinstead

Swinstead

Swinstead is a small village of just over 100 households, located 5 miles west of Bourne in southern Lincolnshire. Although close to Bourne and Stamford , it lies in the Grantham post code....

, Witham on the Hill

Witham on the Hill

Witham on the Hill is a in the civil parish of the same name, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:The village is between the and west tributaries of the River Glen, and despite its name, is not on the top of its 'hill', which reaches a peak one mile west towards...

, North Witham

North Witham

North Witham is a small village and civil parish in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. The village is located along the upper course of the River Witham, 11.4 miles south of the nearest major town, Grantham. It has an estimated population of 158 in around 70 households...

 and South Witham

South Witham

South Witham is a village in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire, situated close to the Leicestershire and Rutland borders.-Geography:It is bisected by the young River Witham, about three miles to the east of its source. It is the point on the A1 where it enters Lincolnshire from the south, near ...

.