Waltham is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in North East Lincolnshire

North East Lincolnshire

North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, bordering the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire...

, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Grimsby

Grimsby

Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

 and is close to the villages of Scartho

Scartho

Scartho is a suburb located in the southern part of Grimsby, England, in the county of North East Lincolnshire. with a population of around 11,000. Up until the end of the Second World War it was a village; subsequent post-war expansion on the greenfield areas between Scartho and Grimsby has...

, Brigsley

Brigsley

Brigsley is a village and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England, 1 mile south of Waltham on the B1203According to the 20001 census its population was 370....

, Barnoldby-le-Beck, and Bradley

Bradley, Lincolnshire

Bradley is a village and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England. It lies 3 miles west of Grimsby and 2 miles north of Barnoldby le Beck. Its population recorded in the 2001 census was 198....

. A few miles to the north-east there is a similarly named village, New Waltham

New Waltham

New Waltham is a village and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire. It is located just south of Grimsby and Cleethorpes close to the A16 , and is situated between the villages of Waltham and Humberston. Previously part of Waltham parish, the parish of New Waltham was created in 1961...

.

According to the 2001 census, Waltham had a population of 6,420.

Origins

There was a substantial Saxon

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

 settlement on the site of the first village although artifacts show earlier Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 occupation. The Waltham name is of Saxon

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

 origin, Walt referring to woodland or an area of high forest and Ham to either an estate or a village. It is possible that Saxons changed the name from the Old English 'Wealdhant' which had the same meaning; the first part Ald, prefixed by We, meant "settlement", and Hant a "wooded estate".

Governance

Waltham Ward is part of North East Lincolnshire Council, and covers the villages of Waltham, Brigsley and Ashby-cum-Fenby. It is one of the safest Conservative wards on the council.

Current elected councillors:

• Cllr Iain B Colquhoun (Conservative Party)
• Cllr Philip Jackson (Conservative Party)

Landmarks

Waltham's landmarks include Waltham Windmill

Waltham Windmill

Waltham Windmill is a six-sailed windmill located in the village of Waltham, five miles from Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire. It is renowned in the area for having all six sails still in full working capacity, being one of the very few windmills like this in the United Kingdom.-Construction:The...

, which is used as the symbol for the village's Infant and Junior schools. The windmill was originally built in 1666, but was blown down several times. It was last re-built in 1873. The village has two public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

s, The Kings Head and the Tilted Barrel, and the Waltham Tea Gardens. A branch of the Royal British Legion

The Royal British Legion

The Royal British Legion , sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.-History:The British Legion was...

 is also based in Waltham.

There is has a cenotaph

Cenotaph

A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...

, where a remembrance service is held on Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday

In the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...

.

Nearby is the former World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 bomber airfield

Aerodrome

An aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...

 RAF Grimsby

RAF Grimsby

RAF Grimsby was initially opened as a satellite station for RAF Binbrook in November 1941. The station was officially named RAF Grimsby although the name of the nearby village Waltham was used by locals and servicemen.-History:...

, which was originally Grimsby Municipal Airport. After the start of WWII the airport was re-constructed by the Air Ministry

Air Ministry

The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...

 and became home to 142 Squadron, and later to 100 and 550 Squadron, before closing in 1945. A museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 at the Waltham Windmill houses a section dedicated to RAF Grimsby.

There was once a Waltham railway station

Waltham railway station

Waltham was a railway station on the East Lincolnshire Railway which served the villages of New Waltham and Humberston in Lincolnshire between 1848 and 1964. It was originally named Waltham and Humberstone, but Humberstone was dropped soon after opening...

 on a now closed line between Grimsby

Grimsby

Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

 and Louth

Louth, Lincolnshire

Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...

.