Woolsthorpe by Belvoir is first mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name is thought to derive from the Old English personal name 'Wulfstan' and the Old Danish word 'thorp', meaning 'Wulfstan's secondary settlement'. Land there was owned by Robert de Todeni: 'Levric had 4 carucates of land (assessed) to the geld. There is land for as many teams. Robert has 1 team there in demesne, and 6 villeins and 3 bordars and 8 sokemen having 3 teams, and 3 mills rendering 15 shillings. Tempore Regis Edwardi (before 1066) and now worth 40 shillings.' 'In the same place Godwin and Archel had 4 carucates of land (assessed) to the geld. There is land for as many teams. Robert has 1.5 mills there rendering 8 shillings and 6 pence, and 11 villeins with 1 team. There is a church there, and a priest having half a carucate of this land. There are 30 acres of meadow and 3 virgates there. Tempore Regis Edwardi (before 1066) and now worth 40 shillings.' {1}{2} Woolsthorpe was recorded together with Belvoir in the Lay Subsidy of 1334, which lists the wealth of these settlements as £2 18s, with this being below average for this wapentake (Winnibriggs). {3} The Diocesan Return of 1563 records 37 households in the parish. {4} 57 families were recorded as living in the parish by the late 17th century. This had risen to 60 families by the early 18th century. {5} Notable residents of the village in 1856 are listed in White's Directory. 632 souls were recorded as being in the parish at this time. {6}