Groton
The Sign
There is a wheat sheaf above the name painted yellow; a depiction of Groton Wood next to the church of St Bartholomew. At the bottom is a sailing ship with the sails billowing forward and the pennant blowing backwards. It may represent John Winthrop who sailed to America and founded Boston and becoming the first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The sign was erected in 1994 to commemorate the centenary of the Parish Council as shown under the ship.
The Name and Population
It was called Grotena in 1086. The name means "sandy or gravelly stream", from Old English. The population was 288 in 2011.
Other Points of Interest
There are quite a few small hamlets in the parish: Broad Street, Castling's Heath, Gosling Green, Horner's Green and Parliament Heath.
It is home to several Ancient Woodlands: the Groton Wood SSSI, the Mill Wood and Winding Wood nature reserves, and a section of Bull's Cross Wood (part of the Milden Thicks SSSI). Also found in the parish are a tributary to the River Box and Pitches Mount, the remaining earthworks of a wooden castle.