The Parts of Kesteven ( or ) are a traditional division of Lincolnshire, England. This division had long had a separate county administration (quarter sessions), along with the two other Parts of Lincolnshire, Lindsey and Holland.

Etymology

The name Kesteven is first attested in the late tenth century Latin translation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle by Æthelweard, in the form Ceoftefne (agreed by scholars to be a scribal error for Ceostefne). The name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chetsteven and from 1185 as Ketsteuene. The first part of the name comes from the Common Brittonic word *ceto- ("woodland"), still found in Modern Welsh as coed. The second element is the Old Norse word stefna ("meeting place"). Thus the name a place named by Brittonic-speakers as "Woodland" came to be included by Old Norse speakers coining a name that meant "meeting place at [the place called] Coed".

Administrative areas

Wapentakes and Sokes

Historically, Lincolnshire was divided into wapentakes, hundreds and sokes. The following made up Kesteven:

Local Government Act 1888

The three parts were given separate elected county councils in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, and recognised as administrative counties. Kesteven lies in the south-west of Lincolnshire. It includes the towns of:

Local Government Act 1894

Under the Local Government Act 1894 Kesteven was divided into a number of rural district and urban districts based on earlier sanitary districts: The urban districts and boroughs were: Bourne Urban District was abolished in 1920, with Bourne becoming a parish in Bourne Rural District. Bracebridge became part of the county borough of Lincoln that same year, becoming associated with the Parts of Lindsey.

Local Government Act 1929

The rural districts were re-organised by a County Review Order in 1929, to create four new districts named after points of the compass:

Local Government Act 1972

These separate county councils were abolished in 1974 and Lincolnshire (minus the northern part of Lindsey) had a single county council for the first time, although the names of the Parts survive in some of the names of district councils. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the four rural districts in Kesteven, along with the boroughs and urban district, merged into two district councils:

Titles of nobility associated with Kesteven