Woolsthorpe Manor in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, was the birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton on December 25, 1642 (old calendar). At that time it was a yeoman's farmstead, principally rearing sheep (hence the wool reference in the name — thorpe comes from a Danish/Viking word meaning farmstead[citation needed]).
Newton returned here when Cambridge University closed due to the plague, and here he performed many of his most famous experiments, most notably his work on light and optics. This is also believed to be the site where Newton purportedly observed an apple fall from a tree, inspiring him to formulate his law of universal gravitation.
Now in the hands of the National Trust and open to the public from spring to autumn, it is presented as a typical 17th century yeoman's farmhouse (or as near to that as possible, taking into account modern living, health and safety requirements and structural changes that have been made to the house since Newton's time).
New, once private, areas of the house were opened up to the public in 2003, with the old rear steps (that once led up to the hay loft and grain store and often seen in drawings of the period) being rebuilt, and the old walled kitchen garden, to the rear of the house, being restored.
One of the former farmyard buildings has been equipped so that visitors can have hands-on experience of the physical principles investigated by Newton in the house.
The village
Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth has grown from a hamlet of several houses in the 17th century to a small village of several hundred houses today; much of the original land once owned by Woolsthorpe Manor was sold to a nearby family[citation needed], and some of the immediate open land has since been built upon. However, Woolsthorpe Manor still remains on the edge of the village and is mostly surrounded by fields.
Confusingly, there are two villages in Lincolnshire named Woolsthorpe, Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir (pronounced beever) near Nottingham in addition to Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth.
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