[2][3] To the west of the village, situated at the junction of Wellhead Lane and the B1188 road, is Nocton Top Cottages consisting of eight further dwellings.

[8][9] A Neolithic polished stone axe was discovered close to the future site of Nocton Hall in its grounds opposite Manor Farm, in 1909,[10][11] There is some limited evidence of Bronze Age occupation.

A negative cropmark indicates the presence of a Bronze Age round barrow approximately 500 metres south of Abbey Hill.

[14] There is archaeological evidence of Iron Age (800 BC - AD 44) settlement and activity in Nocton that was then in the territory of the Brythonic Celtic tribal federation of the Corieltauvi.

Iron Age scored pottery sherds containing animal bones were found both at the Neolithic site and to the south-western edge of the village[15] along the bridleway to Dunston.

[16][17] The Archaeological and Historical Sites Index also records the presence of an Iron Age settlement and rectilinear enclosures to the north-east of the village[18] although Iron Age Britons lived in round houses with conical thatched roofs of straw or heather that left few archaeological remains.

[21] Two Roman clay coin moulds were found in 1811 in the bed of Car Dyke at the north end of Nocton Wood, close to Wasps Nest.

[22] The moulds are identified as belonging to Constantine the Great (AD307–337) and his mother Helena and copies of copper alloy folles, now located at the British Museum.

[17] From the early days of the Anglo-Saxon era Nocton was located close to the boundary between Anglian tribal confederations and in turn kingdoms.

[25] It is likely that elements of the Great Heathen Army passed through Nocton in September 870 after destroying Bardney Abbey, crossing the River Witham from Lindsey into Kesteven before travelling south towards Peterborough.

[37] The long, parallel fields of Nocton Fen between Car Dyke and the modern course of the River Witham were the result of the division of wetlands that had its peak in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

[40][41] In the mid-twelfth century the western edge of modern Nocton Parish fell within an area known as Hanehaithe that denoted part of the great heath stretching southwards from Lincoln as far as Boothby Graffoe and Blankney.

Henry VIII visited Nocton only five years after the Dissolution on 13 October 1541 and stayed with the Stukeleys; it is widely reputed that his fifth wife Katherine Howard planted a horse chestnut tree that still stands in the grounds of the Cottage Residential Home.

Nocton Estates Light Railway was constructed in 1926 and used to transfer potatoes to the railhead at Dunston and sugar beet to a factory at Bardney.

The light railway rolling stock and track were originally used to move munitions and troops to the front line in the First World War.

A survey of the East Midlands Oilfields including blocks around Nocton in 1943 resulted in short-lived production from a well – Nocton-2[51] – drilled by d'Arcy Oil Company from December 1943 until 1945 amounting to 521 barrels in total, described as a major disappointment.

In the early twentieth century, particularly during World War II, there were numerous Royal Air Force airfields close to Nocton; the level of training and operational flying resulted in a number of crashes within the parish:[55] Nocton is situated 7 miles south-east of Lincoln on the B1202 road just east of its junction with the B1188 (Sleaford Road).

[63] A planning application was submitted in December 2009, later revised and resubmitted in November 2010, to build a 3,770-cow dairy on Nocton Heath that was described as a 'battery farm' for cows.

[64] Known as the Nocton Dairies controversy it attracted significant local and national opposition including an Early Day Motion signed by 172 MPs in the House of Commons on 8 March 2010.

[66] The proposal was strongly opposed by local residents citing concerns for wildlife, additional traffic and subsonic noise who organised into an action group called Protect Nocton Fen.

[67] The group canvassed 449 attendees of six public information sessions in June 2015 finding that 79% of local residents opposed the development.

[73][74] Group Captain Gilbert Insall VC MC, recipient of the Victoria Cross whilst serving with the Royal Flying Corps during the Great War, is buried in the churchyard.