Surfleet is a small village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
district of
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, England. It is situated on the
B1356 road, north of
Spalding, in the
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
fens. The
River Glen runs through the village.
The village has a population of 1,301 people, increasing to 1,338 at the 2011 census, many of whom commute to regional population centres such as
Spalding,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
.
Landmarks
![Stockton grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Stockton_grave.jpg)
Surfleet church is dedicated to
Saint Laurence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...
and includes a 15th-century
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design.
In mod ...
. The church tower leans out of perpendicular. Remains of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
sea banks and salt pans can also be seen near the village. The church is situated exactly between the nearby villages of
Gosberton
Gosberton is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south-west of Boston, north of Spalding and north-west of Holbeach. The parish includes the villages of Gosberton Clough and Rise ...
to the North and
Pinchbeck to the South.
The churchyard contains a gravestone in memory of a murder victim, Samuel Stockton. Stockton was lured from
north-west England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
to Lincolnshire by a
Gedney Hill
Gedney Hill is a village and civil parish in South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 737. It is situated close to the border of Cambridgeshire, and approximately south-east ...
farmer called Hooten in 1768. Hooten passed himself off as a preacher and brought Stockton to
the Fens
The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...
on the pretext of a business deal, but killed him for his money near the Common Marsh Bank. Hooten was executed at Lincoln for the crime and hanged in a
gibbet cage near where he had committed the crime. The story is told in very faint letters on the stone, which is on the River Glen side of the churchyard.
Surfleet's Glen Park, 10 acres in size, has a public children's play area, outdoor gym equipment, picnic areas, a sensory garden, an outdoor classroom and a wheelchair friendly woodland trail. The park's all-weather and grass sports pitches are used by hockey and football teams.
Railway
The railway opened in Surfleet in the 1850s with the completion of the
Great Northern Railway's
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...
to
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
section of the
Lincolnshire loop line
The Lincolnshire loop line was a double-track railway built by the Great Northern Railway, that linked Peterborough to Lincoln via Spalding and Boston.
History
The Lincolnshire loop line was authorised on 26 June 1846 as part of the London an ...
.
Surfleet railway station was situated at the south end of the village giving the main road through the village, Station Road, its name. The station was a brick building with two platforms and sidings. Its
signal box
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
controlled the station, line points and signals. A small hotel, the Great Northern Hotel, was built and its name survived until the late 1980s, when it was renamed the Riverside Hotel.
Surfleet station was the first station north of the then much busier station in Spalding.
Spalding was once a mainline station with lines from the north and west;now only the line from the north remains. It also had a line to Peterborugh, which still exists, and a line from
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
in the east, which was the first to be closed in the 1960s.
Regular trains linked Spalding to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and other destinations. The River Glen was used to transport goods from around Surfleet to the station, where they were transported throughout the country by rail. Goods consisted chiefly of farm produce such as wheat, potatoes, flowers and barley, with
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
transported to Spalding's sugar beet factory. Fish and shellfish, caught in
The Wash
The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk, England, Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it i ...
and landed at Surfleet Reservoir, were transported from Surfleet station, mostly on an early train to
Billingsgate Market
Billingsgate Fish Market is located in Canary Wharf in London. It is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east corner of the City of London, where the riverside market was origi ...
in London, for sale the same day. The line was owned and operated by the
Great Northern Railway Company until the line was absorbed by the
London & North Eastern Railway
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
(LNER) in 1927.
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
ways closed the railway in Surfleet. The LNER disappeared with the
nationalisation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of British Railways by the 1948 Labour Government. The station was one of many lines across the country that was closed on recommendation of the
Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. Either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames' ...
—it closed to passengers in 1961 and to goods in 1963. The railway line between Spalding and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
survived until late 1970 when, after more than 100 years of service, it was removed, leaving only station buildings.
Spalding station was closed, but re-opened a year later to service areas that had lost their railway service.
The station buildings in Surfleet stood until 1994, when they were demolished to accommodate the building of the
A16 Spalding Bypass. The A16 is built on the route of the old railway line from Boston to just beyond Surfleet, where it turns away to the left to avoid Spalding. The only remaining part of the station is the Riverside Hotel public house, which is on the original route of Station Road, itself re-routed to accommodate the A16.
Education
Surfleet has a small primary school named the Surfleet Seas End County Primary School. It is in Station Road. It was built in 1878 and has the appearance of a typical Victorian School. The original school buildings are still used, as is the old schoolhouse, which has been refurbished and is now an administration office and visitor reception area.
The building has been extended since its first opening to improve and expand its facilities. It now has three internal classrooms, a multipurpose hall, a central library and a computer room. A further mobile building, in the rear playground, acts as the fourth classroom. It has two large hard surface playing areas, an environmental garden, a garden play area, and a large field used for sports and other recreational activities.
The school has under 90 pupils on roll, served by four full-time teaching staff and support and ancillary staff. After 2008 the school federated with Weston St Mary's Church of England Primary School.
Notables
*
Robinson Elsdale
Robinson Elsdale (1744–1783), was an English privateer and autobiographer.
He was the son of Samuel Elsdale (1704–1788) and Mary Elsdale, of Surfleet, Lincolnshire. He was baptised on 25 December 1744 at Surfleet. His sister Mary (1739–1772 ...
, writer and sailor
References
External links
*
Surfleet Parish Council Lincolnshire Parish Councils
St Laurence's, Surfleet
{{authority control
Civil parishes in Lincolnshire
South Holland, Lincolnshire
Villages in Lincolnshire