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Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west,
Holdingham Holdingham is a hamlet in the civil parish and built-up area of Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It is bisected by Lincoln Road (B1518) which joins the A17 and A15 roads immediately north of the settlement; those roads connect it to Lincoln, Newark, Pe ...
to the north and Old Sleaford to the east. The town is on the edge of the fertile Fenlands, north-east of Grantham, west of Boston, and south of Lincoln. Its population of 17,671 at the 2011 Census made it the largest settlement in the North Kesteven district; it is the district's administrative centre. Bypassed by the A17 and the A15, it is linked to Lincoln,
Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
, Peterborough, Grantham and
King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...
. The first settlement formed in the Iron Age where a prehistoric track crossed the
River Slea The River Slea is a tributary of the River Witham, in Lincolnshire, England. In 1872 the river was described as "a never-ending source of pure water", and was a trout river renowned throughout the East coast of England. But in the late 1960s, t ...
. It was a tribal centre and home to a mint for the Corieltauvi in the 1st centuries BC and AD. Evidence of Roman and
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
settlement has been found. The medieval records differentiate between Old and New Sleaford, the latter emerging by the 12th century around the present-day market place and St Denys' Church;
Sleaford Castle Sleaford Castle is a medieval castle in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. Built by the Bishop of Lincoln in the early 1120s, it was habitable as late as 1555 but fell into disrepair during the latter half of the 16th century. Two English monarchs a ...
was also built at that time for the Bishops of Lincoln, who owned the manor. Granted the right to hold a market in the mid-12th century, New Sleaford developed into a market town and became locally important in the wool trade, while Old Sleaford declined. From the 16th century, the landowning Carre family kept tight control over the town – it grew little in the early modern period. The manor passed from the Carre family to the Hervey family by the marriage of Isabella Carre to John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol in 1688. The town's common land and fields were legally enclosed by 1794, giving ownership mostly to the Hervey family. This coincided with canalisation of the Slea. The
Sleaford Navigation The Sleaford Navigation was a 12.5 mile (20.1 km) canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, m ...
brought economic growth until it was superseded by the railways in the mid-1850s. In the 20th century, the sale of farmland around Sleaford led to the development of large housing estates. Sleaford was mainly an agricultural town until the 20th century with a cattle market. Seed companies such as Hubbard and Phillips and Sharpes International were established in the late 19th century. The arrival of the railway made the town favourable for malting, but the industry has since declined. In 2011, the commonest occupations were in wholesale and retail trading, health and social care, public administration, defence and manufacturing. Regeneration of the town centre has helped to regenerate the earlier industrial areas, including construction of
the National Centre for Craft & Design The Hub (sometimes The National Centre for Craft & Design) is an arts centre in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, which holds England's largest exhibition space for craft and design. It comprises a shop, cafebar, galleries, dance studio, and design worksh ...
(T''he Hub'') on an old wharf.


History


Etymology

The earliest records of the place-name Sleaford are found in a charter of 852 as ''Slioford'' and in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
as ''Sliowaford''. In the '' Domesday Book'' (1086), it is recorded as ''Eslaforde'' and in the early 13th century as ''Sliforde''. In the 13th century ''
Book of Fees The ''Book of Fees'' is the colloquial title of a modern edition, transcript, rearrangement and enhancement of the medieval (Latin: 'Book of Fiefs'), being a listing of feudal landholdings or fief (Middle English ), compiled in about 1302, but f ...
'' it appears as ''Lafford''. The name is formed from the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
words and , together meaning 'ford over a muddy or slimy river'.Ekwall 1977, p. 462.


Early period

Archaeological material from the Bronze Age and earlier has been recovered and excavations have shown there was unsustained late- Neolithic and Bronze Age human activity in the vicinity.Mahany and Roffe 1979, p. 6. The earliest known permanent settlement dates from the Iron Age, where a track northwards from
Bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...
crossed the River Slea. Although only sparse pottery evidence has been found for the middle Iron Age period, 4,290 pellet mould fragments, probably used for minting and dated to 50 BC–AD 50, have been uncovered south-east of the modern town centre, south of a crossing of the River Slea and near Mareham Lane in Old Sleaford. The largest of its kind in Europe, the deposit has led archaeologists to consider that the site in Old Sleaford as one of the largest Corieltauvian settlements in the period and possibly a tribal centre. During the
Roman occupation of Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
(AD 43–409), the settlement was "extensive and of considerable importance". Its location beside the Fens may have made it economically and administratively significant as a centre for stewards and owners of fenland estates. There are signs of a road connecting Old Sleaford to Heckington (about east), where Roman tile kilns have been uncovered and may imply the presence of a market.Mahany and Roffe 1979, p. 10. When the first roads were built by the Romans, Sleaford was bypassed as "less conveniently located" and more "geared to native needs". A smaller road,
Mareham Lane Mareham Lane is an unclassified road between Graby and Sleaford in Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately long. The Roman Road For most of its length Mareham Lane follows the route of a minor Roman road, and the name is also used for that Ro ...
, which the Romans renewed, ran through Old Sleaford, and south along the fen edge towards Bourne. Where it passed through Old Sleaford, excavations have shown a large stone-built domestic residence, associated farm buildings, corn-driers, ovens and field systems, all from the Roman period, and a number of burials. Other Roman remains, including a burial, have been excavated in the town.


Middle Ages

There is little evidence of continuous settlement between the late Roman and
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
periods but the Saxons did establish themselves eventually. South of the modern town, a 6th to 7th-century cemetery has been uncovered with an estimated 600 burials, many showing signs of
pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
burial rites. The now ruined Church of St Giles/All Saints at Old Sleaford has been discovered and excavations of the market place in 1979 uncovered Anglo-Saxon remains from the 8th–9th centuries, indicating some form of enclosure with domestic features. The earliest documentary reference to Sleaford occurs in a 9th-century charter,Mahany and Roffe 1979, p. 11. when it was owned by Medehamstede Abbey in Peterborough, a Mercian royal foundation. There is little evidence of estate structure until the late Saxon period, but there may have been a market and court before the Norman Conquest, and it may well have been an economic and jurisdictional centre for surrounding settlements. The Slea played a big part in the town's economy: it never ran dry or froze, and by the 11th century it supported a dozen watermills. The mills and others in nearby Quarrington and the lost hamlet of Millsthorpe, formed the "most important mill cluster in Lincolnshire".Pawley 1996, pp. 17–18; Quarrington means "settlement of millers". In the later Middle Ages, the Romano-British settlement became known as Old Sleaford, while New Sleaford was a settlement centred on St Denys' Church and the market place. The Domesday Book of 1086 has two entries under ''Eslaforde'' (Sleaford) recording land held by
Ramsey Abbey Ramsey Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. It was founded about AD 969 and dissolved in 1539. The site of the abbey in Ramsey is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Most of the abbey's ...
and the Bishop of Lincoln. The location of the manors recorded in ''Domesday'' is unclear. One theory endorsed by Maurice Beresford is that they focused on the settlement at Old Sleaford, due to evidence that New Sleaford was planted in the 12th century by the bishop to increase his income, a development associated with the construction of
Sleaford Castle Sleaford Castle is a medieval castle in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. Built by the Bishop of Lincoln in the early 1120s, it was habitable as late as 1555 but fell into disrepair during the latter half of the 16th century. Two English monarchs a ...
between 1123 and 1139. Beresford's theory has been criticised by the local historians Christine Mahany and David Roffe who have reinterpreted the ''Domesday'' material and argued that in 1086 the Bishop's manor included the church and associated settlement which became "New" Sleaford. A charter to hold a fair on the feast day of St Denis was granted by King Stephen to Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1136–1140. Between 1154 and 1165, Henry II granted the bishop of Lincoln the right to hold a market at Sleaford; Bishop Oliver Sutton argued in 1281 that his right to hold a market and fair had existed since time immemorial. In 1329,
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
confirmed the market. In 1401, Henry IV granted the bishop fairs on the feast days of St Denis and St Peter's Chains. A survey of 1258 is the first to mention burgage tenure; tenants in the nearby hamlet of Holdingham held tofts with other land, while those in New Sleaford held only tofts, indicating that
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
farming centred on the hamlet.Mahany and Roffe 1979, p. 18. The town later had at least two guilds comparable to those found in developed towns.Hosford 1968, p. 28. However, there was no formal charter outlining its freedoms;Pawley 1996 p. 24. it was not a centre of trade, and tight control by the bishops meant the economy was mainly geared to serve them. So it retained a strong tradition of demesne farming well into the 14th century.Pawley 1996, p. 29. As the economic initiative passed more to burgesses and middlemen who formed ties with nearby towns such as Boston, evidence suggests that Sleaford developed a locally important role in the wool trade.Mahany and Roffe 1979, p. 19. In the Lay Subsidy of 1334, New Sleaford was the wealthiest settlement in the Flaxwell wapentake, with a value of £16 0s. 8d.1/4d."General Settlement Record for New Sleaford"
''Heritage Gateway''. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
Meanwhile, Old Sleaford, an "insignificant" place since the end of the Roman period, declined and may have been deserted by the 16th century."Settlement of Old Sleaford (Reference Name MLI91636)"
''Lincs to the Past'' (Lincolnshire Archives). Retrieved 29 November 2014.


Early modern period

The manor of Old Sleaford was owned in the late 15th and early 16th centuries by the Hussey family, but John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford was executed for treason for his part in the
Lincolnshire Rising The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...
. The manor and his residence at Old Place reverted to the Crown and were later sold to Robert Carre. George Carre or Carr from Northumberland had settled in Sleaford by 1522 when he was described as a wool merchant. His son Robert bought Hussey's land and the castle and manor of New Sleaford from
Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln Edward Fiennes, or Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln KG (151216 January 1584/85) was an English landowner, peer, and Lord High Admiral. He rendered valuable service to four of the Tudor monarchs. Family Edward Clinton, or Fiennes, was born a ...
. His eldest surviving son Robert, founded
Carre's Grammar School Carre's Grammar School is a selective secondary school for boys in Sleaford, a market town in Lincolnshire, England. Founded on 1 September 1604 by an indenture of Robert Carre, the school was funded by rents from farmland and run by a group ...
in 1604, and his youngest son Edward was created a baronet; his son founded Sleaford Hospital in 1636.Trollope 1872, pp. 131–132. The last male descendant died in 1683 and the heiress, Isabella Carre, married John Hervey, Earl of Bristol, in whose family the estates remained until the 1970s.Trollope 1872, p. 134.Pawley 1996, p. 50. The Carres and Herveys had a strong influence: while extracting dues from their tenants, they took leading tradesmen to the Exchequer Court to gain legal force behind their monopoly on charging tolls on market and cattle traders and for driving animals through the town. Industry was slow to take hold. By the second half of the 18th century, Cogglesford Mill was the only working corn mill in the town. An old mill at the junction of Westgate and Castle Causeway supplied hemp to the growing rope-making business of the Foster and Hill families. As local historian Simon Pawley wrote, "In many respects, things had changed little y 1783since the survey of 1692," with few of the buildings or infrastructure being improved. Major changes to agriculture and industry took place in the last decade of that century. From the Middle Ages, Sleaford was surrounded by three open fields known as North, West and Sleaford Fields. When these were enclosed in 1794, over 90 per cent of the of the open land was owned by Lord Bristol. Despite the costs of fencing and re-organisation, the system was easier to farm and cottages were built closer to fields, while the landowner could charge more rent owing to the increased profitability of the land; those who lost out were the cottagers, who could no longer keep a few animals grazing on the common land at no cost. The process allowed the land boundaries and pathways to be tidied; Drove Lane, running to Rauceby, was shifted north and straightened.


Industrial development

Canalisation of the River Slea began in the 1790s. Canals in England were constructed from the 1760s to make inland trade easier; Sleaford's businessmen were keen to benefit from these.
Sleaford Navigation The Sleaford Navigation was a 12.5 mile (20.1 km) canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, m ...
opened in 1794."History – Establishment"
''Sleaford Navigation Trust''. Retrieved 29 November 2014. Archived at the Internet Archive o
29 November 2014
It eased the export of farm produce to the Midlands and the import of coal and oil. Mills along the Slea benefited and wharves were constructed around Carre Street. Between 1829 and 1836 the navigation's toll rights increased in value 27 times over.
''Sleaford Navigation Trust''. Retrieved 29 November 2014. Archived at the Internet Archive o
29 November 2014
The railways emerged in the 19th century as an alternative to canals and arrived at the town in 1857, when a line from Grantham to Sleaford opened.Ellis 1981, pp. 79–81, 84, 86.Slea Walks 6 – Sleaford, Holdingham, Ruskington & Haverholme Lock
''Sleaford Navigation Trust''. Retrieved 17 September 2014. Archived at the Internet Archive o
17 September 2014
This made trading easier and improved communications, but led to the decline of the Navigation Company. Income from tolls decreased by 80 per cent between 1858 and 1868; it made its first loss in 1873 and was abandoned in 1878.Ellis 1981, pp. 89–91. The town's rural location and transport links led in the late 19th century to the rise of two local seed merchants: Hubbard and Phillips, and Charles Sharpe; the former took over the Navigation Wharves, and the latter was trading in the US and Europe by the 1880s. The railway, Sleaford's rural location and its artesian wells, were key factors in the development of the Bass & Co maltings complex at Mareham Lane (1892–1905). Sleaford's population more than doubled from 1,596 in 1801 to 3,539 in 1851. Coinciding with this is the construction or extension of public buildings, often by the local contractors Charles Kirk and
Thomas Parry Thomas Parry may refer to: * Thomas Parry (Comptroller of the Household) (c. 1515–1560), serving Queen Elizabeth I of England * Thomas Parry (ambassador) (1541–1616), English MP, ambassador to France and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster * T ...
. The gasworks opened in 1839 to provide lighting in the town.Ellis 1981, p. 94. Sleaford's Poor Law Union was formed in 1836 to cater for the town and the surrounding 54 parishes. A workhouse was built by 1838, able to house 181 inmates."Sleaford, Lincolnshire"
''The Workhouse''. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
Despite these advances, the slums around Westgate were crowded, lacking in sanitation and ridden by disease; the local administration failed to deal with the matter until 1850, when a report on the town's public health by the General Board of Health heavily criticised the situation and set up a Local Board of Health to undertake public works.Pawley 1996, pp. 79–80. By the 1880s, Lord Bristol had allowed clean water to be pumped into the town, but engineering problems and a reluctance to sell land to house the turbines had delayed the introduction of sewers.


Post-industrial period

Although hardly damaged in the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and Second World Wars, Sleaford has close links with the Royal Air Force due to proximity to several RAF bases, including RAF Cranwell and
RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...
. Lincolnshire's topography – flat and open countryside – and its location in the east of the country made it ideal for the airfields being constructed in the First World War. Work began on Cranwell in late 1915; it was designated an RAF base in 1918 and the
RAF College The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...
opened in 1920 as the world's first air academy. Archived at the Internet Archive on ."Formation of RAFC Cranwell". ''Royal Air Force''. Archived at the Internet Archive o
13 January 2013
A Cranwell branch railway linking Sleaford station with the RAF base opened in 1917 and closed in 1956. During the Second World War, Lincolnshire was "the most significant location for bomber command" and Rauceby Hospital, south-west of Sleaford, was requisitioned by the RAF as a specialist burns unit which the plastic surgeon
Archibald McIndoe Sir Archibald Hector McIndoe (4 May 1900 – 11 April 1960) was a New Zealand plastic surgeon who worked for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He improved the treatment and rehabilitation of badly burned aircrew. Early life Archi ...
regularly visited. Sleaford's population remained static between the wars, but the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
in the 1930s caused unemployment to rise. The Council housing put up along Drove Lane proved insufficient for the low-income families after the Westgate slums were cleared in the 1930s; Jubilee Grove opened in that decade to meet the demand. In the post-war period, there were housing developments at St Giles Avenue, the Hoplands, Russell Crescent, Jubilee Grove and Grantham Road. figure 8 (overleaf from page 5). Parts of the town were redeveloped: in 1958, the Bristol Arms Arcade opened, the Corn Exchange was demolished in the 1960s and the Waterside Shopping Precinct opened in 1973, as did Flaxwell House, designed to house a department store, though later becoming the national headquarters for
Interflora Interflora is a flower delivery network, associated with over 58,000 affiliated flower shops in over 140 countries. It is a subsidiary of Teleflora, a subsidiary of The Wonderful Company. History In 1920 a florist, Joe Dobson, of Leighton's ...
. By 1979, the major landowner,
Victor Hervey, 6th Marquess of Bristol Victor Frederick Cochrane Hervey, 6th Marquess of Bristol (6 October 1915 – 10 March 1985), was a British aristocrat, hereditary peer and businessman. He was a member of the House of Lords, Chancellor of the International Monarchist League, ...
, was heavily in debt and sold most of his estates in Sleaford and Quarrington. The estate office closed in 1989.Pawley 1996, p. 122. Much of the land went to property developers and subsequent decades brought new housing and a considerable rise in population. According to a council report, people were attracted to the town by "the quality of life, low crime rates, relatively low house prices and good-quality education". From 1981 to 2011, Sleaford's population rose from 8,000 to 18,000; the growth rate in 1991–2001 was the fastest of any town in the county. The infrastructure struggled to cope, especially with increased traffic congestion. Two bypasses opened and a one-way system was introduced, a process that Simon Pawley argues accelerated the decline of the High Street. In the early 2000s, the Single Regeneration Budget of £15 million granted to Sleaford improved the town centre and funded development of the Hub (from 2011 to 2021,
the National Centre for Craft & Design The Hub (sometimes The National Centre for Craft & Design) is an arts centre in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, which holds England's largest exhibition space for craft and design. It comprises a shop, cafebar, galleries, dance studio, and design worksh ...
) in the old Navigation wharves area.


Geography


Topography

Sleaford is the principal market town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Holdingham to the north east and the village of Quarrington to the south east, both of which merge with the town. Sleaford lies some 43 feet (13 m) above sea level close to Lincoln Cliff, a Limestone
scarp Scarp may refer to: Landforms and geology * Cliff, a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure * Escarpment, a steep slope or long rock that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevatio ...
running north–south through Lindsey and Kesteven.Elsdon 1997, p. 7. The bedrock under the western half of the town belongs to the
Great Oolite Group The Great Oolite Group is a Middle Jurassic stratigraphic unit that outcrops in southern England. It consists of a complex set of marine deposits primarily mudstone and bioclastic ooidal and fine grained limestone, deposited in nearshore to shel ...
of Jurassic Sandstone, Limestone and Argillaceous rocks formed 168−165 million years ago;
Kellaways Kellaways, also known as Tytherton Kellaways, is a village and former ecclesiastical parish in the present-day civil parish of Langley Burrell Without and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Chippenham, which lies south ...
and Oxford Clay formations, dated to 165–156 million years ago, underlie the eastern half. Alluvium deposits are found along the Slea's course, and Fen sand and gravel are found to the east and south. The town is on the edge of the Fens, a low-lying region of the East of England which, before drainage from the 17th to the 20th centuries, were marshy and liable to flooding. Draining has revealed nutrient-rich soils and allowed 88 per cent of the land to be cultivated, mainly as arable. Most of it qualifies amongst the most productive farmland in the country. Two Local Nature Reserves sit within the civil parish boundaries: Lollycocks Field, providing mostly wildflower and wetlands habitats alongside Eastgate, and
Mareham Pastures Mareham Pastures is an 11-hectare Local Nature Reserve in Sleaford, a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It is owned by Lincolnshire County Council and managed jointly by Lincolnshire County Council a ...
, consisting of wildflower meadows, new woodland, hedges and open grassland.


Climate

Lincolnshire's position in the east of Britain brings a sunnier, warmer climate than average. It is one of the driest counties. Although it may vary depending on altitude and proximity to the coast, the mean average temperature for the East of England is approximately 9 °C to 10.5 °C; the highest temperature recorded in the region was 37.3 °C at Cavendish on 10 August 2003. On average, the region experiences 30 days of rainfall in winter and 25 in summer, with 15 days of thunder and 6–8 days of hail per year; on 25 August 2001, hail the size of golf balls were reported in Sleaford and other parts of central Lincolnshire. Wind tends to affect the north and west of the country more than the East, and Lincolnshire tends to get no more than two days of gale per year (where gale is a gust of wind at >34 knots, sustained for at least 10 minutes). Despite this, tornadoes form more often in the East of England than elsewhere; Sleaford suffered them in 2006 and 2012, both causing damage to property.


Governance


Politics

Before 1832, Sleaford was in the Lincolnshire parliamentary constituency, which encompassed all of the county except for four boroughs. In the 1818 election, 49 of the 2,000 people living in New and Old Sleaford and Quarrington qualified to vote. In 1832, the Reform Act widened the franchise and divided Lincolnshire. Sleaford was in the South Lincolnshire constituency that elected two members to Parliament. Following the 1867 reforms, the South Lincolnshire constituency's borders were redrawn, but Sleaford remained within it.Olney 1973, p. 251. The franchise was widened by the reforms so that roughly 15% (202) of males in Sleaford and Quarrington could vote in 1868. The constituency was abolished in 1885 and the Sleaford constituency formed. It merged with the Grantham seat in 1918. In 1997, Sleaford was reorganised into
Sleaford and North Hykeham Sleaford and North Hykeham is a parliamentary constituency in Lincolnshire, England which elects a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented since 2016 by Caroline Johnson, Dr Caroline ...
. From 1999 until 2020, Lincolnshire elected members of the European Parliament as part of the East Midlands constituency.


Local government

From the early medieval period, New Sleaford was in the Flaxwell wapentake and Old Sleaford in the Ashwardhurn one. Sleaford Poor Law Union, overseen by a Board of Guardians, was founded in 1836. A Local Board of Health was formed in 1851. After the Public Health Act 1872 established Urban and Rural Sanitary Districts (USD or RSD), Sleaford USD incorporated New and Old Sleaford, Holdingham and Quarrington, while the Sleaford RSD included all other parishes in the Poor Law Union. The Local Government Act 1894 converted the Board of Health and USD into the Sleaford Urban District Council; in 1899, the town became the administrative base of
Kesteven County Council Kesteven County Council was the county council of Parts of Kesteven in the east of England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 1974. The county council was based at the County Offices in Sleaford. It was amalgama ...
.Pawley 1996, p. 119. In 1973, Sleaford Urban District merged with the North and East Kesteven Rural Districts to form North Kesteven, a district of Lincolnshire; by statutory instrument, Sleaford civil parish became the urban district's successor, thus merging Quarrington, New Sleaford, Old Sleaford and Holdingham civil parishes. Sleaford Town Council, the parish-level local government body beneath the district council, consists of 18 councillors from six wards: Castle, Holdingham, Mareham, Navigation, Quarrington and Westholme. The Chairman of the Town Council is also the Mayor of Sleaford. The six wards are also represented on North Kesteven District Council, although Mareham and Quarrington are merged into a single ward. Sleaford sends one councillor to Lincolnshire County Council. Sleaford Town Council has offices on Carre Street and the District Council offices are in the Lafford Terrace building on Eastgate, which was purchased by the council in 1934. Sleaford Urban District Council was granted a coat of arms on 26 October 1950 and after it was abolished the arms were used by its successor, Sleaford Town Council. The arms are blazoned: ''Gules on a Chevron Or three Estoiles Sable on a Chief Argent as many Trefoils slipped Vert''. The trefoils in the chief are from the arms of the Marquess or Bristol, while the lower portion of the shield is the arms of the Carre family. Its crest is blazoned: ''On a Wreath of the Colours an Eagle wings extended and head downwards and to the sinister proper holding in the beak an Ear of Wheat stalked and leaved Or'', the eagle symbolises Sleaford's links with the Royal Air Force and the ear of wheat represents agriculture.


Public services

Policing is provided by the Lincolnshire Police, fire-fighting by the Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service and ambulance services by the
East Midlands Ambulance Service The East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) provides emergency medical services, urgent care and patient transport services for the 4.8million people within the East Midlands region of the UK - covering Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire (exc ...
. The police station is on Boston Road, although older premises on Kesteven Street were erected in 1845 and reconstructed in 1912. The fire and ambulance services share accommodation on Eastgate which opened in 2018; the fire station had previously been on Church Lane and the ambulance service had operated from Kesteven Street. The
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is an NHS trust which runs County Hospital Louth, Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Skegness and District Hospital, and Grantham and District Hospital. The trust established the Path Li ...
provides services at three hospitals,
Pilgrim Hospital Pilgrim Hospital is a hospital in the east of Lincolnshire on the A16, north of the town of Boston near the mini-roundabout with the A52. It is situated virtually on the Greenwich Meridian and adjacent to Boston High School. The fenland area ...
in Boston,
Grantham and District Hospital Grantham and District Hospital, is an NHS hospital in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. It is managed by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. History The foundation stone for the Grantham and Kesteven Hospital was laid on 29 October 1874. It ...
, and
Lincoln County Hospital Lincoln County Hospital is a large district general hospital on the eastern edge of north-east Lincoln, England. It is the largest hospital in Lincolnshire, and offers the most comprehensive services, in Lincolnshire. It is managed by the United ...
. In 1879, an Act of Parliament was passed to set up a water company for the town; pumping machinery was installed and works constructed in 1880 to provide a clean water supply to the town. In 1948, the council took over the company and in 1962 its operation was handed to the Kesteven Water Board, which was absorbed by the Anglian Water Authority in 1973. The County Council promoted a Bill to Parliament to build an electricity generating station which passed in 1900. It was built at the cost of £6,700 in 1901 on Castle Causeway and remained there until nationalisation in 1948. Following nationalisation, electricity was provided by the East Midlands Electricity Board until it was privatised in 1990. A "virtually carbon neutral" straw-burning power-station at Sleaford opened in 2013; capable of supplying electricity to 65,000 homes, it is powered by straw bales from farms within a radius. Most electricity generated is fed into the National Grid and the facility provides free heat to public buildings in the town. The Sleaford Gas Light Company was formed in 1838. The following year gas lighting was provided and a gasworks was constructed in Eastgate. In 1866, the company was incorporated; in 1895–96, the works were rebuilt and lit the town until the company was nationalised in 1948. Gas ceased to be made there in the 1960s and the original buildings were retained, although later extensions were demolished in 1966–1968. Sleaford Library houses a local and family history section and microfiche machine. It was refurbished in 2010, but, as of 2014, was listed by the county council as "undersized".


Economy


Employment

Sleaford served the surrounding agricultural communities and the town maintained a weekly market throughout the 19th century and a livestock market on Northgate from 1874 until 1984. According to a 2010 council report, the public sector was the town's main employer, along with agriculture and manufacturing. Unemployment was lower than the national average as were wages reflecting pay in the food processing and agricultural industries. At the 2011 Census, the largest group of working-age persons by economic activity are those in full-time employment, who make up 43.8 per cent of this section of the population, while 15 per cent are part-time employees and 7.7 per cent are self-employed; 15 per cent of the working-age population were retired, 4.2 per cent unemployed, with 40 per cent of those in long-term unemployment and roughly one third aged 16 to 24. The largest socio-economic grouping is those working in lower-tier managerial or administrative roles (21.9 per cent), followed by semi-routine (17.8 per cent), routine (15 per cent) and intermediate (12.5 per cent) occupations; no other group comprised 10 per cent or more. In terms of industry, the most common, based on those working in the sector, are the wholesale and retail trades (including automotive repairs) at 16.9 per cent, health and social care (13.4 per cent), public administration and defence (13.3 per cent) and manufacturing (10.9 per cent), with no other groups representing 10 per cent or more. An unemployment survey of Lincolnshire in 2014 found that the county experienced a decline in unemployment (based on Jobseekers Allowance claimants) by 29 per cent over the preceding 12 months, while the county's unemployment rate was marginally below the national average.


Regeneration

In 2011 North Kesteven District Council produced a 25-year strategy to regenerate the town, since its rapid growth since the 1990s had outgrown improvements to its infrastructure. It planned future residential developments and outlined ways to improve the town centre. It suggested developing more parking around the centre and reverting parts of the one-way system, developing southern Southgate and turning Money's Yard into an attraction to link with the National Centre for Craft and Design. North Kesteven District Council granted planning permission for a £56 m project to redevelop the derelict Bass Maltings site by converting it into residential and retail space and creating about 500 permanent jobs. The development including a supermarket was delayed when the town council opposed a link road through part of the recreation ground. Tesco, who had pledged to invest in a £20 million store in the development withdrew in January 2015 following financial set-backs.


Transport

The
A17 road This is a list of roads designated A17 or A-17. Entries are sorted in alphabetical order by country. * A17 highway (Australia), a bypass road in Adelaide, South Australia * A17 motorway (Belgium), a road connecting Bruges and Tournai * A 17 m ...
from Newark-on-Trent to
King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...
bypasses Sleaford from Holdingham Roundabout to
Kirkby la Thorpe Kirkby la Thorpe is a village and civil parish in North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England.The population at the 2011 census was 1,120. It lies east from Sleaford. The village is near thstartof the A17 Sleaford bypass. History There ...
. It ran through the town until the bypass opened in 1975. The Holdingham roundabout connects the A17 to the A15 road from Peterborough to
Scawby Scawby is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south-west from Brigg, and just east from the A15 road, and south from the M180 motorway. According to the 2001 Census, Scawby population (including Sturton) ...
. It also passed through Sleaford until 1993, when its bypass was completed. Three roads meet at Sleaford's market place: Northgate (B1518), Southgate and Eastgate (B1517). A
one-way system One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typical ...
set up in 1994 creates a circuit around the town centre. The railways arrived in the 19th century. Early proposals to bring a line to Sleaford failed, but in 1852 plans were made to build the Boston, Sleaford and Midland Counties Railway and its Act of Parliament passed in 1853. The line from Grantham opened in 1857; Boston was connected in 1859,
Bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...
in 1871 and
Ruskington Ruskington is a large village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, located approximately 4 miles (7 km) north of Sleaford on the north–south B1188 road and slightly north of the A153 road. The village ...
on
Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as "the Joint Line"''Joint Line Joy'', in the Railway Magazine, June 2015 was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern cou ...
in 1882. Sleaford is a stop on the
Peterborough to Lincoln Line 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 ...
and the Poacher Line, from Grantham to Skegness. Grantham, roughly by road and two stops on the Poacher Line, is a major stop on the
East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
. Trains from Grantham to London King's Cross take approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. The
River Slea The River Slea is a tributary of the River Witham, in Lincolnshire, England. In 1872 the river was described as "a never-ending source of pure water", and was a trout river renowned throughout the East coast of England. But in the late 1960s, t ...
through the town was converted into use as a canal for much of the 19th century. Plans to canalise it were drawn up in 1773,Pawley 1996, p. 64. but faced opposition from land-owners who feared it might affect the drainage of fens. Plans were approved in 1791 with the support of
Brownlow Bertie, 5th Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Brownlow Bertie, 5th Duke of Ancaster PC (1 May 1729 – 8 February 1809), styled Lord Brownlow Bertie until 1779, was a British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1779 when he succeeded to a peerage. Early life Be ...
who owned estates and quarries that he hoped would benefit. An Act of Parliament passed in 1792, establishing the
Sleaford Navigation The Sleaford Navigation was a 12.5 mile (20.1 km) canalisation of the River Slea in Lincolnshire, England, which opened in 1794. It ran from a junction with the River Witham, near Chapel Hill to the town of Sleaford through seven locks, m ...
, which opened two years later. After falling revenues due to competition from the railways, the navigation company closed in 1878. The river, although no longer navigable, passes under Carre Street and Southgate. The Nine Foot Drain, also unnavigable, meets the Slea just before Southgate.


Demography


Ethnicity

The 2011 census gave an ethnicity count of: *93.57% White British *4.04% White other *1.09% Asian or Asian British *0.26% Black or Black British *0.05% Arab *0.12% Other *0.87% Mixed The resident population at the 2011 Census was 17,671, which accounts for some 15 per cent of the population of the North Kesteven District; the urban area contained 8,690 houses. The town's population grew by 39% between 1991 and 2001, the fastest growth rate of any town in Lincolnshire. The district population is predicted to rise by 29 per cent between 2008 and 2033, compared with a national average of 18 per cent; in 2013, county councillors approved plans to build 4,500 new homes. A joint planning strategy report found that "This growth has largely been the result of people moving to the area attracted by the quality of life, low crime rates, relatively low house prices and good-quality education." The 2011 Census revealed that approximately 93.6 per cent of the town's resident population were White British; the second largest ethnic group was White Irish at approximately 3.4 per cent, followed by Asian (including Asian British) at 1.09 per cent; no other ethnic group represented 1% or more of the population; 88.5 per cent of residents were born in England and 4.41 per cent in other parts of the United Kingdom; 4.3 per cent were from EU countries, with 2.5 per cent coming from EU member states which joined after 2001.These statistics are based on the sums of those for each of the five census wards for the town, the data being at
"Sleaford Castle Ward: 2011 Census: Key Statistics""Sleaford Holdingham Ward: 2011 Census: Key Statistics""Sleaford Navigation Ward: 2011 Census: Key Statistics""Sleaford Westholme Ward: 2011 Census: Key Statistics""Sleaford Quarrington and Mareham Ward: 2011 Census: Key Statistics"
''Neighbourhood Statistics ''( Office for National Statistics). Retrieved 6 January 2015.
Between December 2013 and November 2014, 1,289 criminal acts were reported, of which 43.9 per cent were classed as anti-social behaviour, making it the largest portion of reported crimes. In 2010, recorded crime levels were amongst the lowest in the country and, for the year ending June 2014, the crime rate in the North Kesteven district is the lowest in Lincolnshire at 24.38 crimes per thousand residents.


Religion


Population

Most people in the town identify as
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. At the 2011 Census, 70.3 per cent of residents identified as Christian, while 21.8 per cent reported no religion, and 6.6 per cent did not state a religion; no other religious group comprised 1 per cent or more of the population. The 2001 Census recorded that 81.6 per cent of Sleaford residents identified as Christian, nearly ten percentage points higher than the national figure (71.8 per cent); 11.5 per cent of the town's residents had no religion and 6 per cent did not disclose a religion. In the ''Compton Census'' (1676), New Sleaford had a Conformist population of 576 people, no "
Papist The words Popery (adjective Popish) and Papism (adjective Papist, also used to refer to an individual) are mainly historical pejorative words in the English language for Roman Catholicism, once frequently used by Protestants and Eastern Orthodox ...
s" and 6 Non-conformists. In the 19th century, it had a sizeable Non-conformist population and a large Anglican congregation; at the 1851 Census of Religious Worship, an estimated 2,000 people attended Non-conformist places of worship, while an estimated 600–700 people attended
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
services in the parish. The Wesleyans met in Westgate in the early 19th century; by 1848, the congregation had set up in Northgate, an area known for its taverns and poor tenements.


Ecclesiastical history

New Sleaford had a church and priest by the time of the ''Domesday Book'' (1086) and the
vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...
was founded in 1274. During the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
(1649–60), the vicar was expelled and replaced by Puritan ministers, the last of whom was removed following the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
in 1660 and replaced with an Anglican clergyman. In 1616, the vicarage was valued at £8 and in 1872 at £180. As of 2015, the ecclesiastical parish of St Denys, Sleaford, encloses the town of Sleaford and hamlet of Holdingham north of the railway line and does not include Quarrington. It falls within the Lafford Deanery, the Lincoln Archdeaconry and the
Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...
. The patron is the Bishop of Lincoln and the incumbent vicar is the Rev. Philip Anthony Johnson, who was instituted in 2013. Old Sleaford was in the possession of
Ramsey Abbey Ramsey Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. It was founded about AD 969 and dissolved in 1539. The site of the abbey in Ramsey is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Most of the abbey's ...
at the time of Domesday and later
Haverholme Priory Haverholme Priory was a monastery in Lincolnshire, England. Its remains are situated north-east from the town of Sleaford and less than south-west from the village of Anwick. Foundation In 1137, Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln offered the sit ...
, and was eventually served by a vicar; the church was dedicated either to St Giles or to All Saints. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–41), the king took over collection of the tithes, eventually leasing them to Thomas Horseman and then selling them to Robert Carre. In the 17th century, the rectory of Quarrington and the vicarage were combined to form the parish of Quarrington with Old Sleaford.Trollope 1872, pp. 184–185. The parish boundaries of New Sleaford and Quarrington with Old Sleaford were last altered in 1928. The prebendary of New Sleaford or Lafford had a seat in the
Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...
; it is not known when it was established, but it was confirmed by the Pope in 1146 and 1163, and was in the patronage of the bishop. Sleaford's tithes paid to the prebendary were valued at £11 19s. 7d. (£11.98) in 1616. After the enclosure of Sleaford's fields, a farm at Holdingham Anna was allotted to the prebendary in place of the tithes. The Prebendal Court of Sleaford had jurisdiction over New and Old Sleaford and Holdingham to grant administration and
probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
. The parishes of New and Old Sleaford were in the peculiar jurisdiction of the predendary until 1846, when they became part of Aswardhurn and Lafford Rural Deanery. In 1866 they were placed in Aswardhurn and Lafford No. 2 Rural Deanery, from 1884 in the Lafford No. 2 Rural Deanery, the Lafford South Rural Deanery from 1910, and since 1968, the Lafford Rural Deanery.


Places of worship

The Anglican parish church, St Denys, fronts onto the market place; the oldest parts date to the late-12th century and the
broach-spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...
, built around 1220, is one of the oldest in England. Non-conformist meetings took place on Hen Lane (later Jermyn Street) from about 1776.Pawley 1996 p. 88. The
Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
who met there constructed a chapel on Southgate in 1867–1868 (extended in 2007); in 1972, it became Sleaford United Reformed Church, which merged with Sleaford Community Church to form Riverside Church in 2008. Wesleyans first met in the 1790s at the house of Thomas Fawcett on Westgate. They built a chapel nearby in 1802, which was replaced in 1823; it housed the congregation until 1848 when a larger one was built on North Street. It was demolished and replaced by another on the same site in 1972. A Baptist chapel was built in Old Sleaford in 1811 to house a congregation of 250, it served the
Strict Baptists Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith w ...
until possibly the mid-20th century. The premises have been converted into a house. A Wesleyan Reform Methodist chapel opened in West Banks in 1864, but since 1896 has been occupied by the
Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
. The Fens were increasingly cultivated after the Napoleonic Wars, prompting migrant Catholic Irish farm-workers to move to the area. By 1879 a Roman Catholic missionary, Father Hermann Sabela, was conducting services in the town. A Catholic school and chapel were built in 1881 on land in Jermyn Street and in 1888, Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church, opened beside it. The incumbent priest is Father Michael John Bell, who was appointed in 2001. Mass is held on Sundays and throughout the week. The Sleaford Muslim Community Association met in St Deny's Church Hall during the early 2000s. A prayer hall was opened in Station Road in 2015 which has a custom dome and small minarets on it. Protests were planned by the
English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...
, but were cancelled. Sleaford Spiritualist Church opened in about 1956 on Westgate.


Education


Primary

Sleaford has four primary schools. In 1726 William Alvey bequeathed land to fund teaching children in Sleaford. The school and master's house for Alvey's Endowed School, a national school, was built in 1851. New buildings for the infants' school were constructed in 1888. William Alvey Church of England School is housed in the same buildings. It became an academy in 2012. St Botolph's School is a Church of England Primary School, which opened at its current site in 2002. Church Lane School is housed in buildings constructed in 2002, when the original school house was demolished; in 2013, it had 201 children on roll. Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic School had 155 pupils on roll in 2011. In 1835, there were eight day schools and three Sunday schools in New Sleaford and two daily schools in Old Sleaford. An infant school in the old playhouse on Westgate opened in 1855; Wesleyan schools attached to the chapel on North Street accommodated up to 200 pupils. In addition to private girls' schools, short-lived private schools for boys were established by Mr Herring and Charles Boyer in 1851, Henry Carruthers, and Edwin Reginald Dibben in 1870 in competition with the grammar school. Charles Kirk built a school and chapel at Quarrington in 1867. It became St Botolph's Primary School and in 2002 moved to a new site. In 1879, an art school was established in Duke Street in connection with the Science and Art Department; by 1896, two Wesleyan schools and a Catholic school were also in operation.


Secondary

The town has three secondary schools with sixth forms:
Carre's Grammar School Carre's Grammar School is a selective secondary school for boys in Sleaford, a market town in Lincolnshire, England. Founded on 1 September 1604 by an indenture of Robert Carre, the school was funded by rents from farmland and run by a group ...
, a boys' grammar school,
Kesteven and Sleaford High School Kesteven and Sleaford High School (KSHS), is a selective school with academy status for girls aged between eleven and sixteen and girls and boys between sixteen and eighteen, located on Jermyn Street in the small market town of Sleaford, Linco ...
, a selective academy girls' grammar school, and
St George's Academy St George's Academy is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school based in the English market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, with a satellite school at nearby Ruskington. Its origins date to 1908, when Sleaford Council School opened ...
, formerly St George's College of Technology, and before that Sleaford (County) Secondary Modern School (mixed non-selective
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
). The grammar schools are selective and pupils are required to pass the Eleven plus exam. St George's is not selective. The co-educational Joint Sixth Form consortium allows pupils to choose subjects taught at all three schools. Carre's Grammar School was founded in 1604 by a bequest of Robert Carre of
Aswarby Aswarby () is a village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is south of Sleaford and east of the A15 road, between Sleaford and the point near Threekingham where it crosses the A52 road. With the village of Swarby, ...
. It has received Specialist Sports and Science statuses, became an academy in 2011 and was judged to be "good" by Ofsted in 2013, at which time it had 817 pupils, including the co-educational sixth form. Sleaford and Kesteven High School for Girls was established in 1902. It has specialist art status, became an academy in 2011 and was judged to be "good" by Ofsted in 2013, at which time there were 825 pupils on roll, including those in the co-educational sixth form. St George's opened in 1908 as Sleaford Council School. It has received specialist technology college status, converted to an academy in 2010 and operates a satellite school at
Ruskington Ruskington is a large village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, located approximately 4 miles (7 km) north of Sleaford on the north–south B1188 road and slightly north of the A153 road. The village ...
. St George's had 2,247 pupils on roll in 2012, across both sites and including the sixth form; when assessed by Ofsted in that year, was judged to be "good".


Culture

The National Centre for Craft & Design The Hub (sometimes The National Centre for Craft & Design) is an arts centre in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, which holds England's largest exhibition space for craft and design. It comprises a shop, cafebar, galleries, dance studio, and design worksh ...
opened as ''The Hub ''in 2003 with support from a Single Regeneration Budget grant. It attracts 90,000 visitors on average each year and houses exhibitions of applied and contemporary art. The Playhouse theatre on Westgate was constructed in 1825 for Joseph Smedley and sold in 1856 to be converted into an infants school and later a library and offices. In 1994, Sleaford Little Theatre bought and restored it and in 2000 it opened to the public. The Sleaford Picturedrome opened in 1920; the cinema closed in 2000 and the building became a snooker hall and then a nightclub that closed in 2008. Sleaford Museum Trust was formed in the 1970s to collect and preserve historical artefacts from the town's history. A Heritage Lottery Fund grant of more than £94,000 in December 2013 allowed the trust to establish a museum on Southgate, which opened in April 2015. Sleaford and District Civic Trust was founded in 1972 to "preserve the best features" of the town. There is a volunteer
twinning association A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
, the Sleaford and District Town Twinning Association, which was founded in 1999. The association has created and maintains links and annual visits with Marquette-lez-Lille in France since 1999, and with
Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The municipality, situated 23 km east of Berlin centre, is composed by the main settlement of Fredersdorf and by Vogelsdorf. De ...
in Germany since 2009.


Sport

Sleaford Town F.C. Sleaford Town F.C. is a football club based in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. The club plays in the . History Sleaford Town were founded in 1923. They joined the Lincolnshire League, where they were generally successful, being a regular to ...
played in the United Counties League Premier Division for the 2014–15 season. Formed as Sleaford Amateurs F.C. in 1920, the club was renamed Sleaford Town in 1968. In 2007 it moved to its present grounds at Eslaforde Park. Archived at the Internet Archive on 20 September 2013. Sleaford Rugby FC's clubhouse opened in 1999 off the A153. Sleaford Golf Club was founded in 1905 and had roughly 100 members the following year, which increased to 193 in 1911. The original golf course has been altered. In 2014, the club had roughly 600 members. Sleaford Cricket Club has grounds at London Road; the earliest record of the club is in 1803. The town is also home to Bristol Bowls Club, and an all-discipline gymnastics club founded in 1996. An outdoor lido opened in 1872 on riverside land owned by the Bristol estate but handed over to the community as public baths. Indoor facilities were built in the 20th century and the old lido became Sleaford Leisure Centre. In 2011 Kesteven District Council received a grant of £2.85 million, to fund reconstruction of the centre and its gym. Sleaford Town Runners is a running club based in the town, Affiliated to UK Athletics, Association of Running Clubs, and ClubMark. Training meetings are held twice a week, and runners from the club participate in a wide range of events including weekly parkruns, 10ks, half marathons,
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
s and ultra marathons. Sleaford Town Runners organise the popular Rauceby Ripper cross country race every February which is attended by a wide range of club runners from the county and beyond.


Local media

The main radio stations for the county are
BBC Radio Lincolnshire BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios near Newport Arch in Lincoln. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly aud ...
, broadcasting on 94.9 FM and 104.7 FM frequencies, and the commercial station Lincs FM, on 102.2, 96.7 and 97.6 FM. The town's local newspapers are the ''Sleaford Standard'' (founded in 1924), the ''Sleaford Advertiser'' (founded in 1980) and the ''Sleaford Target'' (founded in 1984). Historically, the ''Sleaford Gazette'' operated between 1854 and 1960; the ''Sleaford Journal'' ran from at least 1884 until it was incorporated into the ''Gazette'' in December 1929, while the ''Sleaford Telegraph'' ran from 1888 to 1889 and the ''Sleaford Guardian'' was in print for a year from 1945 to 1946.


Social media

The residents of Sleaford have various social media sites including Twitter and Facebook. However the main Facebook group for residents is LET'S TALK SLEAFORD on Facebook. This group has over 14,000 members who discuss business, pets, family life, jokes and general complaints or advice. Twitter is home to various profiles for Sleaford including
Sleaford Target
',
Rotary Club of Sleaford
' and
Sleaford Standard
'. Also, the hashtag #sleaford is used commonly in discussion of the town.


Landmarks

A small number of medieval buildings remain standing in the town. St Denys' Church and St Botolph's in Quarrington date to the 12th and 13th centuries respectively, while Sleaford's half-timbered vicarage is 15th century. St Denys' Church is noted for its tracery and its stone
broach spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...
is one of the oldest in England. Cogglesford Mill is the only remaining watermill in town and is a testament to the economic importance of the
River Slea The River Slea is a tributary of the River Witham, in Lincolnshire, England. In 1872 the river was described as "a never-ending source of pure water", and was a trout river renowned throughout the East coast of England. But in the late 1960s, t ...
from the late-Saxon period onwards. The Bishops of Lincoln used the medieval town as a base, constructing the now-ruined
Sleaford Castle Sleaford Castle is a medieval castle in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. Built by the Bishop of Lincoln in the early 1120s, it was habitable as late as 1555 but fell into disrepair during the latter half of the 16th century. Two English monarchs a ...
, and as a means of extracting produce and wealth through demesne farming and by granting a market and limited freedoms to the town. As a result, the oldest areas are the market place and the four roads which meet there: Northgate, Southgate, Eastgate and Westgate; many 18th- and 19th-century buildings are found in this area. Buildings dating from these centuries include William Alvey's
baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
house on Northgate, the Manor House on Northgate inset with medieval masonry, and Sessions House on the Market Place. The Carre family founded the grammar school which was rebuilt in 1834, the hospital, rebuilt in 1830, and the almshouses, rebuilt 1857, while the
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
builders Charles Kirk and Thomas Parry constructed or added to numerous public buildings and private residences, including Lafford Terrace and their own houses on Southgate and at Westholme. During the Industrial Revolution, the Slea was canalised in 1794 and the Sleaford Navigation Company constructed offices and wharves along Carre Street. The canal brought trade, while the Gothic-fronted gasworks on Eastgate lit the town from 1839.
Benjamin Handley Benjamin Handley (9 January 1784 – 16 May 1858) was an English soldier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1835. His family were prominent in Lincolnshire during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Biography Handley wa ...
and Anthony Peacock financed and benefited from the navigation and founded the bank that took over Alvey's House on Northgate and later added a Baroque extension; Henry Handley, a Member of Parliament, is commemorated by the Handley Memorial on Southgate, a Gothic monument in the style of an
Eleanor Cross The Eleanor crosses were a series of twelve tall and lavishly decorated stone monuments topped with crosses erected in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had them built between 1291 and about 1295 in memory of his beloved wi ...
. During the 1850s, the railways arrived and the station was built in a Gothic style. Sleaford's agricultural location and new transport links encouraged seed trading and malting in the late 19th century: the seed merchant Charles Sharpe's house, The Pines, is on Boston Road. The massive Bass and Company maltings complex, constructed in brick off Mareham Lane between 1892 and 1905, is grade II*listed and has a frontage more than 1,000 feet long.


Sleafordians

The Handley family were well-connected with business; Benjamin Handley was a lawyer, prominent in the Navigation Company and partner in the local bank Peacock, Handley and Kirton. His son, Henry, was M.P. for South Lincolnshire; after his death, the residents erected a monument to him on Southgate.
Robert Armstrong Yerburgh Robert Armstrong Yerburgh, (17 January 1853 – 18 December 1916), was a British barrister and Conservative politician. Early life Yerburgh was the son of the Reverend Richard Yerburgh and Susan Higgin and had ten full brothers and sisters: ...
the son of Rev. Richard Yerburgh, vicar of New Sleaford, was twice M.P. for
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. Sir Thomas Meres, politician was educated at the grammar school.
Sir Robert Pattinson Sir Robert Pattinson, JP, DL (19 February 1872 – 4 December 1954) was a British Liberal politician and businessman. Pattinson joined his family's railway contracting firm after finishing school and was quickly appointed to senior positions ...
, also educated at the grammar, was M.P. for Grantham and Sleaford and chairman of
Kesteven County Council Kesteven County Council was the county council of Parts of Kesteven in the east of England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 1974. The county council was based at the County Offices in Sleaford. It was amalgama ...
. The religious controversialist
Henry Pickworth Henry Pickworth (c.1673?–c.1738) was an English religious controversialist, from about 1702 hostile to the Quakers. Life The son of Henry Pickworth, a farmer of New Sleaford, Lincolnshire, he was born there about 1673, and was in business in S ...
was born in New Sleaford and challenged the opponent of Quakerism Francis Bugg to an open debate at Sleaford. John Austin, a religious writer, was educated at the grammar school. William Scoffin served as the town's Presbyterian minister and preached there for more than forty years, while
Benjamin Fawcett Benjamin Fawcett (December 1808, in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire – January 1893) was an English nineteenth century woodblock colour printer. Life The son of a ship's master, Fawcett was apprenticed at age 14 for seven years to Wil ...
, Presbyterian minister, was born and educated at Sleaford.
Andrew Kippis Andrew Kippis (28 March 17258 October 1795) was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer. Life The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to Carre's Grammar School in Sleaford, Lincolnshire he pass ...
, the Presbyterian minister, biographer and Fellow of the Royal Society, attended the Grammar School.Ellis 1981, p. 42. The portrait painter Charles Haslewood Shannon (1863–1937), was born in Sleaford. Richard Banister, the oculist, practised for 14 years in Sleaford, where he trained in
couching In embroidery, couching and laid work are techniques in which yarn or other materials are laid across the surface of the ground fabric and fastened in place with small stitches of the same or a different yarn. The couching threads may be eithe ...
cataracts. Henry Andrews astronomer and astrologer, worked in Sleaford during his youth. The royalist poet Thomas Shipman was educated at Carre's Grammar School, as was novelist Henry Jackson; Joseph Smedley, the actor and comedian, built the theatre in 1824, before settling in the town in 1842, establishing a printing business and dying in North Street; and Charles Haslewood Shannon, the artist, was born in the town. The actress and comedian Jennifer Saunders was born in Sleaford. In popular culture, the singer Lois Wilkinson of
the Caravelles The Caravelles, Lois Wilkinson (born 3 April 1944 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England) and Andrea Simpson (born 9 September 1946 in Finchley, London),Larkin C, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) p95 were a British fema ...
was born in the town; glamour model
Abi Titmuss Abigail Evelyn Titmuss (born 8 February 1976) is an English actress, television personality and poker player. She is also a former glamour model and nurse. Early life and education Born in Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, Titmuss grew up in ...
grew up in
Ruskington Ruskington is a large village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, located approximately 4 miles (7 km) north of Sleaford on the north–south B1188 road and slightly north of the A153 road. The village ...
and was educated at Kesteven and Sleaford High School; and
Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...
,
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
's lyricist, was born in the town. Eric Thompson who narrated '' The Magic Roundabout'' television series, was born in a house on Jermyn Street. In sport, the professional footballer Mark Wallington who played for Leicester City, Derby County and Lincoln City, grew up in Sleaford and, after retiring, taught Physical Education at St George's Academy. In academia, the botanist
David H. N. Spence David Hugh Neven Spence (2 May 1925 – 23 April 1985) was a 20th-century Scottish botanist. In authorship he is known as David H. N. Spence or D. H. N. Spence. Life He was born on 2 May 1925 in Sleaford in Lincolnshire the son of Mary Joyce ...
was born in Sleaford; and the sociologist Sheila Allen attended Kesteven and Sleaford High School.Helen Roberts and Juliet Webster
"Sheila Allen: Uncompromising sociologist who pioneered the concept of institutional racism in Britain"
''The Independent'', 4 May 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2018.


See also

* Sleaford (disambiguation) * Sleaford Mods * Sleaford Town Runners


References

;Notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * *Pawley, S. (1992). "Democracy and proper drains: public health and landed influence in late-nineteenth-century Sleaford", ''Lincolnshire Past and Present'', no. 7. (Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology) *Ranger, William (1850).
Report to the General Board of Health on a Preliminary Inquiry into the Sewerage, Drainage, and Supply of Water, and the Sanitary Condition of the Inhabitants of the Parish of New Sleaford
', London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.


External links


Sleaford Town Council
* {{authority control Towns in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Market towns in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District