Sleaford 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 to the nor ...

is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

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 authorit ...

in the

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln. Its council, North Kesteven District Council, is b ...

district of the

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, 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-we ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. This list includes the 181

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in the civil parish of Sleaford, which incorporates the village of Quarrington and the hamlet of

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 ...

in addition to the town. One is classified by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as being in Grade I, six in Grade II* and 174 in Grade II. In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. These buildings are in three grades: Grade I consists of buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest; Grade II* includes particularly significant buildings of more than local interest; Grade II consists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strateg ...

on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading. A small number of medieval buildings have survived. St Denys' Church in Sleaford and St Botolph's in Quarrington date to the 12th and 13th centuries respectively, while Sleaford's half-timbered vicarage is 15th-century.

Cogglesford Mill Cogglesford Mill (sometimes referred to as Coggesford) is a Grade II listed working watermill in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. It is possibly the last working Sheriff's Mill in England. Location The mill sits to the north of Sleaford on banks of ...

is the only remaining

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

in the town and it 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. By the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, a market was held at Sleaford and it had developed into an estate centre; the Bishops of Lincoln used it as a base, constructing

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 ...

, but also as a means of extracting produce and wealth through demesne farming and the granting of limited freedoms to the town. As a result, the oldest parts of the town are the market place and the four roads which meet at it: Northgate, Southgate, Eastgate and Westgate; many of the listed buildings are found in this area. These buildings date to the 18th and 19th centuries and include William Alvey's fine baroque house on Northgate, the Manor House on Northgate inset with medieval fragments, and Sessions House on the Market Place. The Carre family, who owned the manor in the early modern period, were responsible for the grammar school, the hospital and the almshouses, while the Victorian builders

Kirk and Parry Kirk and Parry were an architectural and civil engineering practice in Sleaford that specialised in the design of public buildings, housing and the construction of Railways. The practice was initially founded by Charles Kirk (senior) (1791–1 ...

constructed or added to numerous public buildings and private residences, including Lafford Terrace and their own houses on Southgate and at Westholme respectively. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, the Slea was

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

ised in 1794 and 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, ...

which managed it constructed its offices and wharves along Carre Street. The canal brought trade to Sleaford, while the new gasworks powered lamps around the town from 1834. Over twenty years later, the railways arrived and the station was built in a Gothic style. Sleaford's agricultural location and its 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, while the massive Bass and Co. maltings complex off Mareham Lane is grade II* listed.

Key

Listed buildings

References

Citations

Bibliography