Fulney Lock, Spalding - Geograph
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Spalding () 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 rura ...
on the
River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river Source (river), rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally nort ...
in the
South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...
district of
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
, England. The main town had a population of 30,556 at the 2021 census. The town is the administrative centre of the South Holland District. The town is located between the cities of
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
and
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...
. The town was well known for the annual Spalding Flower Parade, held from 1959 to 2013. The parade celebrated the region's vast
tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...
production and the cultural links between the Fens and the landscape and people of South Holland. At one time, it attracted crowds of more than 100,000. Since 2002 the town has held an annual pumpkin festival in October. In 2023 a new flower parade was organised by former councillor Steve Timewell. As well as the Flower Parade Spalding Round Table also host Spalding Festival.


Notable people

Maurice Johnson Maurice Johnson may refer to: *Maurice Johnson (English politician) (1480–1551), English politician, Member of the Parliament of England for Stamford 1523–c.1539 *Maurice Johnson (antiquary) (1688–1755), British antiquary *Maurice Johnson (Can ...
- Born in 1688, Johnson was the founder of the Spalding Gentlemen's Society and a prominent figure in the founding of the Society of Antiquaries. Will Wand - Professional rugby player for
Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...


History


Ancient

Archaeological excavations at Wygate Park in Spalding have shown that there has been occupation in this area from at least the Roman period, when this part of Lincolnshire was used for the production of salt. It was a coastal siltland. At Wygate Park salt-making seems to have come to an end by the mid-7th century BC climatic change and flooding may have made such activities difficult, causing the practice to die out. The settlement's name is derived from an Anglian tribe, the
Spaldingas The Spaldingas ("dwellers of the Spald"Mills, A. D. (1997) ''Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names''; 2nd ed.; p. 320. Oxford: Oxford University Press) were an Anglian tribe that settled in an area known as ''the Spalda''. This divided the fen ...
, who settled in the area during the 6th century. They may have retained their administrative independence within the Kingdom of
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
into the late 9th century, when Stamford became one of the
Five Boroughs 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
of the East Midlands under Danish control after years of invasion and occupation.


Domesday Book

Spalding was a settlement mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, in the hundred of Elloe and the county of Lincolnshire. It had a recorded population of 91 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday, and is listed under 3 owners in Domesday Book. *Land of Crowland (St Guthlac), abbey of Households: 7 villagers. 4 smallholders. Land and resources Ploughland: 1.5 ploughlands. 3 men's plough teams. Valuation: Annual value to lord: 1 pound in 1086; 1 pound in 1066. Other information Phillimore reference: Lincolnshire 11,2 *Land of Ivo Tallboys Households: 40 villagers. 33 smallholders. Land and resources Ploughland: 9 ploughlands. 4 lord's plough teams. 13 men's plough teams. Other resources: 6 fisheries. 2 salthouses. Valuation: Annual value to lord: 30 pounds in 1086; 23 pounds 2 shillings and 7 pence in 1066. Other information Phillimore reference: Lincolnshire 14,97 *Land of Guy of Craon Households: 5 villagers. 2 smallholders. Land and resources Ploughland: 1 lord's plough teams. 1 men's plough teams. Other resources: 2 salthouses. Valuation: Annual value to lord: 2 pounds in 1086; 2 pounds in 1066. Other information Phillimore reference: Lincolnshire 57,54


Victorian Era

In John Bartholomew's ''Gazetteer of the British Isles'' (1887), Spalding was described as a:
market town and par. with ry. sta., Lincolnshire, on River Welland, 14 m. SW. of Boston, 12,070 ac., pop. 9260; P.O., T.O., three Banks, two newspapers. Market-day, Tuesday. Spalding is an important railway centre, while the river has been made navigable to the town for vessels of from 50 to 70 tons. It is in a rich agricultural district, and has a large trade, by river and by rail, in corn, wool, coal, and timber. It has also flour, bone, and sawmills, breweries, and coach works. There are remains of a
priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
of 1501, a fine old church (restored 1860), a grammar school, a corn exchange, and a spacious market place.


River Welland


Draining of the Fens

The
River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river Source (river), rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally nort ...
flows north from
Crowland Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. ) is a town and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland ...
, through Spalding and passing the village and port of
Fosdyke Fosdyke is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2021 census was 510. It is situated approximately south from Boston, just off the A17, and east from the junctio ...
before leading out to
the Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...
, bisecting Spalding from east to west; the town has developed as a linear settlement around the river. Land had been reclaimed from the wetlands in the area since mediaeval times, and Spalding was subject to frequent flooding. The Coronation Channel, opened in 1953, diverted the excess waters around Spalding and ended the flooding. The area around the banks has been developed for residential and business use. Although this area has become heavily built up, there is much recreational use of the river and
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
is still popular.


Water Taxi

In July 2005 a "Spalding
Water Taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public transport, public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an Urban area, urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a simil ...
" service was launched, running from
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
to late October. Its route is from just off Spalding's
High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
, upstream along the river, turning into the Coronation Channel, and then to Springfields Outlet Shopping & Leisure, and back. It is mainly used as a recreational
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...
.


Vernatt's Drain

Around the northwest of Spalding is a large waterway called Vernatt's Drain, named after one of the Adventurers who drained the Fens in the 17th century. Philibert Vernatti was made a baronet on 7 June 1643. A South Holland council nature reserve is situated on part of the old Boston railway line at Vernatts Drain. The Drain runs from the pumping station at Pode Hole to Surfleet Seas End. Fulney Lock is the point where the Welland is no longer tidal. Spalding falls within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings
Internal Drainage Board An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management wit ...
.


Demography

The town (including the large village of Pinchbeck, to the north and the hamlet of Little London to the south) had a population of about 31,588 at the 2011 census and an estimated population of 36,737 in 2020 according to government data. In the past concerns have been expressed about the exploitation of farm and industrial workers from eastern Europe, as well as increased pressure on local services as a result of unplanned population increase; in 2007 the local MP,
Mark Simmonds Mark Jonathon Mortlock Simmonds (born 12 April 1964) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Boston and Skegness in Lincolnshire, and was first elected in 2001, succeeding Sir Richa ...
, said that "the real scale
modern slavery Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to exist in the 21st century. Estimates of the number of enslaved people range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, d ...
in the area] is unknown, but it is out of control".


Healthcare

The Johnson Hospital, named after prominent local figures, the Johnson family of
Ayscoughfee Hall Ayscoughfee Hall is a grade I listed building and modest associated parkland in central Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, and is a landmark on the fen tour. History The house, currently a museum, was built for a local wool merchant, tradi ...
, is in Spalding. The maternity ward was closed in the 1990s, and it served as a casualty hospital. The elderly and care patients were cared for at the Welland Hospital. Limits on expansion due to the historic nature of the building and space limitations (it is in a densely developed area) and lack of funding are causing financial trouble for the hospital and it relocated in 2000 to a new site in the town. A new nurse-led hospital was built in 2009 off Pinchbeck Road in the north of the town, near the Pinchbeck Industrial Estate. The hospital is known as "The Johnson Community Hospital", keeping the historic connection with the Johnson family. The
Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...
formally opened the new hospital in January 2010. This has drawn facilities from existing scattered sites into a modern central unit. The Johnson Hospital has 32 in-patient beds in the Welland Ward, including the four beds of the Tulip Suite for palliative care. There are two major local doctors' surgeries: Munro Medical Centre, West Elloe Avenue, and the relocated Church Street Surgery at Beechfield Medical Centre in Beechfield Gardens. Smaller surgeries are in surrounding villages. The nearest major acute hospitals to Spalding are the
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 o ...
in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
(18 miles north) and
Peterborough City Hospital Peterborough City Hospital is a modern, purpose-built hospital on the Edith Cavell Healthcare Campus serving the city of Peterborough, north Cambridgeshire, areas of east Northamptonshire, areas of south Lincolnshire and Rutland. It is managed b ...
in
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
(22 miles south-west).


Education


Primary schools

* Ayscoughfee Hall - a private school, situated near the river * Spalding Parish Church of England Day School- Clay Lake * St John the Baptist School (C of E) - Hawthorn Bank * St Norbert's Roman Catholic Primary School - Tollgate * Monkshouse Primary - Pennygate * St Paul's Primary - Queen's Road * Spalding Primary School - Woolram Wygate * Wygate Park Academy - Witham Road


Secondary schools

Spalding's two secondary modern schools (11-16) were the
Gleed Boys' School Gleed Boys' School was a secondary school for boys aged 11 to 16, in Spalding, Lincolnshire, Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. The school has been merged with Gleed Girls' Technology College to form Sir John Gleed School, a co-educational secon ...
and the
Gleed Girls' Technology College Gleed Girls' Technology College was a secondary school on ''Neville Avenue'' in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. It opened on 28 April 1941 as Spalding The Gleed Senior Council School and comprised boys' and girls departments which from 1946 w ...
. In 2012 they were combined as the
Sir John Gleed School Spalding Academy (formerly Sir John Gleed School) is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. The Sir John Gleed School was formed in November 2011 as a result of a merger of Gleed Boys' School and Gleed Gi ...
(now called Spalding Academy). On leaving Sir John Gleed School, many pupils transferred to nearby sixth forms or attended
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
or
New College Stamford Stamford College is a further education college on Drift Road in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. It opened as Stamford Technical College in 1967 and was later called New College Stamford, becoming Stamford College in 2020. It is now a general ...
, which both have
Further Education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...
centres in the town. In 2016, South Lincolnshire Academies Trust (SLAT) took over management of the Sir John Gleed School from CFBT, and it was renamed Spalding Academy. The town's state grammar schools (still selective by
eleven-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...
exam) are Spalding Queen Elizabeth Royal Free Grammar School (11-16 for boys) and Spalding High School (11-16 for girls), both of which have mixed sixth forms (16-18). There are also schools for children with special learning needs: the Priory School (for those with mild to moderate learning difficulties) and the Garth School (for those with more demanding educational needs).


Sixth Form Colleges

A vocational 6th form was established and launched in September 2008 as part of the Gleed Campus. It is not an automatic transition as with other schools in the area, like the Grammar, High, and the Deepings. Previous to this, there was no sixth-form available for pupils not attending the grammar schools, although pupils from Gleed schools can and do transfer to the Grammar and High for A-Levels.


Industry and commerce


Flowers and vegetables

Spalding is located at the centre of a major region of
flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
and vegetable cultivation, due to the rich
silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...
y soil, which mainly comprises drained, recovered
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
land or
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
. There are many
garden centre A garden centre (American English spelling; U.S. nursery or garden center) is a retail business that primarily sells plants and related products for Home gardening, domestic gardening. Gardening centers usually revolve around outdoor home imp ...
s and
plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry, or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general ...
, as well as a thriving
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
industry and various
vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...
packing plants. The main vegetables are
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
es,
pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...
s,
carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...
s,
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
,
barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
,
oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...
s,
broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the Brassicaceae, cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large Pseudanthium, flowering head, plant stem, stalk and small associated leafy gre ...
,
spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...
,
lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...
,
cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...
,
kale Kale (), also called leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars primarily grown for their Leaf vegetable, edible leaves; it has also been used as an ornamental plant. Its multiple different cultivars vary quite ...
and
Brussels sprout The Brussels sprout is a member of the Gemmifera cultivar group of cabbages (''Brassica oleracea''), grown for its edible buds. Etymology Though native to the Mediterranean region with other cabbage species, Brussels sprouts first appeared i ...
s. The vast majority of these are sold to large concerns such as supermarkets, with little being available for sale locally. Spalding has a popular, reasonably-sized, market every Tuesday and Saturday and on the first Saturday in every month a
farmers market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
. Local fruit and vegetable shop ''Booth's'' sells much local produce to Spalding's citizens. They sell all major fruit and vegetables ranging from the famous, locally grown 'Boston' potatoes to imported rarities such as custard apples.


Tulips

Known as ''The Heart of the Fens'', Spalding has been long famous as a centre of the
bulb In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...
industry. It has had close links with the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
(origin of the Geest family, who were former major local employers). The annual Tulip Parade took place on the first Saturday in May, from 1959 and was a major tourist attraction. Its procession of floats on various themes, was each decorated with tulip petals, a by-product of the bulb industry. In years when the tulips are late,
daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', '' ...
s or hyacinths were sometimes used in their place. When the tulips were early, crepe paper had to be substituted. The flower industry has become less important since the early 21st century. The bands of brightly coloured tulip fields in bloom in spring that covered the fenland have decreased markedly. At its peak, the Parade attracted more than 100,000 visitors, but by 2012, fewer than 40,000 attended. That year, the Lincolnshire County Council and South Holland District Council announced they would not fund the parade beyond 2013."Spalding Flower Parade held for last time"
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 4 May 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013
Spalding was chosen to host the World Tulip Summit in 2008, alongside a broader "Tulipmania" festival which coincided with the date of the fiftieth Flower Parade. The Spalding Tulip Parade was revived in 2023 by Stephen Timewell and many volunteers, and paid for through crowdfunding.


Main companies

* FESA UK Ltd: Based in Spalding since the late 1980s, are fresh produce importers and packers, part of the Spanish cooperative group Anecoop. They provide employment to a large proportion of the local population at their 130,000 square foot (12,000 m2) facilities in Clay Lake. *
Greencore Greencore Group plc is a food company in Ireland. It was established by the Irish government in 1991, when Irish Sugar was privatised, but today Greencore's products are mainly convenience foods, not only in Ireland but also in the United Kingd ...
(formerly Unigate and Uniq Plc): factory for prepared salads. * Fowler-Welch: historically a Spalding transport company, have their UK base in the town on West Marsh Road, and were bought by the
Dart Group Jet2 plc (formerly Dart Group plc) is a British multinational airline company based in Leeds, England. Its head office is listed as Low Fare Finder House on the grounds of Leeds Bradford Airport, England. Subsidiary Jet2.com has its head offic ...
in 1994. The company was sold on 1 June 2020 to Culina Group. *
Bakkavör Bakkavor Group plc (originally Bakkavör) is an international food manufacturing company specialising in fresh prepared foods. The group's head office is in London, England. Bakkavor operates 46 factory sites in the UK, US and China. It is lis ...
: purchased the main Spalding-based company Geest, for £485 million. It had an operation on West Marsh Road and factories in
Holbeach Holbeach is a market town and civil parish in the South Holland District in Lincolnshire, England. The town lies from Spalding; from Boston; from King's Lynn; from Peterborough; and by road from Lincoln. It is on the junction of the ...
and Peterborough. It began in 1935 as Geest Horticultural Products by John and Leonard van Geest who imported tulip bulbs to the UK. A salad preparation factory in Spalding opened in 1972. It launched on the
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
in 1986. In 2010 Bakkavör moved its central operations and registered head office to their Spalding site. *
EMAP Ascential (formerly EMAP) was a British-headquartered global company, specialising in events, intelligence and advisory services for the marketing and financial technology industries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was ac ...
: publishing company now mainly based in Orton, Peterborough. Formerly known as East Midlands Allied Press, it was started by Sir
Richard Winfrey Sir Richard Winfrey (5 August 1858 – 18 April 1944) was a British Liberal Party politician, newspaper publisher and campaigner for agricultural rights. He served as Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk, 1906–1923, and for Gainsboroug ...
in Spalding. when he bought the ''Spalding Guardian'' in 1887. This became EMAP in 1947, and launched the ''
Peterborough Evening Telegraph The ''Peterborough Telegraph'', or ''PT'' as it is known locally (formerly the ''Peterborough Evening Telegraph'' or ''ET''), is the local newspaper for the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. It is based at New Priestga ...
'' in 1961. Sir Richard Winfrey's first local newspapers were initially designed to promote his Liberal politics. *Welland Power Diesel Generators: Manufacture and build for export its range of perkins powered
diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of an engine generator. A diesel compress ...
s. * Lloyd Loom of Spalding: situated on the Wardentree Lane estate, produces traditional handmade British furniture. * Melon&Co Ltd: UK subsidiary of the Brazilian company Agricola Famosa. Melon&Co was established in 2021. * Paragon Print & Packaging: food packaging design company based in Enterprise Way. * Spalding Power Station: A 860 MW gas-fired Spalding Power Station was opened in Spalding in 2004 at West Marsh Road at an initial cost of £425 million. Has since been extended with a £100 million phase 2 300 MW expansion opening 2019.


Landmarks and facilities


Historic buildings

Ayscoughfee Hall Ayscoughfee Hall is a grade I listed building and modest associated parkland in central Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, and is a landmark on the fen tour. History The house, currently a museum, was built for a local wool merchant, tradi ...
dates from the 15th century and is now operated as a museum. Spalding Parish Church, dedicated to St Mary and St Nicolas, was built in 1284 by William de Littleport of
Spalding Priory Spalding Priory was a small Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine house in the town of Spalding, Lincolnshire, Spalding, Lincolnshire, dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, St Mary the Virgin and St Nicholas. It was founded as a cell of Croyland A ...
. The tower and spire were added in 1360. The Church of
St John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
was built in 1875, at the same time as the adjacent Church school. St Paul's Church, on Holbeach Road in the north-eastern suburb of Fulney, was built to the designs of
George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...
. Completed in 1880, two years after his death, it is a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. The
vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...
is listed at Grade II*. Other local attractions are the
Pinchbeck Engine The Pinchbeck Engine is a drainage engine, a rotative beam engine built in 1833 to drain Pinchbeck Marsh, to the north of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in England. Until it was shut down in 1952, the engine discharged into the ''Blue Gowt'' which j ...
Museum (just north of Spalding), the Bulb Museum (situated at Birch Grove Garden Centre, Pinchbeck) and the Gordon Boswell Romany Museum, to the south of the town. The Chain Bridge Forge is a 19th-century blacksmith's
forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
on the River Welland; many of its original features have been preserved and it is operated as a museum. The Chatterton Tower is a prominent landmark, a water tower with offices below, built in 1955. It stands 30m tall and is 29m wide, and was extensively restored in 2018.


War memorial

Spalding War Memorial Spalding War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall (pronounced ) in Spalding, Lincolnshire, Spalding, Lincolnshire, in eastern England. It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The proposal for a ...
is in the grounds of Ayscoughfee Hall and commemorates the 224 men from the town killed in the First World War. It was conceived by Barbara McLaren, the widow of the town's MP
Francis McLaren Francis Walter Stafford McLaren (16 June 1886 – 30 August 1917) was a British Member of Parliament killed in the First World War in a flying accident. Career A younger son of Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway, he attended Eton and Bal ...
, and designed by
Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
, known for his war memorials including
the Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the dead of Britain and the British Empire of the First World War, was rededica ...
on
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
in London. It takes the form of a pavilion and a
Stone of Remembrance The Stone of Remembrance is a standardised design for war memorials that was designed in 1917 by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC). It was designed to commemorate the dead of World War I, to b ...
at the head of a long reflecting pool; the names of the fallen are inscribed on the back wall of the pavilion.


Commercial and civic buildings

There are several supermarkets: a small
Tesco Express Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Sir Jack Cohen in Hackney, London, in 1919 ...
store, a
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
, a Lidl and an Aldi in the centre of the town and a Morrisons in Pinchbeck. Outside of the town centre, Springfields Outlet Shopping & Leisure offers a wide range of outlet stores set in landscaped gardens designed by
Charlie Dimmock Charlotte Elouise Dimmock (born 10 August 1966) is an English gardening expert and television presenter. She was a member of the team on '' Ground Force'', a BBC gardening makeover programme, airing from 1997 to 2005. Since then, Dimmock has p ...
and
Chris Beardshaw Christopher Paul Beardshaw (born 11 January 1969) is a British garden designer, plantsman, author, speaker, and broadcaster. Background Beardshaw was born and grew up in Broad Green, near Broadwas, Worcestershire. He was formally trained in ho ...
, among others. The Castle Sports Complex provides fitness facilities throughout the day and evening. The South Holland Centre is an arts centre on Market Place that stages concerts and theatre productions and shows films.


History of the barcode

On 7 October 1979, the first
barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...
to be used at a shopping till in the UK was at Key Markets in Spalding.


Power stations

The new £425m, 860 MW
combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
Spalding Power Station, owned by InterGen, was built on the former site of British Sugar on ''West Marsh Road'' by
Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia in the Washington metropolitan area. , the '' E ...
in October 2004. A second 300 MW expansion to the existing Power station opened in 2019. Plans were submitted in December 2021 for a £160 million scheme to build one of the world's largest battery energy storage systems on land next to the existing power station. The Spalding Battery Energy Storage System project is being proposed by owners InterGen; plans have been submitted for approval to South Holland District Council. In mid-2006, a new
wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
(operated by
Wind Prospect UK Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
in nearby
Deeping St Nicholas Deeping St Nicholas is a village in Lincolnshire, England, on the A1175 road between The Deepings and Spalding. Unlike Market Deeping, which is in South Kesteven district, Deeping St Nicholas is in South Holland. Deeping St Nicholas is also ...
) became visible from much of Spalding.


Sport

The local football team is Spalding United, who play in the
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
Division One Midlands. The local rugby team is Spalding RFC, who play in Midland Division - Midlands 3 South. They play at Memorial Field. The local cricket team is Spalding Town Cricket Club, who have three teams on a Saturday in the South Lincs and Border Leagues and a Rutland League team and a Friendly XI on a Sunday for 2012. This as well as youth teams at multiple age groups competing in the BCYCA Leagues. The local hockey club is Spalding HC, with the men's 1st XI playing in East Division Premier Division and the women in 1N.


Transport


Road

Spalding, like nearby Boston, is a regular destination of heavy goods vehicles transporting processed vegetables and other food produce. The A16 used to pass through the town until August 1995, when the Spalding- Sutterton Improvement (by-pass) was opened, built mostly on the closed Spalding to Boston railway line. The twelve-mile (19 km) A1073 between Spalding and Eye Green in Peterborough has been replaced by a completely new road classified as the A16, replacing the previous A16 that ran to Stamford. The older road has been renumbered as the A1175. The town has its own bus station, Spalding bus station.


Rail

Spalding railway station Spalding railway station serves the town of Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the Peterborough–Lincoln line. History Spalding gained its first rail links to Peterborough, Boston and Lincoln in 1848, courtesy of the Great Northe ...
is situated on the Lincoln Central - Peterborough railway line, operated by
East Midlands Railway East Midlands Railway (EMR; legally Transport UK East Midlands Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. Originally owned by Abellio (transport compan ...
. The service is irregular, and it does not run at night or on Sundays. It does provide convenient access to
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
for employment and shopping. The service to Peterborough was withdrawn by BR in October 1970 as part of the closure of the East Lincolnshire route from
Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
and
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, but reinstated in June 1971 with a grant from Spalding Urban District Council. This was one of the first examples of this type of rail support in the UK and was not advocated in the
Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. It is 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 Sur ...
. The section of the Great Northern & Great Eastern 'Joint' line from
March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
, which carried the 'Boat Train' between
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
and
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, closed in 1982. Spalding was also on the east–west
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...
, which had Bourne to the West and
Holbeach Holbeach is a market town and civil parish in the South Holland District in Lincolnshire, England. The town lies from Spalding; from Boston; from King's Lynn; from Peterborough; and by road from Lincoln. It is on the junction of the ...
to the east. It closed in February 1959, ending through passenger services from
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
to
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
via
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 north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...
and
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
. Local freight, mainly farm produce, continued to be carried between Bourne and
Sutton Bridge Sutton Bridge is a town and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A17 road, north from Wisbech and west from King's Lynn. The village includes a commercial dock on the west bank of the ...
until 1964. On 4 May 2002, Spalding had the honour of having a main-line diesel locomotive named after it. Class 31 diesel No. 31106, in immaculate condition after a major works overhaul, hauled the 'St James Tripper' excursion to
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
from Preston via Doncaster, Lincoln and Sleaford, and made a brief stop at the station to have its 'Spalding Town' nameplates unveiled by Colin Fisher, Chairman of
South Holland District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
. No. 31106 was owned by Norfolk-based businessman and author Howard Johnston, who was born at nearby
Cowbit __NOTOC__ Cowbit (locally pronounced ''Cubbit'') is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,220. It is situated south from Spalding and no ...
and educated in the town. The locomotive was employed on
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
track measurement trains all over the United Kingdom, but was sold in 2020. A replica 'Spalding Town' nameplate was presented to SHDC for public display.


Media


Television

Local news and television programmes are provided by
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, sometimes abbreviated to BBC Yorks & Lincs, is the name for the BBC's twelfth English Region, based in Kingston upon Hull and created from the division of the former BBC North region, based in Leeds (now known ...
and
ITV Yorkshire ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
. Television signals are received from the Belmont TV transmitter,
BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire (except High Peak, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and the northern areas of the Derbyshire Dales), Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw), Rutland, South Kest ...
and
ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...
can also be also received from the Waltham TV transmitter.


Radio

The town is served by both
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cambridgeshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at the Cambridge Business Park on Cowley Road in Cambridge. The station al ...
and
BBC Radio Lincolnshire BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios near Newport Ar ...
. Other radio stations are
Smooth East Midlands Smooth East Midlands is an Independent Regional Radio station for the East Midlands, 107.4 MHz, 97.2 MHz, 106.8 MHz 106.0 MHz which replaced Saga 106.6 FM at 6 am on Monday 26 March 2007. It is owned by Communicorp UK and oper ...
, Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire and
Hits Radio Lincolnshire Hits Radio Lincolnshire is an Independent Local Radio station serving Lincolnshire and Newark in Nottinghamshire. The station is owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio Network. The station has rebranded from its o ...
. The town had a community radio station,
Tulip Radio Tulip Radio was the local community radio station covering the area of Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. The name was linked to Spalding's heavy involvement with the horticulture industry. The town was famous for its tulips, and used to host an ...
, which broadcast from 2009 until it was uprooted in 2017.


Newspapers

The town's local newspapers are Spalding Guardian, Lincolnshire Free Press, Spalding Today and Spalding Voice.


Timeline

* 750BC - AD410 - Archaeological evidence of people living in the area of Spalding during the Iron Age, Roman and Medieval period * 1015 - A
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
was founded by Thorold de Bokenhale * 1086 - The town is recorded in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 as 'Spallinge' * 1284(c) - St Mary and St Nicolas, Spalding was built as a parish church by the priory under Prior William de Littleport de Kurphery Frederick * 1377 - The
White Hart The White Hart (" hart" being an archaic word for a mature stag) was the personal badge of Richard II, who probably derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. It may also have been a ...
Inn of the Market Place is built * 1430s -
Ayscoughfee Hall Ayscoughfee Hall is a grade I listed building and modest associated parkland in central Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, and is a landmark on the fen tour. History The house, currently a museum, was built for a local wool merchant, tradi ...
built by Richard Alwyn * 1566 -
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
, stopped overnight at the White Hart in the Market Place * 1588 - The
Spalding Grammar School Spalding Grammar School (SGS), fully known as The Queen Elizabeth Royal Free Grammar School Spalding, is an 11–18 boys' grammar school in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. By November 2015, a total of 985 boys were enrolled at the school, 277 ...
, originally located within the parish church, was founded * 1590s - Spalding's first drains constructed. * 1650 - Sir John Gamlyn founded
almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...
s in Spalding * 1688 -
Maurice Johnson Maurice Johnson may refer to: *Maurice Johnson (English politician) (1480–1551), English politician, Member of the Parliament of England for Stamford 1523–c.1539 *Maurice Johnson (antiquary) (1688–1755), British antiquary *Maurice Johnson (Can ...
was born at Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding on 19 June * 1710 - Maurice Johnson founded the
Spalding Gentlemen's Society The Spalding Gentlemen's Society is a learned society based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, concerned with cultural, scientific and antiquarian subjects. It is Britain's oldest such provincial body, founded in 1710 by ...
Museum, which is now the second-oldest museum in the country * 1767 -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
, (1712–1778), Philosopher and writer, stayed at the White Hart Inn during May of this year * 1768 - Holland House, described as the finest house in Spalding, was built by William Sands Junior * 1774 -
Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...
was born at nearby Donington on 16 March. He went on to be the first person to circumnavigate Australia * 1801 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 3,296 * 1805 - The
Friends Meeting House A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held. Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Ornamentation, spires, a ...
was built in Double Street * 1826 - Spalding's last house of correction was built. It closed down in 1884 * 1831 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 6,497 * 1838 - The High Bridge over the River Welland was re-built * 1842 - The
Sessions House A sessions house in the United Kingdom was historically a courthouse that served as a dedicated court of quarter sessions, where criminal trials were held four times a year on quarter days. Sessions houses were also used for other purposes to do w ...
in Sheep Market was built * 1847 - The ''Spalding Free Press'' newspaper was founded * 1848 - The Great Northern Railway opened their railway station in Spalding * 1851 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 8,829 * 1852 - William Bramwell Booth, founder of the
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
, accepts leadership of the Methodist Reform circuit in Spalding * 1854 - Spalding Cemetery was consecrated in November * 1855-56 - The Corn Exchange was built * 1857 - The Butter Market was opened * 1858 - The police station was built * 1860 - An Act was passed to pipe fresh water to Spalding from Bourne * 1866-67 - St Mary and St Nicolas, Spalding was extensively restored by
Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...
* 1870 - Goodfellows National School was opened * 1871 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 9,111 * 1874 - The ecclesiastical parish of
St. John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
was formed on 1 December from the civil parishes of Spalding and Pinchbeck * 1875 - The Church of St John the Baptist and the primary school next door to it, with the same name, were built * 1875-76 - The Church of St. Peter, on the site of the old Abbey, was built * 1878 - Spalding's
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church in Henrietta Street, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and St. Norbert, was built * 1878 -
Frank Pick Frank Pick Royal Institute of British Architects, Hon. RIBA (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway (UK), North Eastern Ra ...
was born, who became the CEO of London Passenger Transport Board and architect of the 'modern' typography still used on the Underground today * 1880 - St Paul's Church in Fulney was built to designs drawn up by
Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...
, a member of the
Spalding Gentlemen’s Society The Spalding Gentlemen's Society is a learned society based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, concerned with cultural, scientific and antiquarian subjects. It is Britain's oldest such provincial body, founded in 1710 by ...
- he also designed buildings for
Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Lincoln, east of Nottingham and north-east of Peterborough. The town had a population of 45,339 at ...
,
Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and ...
,
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
and other areas * 1881 - The present
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
building in Priory Road was erected * 1884 - Spalding's last house of correction was closed. Part of the site is now occupied by Spalding
Library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
* 1887 - The
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
church in Broad Street was opened * 1891 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 9,014 * 1916 - Spalding Arts and Crafts Society was founded by surgeons at the Johnson Hospital for convalescent soldiers wounded in the First World War. Spalding Town Council sponsored their first exhibition in 1918 * 1921 -
Spalding United F.C. Spalding United Football Club is a football club based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Sir Halley Stewart Field. History The club was established in 1905 when Fulney Institute and Vict ...
was formed * 1923 - Spalding RFC was formed * 1941 - In May, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a stray
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
bomber dropped its bombs on Spalding, destroying much of Hall Place and causing damage to several businesses. The raid killed 5 people * 1958 - The first Spalding Flower Parade took place * 1959 - Closure of M&GN railway ends direct passenger services from Leicester to Great Yarmouth via Bourne, Holbeach, Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, King's Lynn, Fakenham and Norwich * 1960 - St Nicolas Players Amateur Dramatic Society was formed in Spalding. The group's name was based on their use of the St. Nicolas Church Hall for early meetings * 1965 - Spalding and District Amateur Radio Society formed * 1967 -
Barbeque 67 Barbeque 67 was a music event held in the market town of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in the East Midlands of England. Despite the presence of many well-known artists among its lineup, the event remains largely unknown. It is considered by some to ha ...
took place, featuring the
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
Experience,
Geno Washington Geno Washington (born William Francis Washington; December 21, 1943, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American R&B singer who released five albums with the Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976. Background ...
,
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
and
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
. Jimi Hendrix stays at the Red Lion Hotel (where a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
today records his presence) * 1970 - Closure of East Lincolnshire line ends direct rail services to Boston, and through services from Grimsby to London * 1974 - In April Spalding moves from Holland local authority (based in Boston) to the new South Holland council, based in Spalding. South Holland is the larger of the two former districts of Holland * 1977 - Location filming for episodes of BBC TV series ''
Murder Most English Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
,'' starring
Anton Rodgers Anthony Rodgers (10 January 1933 – 1 December 2007) was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film, in television dramas and sitcoms. He starred in several sitcoms, including '' Fresh Fields'' (ITV, 1984– ...
, based on novels by Lincolnshire author Colin Watson. The town was used for the fictional
Flaxborough Flaxborough is a fictitious town in Lincolnshire, created by author and local journalist Colin Watson as the background for a series of comical detective novels (''The Flaxborough Chronicles'') featuring Detective Inspector Walter Purbright. Flax ...
* 1982 - Closure of GN&GE 'Joint Line' railway to March * 2001 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 25,780 * 2002 - Main line railway locomotive named 'Spalding Town' in ceremony at the station * 2004 - A New 860 MW gas-fired Spalding Power Station was opened in Spalding at West Marsh Road at a cost of £425 million * 2004 - Springfields Outlet Centre opened in May * 2008 -
Tulip Radio Tulip Radio was the local community radio station covering the area of Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. The name was linked to Spalding's heavy involvement with the horticulture industry. The town was famous for its tulips, and used to host an ...
was awarded a full-time broadcasting licence from
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
and it started broadcasting in early 2009 but closed in 2017 * 2009 - The Johnson Community Hospital, a Nurse Led Hospital was opened off Pinchbeck Road in the north of the town * 2011 - The population of Spalding according to the census was 31,588 * 2016 - The first Spalding Festival is held. A community beer and music festival organised by Spalding Round Table that donates tens of thousands of pounds to good causes in the local Community. * 2020 - Spalding Railway Station completed a major £2.5 million refit improving accessibility at the station by installing lifts. Its Grade II listed three storey main building also received an internal and external facelift * 2021 - The population of Spalding, according to the government data, was estimated to be 36,737 * 2021 - Spalding’s Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) was opened on the 1 April 2021, in the upgraded Johnson Community Hospital * 2023 - Ayscoughfee Hall and gardens had a £375,000 upgrade by South Holland District Council * 2023 - Spalding's Castle Sports Centre awarded £25 million from the Central Government Levelling Up fund


See also

* Tulip Festival * 2016 Spalding shooting


References


Further reading


External links


Spalding Flower Parade

Springfields Festival Gardens


Video


Pathe newsreel, 1922, ice skating

Pathe newsreel, 1929, Daffodil Harvest

Pathe newsreel, 1968, Tulip Parade
{{authority control Towns in Lincolnshire Market towns in Lincolnshire Unparished areas in Lincolnshire Former civil parishes in Lincolnshire South Holland, Lincolnshire