Postcard dated 1915.

"Row of cottages constructed out of the remains of part of the Priory of C11 foundation, though this part is of late C14 or early C15"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1306500 

Close to Ayscoughfee Hall, Alexandra Road runs between Love Lane & Stonegate.

Undated postcard by Raphael Tuck. 

"Museum, formerly a mansion developed from a substantial high status medieval open hall.

Mid-C15 with C17 and C18 alterations, extensively remodelled between 1781 and 1808, and again c1834, together with further extensions.

It was further altered to create the present museum which opened in 1987"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1359532 

DB 2 October 2019

View across the Peace Garden towards the aviary.

The Peace Garden features plaques commemorating recent conflicts and the regiments who served in them.

DB 2 October 2019

Birch's Mill was a powerful six-sailer built in 1819. It was demolished in 1909.

Postcard from David Robinson Collection, 1906

Early C18.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063956 

Listed in White's Directory of Lincolnshire 1856 among 36 other Inns and Taverns.  

Anchor, Holbeach road

Angel, John Clark, Double street

Barley Mow, J. Ashby, Herring lane

Black Bull, Mary Wilson, New road

Black Swan, Wm. Tingey, New road

Bottle & Glass, T. King, Crackpool ln

Bull, Elijah Palin, High bridge

Chequers, John Cotton, Bourn road

Cross Keys, My. A, Barratt, Hall pl

Crown, Thos. Thacker, West lode st

George & Dragon, Thos. Wadsley, Holbeach road

Golden Ball, Chs. Sharp, Lit. London

Hole-in-the-Wall, Edward Watson, Market place

Jolly Sailor, Wm. Holmes, Marsh ln

Nag's Head, E. Palmer, Double st

New Bell, Bridge street

Oat Sheaf, T. Taylor, London road

Old Bell, James Green, Bridge street

Peacock, Mary Storey, Pinchbeck st

Pied Bull, T. Martin, Winsover road

Pied Calf, G.Harrison, Sheep markt 

Pigeon, Isaac Cook, Holbeach road

Punch Bowl, Wm. Brewin, New road

Queen's Head, Geo. Page, London rd

Ram's Skin, Thos. Roberts,Double st

Red Lion Inn, Wm. Pike, Market pl

Robin Hood, Thos. Ham, Bourn rd

Royal Oak, Samuel Ogden, Cowbit rd.

Ship Active, Ts. Horrod, Albion st

Ship Albion, Ts. Draper, Albion st

Talbot, Rt. Roberts, Bridge street

Vine, George Cockin, Holbeach road

Well and Cottage, George Johnson, London road

White Hart Hotel, Wm. Bingham, Market place (posting)

White Horse, Cht. Coward, Chu. gt

White Lion Hotel, Abrm. Garnham, High street

White Swan, Wm. Plowright,New rd

In addition there were also 24 beer houses. 

DB 2 October 2019

"Museum depicting, through audio, visual and artefacts, the flower bulb industry in South Lincolnshire from 1880 to the present day"

https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/VenueDetails.aspx?venuecode=8283 

Located at Birchgrove Garden Centre.

DB 13 September 2013

The brick and pantiled forge on High Street near the former Chain Bridge over the Welland dates from about 1800.

Throughout the 19th century much of the work of the smithy was concerned with boats and river traffic.

The business was in the hands of the Dodd family from 1899 till the 1980s when the business faced closure.

Chatterton Tower, an iconic landmark in the center of Spalding, is a water tower built in 1955.

https://www.spaldingvoice.co.uk/feature-the-landmark-through-which-every-drop-of-fresh-water-in-spalding-area-passes/ 

DB 2 October 2019

Former Christian Association and Literary Institute, built in 1871.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1464585?section=official-list-entry 

Kelly's Directory 1930 has "The Christian Association and Literary Institute, in Spring gardens, opened in the year 1875, is a building of red brick in the French Gothic style, and contains lecture hall, reading and class rooms, with a library of 1,600 volumes, and a residence for the caretaker."

DB 6 February 2025 

Sunday School dated 1856 with the church beyond.

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1306520 

Now United Reformed Church. 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"Congregational chapel in Pinchbeck road, erected in 1821, seating 500 persons, with a branch chapel in Holbeach road, built in 1841, and having 100 sittings"

DB 2 October 2019

"Fine mid C18 house"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063999 

DB 2 October 2019

Coronation Channel with a Water Taxi arriving at Springfields Outlet Shopping & Festival Gardens.

"The River Welland flows north from Crowland, through Spalding and passing the village and port of Fosdyke before leading out to the Wash, 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"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding,_Lincolnshire  

The Water Taxi route leads via the Coronation Channel and River Welland to the town centre.

"Spalding Water Taxi began in 2005 thanks to a partnership between South Holland District Council, Springfields Retail Outlet and Broadgate Homes"

https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/spalding-water-taxi-in-march-relaunch-1-8412225/ 

DB 1 August 2016

"Early C18 corner building of 2 storeys in local brick"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063970 

Previously known as the "Crane Inn" it has been renamed as the "Lincolnshire Poacher".

DB 2 October 2019

This interesting long thin building on Churchgate is now a Chinese Restaurant.

The restaurant's website states :-

"It was originally built as a rope making factory"

https://www.crystalinn.co.uk/ 

DB 2 October 2019

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1937 states :-

"TERRITORIAL ARMY. 4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment (Spalding detachment), Drill hall, Haverfield road; Lt. T. L. Mawby, officer-in-charge; Arthur Holmes, sergeant-instructor"

Now the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church. 

Foundation stone laid by the Honourable Francis McLaren M.P. on 20th February 1913.

"He volunteered at the outbreak of war and was commissioned with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve ...

McLaren was a second lieutenant and trainee pilot in Number 18 Training Squadron (RNVR) when he died on 30 August 1917, following a flying accident during training at RAF Montrose ...

He is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs that died during World War I to be named on that memorial.

McLaren is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_McLaren 

DB 2 October 2019

Foundation stone laid by Lieutenant Colonel John William Jessop 1860-1915.

Killed during the First World War "On the 4th of June 1915 he was called to a meeting of officers at Kemmel village. The Germans started to shell the area he was in and Colonel Jessop was killed"

https://www.lincstothepast.com/JESSOP---John-William/1553658.record?pt=S  

DB 2 October 2019

"Early C19. 4 storeys in brick, rather like a former warehouse"

"Late C19 shop front to ground floor"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1064000 

Elderkin & Son (Gunmakers) Ltd were established in 1880.

http://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/index.asp 

DB 2 October 2019

Advert, in the the form of a "Premier" 6 cartridge, above the main customer entrance.

DB 2 October 2019

The Flower Queen in 1979 was Mandy Adcock.

"The town was well known for the annual Spalding Flower Parade, held from 1959 to 2013.

The parade celebrated the region's vast tulip 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"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding,_Lincolnshire

DB May 1979

Police float taking part in the flower parade. 

The "Police Service 150th Anniversary" is presumably a reference to Peel's Metropolitan Police Act 1829.

"Legislation in the 1830s introduced policing in boroughs and many counties and, in the 1850s, policing was established nationally"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_the_United_Kingdom 

DB May 1979

Float sponsored by Co-op Insurance.

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe" 

DB May 1979

Blue plaque placed by Spalding & District Civic Society outside the Halifax Bank, 25 Bridge St, Spalding.

"Pick had a strong interest in design and its use in public life.

He steered the development of the London Underground's corporate identity by commissioning eye-catching commercial art, graphic design and modern architecture, establishing a highly recognisable brand, including the first versions of the roundel and typeface still used today.

Under his direction, the UERL's Underground network and associated bus services expanded considerably reaching out into new areas and stimulating the growth of London's suburbs.

His impact on the growth of London between the world wars led to his being likened to Baron Haussmann and Robert Moses"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Pick 

DB 2 October 2019

"Originally 1805, completely restored 1965"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063972 

DB 2 October 2019

This red-brick church was designed by Sir G G Scott and completed in 1880 two years after Scott's death.

card by Valentine, posted 1906

St Paul's is built of brick, of a bright red shade, with Ancaster stone dressings.

April 2017

As can be seen in this photograph, the steeple, 135ft high, is a detached structure only linked to the main building by an arcade.

April 2017

Scott built St Paul's in Early English style. Simple lancet windows are used throughout.

April 2017

The porch at St Paul's is in thirteenth century style with elaborate decoration in the arched entrance.

April 2017

"Foundation of 1501, rebuilt 1843-4. Gothic style, quadrangular plan, with open side to road."

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1064003?section=official-list-entry 

Kelly's Directory 1930 has "Gamlyn's Almshouses, for 34 men and women, founded by Sir John Gamlyn in the year 1650, were rebuilt in 1844 in the Gothic style: each inmate receives 3s. 6d. weekly and one ton of coals yearly."

DB 6 February 2025

Museum of the Spalding Gentlemens' Society.

"Dated 1910. Architect, J B Corby and Sons"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1147350 

"The Spalding Gentlemen's Society (or Gentlemen's Club at Spalding) is a learned society in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England.

It was founded in 1710 by Maurice Johnson, (1688-1755), of Ayscoughfee Hall, and is still active.

The society's museum in Broad Street, Spalding, opened in 1911.

Additions were made in 1925 and in 1960.

The carved outside panels were the work of Jules Tuerlinckx of Malines, a Belgian refugee during the First World War"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_Gentlemen%27s_Society 

DB 2 October 2019

"The carved outside panels were the work of Jules Tuerlinckx of Malines, a Belgian refugee during the First World War"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_Gentlemen%27s_Society 

A more detailed explanation available from the Society's own website.

https://www.sgsoc.org/the-museum-building  

DB 2 October 2019

Detail of the weathervane erected in 1996.

"from the former Ship warehouse in Double Street"

https://www.sgsoc.org/the-museum-building 

DB 2 October 2019

Sundial to the side of the museum entrance. 

"Formerly on the street wall of the Crane Inn in Double Street, Spalding.

It was moved from there and erected on its present site in 1913"

https://https://www.sgsoc.org/the-museum-building 

DB 2 October 2019

Former home of George Shepherd at 3 New Road.

"In 1920, Shepherd became Labour Party District Organiser for the London and Southern area.

He served as Assistant National Agent for from 1924 to 1929 and National Agent from 1929 to 1946 ...

When Sir Winston Churchill requested that Clement Attlee and the Labour Party enter into a wartime coalition, he negotiated the terms of the coalition agreement with George Shepherd.

On 28 June 1946 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Shepherd, of Spalding in the County of Lincoln, becoming one of the few Labour peers in the House of Lords.

Shepherd then served in the Labour administration of Clement Attlee as a Lord-in-waiting (government whip) from 1948 to 1949, as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords) in 1949 and as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (Chief Whip in the House of Lords) from 1949 to 1951.

The latter year he was also sworn of the Privy Council"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Shepherd,_1st_Baron_Shepherd  

DB 2 October 2019

Blue plaque placed at 3 New Road by Spalding & District Civic Society.

"George Shepherd (1881-1954)

First Baron Shepherd of Spalding 1946

Labour Party National Agent 1929- 1946

Government Chief Whip and Privy Counsellor 

grew up here" 

DB 2 October 2019

"The Gordon Boswell Romany Museum is the lifetime's work of Gordon Boswell (died 27 August 2016, aged 76), who amassed a collection of artefacts, photographs, and several examples of the characteristic Gypsy wagon or Vardo

The museum also operates a number of non-Romany vehicles, including a horse-drawn hearse.

The collection is housed at Clay Lake, Spalding in Lincolnshire, England"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Boswell_Romany_Museum

DB 13 September 2013

"The school was founded in 1588 by Royal Charter, applied for by a Rev. Johnson, and within part of Spalding Parish Church, called St Thomas's Chapel, until the 19th century.

It was founded on its current site in 1881"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_Grammar_School 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"The Free Grammar School, Priory road, founded in 1588 by Sir John Gamlyn, was removed to its present site in 1881;

the buildings, constructed of red brick, faced with Ancaster stone, in the Queen Anne style, surround a courtyard, the master's house occupying the south & west fronts;

the school has a yearly endowment of £280, out of which the governors have to provide for the management of the Willesby School;

£30 a year is given for scholarships from the Willesby School & £30 for scholarships at all the Elementary schools, all these being tenable at the Grammar school;

a large chemistry laboratory, costing about £800, & an art room have been recently added;

the school is now a Secondary School under the Board of Education, & is controlled by 14 governors"

DB 2 October 2019

"Stone bridge of a single arch, with 5-Panelled parapet, the centre with date 1838"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063997 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"The High Bridge over the Welland was rebuilt in 1838; there are five other bridges, but for foot passengers only"

DB 2 October 2019

"A recent church of contemporary and functional design, incorporating some furnishings from the previous (M.E. Hadfield & Son) church"

https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/spalding-immaculate-conception-and-st-norbert/ 

Referring to the previous church building Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire states :-

"The Catholic church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and St. Norbert, in Henrietta street, built in 1876 enlarged in 1879 and consecrated by Dr. Heylen, Bishop of Namur in 1903 is a plain edifice of red brick in the Early English style, consisting of nave and a turret containing one bell:

most of the windows are stained.

In Sept. 1908 a lady chapel in the form of a grotto, a copy of the famous grotto of Lourdes, and the work of a Belgian artist, M.Jacques Coomans, was added to the church.

This chapel comprises an altar of the 17th century, a grotto of Bethlehem, a Calvary and a bas-relief of the Assumption.

In 1915 seven stone carvings, the work of a Belgian sculptor, J. Tuerlinckx, of Malines, were added to the exterior"

DB 2 October 2019

"A group of 4 almshouses. 1905. Designed by J B Corby"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1342126 

"The Spalding Town Husbands as the Trustees of The Spalding Almshouse Charity currently administer 71 properties in Spalding and Pinchbeck"

http://spaldingtownhusbands.btck.co.uk/SpaldingAlmshouseCharity 

DB 2 October 2019

"Early C20. Modified Jacobean"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1359543 

DB 2 October 2019

"Mid C18"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1147333 

Listed in Kelly's Directory 1930 "Lincoln Arms, Chas. R. Andrews, 4 Bridge st. Spalding".

DB 2 October 2019

Lock's Mill on St Catherine's Island, Spalding.

This smock mill, one of very few built in Lincolnshire, was demolished in 1899.


Undated photograph

Market Place viewed from the South Holland Centre.

White's Directory of Lincolnshire 1856 states :-

"The Market, held every Tuesday, is the largest in this part of the county for the sale of corn, cattle, sheep, &c., especially fat stock.

Here are five large annual fairs for cattle, merchandise, &c., held on April 27th, June 29th, August 28th, September 25th, and December 6th; and statutes, or hirings for servants, are held twice a year, a few days before Old Mayday and Martinmas" 

DB 2 October 2019

The circular sale ring at Spalding animal market was covered by this complex steel structure.

Following closure of the market, the ring was moved to The Bulb Museum in Pinchbeck at Birchgrove Garden Centre.

Ken Redmore, 2010

Postcard dated 1915.

"Early C16 house in ashlar. Said to have been a Grange of the Priory"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063993 

NatWest Bank branch located on Market Place. One of a diminishing number of branches. A further 53 closures were announced recently including those at Louth and Newark-on-Trent.

DB 6 February 2025

Kelly's Directory 1930 reports :-

"The Johnson Hospital, built in 1881, at a cost of £4,000, and partially endowed from bequests of the Misses E. A. and M. A. Johnson (from whom the hospital takes its name), is a plain building of red brick, faced with Bath stone, in the Domestic Gothic style, and contains seven wards, three for men, three for women and one for children; also a roof garden for open air treatment; there are 32 beds; an operating theatre was added in 1912 and an X-ray department in 1916; there is also a massage department.

The Spalding Dispensary, established in 1839, has rooms in the Johnson Hospital."

The building on Priory Road has been unoccupied since 2009.  

DB 6 February 2025

Listed in Kelly's Directory 1930 "Pied Calf, Ernest W. Baxter, Sheep mkt. Spalding".

DB 6 February 2025

Police Station next to the Sessions House. 

"1857. 2 storeys in brick with ashlar dressings and rusticated quoins. Hipped Wesh slate roof with centre stacks"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1169618?section=official-list-entry 

Kelly's Directory 1930 has "County Police Station (Geo. Pikett, supt.; Geo. Fieldsend, inspector) Sheep Market T N 48"

DB 6 February 2025

Reported in "A List And Brief Details Of Chapels In The Spalding Circuit Past And Present" prepared by Colin Shepherdson & Norman Leveritt September 1997 (Revised August 1988) that :-

"The chapel opened on the 8.10.1871.

The interior was modernised in 1954-55 and now includes three memorial windows commemorating the Jepson, Wilson and Woodham families which were removed from The Crescent United Methodist chapel on its closure following the merger of the two Societies in 1955

The chapel is still in use with a membership of 69"

Unfortunately the chapel has now closed with worshipers moving to the Broad Street Methodist Church on Easter Sunday 2018.

Building advertised with an asking price of £275,000 and was subsequently bought by the Catholic Diocese of Nottingham. 

DB 2 October 2019

"Railway station and attached foot bridge. 1848, for the Great Northern Railway Company"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063914 

DB 2 October 2019

"By the end of the nineteenth century the town had become a major rail crossroads and the station had grown to reflect this, having more than doubled in size from its opening half a century earlier.

It would also later become a popular destination in its own right, with the annual Tulip Festival bringing excursion trains into the town from all over the country from the late 1950s onwards"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_railway_station 

DB 2 October 2019

Super Sprinter 57382 about to depart for Peterborough.

Recently rebranded from East Midlands Trains to East Midlands Railway whose franchise started 18 August 2019.

DB 2 October 2019

Looking south from Platform 1 towards the footbridge.

"The bridge connecting Platforms 1 and 2 to the rest of the station still exists, but the old platform 5 has been fenced off, the bays filled in and the walk through on the bridge to platforms 6 and 7 bricked up.

The tracks meanwhile have been lifted, the western island platforms cleared and the site now used for housing"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_railway_station 

DB 2 October 2019

The footbridge leading to former platforms 6 & 7 is now in a ruinous condition.

"The bridge connecting Platforms 1 and 2 to the rest of the station still exists, but the old platform 5 has been fenced off, the bays filled in and the walk through on the bridge to platforms 6 and 7 bricked up.

The tracks meanwhile have been lifted, the western island platforms cleared and the site now used for housing"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_railway_station 

DB 2 October 2019

Detail of the footbridge leading from platforms 1 & 2 to the rest of the station.

DB 2 October 2019

Station booking hall.

DB 2 October 2019

Advert for the Red Lion Hotel, Market Place appearing in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919.

Listed in White's Directory of Lincolnshire 1856 :-

"Red Lion Inn, Wm. Pike, Market pl"

"Early C19. 3 storeys in painted stucco with Welsh slate roof with stacks at gable ends and eaves cornice on paired modillions"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063952 

DB 2 October 2019

Jimi Hendrix blue plaque placed by the Spalding & District Civic Society.

"James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 - September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter.

His mainstream career lasted only four years, but he is widely regarded as one of the most influential guitarists in history and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music""

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix 

DB 2 October 2019

Spalding was a busy river port on the River Welland from Roman times until its decline in the early twentieth century.

undated postcard

Former Salvation Army Hall on the north side of Westlode Street.

Date stones at the front of the building read "1910".

Closed for worship around 2001 and nearest Salvation Army presence is now in Bourne.

DB 2 October 2019

Art Deco building situated on the south side of Westlode Street.

"Originally opened in as the Savoy cinema in June 1937, the building was converted into a bingo club in 1970"

https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/eyes-down-at-new-look-regent-bingo-in-spalding-9046787/ 

DB 2 October 2019

Royal Arms displayed on the gates of the Sessions House.

Kelly's Directory 1930 notes "The Sessions House, in the Sheep Market, was erected in the year 1842, at a cost of £6,000: quarter and petty sessions are held here for the parts of Holland."

DB 6 February 2025

District Council Offices built on the site of St Peter's Church.

Kelly's Directory 1930 notes "The church of St. Peter, on the site of the old Abbey, is a building of red brick in the Early English style, erected in the year 1875-6 at a cost of £10,000, from designs by Sir Geo. Gilbert Scott R.A. and consists of chancel, nave, aisles, vestry, north porch, organ chamber and a turret containing one bell: the east window is stained: there are 500 sittings, but the services are at present (1930) suspended."

The church was demolished in 1968.

DB 6 February 2025

"Opened on April 6, 1966 ...

Visitors were treated to more than 3,000 varieties of spring-flowering bulbs in the garden, while glasshouses were filled with over 300 types of tulips ...

Despite only being open for six to eight weeks in spring, in its first three years Springfields attracted almost 400,000 visitors ...

in the 1990s the trustees of Springfields Horticultural Society recognised falling visitor and income levels meant it was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain the gardens ...

development, reconstruction and re-landscaping programme led to the opening of Springfields Outlet Shopping and Festival Gardens in May 2004"

http://www.springfieldsfestivalgardens.org.uk/history/  

DB May 1979

Glasshouse filled with tulips.

"Known as The Heart of the Fens, Spalding has been long famous as a centre of the bulb industry.

It has had close links with the Netherlands (origin of the Geest family, who were former major local employers)"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding,_Lincolnshire 

DB May 1979

Located at Hawthorn Bank. Built 1875 to the design of R.J. Withers in the Early English style. The north aisle has four windows by Kempe & Co.

Mark Acton, 2023 

A Kingsway Real Photo Series postcard. Presumably viewed prior to 1930 by which time services had been suspended.

Kelly's Directory 1930 notes "The church of St. Peter, on the site of the old Abbey, is a building of red brick in the Early English style, erected in the year 1875-6 at a cost of £10,000, from designs by Sir Geo. Gilbert Scott R.A. and consists of chancel, nave, aisles, vestry, north porch, organ chamber and a turret containing one bell: the east window is stained: there are 500 sittings, but the services are at present (1930) suspended."

The church was demolished in 1968.

This wrought iron footbridge, with five equal spans of 50 feet, and a total length of 368 feet overall, spanned a total of 16 running lines and sidings just north of Spalding station (TF 245 231).

It was built in 1860 for GNR and demolished in 2010.

This photograph shows some of the architectural detailing, which is both functional and attractive. The spandrels, external brackets, stairway balusters, supporting columns and their caps were all finely detailed.

The church of St Mary and St Nicholas was built as a parish church by the local rich Benedictine priory in about 1284.

The original building was cruciform; there were considerable additions in the next 200 years.

The church was restored in 1865-67 by G G Scott.

1950s postcard

There is evidence that the tower of Spalding's parish church, with Early English ground stages and a total height of 160 ft, was once a detached structure.

undated postcard

St Mary's Chapel, to the south-east of the transept, has unusual Perpendicular tracery.

The Y-tracery of the south aisle windows can also be seen.

August 2016

The three stepped lancets at the east end of the chancel date from the restoration by Scott in the nineteenth century.

August 2016

The large window on the west front, built by G G Scott in 1865-74, is in Perpendicular style.

The window to the south aisle (to the right) is Decorated with reticulated tracery; the window in the north aisle is Perpendicular.

August 2016

Kelly's Directory 1930 reports :-

"The parish church of SS. Mary and Nicholas is a spacious building, originally Early English, rebuilt in 1924, with many subsequent alterations, in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, some later portions being of Post-Reformation date:

the plan is complex and anomalous but, in its original arrangement, it consisted of chancel with south aisle, nave with aisles, transept with eastern and western aisles, north porch and an embattled Perpendicular tower, with pinnacles and spire, attached to the western bay of the south aisle, and containing a clock and 8 bells:

the tower was repaired and the bells rehung at a cost of about £2,000 in 1925:

to this structure a large rectangular chapel, dedicated to SS. Mary and Thomas à Becket, was added on the south-east, occupying a portion of the eastern aisle of the transept, and was in 1895 thrown into the body of the church:

the eastern portion of the nave aisles was also doubled and a south porch with turret erected; there is also another chapel, called the Chapel of the Upper Chamber, over the north porch:

the total length is 157 feet, and the width, at the transept, which corresponds in this respect to the double aisle of the nave, 92 feet 6 inches:

there are monuments to the Johnson and other families, and nearly all the windows are stained, several being memorials:

there is also an altar dedicated to St. George, erected to the memory of the men of the district who fell in the Great War, 1914-18:

the church was extensively repaired and restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott R.A. in the year 1865, at a cost of £10,000, and further restored in 1886 at a cost of £900, including Sir Thomas à Becket's or the Lady Chapel, on the south side, restored by Canon E. Moore and Theophilus M. S. Johnson Esq.:

there are 1,200 sittings.

The register of baptisms and burials dates from the year 1538; marriages, 1550.

The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £1,000, with residence, in the gift of trustees, and held since 1920 by the Rev. Basil Gordon Nicholas M.A. of Magdalene College, Cambridge, rural dean of West Elloe and prebendary of Bedford Minor in Lincoln Cathedral."

DB 6 February 2025

Looking east towards the altar.

C13 Early English chancel with a Victorian choir vestry built onto the north side. Victorian choir stalls.

DB 6 February 2025 

Looking west towards the chancel screen and nave beyond.

DB 6 February 2025

A closer view of the main altar at the east end of the chancel.

DB 6 February 2025 

The chancel ceiling was decorated by Stephen Dykes-Bower* in 1959.

August 2016

* Stephen Dykes Bower (1903-1994) was a renowned Gothic Revival designer, responsible for restoration work in many churches including Westminster Abbey. 

A second view of the chancel ceiling designed by S.E. Dykes Bower in 1959. The decoration theme is the life of Christ, depicted through medieval patterns and symbols.

DB 6 February 2025

The East Window features ten scenes depicting the story of Easter. The narrative culminates with the Ascension of Jesus at the top of the tracery.

DB 6 February 2025

Mounting steps built into the north wall of the churchyard.

DB 6 February 2025

A recess in the north wall of the Corpus Christi Chapel symbolic of Jesus' burial in the tomb following the crucifixion.

DB 6 February 2025

The ornate octagonal font was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

August 2016

Designed in 1868 by Sir George Gilbert Scott and made by Farmer and Brindley, the font features carvings depicting four biblical events and the four rivers of Eden. Supported by shafts of red granite and alabaster.

No sign of the iron structure, previously pictured, adorning the font lid. 

DB 6 February 2025

Sheep's head gargoyle on the south side of the nave.

August 2016

Gleed Chapel to the east side of the north porch.

DB 6 February 2025

Hatchment for Theophilus Buckworth of Clay Hall, Spalding, who married Elizabeth Clay and died 3 February 1802. She died 3 January 1793.

August 2016

Hatchment for Elizabeth, only daughter of Rev Thomas Mills, Canon of Peterborough,who married in 1841, as his first wife, Maurice Johnson of Aycoughfee Hall, and died 25 September 1843.

August 2016

Hatchment for Theophilus Fairfax Johnson, who married Millicent Anne, daughter and sole heir of Stephen Roger Moore, and died 29 March 1853.

August 2016

Hatchment for Theophilus Maurice Stephen Johnson, who died 11 December 1892.

August 2016

Looking south across the nave and into the south aisles.

DB 6 February 2025 

A brass plaque on the organ casing is in memory of a choir boy.

It reads: In loving memory / of /  George Cooper Blackbourn / a member of this choir / Drowned in the Welland December 6th 1910 / found January 5th and buried January 7th 1911 / aged 11 years / This memorial is dedicated by the choir / and a few friends

August 2016

The four-bay arcades either side of the nave date from the late fourteenth century.

The piers are quatrefoil, the arches double-chamfered.

Beyond the nave can be seen the chancel with richly decorated ceiling and screen (by J Oldrid Scott).

August 2016

Looking east towards the chancel.

Pevsner states "The arcades are of c. 1284 etc., but they are only four bays long, and they are not quite in their original state. The piers are quatrefoil, the arches double-chamfered ... the nave piers were in fact at some date lengthened by five feet above the transept W and E arcades"

DB 6 February 2025 

A pulpit's eye view looking southwest diagonally across the nave.

DB 6 February 2025 

This corbel in the interior of the church probably represents the Green Man.

August 2016

Stone head supporting a roof truss.

DB 6 February 2025

East window above the chancel arch with glass from 1866.

DB 6 February 2025

The oak roof, with its mediaeval hammer-beam construction from 1450, was restored in 1866.

Note the corbels supporting the roof trusses and the carved wooden angels. 

DB 6 February 2025

Twenty-eight carved wooden angels adorn the roof of the nave and transepts. Fourteen of the angels are mediaeval with the rest added when the roof was reconstructed in 1866.

This angel displays a cockerel on its shield.

DB 6 February 2025

Twenty-eight carved wooden angels adorn the roof of the nave and transepts. Fourteen of the angels are mediaeval with the rest added when the roof was reconstructed in 1866.

This angel displays a lantern on its shield.

DB 6 February 2025

West window featuring Christ in Majesty at its centre.

DB 6 February 2025

Looking east towards the organ.

DB 6 February 2025 

Looking east towards the Corpus Christi Chapel.

DB 6 February 2025 

Looking west towards the shop.

DB 6 February 2025 

Looking west towards the Gleed Chapel.

DB 6 February 2025

Elaborate inner doorway to the north porch.

DB 6 February 2025

The three flags over the north door are:

White Ensign of HMS Submarine Taku: Presented in 1948 by Spalding Urban District Council to commemorate the town's connection with the submarine during World War II.

Banner of the Loyal Spalding Volunteers: Formed in 1797 in response to the Volunteer Act of 1794, representing a pre-Union Jack banner. Given to the church in 1900 and repaired in 1946.

Colour of the XIII Royal Volunteers of the Lincolnshire Regiment: Represents Spalding F Company formed in 1866 and later part of the Lincolnshire Regiment.

Information from the Church Guide Book. 

DB 6 February 2025

Pevsner suggests a late Perpendicular date for the north porch.

DB 6 February 2025

Looking east towards St Thomas's Chapel.

DB 6 February 2025 

Looking west towards the tower doorway.

DB 6 February 2025 

One of two windows in the south aisle by H W Harvey*, made in 1966.

August 2016

* H W (Harry) Harvey of York (1923-2011) was an eminent creator of painted or stained glass windows. Some of his 200+ windows can be seen in York MInster.

One of two windows in the south aisle by H W Harvey, made in 1966.

August 2016

Looking east towards the altar.

"The chapel was founded in 1315 by Richard Skinner a member of the Guild of Mercers"

DB 6 February 2025 

Looking west.

The distinctive interior design of the chapel, featuring oak panelling, a reredos, and a wooden floor, originated in 1885.

DB 6 February 2025 

"Early C19 house of 2 storeys with 2 wings slightly lower but of similar build" (in Church Street)

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1064006 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £582, with residence, in the gift of trustees, and held since 1913 by the Rev. Edward Pountney Gough M.A. of Keble College, Oxford, rural dean of West Elloe"

DB 2 October 2019

A local landmark towards the north end of Double Street and immediately adjacent to the River Welland. 

DB 2 October 2019

"Spalding War Memorial is located 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, and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, known for his war memorials including the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London.

It takes the form of a pavilion and a Stone of Remembrance at the head of a long reflecting pool; the names of the fallen are inscribed on the back wall of the pavilion"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding,_Lincolnshire 

DB 2 October 2019

Located in the Peace Garden at Ayscoughfee Hall and officially unveiled by The Duke of Kent 13 March 2019.

https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/hrh-duke-of-kent-today-opened-spaldings-wwii-memorial-9064274/ 

"The Spalding WWII Memorial Committee was set up to raise funds to design and build a second war memorial to commemorate those Spaldonians who have served their country and were killed in action in the Second World War.

£70,000 was successfully raised and the memorial is now built"

http://www.spaldingwwiimemorial.org/ 

DB 2 October 2019

"A particularly fine terrace range of C18 houses in red brick"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1359539

DB 2 October 2019

"Methodist church and attached Sunday school. 1887. By F Boreham"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1067614 

Stated in "A List And Brief Details Of Chapels In The Spalding Circuit Past And Present" prepared by Colin Shepherdson & Norman Leveritt September 1997 (Revised August 1988) that :-

"The second Wesleyan chapel was erected on the site of the old prison in Broad Street in 1826 and registered on the 15.5.1827.

The first harmonium was purchased in 1856 and replaced by a better one in 1866.

A two storey Sunday school was added along side the chapel in 1861 and the chapel reseated in 1868.

Additional land, adjacent to the site, was purchased to enable the erection of the third chapel, with the foundation stone being laid on the 8.7.1886.

The chapel opened on the 3.3.1887 and then the 1826 chapel was demolished to allow the building of a new Sunday school.

The foundation stone was laid on the 16.6.1887 and the Sunday school opened on the 3 11.1887.

An organ was installed in the chapel and opened on the 16.4.1896.

The chapel, a Grade II listed building, is still in use with a membership of 111"

DB 2 October 2019

Sunday School attached to the chapel.

DB 2 October 2019

Another view of the facade of the church on Broad Street - shortly before the disabled access ramp was constructed.

March 2019

"Hotel. c1500 core with facade of 2 builds: Mid C18 and late C18"

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1063953 

Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 states :-

"White Hart Hotel (family & commercial); motor garage; stock room; posting in all its branches (Home Counties Public House Trust Limited, proprietors; Fredk. Thos. Jealons, manager), Market pl"

also 

"Omnibuses leave the Red Lion & the White Hart to meet every train"

DB 2 October 2019

Jean-Jacques Rousseau blue plaque placed by the Spalding & District Civic Society.

"Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 - 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer and composer.

His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic and educational thought"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau 

DB 2 October 2019

"Early C17 building in painted brick with steep thatched roof with 2 stacks"

http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1308555 

Listed in Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire 1919 :-

"Evans Alexander, White Horse P.H. Churchgate"

DB 2 October 2019