Sleaford

Sleaford is a town in North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It takes its name from the River Slea, a tributary of the River Witham. It is north-east of the town of Grantham and north-west of the town of Boston. Sleaford lies 115 miles north of the capital London, and the city of Lincoln is eighteen miles to the north.

History

A rare Bronze Age torc was found nearby at Sudbrook, in the early 1990s.

Related Topics:
Bronze Age - Torc

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Old Sleaford was probably a tribal centre of the Iron Age Coritani. There may have been a pre-Roman coin mint here, since the largest hoard of coin mint moulds ever found in Europe was excavated here.

Related Topics:
Iron Age - Coritani - Roman

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A major Roman road, Mareham Lane, used to run through Sleaford, from Tattershall to Ancaster.

Related Topics:
Roman road - Tattershall - Ancaster

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In 1858, just to the south of the town, a large Anglo-Roman cemetery was found, showing a mix of pagan and Christian burial practices.

Related Topics:
1858 - Cemetery - Pagan - Christian

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Under the Anglian Saxons, Sleaford was part of the Flaxwell Wapentake. Sleaford ('Eslaforde') was then held by a man named Bardi.

Related Topics:
Anglian Saxons - Wapentake

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William the Conqueror gave the manor of 'Eslaforde' to Remigius, the first Bishop of Lincoln around 1086.

Related Topics:
William the Conqueror - Remigius - 1086

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About 1130, Bishop Alexander built a castle just southwest of the town. The footings and moat can still be seen, in what is now the Castle Fields. It was demolished in the Elizabethan era, not later than 1600.

Related Topics:
1130 - Castle - Elizabethan - 1600

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The hated King John visited Sleaford in 1216, and was poisoned by a local monk with toad venom. The King died as a result.

Related Topics:
1216 - Toad

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From 1556 the ownership of the town and its lands passed from the church to local absentee landowners.

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Carre's Grammar School was established in 1604.

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The common lands were enclosed in 1777.

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The Sleaford Navigations were opened in 1794.

Related Topics:
Sleaford Navigations - 1794

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From 1829 to 1831 the street pattern of the entire town was reworked, a new Town Hall built, and better drainage laid.

Related Topics:
1829 - 1831

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The railways arrived from 1857. Sleaford was eventually the junction of six major roads and five railway branch-lines, making it a regional centre. The railways caused the decline of the Sleaford Navigations, and these closed in 1878.

Related Topics:
1857 - 1878

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The Hubbard seed firm began in Sleaford in 1882 and then grew to become a major national firm.

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During World War I, from 1916 naval airships operated from nearby Cranwell, and a now defunct field RFC Leadenham provided England's main defence against Zeppelin raids. Cranwell became the world's first military air academy in 1920.

Related Topics:
World War I - 1916 - Cranwell - RFC - Zeppelin - 1920

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The Bass Maltings complex opened fully in 1905, replacing all the small malthouses in the area. The complex struggled to remain open during World War II, but survived until 1960 when it closed.

Related Topics:
1905 - 1960

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During World War II the many RAF airfields north of Sleaford played a vital role in the Battle of Britain, and later in the Allied invasion of Europe.

Related Topics:
World War II - RAF - Battle of Britain

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In the 1940s plastic surgery was pioneered at No.4 RAF Hospital Rauceby, on the outskirts of Sleaford.

Related Topics:
1940s - Plastic surgery

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