92-704: Spilsby is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire , England. The town is adjacent to the main A16 , 33 miles (53 km) east of Lincoln , 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Boston and 13 miles (21 km) north-west of Skegness . It lies at the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds and north of the Fenlands . The town has been a rural market town for more than 700 years. It has changed little in size since
184-431: A portcullis further inside was a drawbridge that spanned the moat. The moat encircled an area about 87 yards in diameter. The six walls were 6½ feet wide and varied in length from 16 to 32 feet (9.8 m) long. There was a small priest door in the rear wall just above the moat water line. The castle garrison was supported and supplied by an important market village outside the castle walls. It included several small farms,
276-644: A branch line from Firsby junction to Spilsby, which opened on 1 May 1868. The branch was just over 4 miles (6.4 km) long and connected Spilsby to the King's Cross, London to Cleethorpes main line. The only other railway station on the branch line was Halton Holegate Halt . The necessary parliamentary permission had been obtained by an Act in July 1865 which incorporated the Spilsby & Firsby Railway Company with an authorised capital of £20,000 and loans of £8,333 for
368-440: A community space on the upper floor. The oldest surviving structures date from the mid-17th century. In Scotland, borough markets were held weekly from an early stage. A King's market was held at Roxburgh on a specific day from about the year 1171; a Thursday market was held at Glasgow , a Saturday market at Arbroath , and a Sunday market at Brechin . In Scotland, market towns were often distinguished by their mercat cross :
460-586: A congregation of around 750. The parish churchyard was closed to further burials when it ran out of available space in 1884. To mark his inheritance of the title in 1349, the 3rd Baron, Sir John de Willoughby, built a private chapel on his estate. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity , it was endowed with collegiate status, with a master and up to twelve priests. When the head of the family founded the King Edward VI Grammar School in 1550,
552-514: A crossing-place on the River Thames up-river from Runnymede , where it formed an oxbow lake in the stream. Early patronage included Thomas Furnyvale, lord of Hallamshire , who established a Fair and Market in 1232. Travelers were able to meet and trade wares in relative safety for a week of "fayres" at a location inside the town walls. The reign of Henry III witnessed a spike in established market fairs. The defeat of de Montfort increased
644-528: A crossroads or close to a river ford , for example, Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. When local railway lines were first built, market towns were given priority to ease the transport of goods. For instance, in Calderdale , West Yorkshire , several market towns close together were designated to take advantage of the new trains. The designation of Halifax , Sowerby Bridge , Hebden Bridge , and Todmorden
736-446: A friary and salmon lakes, two mills, and the chantry church of St. Peter & St. Paul. According to the dated keystone on the west doorway, Gunby Hall was built in 1700 by Sir Henry Massingberd. The mansion still stands in several acres of landscaped and wooded parkland, including gardens containing a blue gazebo . Locally born Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson described it as "an English home... all things in order stored and
828-491: A full list, see this table at Danish Misplaced Pages ). The last town to gain market rights ( Danish : købstadsprivilegier ) was Skjern in 1958. At the municipal reform of 1970 , market towns were merged with neighboring parishes, and the market towns lost their special status and privileges, though many still advertise themselves using the moniker of købstad and hold public markets on their historic market squares . The medieval right to hold markets ( German : Marktrecht )
920-559: A good deal is known about the economic value of markets in local economies, the cultural role of market-towns has received scant scholarly attention. In Denmark, the concept of the market town ( Danish : købstad ) emerged during the Iron Age. It is not known which was the first Danish market town, but Hedeby (part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein ) and Ribe were among the first. As of 1801, there were 74 market towns in Denmark (for
1012-591: A group of villages or an earlier urban settlement in decline, or be created as a new urban centre. Frequently, they had limited privileges compared to free royal cities . Their long-lasting feudal subordination to landowners or the church is also a crucial difference. The successors of these settlements usually have a distinguishable townscape. The absence of fortification walls, sparsely populated agglomerations, and their tight bonds with agricultural life allowed these towns to remain more vertical compared to civitates. The street-level urban structure varies depending on
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#17327760672351104-554: A haunt of peace". The original words, written in his own hand, are framed and preserved in the hall's library. During the Second World War , the Air Ministry attempted to build an airfield at Gunby that would have covered the estate and necessitated demolishing the mansion. The then-owner, Field Marshal Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd , personally appealed to King George VI . The Air Ministry relented, redrawing
1196-614: A high brick wall and fronted by a courthouse . It was enlarged in 1869 to provide 85 single cells. The prison was demolished in 1876, except for the small front area. This contained the sessions house with a Greek Doric-pillared portico, police station and town lockup. The Sessions House of 1826, where court quarter sessions for the district of Lindsey were held until 1878, is now home to the Spilsby Theatre and Arts Centre. The town's gasworks were constructed in 1853, opening in 1854 on Ashby Road, bringing street and house lighting to
1288-455: A local shopfront such as a bakery or alehouse, while others were casual traders who set up a stall or carried their wares around in baskets on market days. Market trade supplied for the needs of local consumers whether they were visitors or local residents. Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market towns between the 13th and 15th century. Their investigation shows that in regional districts markets were held once or twice
1380-468: A market town at Bergen in the 11th century, and it soon became the residence of many wealthy families. Import and export was to be conducted only through market towns, to allow oversight of commerce and to simplify the imposition of excise taxes and customs duties . This practice served to encourage growth in areas which had strategic significance, providing a local economic base for the construction of fortifications and sufficient population to defend
1472-563: A market town is the provision of goods and services to the surrounding locality. Although market towns were known in antiquity, their number increased rapidly from the 12th century. Market towns across Europe flourished with an improved economy, a more urbanised society and the widespread introduction of a cash-based economy. Domesday Book of 1086 lists 50 markets in England. Some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349. The burgeoning of market towns occurred across Europe around
1564-473: A number of market towns in Saxony throughout the 11th century and did much to develop peaceful markets by granting a special 'peace' to merchants and a special and permanent 'peace' to market-places. With the rise of the territories, the ability to designate market towns was passed to the princes and dukes, as the basis of German town law . The local ordinance status of a market town ( Marktgemeinde or Markt )
1656-604: A place where the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by a ruling authority (either royal, noble, or ecclesiastical). As in the rest of the UK, the area in which the cross was situated was almost always central: either in a square; or in a broad, main street. Towns which still have regular markets include: Inverurie , St Andrews , Selkirk , Wigtown , Kelso , and Cupar . Not all still possess their mercat cross (market cross). Dutch painters of Antwerp took great interest in market places and market towns as subject matter from
1748-407: A predominantly agricultural area, much of the market produce consists of locally grown vegetables and meat. The population of the town was 2,336 in the 2001 census, increasing to 3,045 at the 2011 Census. The area has been occupied by humans since prehistoric times. Evidence for this can be found at nearby West Keal , where an Iron Age hill fort and defensive terraced earthworks were built at
1840-487: A private family residence for the remainder of the year. Hundleby was an ancient parish that fell within Spilsby. It has not changed greatly in size or layout for the past two hundred years. The village population in 1801 was 218, and in 1901 it reached a peak of 528, mostly agricultural farm workers and their families. By 1971 the population had fallen to 439. It has remained fairly stable ever since with only minor fluctuations. Hundleby's Anglican St Mary's parish church
1932-412: A relationship with customers and may have offered added value services, such as credit terms to reliable customers. The economy was characterised by local trading in which goods were traded across relatively short distances. Braudel reports that, in 1600, grain moved just 5–10 miles (8.0–16.1 km); cattle 40–70 miles (64–113 km); wool and woollen cloth 20–40 miles (32–64 km). However, following
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#17327760672352024-428: A small seaport or a market town prior to export. This encouraged local merchants to ensure trading went through them, which was so effective in limiting unsupervised sales ( smuggling ) that customs revenues increased from less than 30% of the total tax revenues in 1600 to more than 50% of the total taxes by 1700. Norwegian "market towns" died out and were replaced by free markets during the 19th century. After 1952, both
2116-516: A substantial Roman villa or high-status Romano-British farmhouse once stood on the site. The recorded finds from the site are stored at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life in Lincoln, Lincolnshire . In 1849 six Roman funeral urns were dug up in nearby Fulletby . Spilsby was probably named before or no later than the 9th-century period of Danish rule , which had extended for centuries. It derives from
2208-455: A successful market town attracted people, generated revenue and would pay for the town's defences. In around the 12th century, European kings began granting charters to villages allowing them to hold markets on specific days. Framlingham in Suffolk is a notable example of a market situated near a fortified building. Additionally, markets were located where transport was easiest, such as at
2300-419: A week while daily markets were common in larger cities. Over time, permanent shops began opening daily and gradually supplanted the periodic markets, while peddlers or itinerant sellers continued to fill in any gaps in distribution. The physical market was characterised by transactional exchange and bartering systems were commonplace. Shops had higher overhead costs, but were able to offer regular trading hours and
2392-584: Is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages , a market right , which allowed it to host a regular market ; this distinguished it from a village or city . In Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, as sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market , Market Rasen , or Market Drayton ). Modern markets are often in special halls , but this
2484-487: Is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place , sometimes centred on a market cross ( mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets. The primary purpose of
2576-505: Is a small hamlet just south of town." In 1839 the King Edward VI Grammar School had moved from its original 17th-century school building to a new school built on its current site in Spilsby. The grammar school building was abandoned during the 1990s after the two Spilsby secondary schools had amalgamated as Spilsby High School . In the mid-19th century, several chapels for nonconformist Methodism were built in
2668-478: Is an example of this. A number of studies have pointed to the prevalence of the periodic market in medieval towns and rural areas due to the localised nature of the economy. The marketplace was the commonly accepted location for trade, social interaction, transfer of information and gossip. A broad range of retailers congregated in market towns – peddlers, retailers, hucksters, stallholders, merchants and other types of trader. Some were professional traders who occupied
2760-514: Is as Lord of Singleborough , under Walter Giffard , the tenant-in-chief. Other sources indicate that another Walter de Bec, who may or may not be related to the aforementioned Walter, married Agnes of Tattershall , daughter of Hugh, son of Pinco FitzEudo. She brought Spilsby, and the Manor of Eresby, with her, those lands being gifted to her by William I . The manor was held by the Beke family until
2852-701: Is no single register of modern entitlements to hold markets and fairs, although historical charters up to 1516 are listed in the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales . William Stow's 1722 Remarks on London includes "A List of all the Market Towns in England and Wales; with the Days of the Week whereon kept". Market houses were a common feature across the island of Ireland . These often arcaded buildings performed marketplace functions, frequently with
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2944-512: Is perpetuated through the law of Austria , the German state of Bavaria , and the Italian province of South Tyrol . Nevertheless, the title has no further legal significance, as it does not grant any privileges. In Hungarian, the word for market town "mezőváros" means literally "pasture town" and implies that it was unfortified town: they were architecturally distinguishable from other towns by
3036-620: Is reflected in the prefix Markt of the names of many towns in Austria and Germany , for example, Markt Berolzheim or Marktbergel . Other terms used for market towns were Flecken in northern Germany, or Freiheit and Wigbold in Westphalia . Market rights were designated as long ago as during the Carolingian Empire . Around 800, Charlemagne granted the title of a market town to Esslingen am Neckar . Conrad created
3128-604: Is that the Manor of Eresby, including the lands and parish of Spilsby, was awarded to Walter de Beke, sometime after 1083, by William the Conqueror . This myth is one of several generated in the writings of William Dugdale . However, the Domesday Book of 1086 shows that the manor of Spilsby was held in 1086 by the Bishop of Durham (St Cuthbert's) as both Lord and tenant-in-chief . The only Domesday entry for Walter of Bec
3220-451: The 19th Baron , who was also Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven . It is believed that a carpenter accidentally started a fire with his candle while he was working in the roof space. A 1771 plan shows that the house was built in an 'H' shape. The plan also shows details of the grounds, which included an orangery , cherry orchard, bowling green, dovecote, and an ash grove, all near to the house. The Manor House had originally been moated, but by 1771
3312-401: The Bishop of Durham . In 1255 a charter was granted to a John de Beke (or John Beck) to hold a weekly market in Spilsby each Monday and a three-day annual fair in July. Four years later, in 1259, the same John de Beke was granted a further charter to hold a three-day Christmas fair from 5–8 December. The next recorded charter to hold a weekly Monday market in the town and an annual fair in July
3404-510: The Yiddish term shtetl . Miasteczkos had a special administrative status other than that of town or city. From the time of the Norman conquest, the right to award a charter was generally seen to be a royal prerogative. However, the granting of charters was not systematically recorded until 1199. Once a charter was granted, it gave local lords the right to take tolls and also afforded
3496-588: The koopman, which described a new, emergent class of trader who dealt in goods or credit on a large scale. Paintings of every day market scenes may have been an affectionate attempt to record familiar scenes and document a world that was in danger of being lost. Paintings and drawings of market towns and market scenes Bibliography Corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in
3588-659: The "small seaport" and the "market town" were relegated to simple town status. Miasteczko ( lit. ' small town ' ) was a historical type of urban settlement similar to a market town in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After the partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th-century, these settlements became widespread in the Austrian , German and Russian Empires. The vast majority of miasteczkos had significant or even predominant Jewish populations ; these are known in English under
3680-426: The 16th century. Pieter Aertsen was known as the "great painter of the market" Painters' interest in markets was due, at least in part, to the changing nature of the market system at that time. With the rise of the merchant guilds, the public began to distinguish between two types of merchant, the meerseniers which referred to local merchants including bakers, grocers, sellers of dairy products and stall-holders, and
3772-431: The 20th century, the special rights granted to market towns mostly involved a greater autonomy in fiscal matters and control over town planning, schooling and social care. Unlike rural municipalities, the market towns were not considered part of the counties . The last town to be granted market rights was Ólafsvík in 1983 and from that point there were 24 market towns until a municipal reform in 1986 essentially abolished
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3864-406: The 2266 Spilsby Squadron ATC in 1952. Falling membership resulted in the squadron's disbandment in 2005. RAF Spilsby was rebuilt in the 1950s as a standby base in case of war. It was designated as a standby base for escort fighters only and never used, and there is no record of any aircraft ever landing here. The new runway was weak because of drainage problems. Market town A market town
3956-516: The European age of discovery, goods were imported from afar – calico cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. The importance of local markets began to decline in the mid-16th century. Permanent shops which provided more stable trading hours began to supplant the periodic market. In addition,
4048-591: The First Volunteer Battalion, was based in Spilsby. Its commandant was the now-promoted Major George Walker. He was aided by Lt G. B. Walker and Lt W. Hoff, Acting Surgeon Lieutenant Francis John Walker and the acting chaplain Rev. Pownoll Kendall. In 1899 Spilsby's Territorial Force Drill Hall was completed in Halton Road, built of solid red brick. The site also contained housing and quarters for
4140-536: The Red Lion public house. Annual rental revenue from these properties, £76-5s-0d (£76.25) in 1842, was distributed half-yearly among any poor in the parish who did not receive any other financial aid from the town's poor rates. As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act , the parish became part of the Spilsby Poor Law Union , which covered 33 local parishes. A small local railway company built
4232-734: The United States these buildings were called grain exchanges . Such trade was common in towns and cities across the British Isles until the 19th century, but as the trade became centralised in the 20th century many such buildings were used for other purposes. Several have since become historical landmarks . In the United States, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange is still used to manage the commodities and futures exchange of grain products. Corn exchanges were initially held as open markets normally controlled by
4324-549: The area. It also served to restrict Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. Norway included a subordinate category to the market town, the "small seaport" ( Norwegian lossested or ladested ), which was a port or harbor with a monopoly to import and export goods and materials in both the port and a surrounding outlying district. Typically, these were locations for exporting timber, and importing grain and goods. Local farm goods and timber sales were all required to pass through merchants at either
4416-583: The avenue of trees and bushes. The Seventh Spilsby Rifle Volunteer Corps, an early part-time army detachment, part of the Volunteer Force , was formed in the town during 1860. At its height, the corps contained about 100 members. In 1872, Captain J. W. Preston was the officer in charge, supported by Lt George Walker, Ensign Robert MacKinder and drill-master Sergeant Thomas Ward. In 1889 the Rifle Volunteer Corps, renamed as F Company of
4508-408: The beginning of the 19th century. The town centre includes a range of small supermarkets, banks, traditional newsagents, baker, butchers, jewellers and clothing stores, together with public houses, cafes and fast-food takeaways. At the centre of town is an open square or traditional market place, from which the four main town streets radiate. Markets take place on a Monday. As Spilsby is located within
4600-493: The centre of the marketplace is the Old Town Hall . More recently it has been used as a store and petrol station. In the 18th century the town civic offices, a small courtroom, and the town gaol, were in the upstairs level supported by the arches. The ground level was an open covered space used as the local corn exchange and for stalls by market traders that were protected from the weather. An oft-repeated historical myth
4692-519: The concept. Many of the existing market towns would continue to be named kaupstaður even after the term lost any administrative meaning. In Norway , the medieval market town ( Norwegian : kjøpstad and kaupstad from the Old Norse kaupstaðr ) was a town which had been granted commerce privileges by the king or other authorities. The citizens in the town had a monopoly over the purchase and sale of wares, and operation of other businesses, both in
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#17327760672354784-529: The construction of the 4-mile-long (6 km), single-track branch. Construction of the railway began in March 1867. The ceremonial cutting of the first turf was performed by the local rector, the Reverend Rawnsley, who was standing in for the railway company's chairman Lord Willoughby de Eresby the 25th Baron . The railway was expected to be opened quickly but disputes with the contractors arose over
4876-500: The crushed aggregate being used in the construction of the new Humber Bridge . RAF Spilsby is commemorated by an airfield memorial standing just outside Great Steeping and by plaques in All Saints' Church, Great Steeping. Cropmarks showing the airfield's runway layout are still visible in aerial photographs. Spilsby Air Training Corps formed in 1950 initially as a detached flight of the established Skegness squadron, becoming
4968-488: The day when the community congregated in town to attend church. Some of the more ancient markets appear to have been held in churchyards. At the time of the Norman conquest, the majority of the population made their living through agriculture and livestock farming. Most lived on their farms, situated outside towns, and the town itself supported a relatively small population of permanent residents. Farmers and their families brought their surplus produce to informal markets held on
5060-546: The early market towns have continued operations into recent times. For instance, Northampton market received its first charter in 1189 and markets are still held in the square to this day. The National Market Traders Federation , situated in Barnsley , South Yorkshire , has around 32,000 members and close links with market traders' federations throughout Europe. According to the UK National Archives , there
5152-398: The era from which various parts of the city originate. Market towns were characterized as a transition between a village and a city, without a unified, definite city core. A high level of urban planning only marks an era starting from the 17th-18th centuries. This dating is partially related to the modernization and resettlement waves after the liberation of Ottoman Hungary . While Iceland
5244-417: The grounds of their church after worship. By the 13th century, however, a movement against Sunday markets gathered momentum, and the market gradually moved to a site in town's centre and was held on a weekday. By the 15th century, towns were legally prohibited from holding markets in church-yards. Archaeological evidence suggests that Colchester is England's oldest recorded market town, dating to at least
5336-413: The lack of town walls. Most market towns were chartered in the 14th and 15th centuries and typically developed around 13th-century villages that had preceded them. A boom in the raising of livestock may have been a trigger for the upsurge in the number of market towns during that period. Archaeological studies suggest that the ground plans of such market towns had multiple streets and could also emerge from
5428-404: The legal basis for defining a "town". For instance, Newport, Shropshire , is in the borough of Telford and Wrekin but is separate from Telford . In England, towns with such rights are usually distinguished with the additional status of borough . It is generally accepted that, in these cases, when a town was granted a market, it gained the additional autonomy conferred to separate towns. Many of
5520-519: The local town council . Failing that, the Crown can grant a licence. As the number of charters granted increased, competition between market towns also increased. In response to competitive pressures, towns invested in a reputation for quality produce, efficient market regulation and good amenities for visitors such as covered accommodation. By the thirteenth century, counties with important textile industries were investing in purpose built market halls for
5612-452: The male line died out, leaving Alice, the daughter of John Beke, 1st Baron Beke of Eresby, and the sole heiress of Walter, 2nd Baron Beke de Eresby, her brother who died in about 1310. The manor passed to Robert de Willoughby by way of his father William de Willoughby's marriage to Alice de Beke in about 1254. The Willoughby family originated in nearby Willoughby in the Marsh . In 1313, Robert
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#17327760672355704-464: The market. If the travel time exceeded this standard, a new market town could be established in that locale. As a result of the limit, official market towns often petitioned the monarch to close down illegal markets in other towns. These distances are still law in England today. Other markets can be held, provided they are licensed by the holder of the Royal Charter, which tends currently to be
5796-474: The moat had been adapted as an ornamental fishing lake. The Church of England parish church of St James is built of the local Spilsby green sandstone . Parts of it date from the late 14th century, although it has been much added to over the centuries. The church has important funerary monuments. The greenstone is a soft and porous stone that absorbs water. The church was recased in Lancaster stone. It can seat
5888-522: The plans that resulted in building RAF Spilsby two miles (3.2 km) further south at Great Steeping . The runway eventually ended only a few yards short of the Gunby estate boundary hedge. Gunby Hall was one of the first major British mansion houses and estates to be presented to the National Trust in 1944. It is open to the public on limited days of the week during the summer, while remaining
5980-513: The purchasing habits of the monks and other individuals in medieval England, suggests that consumers of the period were relatively discerning. Purchase decisions were based on purchase criteria such as consumers' perceptions of the range, quality, and price of goods. This informed decisions about where to make their purchases. As traditional market towns developed, they featured a wide main street or central market square . These provided room for people to set up stalls and booths on market days. Often
6072-448: The quality of their work, and several lengths of track had to be replaced. The Great Northern Railway bought out the Spilsby & Firsby Railway Company for £20,000 through an Act of Parliament on 25 July 1890. Passenger services were suspended in 1939. A goods service for grain, potatoes, livestock and other agricultural products continued for nearly 20 years. Goods including petrol, paraffin and coal continued to come into Spilsby via
6164-510: The rail link up to its final closure on 30 November 1958. The main station building was demolished in 1965. The engine shed has been used by agricultural suppliers as a shop and store, with new sections added. The original trackbed within the town has been built on, with most of it covered by the Vale Industrial Estate. Outside the town, most of the old track route to Firsby can still be seen in aerial photographs, marked by
6256-479: The resident professional army sergeant instructors. In 1912, C Company of the 5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment ( Territorial Force ) was formed in the town. The company's commandant was Captain H. S. Scorer ( killed in action at Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915 during the First World War ), Surgeon Colonel Francis John Walker was the chief medical officer, and the regular army drill instructor
6348-487: The rise of a merchant class led to the import and exports of a broad range of goods, contributing to a reduced reliance on local produce. At the centre of this new global mercantile trade was Antwerp , which by the mid-16th century, was the largest market town in Europe. A good number of local histories of individual market towns can be found. However, more general histories of the rise of market-towns across Europe are much more difficult to locate. Clark points out that while
6440-433: The sale of cloth. Specific market towns cultivated a reputation for high quality local goods. For example, London's Blackwell Hall became a centre for cloth, Bristol became associated with a particular type of cloth known as Bristol red , Stroud was known for producing fine woollen cloth, the town of Worsted became synonymous with a type of yarn; Banbury and Essex were strongly associated with cheeses. A study on
6532-574: The same time. Initially, market towns most often grew up close to fortified places, such as castles or monasteries, not only to enjoy their protection, but also because large manorial households and monasteries generated demand for goods and services. Historians term these early market towns "prescriptive market towns" in that they may not have enjoyed any official sanction such as a charter, but were accorded market town status through custom and practice if they had been in existence prior to 1199. From an early stage, kings and administrators understood that
6624-574: The sample testing of markets by Edward I the "lawgiver" , who summoned the Model Parliament in 1295 to perambulate the boundaries of forest and town. Market towns grew up at centres of local activity and were an important feature of rural life and also became important centres of social life, as some place names suggest: Market Drayton , Market Harborough , Market Rasen , Market Deeping , Market Weighton , Chipping Norton , Chipping Ongar , and Chipping Sodbury – chipping
6716-472: The school initially had no school building. The twenty or so children were taught in the Eresby chapel building for the next sixty years. The Willoughby family provided a school house in 1611, by converting an agricultural building on the edge of the estate. In 1839 the school house of 1611 was replaced by a new school building that was constructed on its current site, with funds provided by the 25th Baron , who
6808-581: The site of the Eresby Manor's moat by archeologist E. H. Rudkin in 1966. The new Eresby manor house was built by Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk , in 1535. He acquired the property after marrying his ward, the fifteen-year-old Catherine Willoughby , daughter and heiress of the William, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby . In 1769, the Manor House was destroyed by fire during the stewardship of
6900-407: The term Spila's-by , where by is old Old Norse for "place of dwelling". Hence, it meant "Spila's village", Spila (pronounced "Spiller") having been the local Viking warlord or chieftain, who acted as head of the immediate area. The town was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Spilesbei". In 1082 it was not much more than a large farmstead and few surrounding crofts under the squireship of
6992-466: The time of the Roman occupation of Britain's southern regions. Another ancient market town is Cirencester , which held a market in late Roman Britain. The term derived from markets and fairs first established in 13th century after the passage of Magna Carta , and the first laws towards a parlement . The Provisions of Oxford of 1258 were only possible because of the foundation of a town and university at
7084-579: The tip of the Wolds promontory, overlooking the present town. The Spilsby area was visited and occupied by the Romans during the 1st century and held by them until the 4th century AD. During the 1960s, an archaeological dig and field walk at nearby Keal Cotes , in a large field south of the village (where the A16 meets Hagnaby Lane), discovered tessellated mosaic floor tiles and roof tiles. These indicated that
7176-428: The town and in the surrounding district. Norway developed market towns at a much later period than other parts of Europe. The reasons for this late development are complex but include the sparse population, lack of urbanisation, no real manufacturing industries and no cash economy. The first market town was created in 11th century Norway, to encourage businesses to concentrate around specific towns. King Olaf established
7268-747: The town erected a market cross in the centre of the town, to obtain God's blessing on the trade. Notable examples of market crosses in England are the Chichester Cross , Malmesbury Market Cross and Devizes, Wiltshire. Market towns often featured a market hall , as well, with administrative or civic quarters on the upper floor, above a covered trading area. Market towns with smaller status include Minchinhampton , Nailsworth , and Painswick near Stroud, Gloucestershire . A "market town" may or may not have rights concerning self-government that are usually
7360-813: The town for the first time. In 1908 the North East Lincolnshire Water Company opened a pumping station in Hundleby , with a 75,000-gallon reservoir on Raithby Hill. It brought tap water to homes in Spilsby for the first time. In 1892 Spilsby Pavilion opened, with a further room opened in 1896, each room accommodating 300 to 400 people. At the time, the Pavilion was advertised as providing accommodation for "dancing parties and smoking concerts". The Masonic Lodge and Hall opened on Halton Road in 1913. The parish had 22 acres (89,000 m) set aside as "poor land", owning many tenements and
7452-408: The town some protection from rival markets. When a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Until about 1200, markets were often held on Sundays,
7544-664: The town, including Wesleyan Methodist , Primitive Methodist and Independent Methodists. When the Independents built a new chapel in 1866, they converted their original chapel to a Sunday school . The Wesleyans built a chapel opposite the Buttercross, in Market Place, during 1878. A prison for the area was built in Spilsby between 1824 and 1826. It occupied a site where Spence Street and West End now stand. The prison covered just over 2 acres (8,100 m) surrounded by
7636-486: Was Colour Sergeant Wallace Cowling. During the Second World War , RAF Spilsby , a bomber airfield designed for Lancaster bombers , was built at Great Steeping . It opened for operations on 20 September 1943. Later used by the United States Air Force as a strategic bomber base until 1958, the airfield was finally demolished in the late 1970s. The runways and perimeter track were torn up, with most of
7728-482: Was derived from a Saxon verb meaning "to buy". A major study carried out by the University of London found evidence for least 2,400 markets in English towns by 1516. The English system of charters established that a new market town could not be created within a certain travelling distance of an existing one. This limit was usually a day's worth of travelling (approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)) to and from
7820-663: Was granted in 1302 to the Lord of the Manor , Norman noble Robert de Willoughby. A copy of this charter is in the parish church . At the east end of the town centre's marketplace stands a medieval buttercross monument. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner suggests that the Spilsby Buttercross dates from as early as the 14th and certainly no later than the 16th century. The stepped bases of these monuments were used by early traders on market day to display their goods, usually milk, cheeses and butter. Standing in
7912-420: Was later converted into Spilsby's Gables Hospital, which was demolished in the early 21st century for the construction of new housing. In 1833 a new cemetery of approximately one acre was established on Boston Road. White's 1842 Directory described Spilsby as being "a small, but thriving and well-built market town, pleasantly seated on an eminence, which overlooks an extensive tract of marshes and fens . Eresby
8004-575: Was much damaged during the English Civil War and, after the nearby Battle of Winceby in October 1643, only the lower sections of the outer walls remained. The last standing section of the castle, the gatehouse, collapsed in 1815. Bolingbroke's original walls, also constructed of Spilsby greenstone, were in an irregular hexagon, with round towers on five of the corners. The gatehouse consists of two towers built about 3 yards apart. Leading to
8096-524: Was rebuilt between 1853 and 1855, and seated around two hundred parishioners. The parish had a long-standing right to send three children to the Raithby parish free school. Hundleby's elementary school was built around 1860 and was enlarged in 1884 to accommodate up to 120 children. Grace Swan Memorial Cottage Hospital was built in Hundleby during the late 19th century as a 25-bed in-patient facility. It
8188-426: Was split between charity and private fee-paying wards, with its own operating theatre, maternity unit and resident surgeon. Closed by the local health authority as part of a rationalisation programme during the 1990s, the building is now a local health centre. Spilsby Poor Law Union group of parishes had a workhouse in Hundleby, built in 1838. The workhouse was recorded in 1870 as having 280 residents. The workhouse
8280-459: Was summoned to parliament as the first Baron Willoughby de Eresby , a family line that continues to the 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby . The original manor house from the 14th century stood near the site of the later mansion. It was probably demolished when the new manor was built. During excavations in the mid-1960s, fragments of the earlier dwelling were discovered. Many examples of medieval and post-medieval pottery shards were recovered from
8372-438: Was the first Earl of Ancaster . The site of the Manor House was partially excavated in the mid 20th century by archaeologist and folklorist Ethel Rudkin . Bolingbroke Castle was built in the nearby parish of Bolingbroke after 1220 by Ranulph de Blondeville, Earl of Chester and Earl of Lincoln . Henry de Bolingbroke, later to become King Henry IV at the age of thirty-two, was born at Bolingbroke Castle in 1366. The castle
8464-405: Was under Danish rule, Danish merchants held a monopoly on trade with Iceland until 1786. With the abolishment of the trading monopoly, six market town ( Icelandic kaupstaður ) were founded around the country. All of them, except for Reykjavík , would lose their market rights in 1836. New market towns would be designated by acts from Alþingi in the 19th and 20th century. In the latter half of
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