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Holbeach

Holbeach is a fenland market town with approximately 5,000 residents in the South Holland district of southern Lincolnshire. The town lies 8 miles (13 km) from Spalding; 17 miles (27 km) from Boston; 20 miles (32 km) from King's Lynn; 23 miles (37 km) from Peterborough; and a long 43 miles (69 km) by road from the county town of Lincoln. It is on the junction of the A151 and A17. The main High Street is the B1515.

The Prime Meridian of the world passes through the west of Holbeach.

History

A number of Roman and Romano-British pottery finds have been made in and about the town.

The town's market charter was awarded in 1252 to Thomas de Moulton, a local baron. The magnificent All Saints' Church was built in the 14th century^[1] and incorporated parts of de Moulton's ruined castle^{[citation needed]}. The associated All Saints' Hospital, for a warden and fifteen poor persons, was founded by Sir John of Kirton, in 1351. It had ceased to exist before the suppression of chantries and hospitals. The renowned antiquarian William Stukeley reported his father removing the ruins from the site now occupied by the Chequers Inn.^[2]

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the sea came to within two miles (3 km) of the town and there were severe floods recorded in the 13th and 16th centuries. The land drainage programmes of the 18th and 19th centuries moved the coastline of The Wash to nine miles (14 km) away, leaving Holbeach surrounded by more than 23,000 acres (93 km²) of reclaimed fertile agricultural land.

The Spalding and Norwich Railway, (later incorperated in the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway), opened Holbeach railway station in 1862. Like the rest of the M&GN route it closed to passengers in 1959 (before the Beeching Axe) and the line closed entirely in 1965.^[3]

The 19th century also saw the building of several small churches, including a Weslyan and a Baptist chapel.

Multiple Holbeaches

Holbeach St. Matthew

Holbeach St. Mark's

Holbeach St. Johns

Holbeach Hurn

Holbeach Drove

Holbeach Clough

Holbeach Bank

Primary schools

There are two primary schools in Holbeach - Holbeach Primary School and William Stukeley Church of England Primary School.

Secondary school

The local secondary school is the George Farmer Technology College [1] on Park Road.

University

Holbeach is home to a campus of the University of Lincoln, redeveloped in 2004 on the Park Road site of the former Holbeach Agricultural Centre and now known as Holbeach Technology Park. The campus is dedicated to the study of food manufacturing technology.

Pubs

Local pubs are the Black Bull on Fleet Street, the Chequers Hotel on High Street, the Exchange Inn on Church Street, the Horse & Groom on High Street, the Mansion House on High Street,Crown Hotel on West street, the Red Lion on Spalding Road and the String of Horses on Boston Road South. However recently the Station Inn has closed.

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force maintains a bombing range, known officially as RAF Holbeach, on salt marshland at the coast of Holbeach parish, near the village of Gedney Drove End. The RAF station is situated approximately 11 miles (18 km) north west of Holbeach town centre.

Sport

The local football club is Holbeach United Football Club, founded in 1929. They play in the United Counties League of the English football league system and are known as "The Tigers", in reference to the "Fen Tigers", 18th century locals who adopted guerrilla tactics in an attempt to stop the destruction of their way of life through the draining of the Fens.

Speedway racing took place at nearby Bell End. Details of the events are sketchy and some reports suggest the venue had grass surfaced straights and dirt surfaced bends. The venue is known to have operated in the immediate post war era.

Local economy

Much of the economy has been based on food processing and bulb growing. The United Kingdom's largest bulb supplier (Taylors Bulbs) is situated to the north of the town and flour milling continues to this day at Barrington Mill (owned by Smith's Flour Mills).

The drainage of land around Holbeach is now the responsibility of the South Holland Internal Drainage Board^[4], Part of the Water Management Alliance, formerly known as the King’s Lynn Consortium of Internal Drainage Boards.

Radio

The town is served by the local South Holland radio station Tulip Radio from nearby Spalding.

Famous Holbeachians

Norman Angell - Nobel Peace Prize winner 1933

Boz Burrell - bass guitarist known for his involvement in bands such as King Crimson and Bad Company

Geoff Capes - shotputter and former World's Strongest Man

Cyril Lowe MC, DFC, England rugby union international, First World War flying ace, and supposedly the inspiration for W. E. Johns' character "Biggles"

Christine Russell (née Carr) - Labour MP for Chester

Stuart Storey - BBC Sports commentator

William Stukeley F.R.S., F.R.C.P., F.S.A. (1687–1765) antiquarian who pioneered the archaeological investigation of Stonehenge and Avebury was born in the town