| Holbeach | |
|---|---|
 Skyline of Holbeach | |
  Holbeach Location withinLincolnshire | |
| Population | 11,186 (2021)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TF358248 |
| • London | 85 mi (137 km) S |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SPALDING |
| Postcode district | PE12 |
| Dialling code | 01406 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
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Holbeach is amarket town andcivil parish in theSouth Holland District inLincolnshire, England. The town lies 8 miles (13 km) fromSpalding; 17 miles (27 km) fromBoston; 20 miles (32 km) fromKing's Lynn; 23 miles (37 km) fromPeterborough; and 43 miles (69 km) by road fromLincoln. It is on the junction of theA151 andA17.
ThePrime Meridian of the world passes through the west of Holbeach and is marked with a millstone at Wignals Gate.[3]
A number of Roman andRomano-British pottery finds have been made in and about the town.[4]
The name Holbeach derives from theOld Englishholbæc meaning 'hollow ridge'.[5]
The town'smarket charter was awarded in 1252 to Thomas de Moulton, a localbaron.All Saints'Church was built in the 14th century and the porch, which was built around 1700, possibly incorporated parts ofde Moulton's ruined castle.[6] 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 beforethe suppression of chantries and hospitals. The antiquarianWilliam Stukeley reported that his father removed the ruins from the site which is now occupied by the Chequers Inn.[7]
Until the beginning of the 17th century, thesea came to within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the town and there were severefloods recorded in the 13th and 16th centuries. The land drainage programmes that followed moved the coastline ofthe Wash to 9 miles (14 km) away, leaving Holbeach surrounded by more than 23,000 acres (93 km2) ofreclaimedfertile agricultural land.[citation needed] In 1615, nominees of theEarl of Argyll were entitled to the land which was reclaimed from the sea inWigtoft,Moulton,Whaplode, Holbeach andTydd St Mary. The Earl paid for the work, but differences of opinion stalled the project after 1634.[8] Further enclosure of marshes were recorded in 1660, inGedney, Whaplode, Holbeach and Moulton.[9] The work included the building of an embankment, and resulted in 9,798 acres (39.65 km2) being added to Holbeach parish. A second embankment was built under the provisions of the South Holland Embankment Act (1793) and added another 2,059 acres (8.33 km2). Following unsuccessful attempts in the 1830s, the rest ofHolbeach Marsh was enclosed in 1840. The project was directed by Mr. Millington, and the total area added to the parish by all these enclosures was 12,390 acres (50.1 km2).[10]
In 1829 a theatre was built for Joseph Smedley as the 'Public Rooms' in Park Road.[11] This was visited by the Lincoln Company, managed byFanny Robertson, following their performances in Wisbech in 1841.[12]
The Spalding and Norwich Railway, (later incorporated in theMidland and Great Northern Joint Railway), openedHolbeach railway station in 1862. Like the rest of the M&GN route, it closed to passengers in 1959 (before theBeeching Axe) and the line closed entirely in 1965.[13]
The 19th century also saw the building of several small churches, including a Wesleyan chapel, built on Chapel Street in 1808,[14] and a Baptist chapel, which was built on Albert Street in 1845 using red brick and colour-washed render.[15]
TheSecond World War defences constructed at nearby Lawyers Creek comprise a number ofpillboxes including the rareRuck machine gun post.[16]
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The name "Holbeach" also applies to thecivil parish of Holbeach. The parish is one of the largest by area in England, and extends fromCambridgeshire tothe Wash, measuring 16 miles (26 km) north to south, and about 4 miles (6.4 km) east to west. The total population of the parish is almost 24,000 with approximately 10,000 in Holbeach town. The town has the most inhabitants and services compared to the villages surrounding it which incorporate its name.
Along with the town of Holbeach proper, the name is found in a number ofvillages in the Lincolnshire Fens:Holbeach Bank,Holbeach Clough,Holbeach Drove,Holbeach Fen,Holbeach Hurn,Holbeach St Johns,Holbeach St Marks andHolbeach St Matthew. This repetition of a name for a collection of close-lying villages is not unknown in the Fens:Gedney, Tydd, and Walpole are other examples.
The drainage of land around Holbeach is now the responsibility of the South HollandInternal Drainage Board,[17] part of the Water Management Alliance, formerly known as the King's Lynn Consortium of Internal Drainage Boards.
Much of the economy has been based on food processing andbulb growing. The United Kingdom's largest supplier of tulip and daffodil bulbs is situated to the north of the town and flour milling continues at Barrington Mill.[18]
Localpublic houses are The Red Lion (newly renovated and reopened), The Horse & Groom, the Mansion House on High Street, and the Crown Hotel on West Street. Previous public houses were the Station Inn (Demolished and replaced with houses), the Chequers Hotel (newly renovated and reopened as Bar 912), the Exchange (now a residential property), The String of Horses (now a Hairdressers), The Ram (now a flower shop), The Bell Hotel (now Petite Street) and the Black Bull (now a fishing tackle shop).
TheRoyal Air Force maintains a bombing range, known officially asRAF Holbeach, onsalt marshland at the coast of Holbeach parish, near the village ofGedney Drove End.[citation needed] TheRAF station is situated approximately 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Holbeachtown centre.
There are twoprimary schools in Holbeach – Holbeach Primary School and William Stukeley Church of England Primary School.
The localsecondary school on Park Road was called the George Farmer Technology & Language College but, in September 2011, it became theUniversity Academy Holbeach.
Holbeach is the base for acampus of theUniversity of Lincoln, redeveloped in 2004 on the Park Road site of the former Holbeach Agricultural Centre and now known as theNational Centre for Food Manufacturing. The campus specialises infood manufacturing technology.[19]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire andITV Yorkshire. Television signals are received from theBelmont TV transmitter.[20] It is also possible to receive reception from theWaltham TV transmitter which broadcastBBC East Midlands andITV Central,[21] andSandy Heath TV transmitter that broadcastBBC East andITV Anglia.[22]
The town is covered by bothBBC Radio Cambridgeshire andBBC Radio Lincolnshire. Other radio stations includingGreatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire andHits Radio Lincolnshire.Tulip Radio operated from Spalding until 2017. The area is also one of the few in Lincolnshire to be covered by a local DAB multiplex,NOW Peterborough.[citation needed]
Local newspapers areSpalding Today andSpalding Voice.[23][24]
The localfootball club isHolbeach United, founded in 1929.[25] The team plays in theUnited Counties League, part of theEnglish football league system, and are known as the Tigers in reference to 'Fen Tigers', 18th-century local people who fought against the destruction of their way of life through the draining of the Fens.[citation needed]
Speedway racing took place at nearby Bell End atWhaplode St Catherine.[26] 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 immediatepost-war era but closed in 1948.
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The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Parish of Holbeach.
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