| Mablethorpe | |
|---|---|
      Clockwise from top:St Mary's Church, Sandtrain on Mablethorpe Beach, High Street, Seats on ramp looking towards town centre, Promenade and aerial view of Mablethorpe | |
  Mablethorpe Location withinLincolnshire | |
| Population | 12,668 (2011. withSutton-on-Sea) |
| OS grid reference | TF506850 |
| • London | 130 mi (210 km) SSW |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the town | |
| Post town | MABLETHORPE |
| Postcode district | LN12 |
| Dialling code | 01507 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
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Mablethorpe is aseaside town in thecivil parish ofMablethorpe and Sutton, in theEast Lindsey district ofLincolnshire, England.[1] In 1961 the civil parish had a population of 3,611.[2] On 1 April 1974 the parish was changed to form "Mablethorpe and Sutton".[3] The population including nearbySutton-on-Sea was 12,531 at the 2011 census and estimated at 12,633 in 2019.[4]
The town was visited regularly byAlfred, Lord Tennyson, a 19th-centuryPoet Laureate of the United Kingdom. Some town features have been named after him, such as Tennyson Road and the now closed Tennyson High School.
A hoard ofRoman treasure was found in Mablethorpe in the 1980s, as were a Roman brooch and pottery.[5][6]
Mablethorpe has existed as a town for many centuries, gaining its market town charter in 1253.Coastal erosion means some of it was lost to the sea in the 1540s. Records of the Fitzwilliam family of Mablethorpe Hall date back to the 14th century. In the 19th century, it was a centre forship breaking in the winter. Mablethorpe Hall is to the west of the town along Alford Road near theChurch of St Mary.[7] The Mablethorpe church parish includesTrusthorpe.
Mablethorpe's firstlifeboatstation was built in 1883. It was closed temporarily in 1917 due to crew shortages in theFirst World War but the closure was made permanent in 1920. It reopened as an inshore lifeboat station in 1965. It operates two lifeboats, anAtlantic 85 and a smallerD-class.[8]
In 1953, Mablethorpe was hit by the disastrousEast Coast floods. The seawall was breached on 31 January. A granite rock memorial was unveiled on the coast on 31 January 2013 on the 60th anniversary of the disaster, in memory of the town's 42 victims.[9][10]
Mablethorpe is the destination for the fictional Morel family's first holiday in the still popularD. H. Lawrence novel,Sons and Lovers, published in 1913: "At last they got an answer from Mablethorpe, a cottage such as they wished for thirty shillings a week. There was immense jubilation. Paul was wild with joy for his mother's sake. She would have a real holiday now. He and she sat at evening picturing what it would be like. Annie came in, and Leonard, and Alice, and Kitty. There was wild rejoicing and anticipation. Paul told Miriam. She seemed to brood with joy over it. But the Morels' house rang with excitement."
Mablethorpe is the seaside setting for theTed Lewis crime novelGBH, published in 1980.[11] The novel was his last and has been described as a "lost masterwork".[12]
Mablethorpe and much of east Lincolnshire lost itsrail service in 1970 to theBeeching Axe, despite itslong history.[13] The station site is now the town's sports centre.
Stagecoach operate an hourly service to Skegness, as well as a service to Louth and Lincoln. Grayscroft Coaches operates several services from a base in Victoria Road. Brylaine runs a service between Mablethorpe andAlford andSpilsby, usually every two hours.[14]
Lincolnshire County Council operates a demand-responsive CallConnect service linking remoter areas to connection points at Alford, Chapel St Leonards and Mablethorpe for mainline bus services.[15]
Mablethorpe, in the East Lindsey council district, is administered with Sutton-on-Sea and Trusthorpe as thecivil parish ofMablethorpe and Sutton. The original parish of Mablethorpe covers a rectangular area inland along Alford Road towardsMaltby le Marsh, as far as Grange Leisure Park, where Earl's Bridge crosses West Bank.[16][17][18][19] The south of the former parish follows the Trusthorpe Drains, which are crossed at Bamber's Bridge onMile Lane.[20] Out towardsAlford liesStrubby Airfield, with the Strubby Aviation Club and Lincs Gliding Club. To the north is the large parish ofTheddlethorpe St Helen, which extends to the River Great Eau atSaltfleetby. The town is the eastern terminus of theA52. The town is also accessed by the A1104 andA16 through Alford. The A157 heads west towardsLouth and is said to be the "sixth bendiest A-road in the UK".[21]
At the 2021 census, Mablethorpe and Sutton had a population of 12,668.
The town's one retail bank branch,Barclays, closed in July 2019.[22] There are four supermarkets – aCo-op (which also includes a branch ofBoyes),Lidl and from October 2021 the very firstTesco opened its doors. 'Lord Bros' an independent supermarket on Victoria Road has been open since the early 1960s. Branches of some high street chains are present, but most shops in Mablethorpe are independently operated. Market days vary through the year: Monday (Summer), Thursday (year round).
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Family attractions include a smallfairground and an award-winning beach with traditional seasideamusement arcades and one of the largest family entertainment centers in England named The Mirage. One of Mablethorpe's long-standing features, its sand train, takes visitors to and from the northern end of the beach.[23][24]Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Wildlife Centre is also north of the town.
ATime and Tide Bell installed on the beach near the Seal Sanctuary in 2019 is one of a series around the UK, rung by high tides.[25][26]
Mablethorpe's cinema, theLoewen in Quebec Road, was previously known as theBijou.The Dunes leisure complex lies on Mablethorpe's seafront. The seafront also gained askatepark in 2008, which includes a smallfunbox, a spine and twoquarter pipes.
Several smallcaravan parks and guest houses provide tourist accommodation.
Just over a mile north-east of the town, near the Seal Sanctuary, was the now-closedTheddlethorpe Gas Terminal, which supplied 5 per cent of the UK's gas. To the west is the Bamberswind farm, housing eightturbines and producing fiveMW of power since November 2004. An extension called Bambers II opened in November 2006 and produces an additional five MW of power.[27] The two turbines of Mablethorpe wind farm, which produce 1.2 MW of power, were the first such in Lincolnshire when built in July 2002. All three wind farms are owned byEcotricity and stand at the corner of West Bank and the Trusthorpe Drains. Mablethorpe'sStar of the East is on the seafront.
The local weeklynewspapers are theMablethorpe Leader andThe East Lindsey Target.[28]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire andITV Yorkshire &That’s Tv Humber, Television signals are received from theBelmont TV transmitter.[29]
Radio coverage for Mablethorpe is provided byBBC Radio Lincolnshire andHits Radio Lincolnshire.
The community's primary school is Mablethorpe Primary Academy School.[30] The Mablethorpe site ofMonks' Dyke Tennyson College closed in August 2016.[31]
Mablethorpe hosts a unique beach-hut festival each September.[32] Privately owned beach huts compete in outward design, amidst a backdrop of poetry, music, and drama.[33]
Mablethorpe has long hosted motorbike sand racing each winter and spring. This has inspired the Lincolnshire Bike Week, following the Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea Bike Nights.[34]
Each summer Mablethorpe hosts an illuminations event (a "switch on"), for which a celebrity is invited. Those officiating have includedBarbara Windsor,Timmy Mallett andWolf and Hunter ofGladiators.
Media related toMablethorpe at Wikimedia Commons
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