Vernatt's Drain
| Spalding | |
|---|---|
 Spalding Water Taxi on the Coronation Channel |
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 Spalding
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| Spalding shown within Lincolnshire | |
| Population | 28,722 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TF245225 |
| • London | 90 mi (140 km) S |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SPALDING |
| Postcode district | PE11, PE12 |
| Dialling code | 01775 |
| Police | Lincolnshire |
| Fire | Lincolnshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Spalding is a market town with a population of 28,722 at the 2011 census, on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172, whilst Pinchbeck, a village to the north, is part of the built-up area.
The town was well known for its annual Spalding Flower Parade, dating from 1959, which attracted many regular visitors from around the world. The parade celebrated the region's vast tulip production and the cultural links between the Fens and the landscape and people of South Holland. At one time, it attracted crowds up more than 100,000, but attendance decreased to fewer than 40,000 in 2012.
That year, two local councils announced they would no longer fund the parade, and the 2013 parade was the last. Since 2002 the town has held an annual Pumpkin Festival, not linked to Hallowe'en, in October.
Archeological excavations at Wygate Park in Spalding have shown that there has been occupation in this area from at least the Roman period, when this part of Lincolnshire was used for the production of salt. It was a coastal siltland. At Wygate Park salt making seems to have come to an end by the mid-3rd century AD; climatic change and flooding may have made such activities difficult, causing the practice to die out.
The settlement's name is derived from an Anglian tribe, the Spaldingas, who settled in the area during the 6th century. They may have retained their administrative independence within the Kingdom of Mercia into the late 9th century, when Stamford became one of the Five Boroughs of the East Midlands under Danish control after years of invasion and occupation.
In John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887), Spalding was described as a:
"market town and par. with ry. sta., Lincolnshire, on River Welland, 14 m. SW. of Boston, 12,070 ac., pop. 9260; P.O., T.O., three Banks, two newspapers. Market-day, Tuesday. Spalding is an important railway centre, while the river has been made navigable to the town for vessels of from 50 to 70 tons. It is situated in a rich agricultural district, and has a large trade, by river and by rail, in corn, wool, coal, and timber. It has also flour, bone, and saw mills, breweries, and coach works. There are remains of a priory of 1501, a fine old church (restored 1860), a grammar school, a corn exchange, and a spacious market place."
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Wikipedia