Spalding Common
| Spalding Common | |
|---|---|
| Village and Suburb | |
 Spalding Common | |
  Spalding Common Location within the United Kingdom | |
| • London | 95 mi (153 km) S |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Post town | SPALDING |
| Postcode district | PE11 |
| Police | |
| Fire | |
| Ambulance | |
Spalding Common is an area south-west of Spalding in Lincolnshire, England, near Little London.
Spalding Common is part of Deeping Fen.[1][2] A part of Deeping Fen had been enclosed and partly drained in the 17th century by a group called the Adventurers, but the common lands north-east of this, by Spalding and Pinchbeck, remained undrained and unenclosed; until the beginning of the 19th century, part of Spalding Common was used as a reservoir for water drained from other parts of the Deeping Fen.[3]
Spalding Common was enclosed by an Act of Parliament in 1801.[4] This was part of a wider process of enclosure and draining of the common lands around Deeping Fen; Spalding Common was the first of these lands to be fenced and drained, with portions sold off to pay for later works.[1] On the edge of the Common, Little London emerged as a settlement along the turnpike road to Deeping.[1] In 1848 the Common was described as "a large tract of inclosed fen ... now well drained and in a profitable state of cultivation".[5] Late-19th-century Ordnance Survey maps show that Spalding Common was south-west of the built-up area of Spalding and west of the River Welland.[6] By 1892, housing had emerged in the area, which was described as a "thickly populated suburb in the west of Spalding".[7]
Spalding Common Baptist Church opened in 1870, but closed in 1966; the building has since been demolished.[8][9] By 1921, there was a Post Office at Spalding Common.[10] Spalding Common Community Hall opened in March 1956[11] on land purchased in 1955 by the Spalding Common Community Fund, which had been founded in 1953 to raise money for the project;[12] in 1975 the hall was destroyed in an arson attack,[13] and a replacement opened in December 1976 at a cost of £20,000.[14] As of 2025, Spalding Common Community Hall remains open.[15]
Residents are served by the buses between Spalding and Peterborough[16], Bourne, Market Deeping and Stamford.[17] The area was also found to be home to a small cemetery of Iron Age and Roman discoveries during a modern housing development.[18] The Spalding Western Relief Road is also proposed to run to a roundabout nearby if built.[19][20] There is also a local volunteer group who litterpick around Spalding named "The Wombles of Spalding Common".[21][22]
References
- ^ a b c Neil Wright, Spalding: An Industrial History, 2nd ed. (Lincoln: Society of Lincolnshire History and Archaeology, 1975), pp. 25–26.
- ^ W. H. Wheeler, A History of the Fens of South Lincolnshire (Boston : J.M. Newcomb; 1868; repr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), p. 121.
- ^ David Grigg, The Agricultural Revolution in South Lincolnshire, Cambridge Studies in Economic History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966), p. 30.
- ^ W. H. Wheeler, A History of the Fens of South Lincolnshire (Boston : J.M. Newcomb; 1868; repr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), p. 36.
- ^ "Spalding–Spexhall", in A Topographical Dictionary of England, 7th ed. (London: S. Lewis, 1848), pp. 156–159.
- ^ Ordnance Survey, "Lincolnshire Sheet CXLII.NW", Six-Inch Map of England and Wales, Surveyed: 1887, Published: 1888. Retrieved 28 January 2024 – via National Library of Scotland.
- ^ Pratt, Edwin A. (1906). The Transition in Agriculture. London: John Murray. p. 280.
- ^ "The Baptist Church at Spalding Common". South Holland Life Heritage and Crafts including Chain Bridge Forge. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ East Midland Baptist Association (1986). It all began here : the story of the East Midland Baptist Association. Internet Archive. London : The Association. ISBN 978-0-9502582-4-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ Post Office, Supplement to Post Office Guide: Amending Post Office Guide, No. 244, Published in July 1920 (London: HMSO, January 1921), p. 45.
- ^ "(no title)". Spalding Guardian. 9 March 1956. p. 3. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
{{cite news}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ "Community Centre Plans for Spalding Common". Spalding Guardian. 11 March 1955. p. 3. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "Temporary Loan for Hall Scheme". Lincolnshire Free Press. 4 May 1976. p. 0. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "New Hall is Opened by 'Auntie Lil'". Lincolnshire Free Press. 21 December 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "Spalding Common Community Hall". YMCA Lincolnshire. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "37 - Peterborough - Spalding". bustimes.org. 5 December 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "301 - Bourne / Spalding - The Deepings / Stamford". bustimes.org. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Rush, Richard (7 August 2024). "'Small cemetery' among Iron Age and Roman discoveries at new build site - The Voice". Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Rush, Richard (13 March 2019). "Planning application for first parts of Spalding Western Relief Road submitted - The Voice". Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Griffin, Joe (9 January 2023). "Relief road latest progress and plans as road closures continue". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "Spalding volunteer group warns of worsening litter crisis". www.bbc.com. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Clucas, Andrew (26 January 2022). "Military help for the Wombles of Spalding Common - The Voice". Retrieved 28 January 2025.
