Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Totally Explained

Everything about Gainsborough England totally explained

Gainsborough is a town within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.

History

One of the best preserved manor houses in Britain, Gainsborough Old Hall is a large 15th century timber-framed medieval strong house

. Sir Thomas Burgh built it between 1460 and 1480. It boasts a magnificent Great Hall and strong brick tower. King Richard III in 1483 and King Henry VIII in 1541 both stayed at the Old Hall.
The River Trent runs alongside Gainsborough, and recently the river banks have been renovated to provide residents and tourists with access to the riverside and a seating area to enjoy the view. The main church

is All Saints.

Sweyn Forkbeard

Historically, Gainsborough is the "capital that never was". Sweyn Forkbeard based himself at Gainsborough after gaining the kingship in late 1013, and King Cnut allegedly performed his purposely unsuccessful attempt to turn the tide back in the River Trent at Gainsborough. Gainsborough was one of capital city of Mercia during the Dark Ageswhich had preceded this too so we can imagine that the Viking kings would have gravitated to it as an administrative centre.

English Civil War

The town was garrisoned for the king in January 1643 but the Royalist fortification of Newark had blocked the Great North Road to Parliamentarian traffic so Gainsborough became significant as part of a route around Newark by way of Lincoln and the line of the modern A15 road. It was in the Royalists' interests to obstruct this but holding Gainsborough also allowed them to forage in Lindsey and to harass Parliamentarians there. During 1643, this competition gave rise to the battles of Gainsborough and Winceby.

Geography

The town is at the meeting point of the east-west A631 (which crosses

the Trent at the only point between the M180 and the A57), the A156 (from the south to Torksey) and A159 (from Scunthorpe). Thorndike Way, Gainsborough's dual carriageway which was intended to connect with the A15 at Caenby Corner currently only extends eastward

to the town boundary. The town's main attractions are Gainsborough Old Hall, Gainsborough Castle

and West Lindsey Leisure Centre

on The Avenue.

Economy

Marshalls

Gainsborough has a long-standing history with industry. The town was the manufacturing base of Marshall's

, a major boiler manufacturer. The company occupied Britannia Works

, the biggest in Europe when built. The site

has now been split among many different companies, Tesco on Beaumont Street and Dransfield. The remainder of the site is occupied by local companies. Tesco, on the corner of Trinity Street and Colville Terrace, demolished a large section of the works to create its large store around five years ago. Dransfield is in the process of remodelling about nine acres (36,000 m²) of the site to include a shopping area and a new heritage museum. The site

, name Marshalls Yard, opened during Easter 2007 and shops are continuing to open for the remainder of the year. There is a Morrisons on Heapham Road South, and a Co-op in the Lindsey Centre in the town centre and at Morton by Gainsborough.

Roses

Another area of Gainsborough’s industry is Roses. They produced seaside rock making machines along with packaging machines. These included cigarette making machines and bread-slicing and wrapping machines. The proper name of the firm is Rose Bros.

, after William German and Walter, the co-founders.

Manufacturing

By the side of the east bank Trent near the railway bridge is a large mill

owned by Kerry Ingredients

(headquartered in Tralee).
Gainsborough is the home of two of the largest Jokes and Novelties manufacturers in the UK: Smiffy's

(also known as Smiths of Gainsborough), and Pam's of Gainsborough

, a smaller company. Smiffy's are also the only wigmaker left in the UK.

Landmarks

Besides Riverside Walk are the Whitton's Mill

flats which won the Royal Town Planning Institute award for the East Midlands. Marshall's Yard also received an award

for Regeneration.
West Lindsey District Council used to have their main offices

at the Guildhall on Lord Street but in January 2008, they moved

to a new £4.3m building

in Marshall's Yard. The old building will be converted into a hotel. Lord Street is home to many of Gainsborough's shops. Elswitha Hall

is the birthplace

of Halford John Mackinder, founder of the Geographical Association.
There is a large water tower

on Heapham Road.

Transport

West Burton Power Station is three miles to the south-west of the town, near

to the railway to Retford. At the East Trent Junction, on the east side on the railway bridge

over the Trent, the railway line from Retford (and Sheffield) and Doncaster, the line splits into two - for Grimsby and Lincoln. The two respective railway stations in Gainsborough are Gainsborough Central on Spring Gardens near the town centre (for the Grimsby line) and Lea Road (for Lincoln) on Lea Road (A156) to the south of the town. At the equivalent West Trent Junction, on the other side of the river in Nottinghamshire, the lines from Doncaster and Sheffield meet. The bridge over the Trent carries four possible routes of trains (Sheffield or Doncaster to Lincoln or Grimsby).
Gainsborough is also famed as Britain’s most inland port and so has a long history with river trade — the town’s Trent Bridge prevents larger coastal boats from going beyond it and so many have to offload their goods at the town. There is currently one wharf in the town — mainly an importer of wood.

Sport and entertainment

The town is home to Gainsborough Trinity F.C., a semi-professional football club playing at the sixth level of English football. During a brief spell at the start of the 20th century, the club was professional and a member of The Football League.
The second weekend in June sees the town play host to the Gainsborough Riverside Festival, an annual arts/heritage event which has run since 2001.

Education

The town has one of the top state schools in the country, Queen Elizabeth High School (selective state grammar school from 11-18) on Morton Terrace (A159) next to the railway line, whilst the Castle Hills Community Arts College, on The Avenue next to the leisure centre

and the other side of the railway, recently achieved the status of performing arts college for the second time. The Middlefield School of Technology

is on Middlefield Lane, next to Thorndike Way. The Castle Hills school is consistently one of the lowest performing at GCSE in Lincolnshire, and England.
The town has links with the John Leggott Sixth Form College in Scunthorpe, which enrols many international students. Gainsborough College

on Acland Street focuses on vocational education.
Gainsborough is thought by many scholars to be the basis for the fictional St Ogg's in George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss.

Further Information

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