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Louth, Lincolnshire

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Louth
Population16,419 (2011)
OS grid referenceTF326874
• London130 mi (210 km) S
Civil parish
  • Louth
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLOUTH
Postcode districtLN11
Dialling code01507
PoliceLincolnshire
FireLincolnshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Lincolnshire

Louth /ˈlaʊθ/ ⓘ is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.[1]

Geography

Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.[2]

The Greenwich Meridian crosses Eastgate and this point is marked with a plaque on the north side of the street, just east of the junction with Northgate. The three-mile (5 km) £6.6 million[citation needed] A16 Louth Bypass opened in August 1991. The former route is the B1520.

History

St James' Church Louth

Three handaxes have been found on the wolds surrounding Louth, dating from between 424,000 to 191,000 years ago, indicating inhabitation in Paleolithic era.[3] Bronze Age archeological finds include a 'barbed and tanged' arrowhead found in the grounds of Monks' Dyke Tennyson College.[4]

St Helen's Spring, at the Gatherums, off Aswell Street, is dedicated to a popular medieval saint, the mother of Constantine the Great, the first Roman Emperor to become a Christian,[5] but is thought to be a Christianised Romano-British site for veneration of the pagan water-goddess Alauna.[6]

The Anglo-Saxon pagan burial ground, northwest of Louth, dates from the fifth to sixth centuries, and was first excavated in 1946.[5] With an estimated 1200 urn burials it is one of the largest Anglo-Saxon cremation cemeteries in England.[3]

Æthelhard, a Bishop of Winchester who was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 793, was an abbot of Louth in his early life.[7]

Louth is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as a town of 124 households.[8]

Louth Park Abbey was founded in 1139 by the Bishop Alexander of Lincoln as a daughter-house of the Cistercian Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire.[9] Following its dissolution in 1536 it fell into ruin and, today, only earthworks survive, on private land, between Louth and Keddington.[10][11] Monks' Dyke, now a ditch, was originally dug to supply the abbey with water from the springs of Ashwell and St. Helen's at Louth.[12]

In 1643, Sir Charles Bolles, a resident of Louth, raised a 'hastily-got-up soldiery' for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Fighting took place in, and around the town and, at one point, Bolles was forced to take refuge under the Ramsgate bridge.[13] By the battle's end 'Three strangers, being souldgeres, was slain at a skirmish at Lowth, and was buryed'.[13] Human remains, found during archaeological visits to Louth Park Abbey during the 1800s, in 'a little space surrounded by a ditch', were believed to date from the Civil War as two cannonballs, from that era, were found with the bodies.[14]

A stone plaque on Bridge Street showing the flood water level

A flood occurred in the town on 29 May 1920, causing 23 deaths. One woman climbed a chimney to survive, another was the only survivor from a row of twelve terrace houses, which were destroyed by the flood waters.[15] Three stone plaques exist in the town to show how high the water level reached. They are on Bridge Street, James Street and Eastgate. Other, less devastating floods occurred on 25 June and 20 July in 2007.

Margaret Wintringham succeeded her dead husband at the Louth by-election in September 1921, to become the Liberals' first female MP, and Britain's third female MP.

St Herefrith of Louth

St. Herefrith, or Herefrid, is Louth's 'forgotten saint',[16] whose feast day is 27 February.[17] He was a bishop, who died around 873, possibly killed by the Danes.[18] An 11th century text describes Herefrith as Bishop of Lincoln, but as the bishopric there dates to 1072, Lincoln more probably refers to Lindsey,[19] the early name for Lincolnshire.[18] Similar confusion exists in an inventory of Louth's St. James Church, written in 1486 and transcribed in 1512, where he is referred to as a Bishop of Auxerre, France.[20]

At some point, following his death, a shrine venerating him was established at Louth. Æthelwold, the Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984, was actively seeking relics for his newly rebuilt Thorney Abbey in Cambridgeshire and sent his monks to Louth to raid Herefrith's shrine.[19] From an 11th-century account, Æthelwold had:

"...heard of the merits of the blessed Herefrid bishop of Lincoln resting in Louth a chief town of the same church. When all those dwelling there had been put to sleep by a cunning ruse, a trusty servant took him out of the ground, wrapped him in fine line cloth, and with all his fellows rejoicing brought him to the monastery of Thorney and re-interred him."[19]

A church dedicated to St. Herefrith, at Louth, appears in accounts from the 13th to 15th centuries,[18] and one of his relics, an ivory comb, is recorded among the possessions of Louth's St. James Church in 1486.[20] Suggestions that the shrine, and later church, of St. Herefrith, were earlier incarnations of St. James has 'no supportive evidence' but St James' is the site of two earlier churches of which little is known.[21]

St. James Church

Lincolnshire Rising plaque in Louth
See also: St. James Church, Louth and Lincolnshire Rising

The town was the origin of the Lincolnshire Rising, which started on 1 October 1536 in St James Church. The rising began after Rev. Thomas Kendall, the incumbent, gave an 'emotive sermon',[22] the evening before the King's Commissioners were due to arrive and assess the church's wealth.[23] Some of the townspeople, fearful that the church treasury would be seized by the men of the Crown, demanded the building's keys.[22] The townspeople kept vigil that night, and, the following day, rang the church bells, 'an ancient call to rebellion', to gather a crowd.[23] Having begun marching from Louth, 50,000 supporters converged to camp at Hembleton Hill, the following evening, before they continued to Lincoln to confront the Kings Commissioners.

The town's skyline is dominated by St. James' Church, the spire of which is 295 feet (90 m) tall, though shorter than both Norwich Cathedral 315 feet (96 m), and Salisbury Cathedral 404 feet (123 m), in terms of spire height it is reputedly the tallest Anglican parish church in the United Kingdom. The church was built in 1515.

Landmarks and places of interest

Aerial view of part of Louth

Louth museum has a Panorama Gallery which features two back-lit replicas of William Brown’s Panorama of Louth viewed from the top of St James’s spire in 1844. The two original paintings that together form the panorama hang side-by-side in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall on Little Eastgate. The panorama gives a unique and vivid representation of the streets, businesses, homes and people of the town and the landscape as far as the North Sea to the east and northwards to the Humber estuary and beyond.[24]

Much of the town centre is lined with brick buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries.

One of the tallest structures in the European Union, the Belmont television and radio mast, is situated in the nearby village of Donington on Bain, 5 miles (8 km) west of the town.

ABM Pauls used to have a large maltings, which is now derelict. Aldi have been granted permission to build a new store on the site.

Hubbard's Hills is one of the town's main attractions. It was opened to the public in 1907. The park is dedicated to the memory of Annie Pahud, the central character of a beautiful but tragic real-life love story. The park is situated in a glacial overspill channel that forged the course for a small river, the Lud. It meanders along the deep, flat valley bottom between steep, wooded slopes on either side.

Cadwell Park motor racing circuit is around four miles (6 km) south of the town, between the villages of Scamblesby and Tathwell.

Louth will be the eventual southern terminus of the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, based at nearby Ludborough. The town was formerly on the East Lincolnshire Railway from Peterborough to Grimsby, an important north-south route, which opened in 1848, especially for holidaymakers in the summer. The line to Mablethorpe also started in the town from 1877, closing in 1960. The section to Wainfleet closed in 1961, with the Louth to Grimsby section later continuing for passengers until October 1970 with freight stopping in 1980. The former station is now residential flats; there are other reminders still standing.

Alfred Lord Tennyson was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School and a stone inscription to commemorate this forms part of a wall on Schoolhouse Lane in Louth.

Shopping and local economy

Shops on New Street

Louth is noted for the wide selection of independent retailers, with around 70% of businesses independently owned.[25] In 2012, it was named 'Britain's Favourite market town' by the BBC's Countryfile.[26]

The town's long retail history is represented by a number of longstanding businesses, including the department store Eve and Ranshaw, whose history can be traced back to 1781,[27] Dales & Sons, poulterers since 1896,[28] and the century old butchers, Lakings of Louth.[28]

The first building society branch office was opened by the Peterborough Building Society (now Norwich & Peterborough) in 1973. The town was also the headquarters of the former Louth, Mablethorpe and Sutton Building Society, a local society with several branches and agents in Lincolnshire, which was taken over by the Bradford & Bingley in 1990.[29]

Louth is also known for its specialist grocers,[28] and local butchers, Meridian Meats, have won numerous awards.[30] It is also home to The Cheese Shop, which has gained nationwide recognition, including in The Daily Telegraph,[31] The Guardian,[32] and on The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain.[33]

Street Market in Louth

Louth holds market days on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. There is a farmers' market on the fourth Wednesday of each month. A cattle market is held each Thursday at the Louth Livestock Centre on Newmarket.

There is a small Morrisons, formerly a Somerfield store,[34] which opened in 1985, and a Co-operative supermarket, which opened in 1989. The Co-op was given approval for an additional smaller store in 2013.[35]

Louth 'has fought hard' to retain an independent retail focus.[36] In 2008, a local pressure group, Keep Louth Special, was formed by residents, shoppers and business owners, to lobby against a proposal for a major supermarket on the former cattle market site.[37] The group was criticised by a town councillor, the following year, as 'outsiders' who wanted to live in a 'museum town',[38] but a 2012 council report, while recommending a 'large retail development' as ‘necessary’, acknowledged that 'a majority 50 per cent' of surveyed residents opposed it.[39] An initial 2009 planning application by Sainsbury's for a new 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) store,[40] was rejected by the Council, after appeal, in 2012.[41] Keep Louth Local described a 2013 proposal for an Aldi store as 'not bad news' because it was intended for an 'eyesore' site,[42] and as Aldi stocks 'own brands and a limited fresh-food offering', it would not be 'going head-to-head' with the town market or independent retailers.[43]

Old Market Hall, Louth.

A new group has now formed, called Move Louth Forward, in direct opposition to the Keep Louth Special campaign. They are largely based on Facebook and argue that the town is being held back and if it does not start to change its stance on development and bigger companies coming into the town, it will stagnate and end up as a ghost town. Critics claim it's a "single issue" group, calling for another supermarket while neglecting to acknowledge that Aldi intend to build a store in the town in the near future. Many residents are in favour of the cattle market site being redeveloped into a supermarket retail area and a new improved cattle market built on the industrial estate. The group see this as an essential move for the town. They claim it will bring much needed investment, provide for a much increased need in the town, encourage more visitors to the area and increase footfall through the town centre. A decision is due to be made by East Lindsey District council on 23 July 2014 when the full council will vote.

Many national food campaigning organisations are based on Eastgate under the umbrella organisation the Processed Vegetable Growers Association, notably:

Job opportunities are quite limited in the town, with many Ludensians travelling to work in larger regions such as Lincoln and Grimsby. Louth Jobs is a local employment resourcer and provides access via its website, Twitter and Facebook Social Network pages.

Community and culture

Playhouse Cinema, Louth.

The town's Playhouse Cinema is on Cannon Street, and is home to Louth Film Club, which won the British Federation of Film Societies' Film Society of the Year Award in 2008.[44] Louth Playgoers Society's Riverhead Theatre is on Victoria Road, to the east of the town.

There are several local bands, especially jazz, in and around the town.[citation needed] Corinne Drewery of Swing Out Sister, grew up in the area and Robert Wyatt is a resident.[citation needed]

Transition Town Louth is a community project, which organizes various events in and around the town aimed at promoting awareness of climate change and unsustainable resources. Part of a large social movement, many Transition Towns are now developing. A sub-group, the Community Food Gardens are encouraging a shift towards sustainable communities.

Sport and leisure

Meridian Leisure Centre

Louth Golf Course

The Centre opened on 6 February 2010, and, by 2013, had received almost one million visits, and was home to over 20 clubs.[45] It cost £12 million and consists of an 8 lane, 25 metre swimming pool and a two level gym with over 80 pieces of equipment, along with a sports hall and other facilities. The Louth Technology Hub, which is using 3D display technology, with a focus on sports groups and clubs, opened on the Centre's upper floor in October 2013.[46]

Louth Tennis Centre

Louth Tennis Centre is situated in Fairfield Industrial Estate to the north of the town and has indoor and outdoor tennis facilities.

London Road

There is a multiuse sports pavilion at London Road, which includes football pitches, a cricket pitch and a multi-use astroturf pitch.

Louth Cricket Club formed in 1822 play their home games at the sports pavilion London Road

Louth is also home to Louth Town Football Club who play their football in the Northern Counties East League Division One.

Louth also plays host to Louth Swimming Club, Louth Old Boys (Football), Yom Chi Taekwondo, Kendojo Martial Arts, Louth Storm Basketball, Louth Chess Club, Louth Golf Course (Crowtree Lane) and Kenwick Park Golf Course (on the outskirts of the town) as well as Archery and a model aircraft club which uses Strubby and Manby Airfields.

Education

Primary schools

Secondary schools

Further education

A new £3 million further education college, called Wolds College, was built next to the Cordeaux School. Construction by the Lindum Group started in November 2007, and the college officially opened in October 2008. Unlike many Lincolnshire secondary modern schools, both Cordeaux and Monks' Dyke have their own sixth forms; East Lindsey's only other secondary modern with a sixth form is at Skegness. Although the town is well served for A-level provision, vocational courses were less well served until the college opened in this part of East Lindsey in September 2008, although there is the Grimsby Institute some fifteen miles (24 km) away.

Twin town

Louth's twin town is La Ferté-Bernard, close to Le Mans in Pays-de-la-Loire, France. France

Ludensians

Inhabitants of Louth are known as Ludensians, taken from the Latin name of the town (Lude, Luda).

References

  1. ^ OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): ISBN 978 0319238240
  2. ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : East Lindsey Retrieved 18 September 2009
  3. ^ a b Tom Green (2011). The Origins of Louth: Archaeology and History in East Lincolnshire 400,000 BC-AD 1086. Tom Green. pp. 4–7. ISBN 978-0-9570336-0-3. Cite error: The named reference "Green2011" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Tom Green (2011). The Origins of Louth: Archaeology and History in East Lincolnshire 400,000 BC-AD 1086. Tom Green. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-9570336-0-3.
  5. ^ a b "Historical Significance". Gatherums and Springside. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  6. ^ Tom Green (2011). The Origins of Louth: Archaeology and History in East Lincolnshire 400,000 BC-AD 1086. Tom Green. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-0-9570336-0-3.
  7. ^ Williams "Æthelheard (d. 805)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  8. ^ "Louth". Open Domesday. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  9. ^ David M. Smith, ‘Alexander (d. 1148)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  10. ^ Historic England. "Louth Abbey (354511)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Cistercian Abbeys: LOUTH PARK". The Cistercian In Yorkshire. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  12. ^ Historic England. "Monks Dyke (354511)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  13. ^ a b Robert Slater BAYLEY (1834). Notitiæ Ludæ, Or Notices of Louth. [By Robert S. Bayley. With Plates.]. The Author. pp. 77–78.
  14. ^ Trollope, Edward (1873). "The Architectural remains of Louth Park Abbey". Reports and papers of the architectural and archaeological societies of the counties of Lincoln and Northampton. Lincoln: James Williamson. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  15. ^ "A CLOUDBURST". The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 1 June 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  16. ^ "The forgotten Saint of Louth is remembered". This Is Lincolnshire. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  17. ^ "ANNIVERSARIES". The Independent. 27 February 1995. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  18. ^ a b c David Farmer (14 April 2011). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fifth Edition Revised. Oxford University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-19-959660-7.
  19. ^ a b c Tom Green (2011). The Origins of Louth: Archaeology and History in East Lincolnshire 400,000 BC-AD 1086. Tom Green. pp. 82–85. ISBN 978-0-9570336-0-3.
  20. ^ a b Peacock, Edward (1873). "Louth in the time of Henry VIII". Reports and papers of the architectural and archaeological societies of the counties of Lincoln and Northampton. Lincoln: James Williamson. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  21. ^ "St James' Church, Louth". Lincs To The Past. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  22. ^ a b Anthony Fletcher; John Stevenson (4 June 1987). Order and Disorder in Early Modern England. Cambridge University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-521-34932-1.
  23. ^ a b Linda Porter (10 March 2010). Katherine the Queen. Pan Macmillan UK. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-74303-570-2.
  24. ^ "Louth Museum". Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  25. ^ Burton, Melanie. "Luscious Louth". Lincolnshire Life. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  26. ^ "Countryfile Magazine Awards: The results 2012". CountryFile. Countryfile. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  27. ^ "Adam Eve and Louth Carpets". Lincolnshire Life. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  28. ^ a b c Prince, Rose (30 June 2007). "Shop Local: Louth". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  29. ^ "Building society mergers and conversions since 1980". Building Societies Association. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  30. ^ "Louth butcher wins gold award at international food contest". Grimsby Telegraph. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  31. ^ Davies, Paul; "Small wonders: the winners of our Best Small Shops in Britain Awards"; The Telegraph, 11 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2012
  32. ^ Cook, William; "Keeping it real"; Guardian.co.uk, 15 October 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2012
  33. ^ "PHOTO: Hairy Bikers film new TV show in Louth - Local". Louth Leader. March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  34. ^ "Jobs could be cut at Louth's Morrisons supermarket". Louth Leader. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  35. ^ Kinnaird, Sam (31 May 2013). "Councillor left frustrated as planning inspector gives go ahead for new Co-op supermarket in Louth". Louth Leader. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  36. ^ "A town called courage: Shopkeeper, retired bobby, teacher, passers-by..." The Daily Mail. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  37. ^ "Keep Louth Special group formed to stop supermarket". Louth Leader. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  38. ^ "Keep Louth Special group blasted". Louth Leader. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  39. ^ Kinnaird, Sam (29 November 2012). "Food store development could kill small Louth shops". Louth Leader. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  40. ^ "Sainsbury's arrival 'do or die' for town". Grimsby Telegraph. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  41. ^ "Sainsbury's store plan for Louth thrown out by councillors". This Is Lincolnshire. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  42. ^ "Keep Louth Special says Aldi plans 'not bad news'". BBC. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  43. ^ "Louth Aldi store proposal is scrutinised". Grimsby Telegraph. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  44. ^ "Film Society of the Year Awards 2008". Retrieved 15 November 2009. [dead link]
  45. ^ "Meridian Leisure Centre nears one million visits". Louth Leader. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  46. ^ "Technology hub opening in Louth this month". On Lincolnshire. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  47. ^ Stuart Storey
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Louth.
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