Migration - introduction to historical migration in the Fens.
Migration of people has been at the core of shaping Spalding and its surrounding area physically, economically and socially. This I feel...
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Andrew Elsden - exploring stories, tales , rural and social issues past and present as I see them and sharing useful information.
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Nov 186 min read
Geest
In 1935 in Calthrop’s solicitors office in Spalding the first Geest Company, Geest Horticultural Products was incorporated under the...
Nov 153 min read
Spalding Canning Factory
November 1930 saw the following announcement that was to herald further establishment of the food processing industry in Spalding hot on...
Nov 92 min read
51 REASONS FOR MARK STEEL TO BE IN SPALDING
Spalding deserves the full Mark Steel treatment and with this in mind I offer 51 facets of Spalding’s life and history.
Nov 86 min read
The Rise of the Industrial Town of Spalding
When I describe Spalding as an industrial town people are generally surprised. We have an image of an industrial town being depicted as...
Nov 49 min read
The Evolution of Spalding's Markets - Market Stalls
The most visible and usually the longest lasting vestige of a market town are the market stalls. This is the case with Spalding and...
Oct 285 min read
The Evolution of Spalding Market - Livestock leave the Streets
The recovery of the livestock market post World War I was not without its interruptions. In 1922 foot and mouth disease reared its ugly...
Oct 218 min read
The evolution of Spalding's Markets - Meat National Supply vs. Local Supply
The railway opened up markets across the country and it is no accident that we see railway sidings close to many livestock markets in...
Oct 148 min read
Spalding - the evolution of Spalding Markets - the opening of the Sheep Market.
That the port of Spalding had an old and active market is undoubted. I have found no reference to an early charter awarding market rights...
Oct 116 min read
Spalding - Feeding from beyond the Fens
Spalding is where I was born and where I have lived most of my life to date. I state “feeding from beyond the Fens” because this has many...
Oct 24 min read
Sidebar - A Trip to Remember
May 28th 1914 saw the Welland Trustees take its annual trip "down below" into the waters of The Wash
Aug 282 min read
Sidebar - How can you tell when a man is drunk?
Spalding policemen assumed a man was drunk after he loaded his pipe with pieces of pork pie and started to smoke it!
Aug 229 min read
Sidebar - 1876 Harvest Past - A Lesson from History?
Every so often I publish material that did not make the script of “Marsh Fen and Town”. The following is exactly 148 years ago and will...
Jul 304 min read
Butterflies
If you wish a child to get interested in nature one of the most accessible areas for a child are insects. They are everywhere and with...
Jul 32 min read
Marsh Fen & Town Sidebar - Otters.
It is possibly one of the indicators of a river's health is the thriving of an apex predator like the otter. In the 2020's the otter is...
Sep 16, 20237 min read
Spalding's Butter Market
Down the side of Spalding's Civic Centre is a passageway called The Butter Market. Here is some of the history and the context in a...
Jul 21, 20233 min read
Wooden Dollars and Trade Tokens
You may have heard the phrase “wooden dollars” when referring to spurious values of such items as natural capital values. The term refers...
May 13, 20236 min read
Memories of Spalding Tulip Parade
Today the 13th of May 2023 heralds the return of the Spalding Tulip Parade. I now live in Northumberland, where my tulips flower much...
Apr 28, 20232 min read
Spalding and the Missing Stone of Scone
As the Stone of Destiny, otherwise known as the Stone of Scone, winds its way from Scotland to nestle below the King's posterior on the...
Jul 8, 20226 min read
The short-changing of Spalding – a lesson for other rural towns.
In 2003 I wrote a letter to the local press “Wake Up Spalding we are being short-changed”. About two weeks later I was approached by an...
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