Long Sutton, Lincolnshire

Long Sutton belonged historically to the wapentake of Elloe in the Parts of Holland.[2]

A flood in 1236 that destroyed Wisbech Castle is also said to have washed away the village of Dolproon (or Dolprun) near Long Sutton and its existence has been handed down in the lines: "When Dolproon stood, Long Sutton was a wood. When Dolproon was washed down, Long Sutton became a town."[3]

The Friday market dates back to the early 13th century when the town was a prosperous trading centre. By the mid-14th century, it was considered to be one of the richest communities in Lincolnshire.

Prosperity continued into the 20th century, helped by the arrival of the railways. In the 1950s eleven trains would daily transport passengers and local produce to and from the town. Long Sutton railway station on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway closed in 1959 when passenger services were withdrawn.

In 1987 a Butterfly Park was opened near Long Sutton. The park was closed in October 2012 after a series of losses and bad weather.[4]

On 21 June 2012, at about 2:30 pm, a tornado hit Long Sutton. Particular damage was caused in Woad Lane with the tornado "leaving a trail of destruction in its wake".[5]

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to Tydd St Mary with a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 7,260.[6]

Long Sutton is the terminus of the A1101, the UK's lowest road. It is now bypassed, with Sutton Bridge, by the A17 which follows the former railway. In 2001 the town had a population of 6,461.[7]

Long Sutton has a Friday market and produce auction. The town has a history of association with antique dealers and shops.

The town is known for floral displays that decorate the town and its churches throughout spring and summer, and was named among the best kept villages in Lincolnshire, and for the second year running, has been named best small town in the East Midlands in Bloom competition.

Long Sutton is served by one main local newspaper company, Spalding Today, which produces the Spalding Guardian and the Lincolnshire Free Press.[8]

Facilities and landmarks

Town public houses are the Olde Ship Inn in London Road, the Crown and Woolpack in High Street, and the Corn Exchange and the Granary in Market Street.

Long Sutton County Primary School is in Dick Turpin Way in the centre of Long Sutton; it has about 400 pupils. University Academy Long Sutton is the local co-educational secondary modern school.

St Mary's Church has a 13th-century lead-covered timber spire. It is of a similar design to Chesterfield Parish Church's twisted spire but Long Sutton's spire is straight. It is the highest, oldest and best-preserved lead spire in England and possibly Europe. The church is a Grade I listed building.[15]

Dr Bailey's inscribed stone in the church

Within the church is a memorial inscribed "Alas! Poor Bailey". This is in memory of a local surgeon, John Bailey, who was killed by robbers while returning from a visit to a patient in Tydd St Mary. He was attacked just after midnight on 22 April 1795. His murderers were not caught.[16][17]

In birth order:

• Christopher Helme (1603 – c. 1650), born in Long Sutton, was an emigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony and a founder of Exeter, New Hampshire.
• Dick Turpin (1705–1739), highwayman, lived in Long Sutton for about nine months as John Palmer (or Parmen).[19] There is a road in the town named after him.
• Alfred Fletcher (1841–1915), journalist and left-wing politician, was born in Long Sutton.
• Richard Winfrey (1858–1944) was a Liberal MP, newspaper publisher and campaigner for agricultural rights.
• Henry Harold Welch Pearson (1870–1916) was a Long Sutton-born South African botanist. The African genus Pearsonia was named after him.
• Reginald Skelton (1872–1958), born in Long Sutton, was a naval vice-admiral and polar explorer. He was knighted in 1931.
• Alfred Haines (1877–1935) from Long Sutton became a first-class cricketer playing for Gloucestershire.
• Alfred Piccaver (1884–1958), operatic tenor, was born in Long Sutton.

• Media related to Long Sutton, Lincolnshire at Wikimedia Commons
• Long Sutton Parish Council
• St Mary's church