Long Sutton is a market town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies in The Fens, close to the Wash, 13 miles (21 km) east of Spalding.
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Long Sutton | |
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![]() St Mary's Church | |
![]() ![]() Long Sutton Location within Lincolnshire | |
Population | 4,821 (2011)[1] |
OS grid reference | TF430230 |
• London | 90 mi (140 km) SSW |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | SPALDING |
Postcode district | PE12 |
Dialling code | 01406 |
Police | Lincolnshire |
Fire | Lincolnshire |
Ambulance | East Midlands |
UK Parliament |
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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.[citation needed] By the mid-14th century, it was considered to be one of the richest communities in Lincolnshire.[4]
In the 1800s the town was on the circuits of touring theatre companies, in 1842 the Bullen theatre company performed here.[5]
Prosperity continued into the 20th century, helped by the arrival of the railways.[citation needed] In the 1950s eleven trains would daily transport passengers and local produce to and from the town.[citation needed] Long Sutton railway station on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway closed in 1959 when passenger services were withdrawn.[citation needed]
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.[6]
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".[7]
An electoral ward in the same name exists. This stretches south to Tydd St Mary, with a total population at the 2011 Census of 7,260.[8]
Long Sutton is the terminus of the A1101. 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.[9][page needed]
Long Sutton is served by one main local newspaper company, Spalding Today, which produces the Spalding Guardian and the Lincolnshire Free Press.[10]
Among the largest local employers since the 1940s was the canning factory of Lockwoods Foods Ltd in Bridge Road, between Sutton Bridge and Long Sutton. It produced a range of own-brand canned food and drink products ranging from mushy peas to seasonal strawberries and cola[11][12] to ginger beer[13] and lemonade shandy.[14] The firm catered to UK and overseas markets, including third-party brands such as Del Monte. In the 1980s the factory was bought by Premier Foods, as Lockwoods Foods Limited went into administrative receivership. Premier Foods, among other food brands, later produced the staple Fray Bentos canned steak and kidney pie at the Long Sutton factory. After the sale of Fray Bentos to Baxters in 2011, production moved to Scotland in 2013.[15][16] The factory now belongs to the Princes Food & Drink Group. Long Sutton is its largest food production site in the United Kingdom.
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 similar in design to Chesterfield Parish Church's twisted spire, but Long Sutton's is straight. The church is a Grade I listed building.[17] The spire is 149 feet high (45 metres) high.[18]
Within the church is a memorial inscribed "Alas! Poor Bailey" to a local surgeon, John Bailey, who was killed by robbers while returning from a visit to a patient in Tydd St Mary just after midnight on 22 April 1795. His murderers were not caught.[19][20]
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.
The town's Long Sutton Athletic F.C. plays in the Peterborough and District Football League. It previously played in the Eastern Counties Football League.[21]
In birth order:
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