Crowland
Encyclopedia
Crowland or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use) is a small town in south Lincolnshire
, England, positioned between Peterborough
and Spalding
, with two sites of historical interest.
. This was merged into Spalding Rural District
under a County Review Order
in the 1930s. It has formed part of the South Holland
district since April 1974.
Crowland falls within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board
.
Crowland is nearer to the outskirts of Peterborough than Spalding, and (similar to other settlements of the Welland) is less than 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the Lincolnshire boundary with the City of Peterborough. The main road is the A16, which provides connections with Spalding to the north and Peterborough to the south (via the A47
). The east-west B1166 connects with Deeping St. James along the north side of the Welland to the west and Holbeach Drove to the east, and Thorney
is accessed via the B1040 to the south-east.
The civil parish extends south as far as Kennulph's Drain. This is the boundary with a small section of Newborough
, which encompasses the parish adjacent south, that of Borough Fen. The A16 crosses the former A1073 (now an unclassified local road) from east to west just south of the Alderlands farm and campsite. The parish boundary follows a drain westwards and the A16 between Kennulph's Farm and Poplar's Farm. It follows Speechley Drove to the north and to the west of Eardley Grange, bordering Borough Fen. It crosses the east-west Corporation Bank and then borders Peakirk
for a few hundred yards.
At Kennulph's Stone, it no longer borders Peterborough but South Kesteven
and the parish of Deeping St. James for about 220 yards (201.2 m). On the north side of the Welland, to the west of Wards Farm, and on the B1166, it no longer borders South Kesteven, but the parish of Deeping St. Nicholas (in South Holland). The boundary follows Raisen's Dyke to the north, crossing Crowland Common. The north-west corner of the parish has a 440 yards (402.3 m) section of the Peterborough to Lincoln Line
.
The boundary follows eastwards, to the south, South Drove Drain and just to the north of Peacock's Farm and Law's Farm. The boundary crosses the Welland, then follows the New River to the east, to the north of Cloot House and Bank House Farm. To the north of St Guthlac's Cross, it meets Spalding Road (former A1073) and borders Cowbit
, and follows the north side of Queen's Bank, crossing the A16. Just south of here, to the west of Spalding Road, is Crowland Airfield, home of a gliding
club. For 880 yards (804.7 m) north of Queen's Bank Farm, it borders the large parish of Weston
. Eastwards across to Middlemoor Farm, it borders Moulton
. From the area south of Little Postland, it borders the large parish of Whaplode
(Whaplode Drove
).
It crosses the B1166 at Shepeau Stow, which includes a few houses in the parish on the west side of Back Bank, although the village is part of Whaplode parish. The area, in the parish, to the west of here was known as Great Postland. The boundary follows Dowsdale Bank, and just north of Dowsdale Plantation, the parish meets the City of Peterborough, and the parish of Thorney at the Lincolnshire-Peterborough boundary. It follows the Old South Eau under Fall's Bridge, near Empson's Farm. A footpath follows the boundary to where it crosses the B1040 at Nene Terrace, following the west side of the B1040 for 330 yards (301.8 m) where it meets the (Peterborough) parish of Newborough.
, which stands at its central point, which used to be the confluence of three streams; and the other is its ruined mediaeval Croyland Abbey
, which was dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin, Saint Bartholomew and Saint Guthlac
in the eighth century. The Croyland Chronicle
, an important source for medieval historians, is believed to be the work of some of the monastery's inhabitants.
In about 701 a monk named Guthlac came to what was then an island in the Fens to live the life of a hermit. Following in Guthlac’s footsteps, a monastic community came into being here. Marshland beside the island was drained and a town gradually grew up near the abbey.
The town was captured after a short siege by Parliamentarian
forces in 1643
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
crossed the north-east part of the parish until the 1980s. It passed near De Key's Farm to the east and Martin's Farm to the north. Postland railway station
was near Postland House.
primary school, and The St Guthlac School, a co-educational secondary modern school
.
St Guthlac School, named after the abbey's founder, is situated at the junction of the B1166 and B1040. Crowland
school pupils have the option of single sex grammar school
education ten miles away at Spalding, and sixth form students attend other schools, again at Spalding or at Deeping St James.
Lincolnshire Country Council made the decision at the begin of July 2011 that The St Guthlac School will close as part of the creation of the University Academy Holbeach
, to be situated on the site of the former George Farmer Technology and Language College in Holbeach. Education4Crowland, a group of residents and members of the Parish, District and County Councils, has been formed to help fight for the retention of secondary education within the town and the creation of a Free School.
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England, positioned between Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
and Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
, with two sites of historical interest.
Geography
From 1894 the parish, being the only part of the Peterborough Rural Sanitary District in Lincolnshire, formed its own Crowland Rural DistrictRural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
. This was merged into Spalding Rural District
Spalding Rural District
Spalding was a rural district in Holland in Lincolnshire, England from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Spalding rural sanitary district...
under a County Review Order
Local Government Act 1929
The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales....
in the 1930s. It has formed part of the South Holland
South Holland, Lincolnshire
South Holland is a local government district of Lincolnshire. The district council is based in Spalding.It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Spalding urban district with East Elloe Rural District and Spalding Rural District...
district since April 1974.
Crowland falls within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board
Internal Drainage Board
An internal drainage board is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management within drainage districts...
.
Crowland is nearer to the outskirts of Peterborough than Spalding, and (similar to other settlements of the Welland) is less than 1 miles (1.6 km) north of the Lincolnshire boundary with the City of Peterborough. The main road is the A16, which provides connections with Spalding to the north and Peterborough to the south (via the A47
A47 road
The A47 is a trunk road in England originally linking Birmingham to Great Yarmouth. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114.-Route:...
). The east-west B1166 connects with Deeping St. James along the north side of the Welland to the west and Holbeach Drove to the east, and Thorney
Thorney, Cambridgeshire
Thorney is a village about 8 miles east of Peterborough in the City of Peterborough unitary authority, England, on the A47. Historically it was part of the Isle of Ely, which was considered part of Cambridgeshire but was transferred into the former county of Huntingdon and Peterborough and...
is accessed via the B1040 to the south-east.
The civil parish extends south as far as Kennulph's Drain. This is the boundary with a small section of Newborough
Newborough, Cambridgeshire
Newborough is a ward and civil parish in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom.The village lies within the Peterborough constituency represented by the Conservative Member of Parliament, Stewart "Tito" Jackson....
, which encompasses the parish adjacent south, that of Borough Fen. The A16 crosses the former A1073 (now an unclassified local road) from east to west just south of the Alderlands farm and campsite. The parish boundary follows a drain westwards and the A16 between Kennulph's Farm and Poplar's Farm. It follows Speechley Drove to the north and to the west of Eardley Grange, bordering Borough Fen. It crosses the east-west Corporation Bank and then borders Peakirk
Peakirk, Cambridgeshire
Peakirk is a civil parish in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. For local government purposes it forms part of Newborough ward; for parliamentary purposes it falls within North West Cambridgeshire constituency. In 2001, the parish had a population of 321 persons and 139...
for a few hundred yards.
At Kennulph's Stone, it no longer borders Peterborough but South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...
and the parish of Deeping St. James for about 220 yards (201.2 m). On the north side of the Welland, to the west of Wards Farm, and on the B1166, it no longer borders South Kesteven, but the parish of Deeping St. Nicholas (in South Holland). The boundary follows Raisen's Dyke to the north, crossing Crowland Common. The north-west corner of the parish has a 440 yards (402.3 m) section of the Peterborough to Lincoln Line
Peterborough to Lincoln Line
The Peterborough to Lincoln Line is a railway line linking and , via and .-History:The section between Peterborough and Spalding closed to passengers on 5 October 1970 and re-opened on 7 June 1971. North of Spalding, Ruskington re-opened on 5 May 1975. Metheringham followed on 6 October...
.
The boundary follows eastwards, to the south, South Drove Drain and just to the north of Peacock's Farm and Law's Farm. The boundary crosses the Welland, then follows the New River to the east, to the north of Cloot House and Bank House Farm. To the north of St Guthlac's Cross, it meets Spalding Road (former A1073) and borders Cowbit
Cowbit
Cowbit is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies South of Spalding and North of Crowland....
, and follows the north side of Queen's Bank, crossing the A16. Just south of here, to the west of Spalding Road, is Crowland Airfield, home of a gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
club. For 880 yards (804.7 m) north of Queen's Bank Farm, it borders the large parish of Weston
Weston Hills
Weston Hills is a hamlet in the civil parish of Weston in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England.Weston Hills lies due east of the town of Spalding in the South Holland district; it is primarily a linear village on a north-south axis. Its name may mislead as its highest point is above...
. Eastwards across to Middlemoor Farm, it borders Moulton
Moulton, Lincolnshire
Moulton is the primary village of an extensive Fenland parish, over in length, and encompassing the smaller hamlets/villages of Moulton Chapel, Moulton Seas End and Moulton Eaugate....
. From the area south of Little Postland, it borders the large parish of Whaplode
Whaplode
Whaplode is a parish in South Holland District, Lincolnshire, England, just west of the Prime Meridian.-Geography:In old documents, it is sometimes called Whapload. The main village lies on the marine silt ridge, known as the Townlands, which rises between the former salt marsh and the former fen...
(Whaplode Drove
Whaplode Drove
Whaplode Drove is a small village in South Holland, Lincolnshire. It is approximately 10 miles south of the market town of Spalding, Lincolnshire. The hamlet of Shepeau Stow is nearby.The village has a post office/shop, church, garage and a social club...
).
It crosses the B1166 at Shepeau Stow, which includes a few houses in the parish on the west side of Back Bank, although the village is part of Whaplode parish. The area, in the parish, to the west of here was known as Great Postland. The boundary follows Dowsdale Bank, and just north of Dowsdale Plantation, the parish meets the City of Peterborough, and the parish of Thorney at the Lincolnshire-Peterborough boundary. It follows the Old South Eau under Fall's Bridge, near Empson's Farm. A footpath follows the boundary to where it crosses the B1040 at Nene Terrace, following the west side of the B1040 for 330 yards (301.8 m) where it meets the (Peterborough) parish of Newborough.
Nature reserve
Th Crowland Ponds Nature Reserve is north of the town, next to the west side of the Welland.History
The town's two historical points of interest are the unique fourteenth Century three-sided bridge, Trinity BridgeTrinity Bridge (Crowland)
Trinity Bridge is the unique triangular bridge that stands at the heart of the English town of Crowland, Lincolnshire.This bridge has three stairways that converge at the top. Originally it spanned the River Welland and a tributary that flowed through the town, although now the rivers have been...
, which stands at its central point, which used to be the confluence of three streams; and the other is its ruined mediaeval Croyland Abbey
Croyland Abbey
Crowland Abbey is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire.-History:...
, which was dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin, Saint Bartholomew and Saint Guthlac
Saint Guthlac
Saint Guthlac of Crowland was a Christian saint from Lincolnshire in England. He is particularly venerated in the Fens of eastern England.-Life:...
in the eighth century. The Croyland Chronicle
Croyland Chronicle
The Croyland Chronicle is an important, if not always reliable, primary source for English medieval history, in particular the late fifteenth century. It was written at the Benedictine Abbey of Croyland, in Lincolnshire, England, off and on from 655 to 1486, and its first author claimed to be...
, an important source for medieval historians, is believed to be the work of some of the monastery's inhabitants.
In about 701 a monk named Guthlac came to what was then an island in the Fens to live the life of a hermit. Following in Guthlac’s footsteps, a monastic community came into being here. Marshland beside the island was drained and a town gradually grew up near the abbey.
The town was captured after a short siege by Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
forces in 1643
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway was a joint railway owned by the Great Northern Railway and its rival, the Great Eastern Railway. It was established in the early 1880s, and the joint company built a new, primarily freight, route between Cambridge and Doncaster, a distance of...
crossed the north-east part of the parish until the 1980s. It passed near De Key's Farm to the east and Martin's Farm to the north. Postland railway station
Postland railway station
Postland railway station was a station on the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway in Postland, Lincolnshire, which is now closed.Former Services-External links:*...
was near Postland House.
Education
The town currently has two schools, South ViewSouth View
South View can refer to:*South View LRT Station, a light-rail stations on the Bukit Panjang Light Rapid Transit in Singapore.*Southview, Calgary, a neighborhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada...
primary school, and The St Guthlac School, a co-educational secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
.
St Guthlac School, named after the abbey's founder, is situated at the junction of the B1166 and B1040. Crowland
school pupils have the option of single sex grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
education ten miles away at Spalding, and sixth form students attend other schools, again at Spalding or at Deeping St James.
Lincolnshire Country Council made the decision at the begin of July 2011 that The St Guthlac School will close as part of the creation of the University Academy Holbeach
University Academy Holbeach
University Academy Holbeach is a academy currently on two sites one in Crowland, and the other being Holbeach in England.The academy was established in 2011 following the closure of The St Guthlacs School in Crowland and George Farmer Technology and Language College in Holbeach...
, to be situated on the site of the former George Farmer Technology and Language College in Holbeach. Education4Crowland, a group of residents and members of the Parish, District and County Councils, has been formed to help fight for the retention of secondary education within the town and the creation of a Free School.
See also
- Welland, OntarioWelland, OntarioWelland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada.The city has been traditionally known as the place where rails and water meet, referring to the railways from Buffalo to Toronto and Southwestern Ontario, and the waterways of Welland Canal and Welland River,...
- contained the former township of Crowland - Magdalene College, CambridgeMagdalene College, CambridgeMagdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
- founded in 1428 by John Litlington, Abbot of CrowlandAbbot of CrowlandThe Abbot of Crowland was the head of Crowland Abbey, an English monastery built up around the shrine of Saint Guthlac by King Æthelbald of Mercia, and refounded as a Benedictine house circa 948. The last abbot was John Wells , who handed the monastery over to royal control and dissolution in...
External links
- Crowland Parish Plan Website Website
- Crowland Website
- Crowland Links
- The Saint Guthlac School's Website
- South View Primary School's Website
- Education4Crowland Website
- Save St Guthlacs School Website
- Peterbrough and Spalding Gliding Club