Alford, Lincolnshire

Coordinates: 53°16′N 0°11′E / 53.26°N 0.18°E / 53.26; 0.18

Alford
Alford Windmill
Alford  Alford shown within Lincolnshire
Population	2,700
OS grid reference	TF454758
Parish	Alford
District	East Lindsey
Shire county	Lincolnshire
Region	East Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ALFORD
Postcode district	LN13
Dialling code	01507
Police	Lincolnshire
Fire	Lincolnshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
European Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Louth and Horncastle
List of places: UK • England • Lincolnshire

Alford (pronounced "Olford") is a town in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of about 3,500. Alford lies at the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds, 13 miles (21 km) north-west of Skegness.

Facilities

Shopping

Alford's main retail industry is aimed at local people with the bulk of shops being convenience-related such as pharmacies, groceries, DIY and homeware. Alford has two supermarkets, the Co-operative on Church Street and the Kwik-E-Mart on West Street.

Pubs

There is the Half Moon Hotel,^[1] The Windmill Hotel^[2] and the George^[3]

Markets

Craft markets

The town is well-known for its craft markets which have taken place every August bank holiday since the 1970s. The market takes place in the grounds of the manor house and includes a range of stalls selling locally-crafted products and usually has some form of musical entertainment in the marquee. A more frequent market takes place in the Corn Exchange every Tuesday and Friday. This is a much smaller, more low-key version of the craft market but follows the same theme.

Weekly & European markets

Market days in Alford are on Tuesdays, however used to also occur on a Friday. The market, which varies in size and is dependent on the time of the year and the day, is generally very small. The main market takes place in the Market Place with usual stalls consisting of groceries and greeting cards etc. European markets began in Alford at Christmas 2005 and have appeared since at Easter and in the holidays with the most recent one taking place in August 2007. European markets invite traders from the near continent who sell predominantly food items.

Banks

Alford has two banks: Lloyds TSB and Barclays as well as a branch of the Yorkshire Building Society.

Education

Primary schools

• Alford Primary School on Hanby Lane.^[4]

Secondary schools

• Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School
• John Spendluffe Foundation Technology College^[5], secondary modern school on Hanby Lane.

The secondary modern underperforms compared to other similar schools, although the grammar school has had excellent results in previous years and was judged 'Outstanding' in the Ofsted inspection of 2007, being among the top 100 schools in the country.

Health

There is an NHS and private dentist located on South Street and Merton Lodge. The doctors' surgery is on West Street.

Industry

Located south-west of the town is Beechings Way Industrial Estate. The estate is mainly commercial and contains such industries as printing companies and manufacturing firms. There is a builders' merchants (Jewson) and the Royal Mail sorting office. The UK's largest online fire safety retailer Safelincs Ltd is based in Alford.

Recently, the towns main employer, Finnveden, was shut down, resulting in large-scale job loss.

Other

A new crematorium opened on the outskirts of town in 2008.

Places of interest

Windmill

Alford is known for its five-sailed windmill, a tower mill built in 1837 by Sam Oxley, an Alford millwright. In its heyday it was capable of grinding 4 to 5 tons of corn a day. The mill worked until 1955. After two years standing idle it was restored to full working order and is still in full commercial use, producing organic flour and cereal. It is the only windmill left in Alford; in 1932 there were three, each with a different number of sails (four, five and six). It is one of several working windmills in Lincolnshire. Others can be found at Lincoln, Heckington, Boston, Waltham, Kirton in Lindsey, Sibsey and Burgh le Marsh.

Alford Manor House

The town is known for its Manor House, reputedly the largest thatched manor house in the country. The manor house is open from Tuesday to Friday and on a Sunday. In 2006 it was refurbished, thanks to National Lottery funding in association with English Heritage; the refurbishment led to the installation of new interactive exhibitions and increased accessibility for disabled visitors. The manor house has a tea room and open gardens.

Religious buildings

The main church in Alford is St. Wilfrid's located at the junction between Church Street, South Street and West Street. The church operates frequent services and holds annual events such as the flower show. Alford also has a small Methodist church.

Approximately four miles from Alford, in the tiny village of Markby, is the church of St Peter's, the only remaining thatched church in Lincolnshire. Popular with tourists, it is still used for weddings, christenings and funerals, as well as normal services.

Notable residents

• Captain John Smith who lived in nearby Willoughby
• Anne Hutchinson, pioneer settler in the United States ^[6]
• Thomas Paine, who was an excise officer in the town.
• Richard Dixon of Alford was one of the original settlers in Jamestown, North America.

Other information

Beechings Way Industrial Estate is so named as it is built on the closed East Lincolnshire Railway line from Grimsby to Boston. The line (and Alford Town railway station) was axed by Dr. Beeching during his rationalisation of British Railways in the 1960s and early 1970s. It closed on 5 October 1970.

See also

• Alford and Sutton Tramway

References

External links

• Alford Town Council website
• What's on in and around Alford
• Alford Group of Churches website
• Alford Town website