A Book on Medieval Spalding

Stephen Fielding talks about the book that Spalding and District U3A have written about the town in Medieval times.

The History Group of Spalding and District U3A has been meeting at the Pinchbeck Community Hub and Library for 7 years. During that time we have studied British History. As many of our members have come to live in the Spalding area from other parts of the country, we wished to learn more about the history of our area.

We started a project investigating ‘Medieval Spalding’, 1050 – 1550, 18 months ago. In conjuction with Spalding Gentlemen's Society and Ayscoughfee Hall, the group's efforts have resulted in a book, 'A Guide to Medieval Spalding.' The book is being sold throughout Spalding.

This period was to see a major change from Anglo-Saxon to Norman rule. Everyday life came to be dominated by the Priory in Spalding which grew to be very wealthy. Later the devastating effect of The Black Death was to change how people lived their lives. The book includes an imagined Sunday morning walk through the then-town on the way to church, and much more besides.

The book is amply illustrated with period prints, maps and drawings as well as more recent photographs. It's not a book to be read cover to cover at a single sitting but one to savour and dip into section by section at leisure.