Events

Lincolnshire Heritage Open days

Heritage Open Days are your once-a-year chance to discover some of Lincolnshire's rarely seen historic treasures, with exciting experiences that bring local history and culture to life, for free! The festival celebrates England’s architecture and culture by allowing visitors free access to interesting properties that are not usually publicly accessible or would normally charge a fee. It also includes tours, events and activities that focus on and celebrate the local heritage of the area

Civic Trust events:

This year in Sleaford, the Eastgate Almshouses Chapel was opened on September 7th from 1 - 4pm, and there was a 2hr walk/talk on the history of the influential and colourful Carre family of Sleaford, leaving St Denys' Church at 2pm on September 14th. Admission was free to both events and was very well attended.

Sleaford Museum events:

On both Saturdays, there were organised 'Walks Down Memory Lane' leaving the Museum at 2pm lasting for 2hrs. Participants joined Mark Bamford on a walk down memory lane along Eastgate and East Road, Sleaford: Landscape, buildings and people.

The Civic Trust Summer Social

The Sleaford Civic Trust Summer social was held at Sleaford New Life Church Hall.

The Society's first Blue Plaque was unveiled to commemorate Ward & Dale, the world's largest steam-powered agricultural contractors, by John Dale, great-grandson of the founder. Their yard and workshops were located where the New Life Church is now situated on Mareham Lane. Members of the Ward family were also present, together with John's wife and daughter.

This was followed by a light buffet for Civic Trust members and invited guests.

Later in the afternoon, the first of the bridge plaques was also unveiled by Dr Simon Pawley at the Nine Foot river bridge next to Riverside Church, in the centre of Sleaford.

UNCOVERING SLEAFORD CASTLE: AN EXHIBITION

Opens Friday 24th May in Navigation House, Sleaford and runs for a year.

Opening Hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 10am - 2pm. Free to enter.

Visit Navigation House to explore the rich history of Sleaford Castle through the ages. Built by a Norman bishop and visited by King John and King Henry VIII, this exhibition reveals the results of research by the Sleaford Castle Heritage Group (SCHG) as well as fascinating discoveries from the recent archaeological dig.

LOCAL HISTORY TALKS RESTART FOR 2024

‘Lee & Green, A Remarkable Sleaford Firm’ by Jonathan Smith, Treasurer, SMT

A fascinating talk about the history and stories of this renowned local firm from its beginnings in the 1800's

All talks are presented in St Denys’ Church Rooms, off the Market Place in Sleaford.

Talk starts at 7.30pm lasts approximately an hour. Refreshments are available and there is a raffle.

£3 for non-members and £1 for members. Click here to become a member.

Sleaford Choral Christmas Concert, featuring the Bretherton Handbell Ringers, will begin in St Denys' Church at 7.30pm.

Includes a festive cantata, 'Christmas is Coming' (Seigmeister & Wheeler), and many other seasonal works, together with audience participation carols. The Bretherton Handbell Ringers will also perform several pieces with the choir. This is always a very popular event, please do come along and join us.

Tickets available on the door or from any Choral member, £10 includes a finger buffet at the interval and a programme. Accompanied U16's, Free.

Wine and soft drinks are also available, not included in ticket price.

The exciting, festive Sleaford Christmas Market organised by Sleaford Town Council took place on Advent Sunday, 3rd December 2023, from 11.00am to 4.30pm. The event also incorporated the town's Christmas lights switch on ceremony at 4.15pm.

Sleaford Museum's Christmas window was unveiled on this day. It will be open to view each day until Christmas Eve, even on days when the Museum is closed.

St Denys' Church in the Market Place also held their annual Christmas Service on the day, from 3.30pm to 4.00pm.

Sleaford Methodist held its very popular Christmas Tree Festival on Sat and Sun, 2 and 3 Dec.

This event was as popular as ever and extremely well attended on both days, especially Sunday which coincided with the Christmas market. There were over 50 Christmas trees throughout the church and church hall on Northgate, provided and decorated by local groups, individuals and businesses. It was free entry to look around, but donations go towards church funds There was also a raffle, tombola, a cafe, plus jams and chutneys for sale. The Sleaford Civic Trust tree was designed by Vice -Chair, Harriott Brand and is shown on the picture above.

It was great to see so many Civic Trust members at the Civic Trust 'Christmas Do' at St Denys' Parish Centre. It was a very enjoyable afternoon with talks from David Marriage (Chair of Sleaford & District Civic Trust), Faith Hopkins (secretary) and Garry Titmuss (CT Committee member and Chair of Sleaford Castle Heritage Group). All 3 talks brought members up to date on current and upcoming projects - The sale of the Cut, Blue Plaques on buildings in Sleaford celebrating past residents, and the improvements planned for the Castle Field site. Food was excellent, as always (sincere thanks to the Catering Committee) - an enjoyable quiz and generous raffle completed the afternoon.

Sleaford Museum launched a new book on the same day - A Walk Down Memory Lane; Into Sleaford From the East.

Mark Bamford, Chair of SMT had copies available on the afternoon which many guests bought! They are now on sale in Sleaford Museum. The cost is £7.95.

The book is a recreation of one of Jeanne Furnival's 'A Walk Down Memory Lane' series which she wrote while in her 80's, recording her memories from her personal archive. Jeanne was a well-known local historian and lifetime Sleaford resident (1924 -2016). The books were never formally published, but were privately distributed. Sleaford Museum has had single copies of these books donated and wish to bring them to a wider audience. This first venture, 'Into Sleaford From the East' is in a more modern format, but it retains Jeanne's charming prose and original images. Readers can accompany Jeanne as she leads them on their own walk down memory lane, revisiting the town as she would have seen it in April 2012, with personal reminiscences from her lifetime in Sleaford.

2021 Civic Trust Awards

A plaque was awarded to the MosArt Group Mosaic panels in the entrance to Gladstone's Yard, which were funded by Sleaford Town Council. This is an award to highlight the improvement and enhancement of this previously rather dull entrance way to the historic yard - the mosaic panels, completed in 2021, are a beautiful depiction of floral decoration, together with mosaic pictures of some of Sleaford's architectural and historic landmarks.

Sat & Sun 29 & 30 July 2023 Heckington Show

Saturday 9.00am – 10.30pm
Firework Concert 7.00pm – 10.30pm (main ring gate opens 6.45pm)
Sunday 9.00am - 5.00pm
Note: Firework entrance is included in Saturday Tickets

Sleaford Civic Trust and Sleaford Museum will have co-located stalls in the Heritage Area. Come and talk to the volunteers - find out the latest exciting news about the Sleaford Castle site and all other projects and ventures that both organisations are involved in - perhaps become a volunteer yourself? We always welcome new members and volunteers.

Archaeological dig at Sleaford Castle Field.

Sleaford Castle Heritage Group and Sleaford Town Council commissioned the dig - the first in 160 years at the castle site - by Archaeological Project Services (APS) of Heckington. 5 test trenches were dug (two in the area of the Tithe Barn, one at what was believed to be a 'dovecote', and two in the vicinity of the gatehouse/barbican. Augering was carried out across the moat areas and fish pond.

The Bourne History Guy attended and created videos of the dig in action and discussions on finds with members of the archaeological team from APS. Our thanks go to him for his work and generosity in posting them freely.

See the videos here - click on these links: PART 1 PART 2

Read the BBC Local radio article - click on this link HERE

Many visitors came along to the site to watch and talk to the archaeologists, including schoolchildren.

Saturday 3 June 2023 Sleaford's 1940's Day at the William Alvey School, Eastgate, Sleaford, from 11.00am to 4.00pm

Both the Civic Trust & Sleaford Museum will have stalls at this event - come along and chat to the volunteers and hear about their work. Both Sleaford Museum and Sleaford & District Civic Trust love to welcome new volunteers to be involved.

There will be so much to see and do on the day - live singing and entertainment, air raid shelter tours, Punch and Judy Shows, vintage vehicles, stalls, food and drink, bouncy castles and inflatables, hairstyling, vintage games, model vehicles and soldiers, face painting and loads more! Sleaford Town Council press release

SLEAFORD MUSEUM & THE LINCOLNSHIRE HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 2022

The Sleaford Museum was very successful in supporting the Lincolnshire Heritage Open Days. This year, the Museum provided a series of free guided walks to support and celebrate the publication of the ‘Sleaford and the Villages Top Trump Cards’.

Participants took a free guided walk with Sleaford Museum staff on the two weekends of the festival. Each walk lasted approximately 45 minutes, including 6 or 7 stops to coincide with the locations of each of the Top Trump Cards on the route. The most popular walk was the one which featured a visit to the Sleaford Castle site – this stimulated a great deal of interest. It is hoped that this walk will be able to be repeated next year as part of a series of events to publicise the Castle site. It is a stop on the Sleaford Heritage Trail .

Sleaford Civic Trust and Sleaford Museum hosted an exhibition giving the latest on Sleaford Castle with side-by-side gazebos in the Heritage area of the Heckington Show on both days.

This was the 154th Heckington Show, which was back to its usual 2-day pattern – the largest village show in England. It was billed as a true family day out – a quintessentially English Summer occasion for families and friends to enjoy. The weather was kind and good crowds enjoyed both days.

Unveiling of HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh Memorial Bench at 11am.

The memorial bench, purchased by the Town Council, has been positioned overlooking the River Slea and Eastgate Green, where HRH planted a tree on his visit to Sleaford in 1975. The 10th June date was chosen as it would have been Prince Philip’s 101st birthday. The Sleaford Town Crier made his Cry and introduced the Mayor of Sleaford, Linda Edwards-Shea, who made a speech and cut the ribbons on the bench. They were joined by Sleaford Town Councillors and staff and members of the Royal Naval Association.

Following the unveiling of the bench, there was a short ceremony in the HMS Sheldrake Room in Sleaford Town Hall where a special book was presented to the Mayor by the Royal Naval Association. The book was written by Mr Gerard Clarkin and is titled The Third Generation (And Perhaps Beyond).

Mr Clarkin was a Royal Naval Signalman and served aboard HMS Sheldrake in WW2; HMS Sheldrake is Sleaford’s adopted ship. In the book, Mr Clarkin dedicates a whole chapter to his service on the ship. The book will now be kept on display in the HMS Sheldrake Room.

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and Centenary of Sleaford War Memorial.

Both of these occasions occurred in the same weekend! There were many events happening in Sleaford over the 4-day bank holiday to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee.

The centenary of the unveiling of the war memorial, which commemorates those who gave their lives during both world wars, was actually on this day. Sleaford Museum has mounted a small exhibition to mark the centenary, and the next Local History Talk is specifically on this topic – Tuesday 26th July in St Denys’ Church Rooms at 7.30pm. All are welcome.

11am Official opening of the Mosaics at the entrance to Gladstone Yard.

The mosaics, created by Sleaford-based art group MosArt, line the recently repainted entrance to the historic Gladstone Yard in Sleaford. They capture a mix of landmarks that make up the town’s skyline, from St Denys’ Church and the Bass Maltings to the William Alvey primary school and the town’s marketplace. They were officially opened by Mayor of Sleaford, Robert Oates.

Pauline Dobson, a member of the voluntary art collective, hopes they will help to brighten up this part of the town.

The mosaics were at first going to resemble a floral arrangement, a theme that is still present at the bottom of the designs. As work progressed, the team shifted their focus to Sleaford’s history with silhouettes of significant buildings in Sleaford along the central third of each panel, and then the top third showing the fantastic Lincolnshire sky from dawn ’til dusk. The mix of landmarks are linked with entertainment, education and religion that represent the history of Sleaford.

12noon Official opening of Sleaford Cemetery Arboretum

The Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Tony Brand, Nicola Marshall, Garry Titmuss, Christopher Clay (Arboricultural Technician NKDC) and members of the Cemetery grounds team are pictured at the official opening.

Sleaford Cemetery has recently gained international recognition and accreditation as an arboretum, from ArbNet.

New Cemetery Arboretum Guides are now available from the Town Hall, library and museum. They can also be viewed on the council’s website via the following link: https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/uploads/sleaford-cemetery-arboretum-leaflet-digital-for-viewing-on-screen.pdf. The guide gives a brief history of the cemetery and shows a map pointing out 37 specimens of different trees planted within the boundaries, leading visitors around a trail. The tradition of planting specimen trees at the cemetery began with the first black pines in 1856 and is still continuing with the present day plantings by the Mayor’s Tree Fund. There will be guided tours each year. The guide has been put together by Coun Anthony Brand, his wife Harriott Brand, Evgeniya Righini-Brand and Deputy Clerk, Nicola Marshall. For examples of other guides to Sleaford Heritage Trail and Mosaic Trail, click HERE

William Alvey School held ‘Gregson Day’

This was an opportunity for the children to learn more about Gregson Green and the reason why the Gregson bench was erected in the 1990’s. A cowslip printing activity was staged with Y5 classes and special assemblies were held.

The Trust plans to work with the school children to design a flowerbed ready for them to plant cowslips later in October. The youngsters will also be shown how and why memorials have been designed and how they are built, as well as learning about fundraising and how to run a project.