Editing Sleaford

{{about|the town in Lincolnshire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox UK place
| type = Town and [[civil parish]]
| country = England
| official_name = Sleaford
| coordinates = {{coord|52.996|-0.413|display=inline,title}}
|static_image_name = The Church of St Denys, Sleaford.jpg
|static_image_caption = [[St Denys' Church, Sleaford]], facing<br />the market place
| population = 19,807
| population_ref = (2021 Census)<ref name="bua2011">{{cite web |title=Sleaford |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/admin/north_kesteven/E04005832__sleaford/ |website=City population |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>
| population_density = 
| shire_district = [[North Kesteven]]
| shire_county = [[Lincolnshire]]
| region = East Midlands
| constituency_westminster = [[Sleaford and North Hykeham (UK Parliament constituency)|Sleaford and North Hykeham]]
| post_town = SLEAFORD
| postcode_district = NG34
| postcode_area = NG
| dial_code = 01529
| os_grid_reference = TF064455
| london_distance_mi = 100<!-- straight line per MOS – constant and comparable with other place distances -->
| london_direction = S
| website = [http://www.sleaford.gov.uk www.sleaford.gov.uk]
}}
'''Sleaford''' is a [[market town]] and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[North Kesteven]] district of [[Lincolnshire]], England. On the edge of the [[The Fens|Fenlands]], it is {{convert|11|mi|km|0|abbr=off}} north-east of [[Grantham]], {{convert|16|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} west of [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], and {{convert|17|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} south of [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]]. It is the largest settlement in North Kesteven with a population of 19,807 in [[United Kingdom Census 2021|2021]]. Centred on the former parish of '''New Sleaford''', the modern boundaries and urban area include [[Quarrington, Lincolnshire|Quarrington]] to the south-west, [[Holdingham]] to the north-west and [[Old Sleaford]] to the east. The town is bypassed by the [[A17 road (England)|A17]] and the [[A15 road (England)|A15]] roads. [[Sleaford railway station]] is on the [[Poacher Line|Nottingham to Skegness (via Grantham)]] and [[Peterborough–Lincoln line|Peterborough to Lincoln]] lines.

The first settlement formed in the [[Iron Age]] where a prehistoric track crossed the [[River Slea]]. It was likely home to a mint for the [[Corieltauvi]] in the 1st centuries BC and AD. Evidence of [[Roman Britain|Roman]] and [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] settlement has been found. Medieval records differentiate between Old and New Sleaford, the latter emerging by the 12th century around the present-day market place and [[St Denys' Church, Sleaford|St Denys' Church]]; [[Sleaford Castle]] was also built at that time for the [[Bishop of Lincoln|Bishops of Lincoln]], who owned the manor. Granted the right to hold a market in the mid-12th century, New Sleaford developed into a market town and became locally important in the wool trade, while Old Sleaford (based near the site of the prehistoric settlement) declined.

From the 16th century, the landowning Carre family kept tight control over the town – it grew little in the early modern period. The manor passed by marriage from to the Hervey family ([[Marquess of Bristol|Earls and later Marquesses of Bristol]]) in 1688. The town's [[common land]]s were [[enclosed]] by 1794, giving ownership mostly to the Herveys. This coincided with [[Sleaford Navigation|canalisation of the Slea]], which brought economic growth until it was superseded by the railways in the mid-1850s. These new transport links supported the development of light industries and expanded the town's role in the trade in agricultural goods. Long a centre for justice and administration in north [[Kesteven]], Sleaford became an [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban district]] in 1894 and was also home to the former [[Kesteven County Council]] (1925–1974). After a period of stagnation, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries the sale of farmland around Sleaford led to the development of large housing estates, causing the population to rapidly expand and the urban area to engulf Quarrington and Holdingham.

Though its traditional market has declined in the 21st century (and its cattle and corn markets shut in the 20th century) and much of its heavier manufacturing has departed, Sleaford's economy has diversified. The town remains an important administrative, service and commercial centre for the surrounding district. It houses supermarkets, shops and a large [[business park]] with offices and light manufacturing, and is home to the headquarters of [[North Kesteven District Council]]; three secondary schools (two of which are selective); four primary schools; three newspapers; police, fire and ambulance stations; several places of worship; many sports clubs; a leisure centre; and several medical and dental practices and care homes. Regeneration has transformed some earlier industrial areas, including through the construction of [[the National Centre for Craft & Design|The Hub]]. The town is one of the largest employment centres in the district; the commonest employers in 2021 were the public sector, retail and, to a much lesser degree, manufacturing.

==Geography==
Sleaford is a civil parish and [[market town]] in the [[North Kesteven]] district of [[Lincolnshire]]. It is bounded by the civil parishes of [[Leasingham]] to the north; [[Ewerby and Evedon]], and [[Kirkby la Thorpe]] to the east; [[Silk Willoughby]] to the south; and [[Wilsford, Lincolnshire|Wilsford]], [[South Rauceby]] and [[North Rauceby]] to the west. These neighbouring parishes are rural, comprising villages separated from Sleaford's urban area by fields, though Kirkby la Thorpe also includes the Milton Way [[housing estate]] on Sleaford's eastern fringe.<ref name=":46">{{Cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |access-date=18 June 2024 |website=[[Ordnance Survey]]}}</ref>

=== Urban area ===
Sleaford's urban area includes the town centre, focused on the [[marketplace]] (fronted by [[St Denys' Church, Sleaford|St Denys' Church]]), where Eastgate, Northgate, Southgate and Westgate meet. Though some parts have been redeveloped in the 20th century, including the Riverside Shopping Precinct and Flaxwell House, the area follows a medieval street layout and is home to many of the town's oldest buildings; it is also the retail and commercial hub.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|pp=2, 6, 11, 18}}.</ref><ref>For Flaxwell House and the Riverside Centre, and more detail on the loss of historic buildings, see {{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pages=121, 135}}.</ref> Carre Street (running parallel to Southgate to the east), once home to industry and wharves,<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pages=65, 71}}.</ref> has been [[Urban renewal|regenerated]] in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.<ref name=":23">{{Cite web |title=Navigation House |url=https://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/?page_id=131 |access-date=19 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Navigation Trust |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619131446/https://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/?page_id=131 |archive-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref name=":48" />

To the north-west of the centre, housing developments along Northgate (which becomes Lincoln Road north of the railway line), mostly built in the 20th and early 21st centuries, have brought the hamlet of [[Holdingham]] into Sleaford's urban area, which extends as far north as the [[A17 road (England)|A17]] and [[A15 road (England)|A15]] junction at Holdingham Roundabout.<ref name="Lincolnshire County Council 2022 22">{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|p=22}}.</ref><ref name=":49">The names of locations can be found at [https://www.bing.com/maps/?cp=53.004808%7E-0.411873&lvl=14.3&style=s "Sleaford"]. ''[[Bing Maps]]''. Retrieved 19 June 2024.</ref> To the north-east, the town's built-up area has expanded along Eastgate, with 19th-century housing closer to the town centre giving way to modern [[business park]]s; the [[River Slea]] forms the southern boundary of these developments and, closer to the town, [[Lollycocks Field]] sits between one of the business parks, Eastgate and the Slea.<ref name=":49" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|p=|pages=20, 24}}.</ref><ref name="LNR2" /> South of the river, the town's urban area extends eastwards along Boston Road, which runs from Southgate to the A17 at [[Kirkby la Thorpe]]. Except for Boston Road [[Park|Recreation Ground]], the road is straddled by housing west of the railway; developments near the centre are mostly 18th- and 19th-century, while those around '''[[Old Place, Sleaford|Old Place]]''', at '''the''' '''Hoplands''' and south of Boston Road are mostly planned 20th- or 21st-century residential estates.<ref name=":49" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|pp=18, 20, 22}}.</ref>

The Victorian [[Sleaford railway station|train station]] can be found near the southernmost end of Southgate; Station Road includes some converted 19th-century warehouses. [[Mareham Lane]] heads south out of the town, past the vast disused [[Bass Maltings, Sleaford|Bass Maltings]] complex.<ref name=":49" /><ref name=":50">{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|pp=20–21}}.</ref> Also forking off from Southgate are Grantham Road and London Road, which fan out in a south-west direction. They link Sleaford with [[Quarrington, Lincolnshire|Quarrington]] village,<ref name=":49" /> which has a historic core that has been merged into the town's urban area by modern housing developments.<ref name="Pawley-122" /> The earliest suburban housing at the base of Southgate appeared in the 19th century and was known as '''New Quarrington''',<ref>{{Harvnb|Aitchison|Gunn|1981|p=125}}.</ref> while ribbon development along London and Grantham roads is mostly early-20th-century; much larger planned developments took place in the late 20th and 21st centuries at '''Quarrington Hill''', '''Southfields''' and between the two roads.<ref name=":49" /><ref name="Lincolnshire County Council 2022 22"/> To the town centre's west is Westgate, medieval in origin but heavily developed with dense terraced housing in the 19th century;<ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|p=|pages=3, 18}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=79}}.</ref> to its north is [[Westholme House|Westholme]], parkland which houses a school;<ref name=":62">{{NHLE|num=1062153|desc=Westholme|access-date=15 March 2015|mode=cs1|fewer-links=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Reference Name LCL24620 |url=http://www.lincstothepast.com/photograph/283043.record?pt=S |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031247/http://www.lincstothepast.com/photograph/283043.record?pt=S |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=1 April 2015 |website=Lincs to the Past |publisher=[[Lincolnshire Archives]]}}</ref> to the road's south is West Banks and its adjoining streets, between the River Slea and the [[Nine-Foot Drain]], an area heavily built up in the 19th century.<ref name=":49" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=104}}.</ref> South of Westbanks are the remains of [[Sleaford Castle]].<ref name=":49" />

Outside of the town's urban area, but included in the civil parish boundaries is '''Greylees''', a settlement built in the early 21st century on the site of the former [[Rauceby Hospital]].<ref name=":49" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|pp=11, 22}}.</ref>

===Topography and geology===
Sleaford occupies a position on the [[Lincoln Heath]], a [[limestone]] plateau<ref>{{Harvnb|Robinson|2001|pp=8–9}}.</ref> between the [[Lincoln Cliff]] to the west (a [[Lincolnshire limestone|Limestone]] [[Escarpment|scarp]] running north–south through [[Lindsey, Lincolnshire|Lindsey]] and [[Kesteven]]),<ref name=":24">{{Harvnb|Elsdon|1997|p=7}}.</ref> and [[the Fens]] to the east, a low-lying region of the East of England which has been drained to reveal nutrient-rich soils that form some of the most productive farmland in the country.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|p=1}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Development of Land Use |url=http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/environment/environmental-report/part-b-background/development-of-land-use/100434.article |access-date=18 January 2015 |work=Lincolnshire County Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118164137/http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/environment/environmental-report/part-b-background/development-of-land-use/100434.article |archive-date=18 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|National Farmers Union|2008|p=1}}.</ref>

The town centre lies about {{Convert|49|ft|m}} above sea level and has formed around the River Slea, which runs west to north-east through it.<ref name=":47">{{Cite web |title=Sleaford |url=https://www.bing.com/maps/?cp=52.997133%7E-0.415541&lvl=15.1&style=s |access-date=18 June 2024 |website=[[Bing Maps]]}}</ref> A band of [[Jurassic]] [[Cornbrash Formation|Cornbrash]] [[limestone]] forms the [[bedrock]] under Holdingham (where the ground rises to {{Convert|82|ft|m}} above sea level in places), parts of central Sleaford, and most of the housing at Quarrington (where elevations exceed over {{Convert|98|ft|m}} at Quarrington Hill) and southern Greylees. The bedrock on the eastern parts of the town comprises Jurassic [[Kellaways Formation|Kellaways]] [[sandstone]] and [[siltstone]]. To the west, the Slea follows a shallow valley underlain by Jurassic [[Blisworth Clay Formation|Blisworth clay]] and [[Blisworth Limestone Formation|limestone]] and, at its lowest elevations at Quarrington Fen and Boiling Wells Farm, earlier Jurassic [[Rutland Formation|Rutland]] [[Clay mineral|argillaceous]] rocks and [[Upper Lincolnshire Formation|Upper Lincolnshire]] limestone. Greylees and the northern fringe of the Quarrington Hill estate sit on the southern edge of this valley, on the Blisworth clays and limestone.<ref name=":47" /><ref name=":25">{{Cite web |title=BGS Geology Viewer |url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/map-viewers/bgs-geology-viewer/ |access-date=18 June 2024 |work=[[British Geological Survey]]}}</ref> [[Alluvium]] deposits are found along the Slea's course, and sand and gravel of the Sleaford series are found to the east and south.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":25" /> Most of the soil is free-draining, lime-rich and loamy, though some of the eastern parts are on loamy soils with naturally high groundwater.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Soilscapes |url=https://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/ |access-date=18 June 2024 |website=LandIS |publisher=[[Cranfield University|Cranfield Environment Centre]]}}</ref>

Two [[Local nature reserve|Local Nature Reserves]] sit within the civil parish boundaries: Lollycocks Field, providing mostly wildflower and wetlands habitats alongside Eastgate, and [[Mareham Pastures]], consisting of wildflower meadows, new woodland, hedges and open grassland.<ref name="LNR2">{{Cite web |title=Lollycocks Field |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteLNRDetail.aspx?SiteCode=L1009007&SiteName=&countyCode=27&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |access-date=28 January 2018 |work=Local Nature Reserves |publisher=[[Natural England]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405072457/https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteLNRDetail.aspx?SiteCode=L1009007&SiteName=&countyCode=27&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=|archive-date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="LNR">{{Cite web |title=Mareham Pastures |url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteLNRDetail.aspx?SiteCode=L1123066&SiteName=&countyCode=27&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |access-date=28 January 2018 |work=Local Nature Reserves |publisher=[[Natural England]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405161255/https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteLNRDetail.aspx?SiteCode=L1123066&SiteName=&countyCode=27&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |archive-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> There is also Sleaford Wood in the north of the town and Sleaford Moor to the north-east, near the A17 and A153's Bone Mill Junction.<ref name=":47" />

===Climate===
The [[British Isles]] experience a temperate, [[maritime climate]] with warm summers and cool winters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate of the World: England and Scotland |url=https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/climate/England-and-Scotland.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708220703/https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/climate/England-and-Scotland.htm |archive-date=8 July 2020 |access-date=8 July 2020 |website=Weather Online}}</ref> Lincolnshire's position on the east of the British Isles allows for a sunnier and warmer climate relative to the national average, and it is one of the driest counties in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate and Weather |url=http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/environment/environmental-report/part-b-background/climate-and-weather/100431.article |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122625/http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/environment/environmental-report/part-b-background/climate-and-weather/100431.article |archive-date=4 March 2016 |website=[[Lincolnshire County Council]]}}</ref> In Sleaford, the average daily high temperature peaks at {{convert|22.1|C|F}} in July and a peak average daily mean of {{convert|17.2|C|F}} occurs in July. The lowest daily mean temperature is {{convert|4.1|C|F}} in January; the average daily high for that month is {{convert|7.0|C|F}} and the daily low is {{convert|1.3|C|F}} (the latter also occurs in February).<ref name="Met Averages"/> The East of England tends to be sheltered from strong winds relative to the north and west of the country. Despite this, tornadoes form more often in the East of England than elsewhere;<ref>{{Harvnb|Met Office|2016|pp=9–10}}.</ref> Sleaford suffered them in 2006 and 2012, both causing damage to property.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 May 2006 |title=Clean up after Tornado Hits Town |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/4985262.stm |access-date=2 February 2015 |work=[[BBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404213801/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/4985262.stm |archive-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 June 2012 |title=Tornado Hits Sleaford Area |url=http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/local/breaking-news-tornado-hits-sleaford-area-video-1-4001325 |access-date=2 February 2015 |work=Sleaford Standard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102717/http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/local/breaking-news-tornado-hits-sleaford-area-video-1-4001325 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

{{Cranwell weatherbox}}

==History==
===Etymology===
The earliest records of the place-name Sleaford are found in a charter of 852 as ''Slioford'' and in the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] as ''Sliowaford''. In the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' (1086), it is recorded as ''Eslaforde'' and in the early 13th century as ''Sliforde''.<ref name=":5" /> In the 13th century ''[[Book of Fees]]'' it appears as ''Lafford''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Creasey|1825|p=21}}.</ref> The name is formed from the [[Old English]] words {{Lang|ang|sliow}} and {{Lang|ang|ford}}, together meaning "ford over a muddy or slimy river".<ref name=":5">{{Harvnb|Ekwall|1977|p=462}}.</ref>

===Early period===
[[File:Corieltauvistater.jpg|thumbnail|An electrum [[stater]] of the [[Corieltauvi]], probably struck at Sleaford in the mid-1st century BC]]
Archaeological material from the [[Bronze Age]] and earlier has been recovered and excavations have shown there was unsustained late-[[Neolithic]] and Bronze Age human activity in the vicinity. The earliest known permanent settlement dates from the [[Iron Age]], where a track northwards from [[Bourne, Lincolnshire|Bourne]] crossed the River Slea. Although only sparse pottery evidence has been found for the middle Iron Age period, 4,290 pellet mould fragments, probably used for minting and dated to 50 BC–AD 50, have been uncovered south-east of the modern town centre, south of a crossing of the River Slea and near Mareham Lane in Old Sleaford. The largest of its kind in Europe, the deposit has led archaeologists to consider that the site in Old Sleaford was one of the largest [[Corieltauvi]]an settlements in the period and possibly a tribal centre.<ref name="mahany-roffe-6">{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|p=6}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|May|1994|pp=1–2}}.</ref>

During the [[Roman Britain|Roman occupation of Britain]] (AD 43–409), the settlement was "extensive and of considerable importance".<ref>{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|p=8}}.</ref> Its location beside the Fens may have made it economically and administratively important as a centre for stewards and owners of fenland estates.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|pp=8–10}}.</ref> There are signs of a road connecting Old Sleaford to [[Heckington]], where Roman tile kilns have been uncovered and may imply the presence of a market.<ref name="mahany-roffe-10">{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|p=10}}.</ref> When the first roads were built by the Romans, Sleaford was bypassed as "less conveniently located" and more "geared to native needs".<ref>{{Harvnb|Burnham|Wacher|1990|p=9}}.</ref> A smaller road, [[Mareham Lane]], which the Romans renewed, ran through Old Sleaford, and south along the fen edge towards Bourne. Where it passed through Old Sleaford, excavations have shown a large Roman domestic residence, associated farm buildings and field systems, and several burials.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60584&resourceID=1006 |title=Romano-British Roadside Settlement to the North of Boston Road, Sleaford |work=Heritage Gateway |access-date=26 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203010915/http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60584&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> Other Roman remains, including a burial, have been excavated.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/8498311.stm |title=Skeleton Uncovered at Roman Dig in Sleaford |work=[[BBC News]] |date=4 February 2010 |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226141139/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lincolnshire/8498311.stm|archive-date=26 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.apsarchaeology.co.uk/news/index.php?title=First%20Roman%20cemetery%20plot%20in%20Sleaford%20unearthed |title=First Roman Cemetery Plot in Sleaford Unearthed |work=Archaeological Project Services |date=17 March 2011|access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205014430/http://www.apsarchaeology.co.uk/news/index.php?title=First%20Roman%20cemetery%20plot%20in%20Sleaford%20unearthed|archive-date=5 December 2014}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Plan of Sleaford Castle.png|thumb|A plan of [[Sleaford Castle]]|350x350px]]
There is little evidence of continuous settlement between the late Roman and [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] periods but the Saxons did establish themselves eventually. South of the modern town, a 6th- to 7th-century cemetery has been uncovered with an estimated 600 burials, many showing signs of [[Paganism|pagan]] rites. The now-ruined [[St Giles/All Saints' Church, Old Sleaford|church]] at Old Sleaford has been discovered<ref name="mahany-roffe-10" /> and excavations of the market place have uncovered Anglo-Saxon remains from the 8th–9th centuries, indicating some form of enclosure with domestic features.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91643&resourceID=1006 |title=Mediaeval Core of New Sleaford |work=Heritage Gateway |access-date=27 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510101105/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91643&resourceID=1006|archive-date=10 May 2023}}</ref>

The earliest documentary reference to Sleaford occurs in a 9th-century charter,<ref name="mahany-roffe-11">{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|p=11}}.</ref> when it was owned by Medehamstede Abbey in [[Peterborough]], a [[Mercia]]n royal foundation.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=17}}.</ref> There is little evidence of estate structure until the late Saxon period,<ref name="mahany-roffe-10" /> but there may have been a market and court before the [[Norman Conquest]], and it may have been an economic and jurisdictional centre for surrounding settlements.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|pp=14–16}}.</ref> The Slea played a big part in the town's economy: it never ran dry or froze, and by the 11th century it supported a dozen [[watermill]]s. The mills and others in nearby [[Quarrington, Lincolnshire|Quarrington]] and the lost hamlet of Millsthorpe, formed the "most important mill cluster in Lincolnshire".<ref name=":2">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=17–18}}; Quarrington means "settlement of millers".</ref>

In the later Middle Ages, the Romano-British settlement became known as Old Sleaford, while New Sleaford was a settlement centred on [[St Denys' Church, Sleaford|St Denys' Church]] and the market place.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|pp=11–12}}.</ref> The ''[[Domesday Book]]'' of 1086 has two entries under ''Eslaforde'' (Sleaford) recording land held by [[Ramsey Abbey]] and the [[Bishop of Lincoln]].{{Refn|group="n"|The Bishop succeeded a Saxon [[thegn]], Bardi, and held 11 carucates with 29 villeins, 11 borders, 6 sokeman, a church and priest, and 8 mills, {{convert|1|acre|ha|1|abbr=off}} of woodland, {{convert|320|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of meadow and {{convert|330|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of marsh. Ramsey Abbey had been granted land in Sleaford and surrounding villages in about 1051. By ''Domesday'' its fee called ''Eslaforde'' consisted of 1 [[carucate]], 1 [[Soke (legal)|sokeman]], 2 [[Serfdom|villeins]] and {{convert|27|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of meadow; it was sokeland of the abbot of Ramsey's manor of [[Quarrington, Lincolnshire|Quarrington]], where he is recorded holding two churches.<ref name="mahany-roffe-11"/>}} The location of these manors is unclear. One theory endorsed by [[Maurice Beresford]] is that they focused on the settlement at Old Sleaford, due to evidence that New Sleaford was planted in the 12th century by the bishop to increase his income,{{Refn|group="n"|This hypothesis was based on the topography, the granting of a fair, market and burgage tenure in the 12th century, and the "Old" and "New" epithets<ref>{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|pp=4–5}}.</ref>}} a development associated with the construction of [[Sleaford Castle]] (1123–39).<ref name="mahany-roffe-11"/> Beresford's theory has been criticised by the historians Christine Mahany and David Roffe{{Refn|group="n"|The earliest references to Old and New Sleaford occur in 13th century documents, which limits their use as evidence for town plantation; the grants of a market and fair in the 12th century do not necessarily indicate a new settlement, but merely a codification and rationalisation of pre-existing arrangements. The diversion of roads like Mareham Lane and the compass-aligned streets provide no chronology even if they imply a westward migration from Old Sleaford.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|pp=11–13}}.</ref>}} who have reinterpreted the ''Domesday'' material and argued that in 1086 the Bishop's manor included the church and associated settlement which became "New" Sleaford.<ref name="Mahany 1979 13–14">{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|pp=13–14}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=15–16}}.</ref>

A charter to hold a fair on the feast day of St Denis was granted by King [[Stephen, King of England|Stephen]] to [[Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln]], in 1136–1140. Between 1154 and 1165, [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] granted the bishop of Lincoln the right to hold a market at Sleaford and [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] confirmed this in 1329. In 1401, [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] granted the bishop fairs on the feast days of St Denis and St Peter's Chains.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Samantha |last=Letters |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/cmh/gaz/gazweb2.html |title=Places |work=Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516 |publisher=[[Centre for Metropolitan Studies]], [[Institute of Historical Research]] |access-date=9 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924045219/https://archives.history.ac.uk/gazetteer/gazweb2.html |archive-date=24 September 2024}}</ref> A survey of [[burgage]] tenure from 1258 survives,<ref>{{Harvnb|Beresford|Finberg|1973|p=137}}; the survey was examined in {{Harvnb|Hosford|1968}}.</ref> analysis of which indicates that [[demesne]] farming centred on the hamlet of [[Holdingham]].<ref name=":6">{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|p=18}}.</ref> The town later had at least two [[guild]]s comparable to those found in developed towns.<ref name=":1">{{Harvnb|Hosford|1968|p=28}}.</ref> However, there was no formal charter outlining the town's freedoms;<ref name="Pawley Book of Sleaford p. 24">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=24}}.</ref> tight control by the bishops meant the economy was mainly geared to serve them. It thus retained a strong tradition of demesne farming well into the 14th century.<ref name=":17">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=29}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|pp=18–19}}.</ref> As the economic initiative passed more to burgesses and middlemen who formed ties with nearby towns such as [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], evidence suggests that Sleaford developed a locally important role in the wool trade.<ref name="Roffe p. 19">{{Harvnb|Mahany|Roffe|1979|p=19}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=34}}.</ref> In the [[Subsidy roll|Lay Subsidy]] of 1334, New Sleaford was the wealthiest settlement in the Flaxwell [[Hundred (county division)|wapentake]], with a value of £16 0s. 8d.<sup>1</sup>/<sub>4</sub>d.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91642&resourceID=1006 |title=General Settlement Record for New Sleaford |work=Heritage Gateway |access-date=27 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404203535/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91642&resourceID=1006|archive-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> Meanwhile, Old Sleaford, an "insignificant" place since the end of the Roman period, declined and may have been deserted by the 16th century.<ref name="lincstothepast.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.lincstothepast.com/Settlement-of-Old-Sleaford/246006.record?pt=S |title=Settlement of Old Sleaford (Reference Name MLI91636) |work=Lincs to the Past |publisher=[[Lincolnshire Archives]] |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109181433/http://www.lincstothepast.com/Settlement-of-Old-Sleaford/246006.record?pt=S|archive-date=9 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=16}}.</ref>

===Early modern period===
[[File:Sir Edward Carre - geograph.org.uk - 960417.jpg|thumb|The tomb of Sir Edward Carre (died 1618) in St Denys' Church]]
The manor of Old Sleaford was owned in the late 15th and early 16th centuries by the Hussey family. [[John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford]] was executed for treason for his part in the [[Pilgrimage of Grace|Lincolnshire Rising]]; the manor and his residence at Old Place reverted to the Crown and were later sold to Robert Carre,<ref>{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|pp=123–126}}; {{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=35–36}}.</ref> the son of George Carre or Carr, a wool merchant originally from Northumberland who had settled in Sleaford by 1522.<ref>{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|pp=127–128}}; {{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=35}}.</ref> Robert also bought the castle and manor of New Sleaford from [[Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|pp=129–130}}.</ref>{{refn|It was previously sold by the Bishops of Lincoln to [[Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset]] and reverted to the crown on his attainder in 1549; [[Queen Mary I of England|Queen Mary I]] later sold it to [[Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|p=129}}.</ref>|group = n}} His eldest surviving son Robert founded [[Carre's Grammar School]] in 1604, and his youngest son Edward was created a [[Carr baronets|baronet]]; his son founded Sleaford Hospital in 1636.<ref name=":18">{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|pp=131–132}}.</ref> The last male descendant died in 1683 and the heiress, Isabella, married [[John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol]], in whose family the estates remained until the 1970s.<ref name="Trollope Sleaford p. 134">{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|p=134}}.</ref><ref name="Pawley-50">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=50}}.</ref> The Carres and Herveys had a strong influence: while extracting dues from their tenants, they enforced their monopoly on charging tolls on market and cattle traders and for driving animals through the town.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=43–44}}.</ref>

Industry was slow to take hold. By the second half of the 18th century, [[Cogglesford Mill]] was the only working corn mill in the town. An old mill at the junction of Westgate and Castle Causeway supplied hemp to the rope-making business of the Foster and Hill families. As the local historian Simon Pawley wrote, "In many respects, things had changed little [by 1783] since the survey of 1692," with few of the buildings or infrastructure being improved.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=49–51}} (quote at p. 51).</ref> Major changes to agriculture and industry took place in the last decade of that century. Sleaford's three medieval [[Open field system|open fields]] (North, West and Sleaford Fields) were [[Enclosure|enclosed]] in 1794, with over 90 per cent of the {{convert|1096|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of the open land being granted to Lord Bristol.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=63–64}}.</ref>

===Industrial development===
[[File:Sleaford-Map-1891-Simplified.svg|thumb|Sleaford, as it appeared in 1891. The major roads are marked in red; railways in grey and rivers in blue. Key: (1) Market Place, (2) St Denys' Church, (3) Manor House, (4) Carre's Grammar School, (5) Westholme House, (6) Castle, (7) Station, (8) Old Place, (9) the remains of St Giles's Church, (10) the Union workhouse.<ref>[[Ordnance Survey]]. 1:10,560 Map. Published 1891.</ref>]]

Canalisation of the River Slea began in the 1790s. [[Canal]]s in England were constructed from the 1760s to make inland trade easier; Sleaford's businessmen were keen to benefit from these. [[Sleaford Navigation]] opened in 1794.<ref name=":3">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=64}}.</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/page42.html |title=History – Establishment |work=Sleaford Navigation Trust |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129202053/http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/page42.html |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> It eased the export of farm produce to the Midlands and the import of coal and oil. Mills along the Slea benefited and wharves were constructed around Carre Street.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=65–66}}.</ref> Between 1829 and 1836 the navigation's toll rights increased in value 27 times over.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/page43.html |title=History – The Company |work=Sleaford Navigation Trust |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129202753/http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/page43.html |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> The railways emerged in the 19th century as an alternative to canals and arrived at the town in 1857, when a line from [[Poacher Line|Grantham to Sleaford]] opened.<ref name=":20">{{Harvnb|Shaw|1981|pp=79–81, 84, 86}}.</ref><ref name=":21">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/Walk%206.pdf |title=Slea Walks 6 – Sleaford, Holdingham, Ruskington & Haverholme Lock |work=Sleaford Navigation Trust |access-date=17 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917161952/http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/Walk%206.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2014}}</ref> This made trading easier and improved communications,{{refn|Bricks could also be transported more easily, which contributed to the construction of new buildings on West Banks, Grantham Road and London Road.<ref>{{Harvnb|Shaw|1981|p=87}}.</ref> For a full account of the development of West Banks and adjoining roads, see {{Harvnb|Stroud|Stroud|1981|pp=51–65}}. Station Road and Nag's Head Passage were also developed in this period.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ellis|1981c|pp=68–69}}.</ref>|group = n}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Shaw|1981|pp=87–88}}.</ref> but led to the decline of the Navigation Company. Income from tolls decreased by 80 per cent between 1858 and 1868; it made its first loss in 1873 and was abandoned in 1878.<ref name="Ellis pp. 89">{{Harvnb|Shaw|1981|pp=89–91}}.</ref> The town's rural location and transport links led in the late 19th century to the rise of two local seed merchants: Hubbard and Phillips, and Charles Sharpe; the former took over the Navigation Wharves, and the latter was trading in the US and Europe by the 1880s. The advent of steam power led Kirk and Parry to open a large steam-powered flour mill in 1857 and provided the basis of [[Ward and Dale]]'s factory, which made steam [[cultivator]]s for farming.<ref name="Pawley 1996 72">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=72}}.</ref> The railway, Sleaford's rural location and its [[Artesian well|artesian]] wells, were key factors in the development of the {{convert|13|acre|ha|abbr=off|adj=on|0}} [[Bass Maltings, Sleaford|Bass & Co]] [[Malt house|maltings]] complex at Mareham Lane (1892–1905).<ref name=":182"/>

New Sleaford's population more than doubled from 1,596 in 1801 to 3,539 in 1851.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP |title=New Sleaford AP/CP – Total Population |work=Vision of Britain |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129203702/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> Coinciding with this is the construction or extension of public buildings, often by the local contractors Charles Kirk and [[Thomas Parry (Boston MP)|Thomas Parry]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|pp=654–657}}; {{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=101–102}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lincstothepast.com/Records/RecordDisplayStandard.aspx?oid=892397 |title=Journal and Account Book of Charles Kirk of Sleaford, Builder and Architect (Reference Name MISC DON 1015) |work=Lincs to the Past |publisher=[[Lincolnshire Archives]] |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232808/http://www.lincstothepast.com/Records/RecordDisplayStandard.aspx?oid=892397 |archive-date=2 December 2013}}</ref>{{refn|The principle buildings were the Sessions House (1831), the grammar school (1834), Carre's Hospital (1830–1846), the gasworks (1839), Navigation House (1838–39), much of Eastgate (including the Alvey School in 1850, and Kingston and Lafford Terraces in 1856 and 1857), the cemetery (1856) and the corn exchange (1857)|group=n}} The gasworks opened in 1839 to provide lighting in the town.<ref name="Mid-Victorian Sleaford p. 94">{{Harvnb|Shaw|1981|p=94}}.</ref> Sleaford's [[Poor Law Union]] was formed in 1836 to cater for the town and the surrounding 54 parishes. A [[workhouse]] was built by 1838, able to house 181 inmates.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Sleaford/ |title=Sleaford, Lincolnshire |work=The Workhouse |access-date=13 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114052453/https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Sleaford/|archive-date=14 January 2024}}</ref> Despite these advances, the slums around Westgate were crowded, lacking in sanitation and ridden by disease;<ref name="Pawley79-80"/> Northgate, as the entry point from the north along the [[Turnpike trust|turnpike]], had also attracted notoriety for its taverns, lodging houses and brothels in the early 19th century: it was the "plague spot of the town".<ref name="Pawley 1996 103">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=103}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|Turland|2021|p=31}}.</ref> The local administration failed to deal with these issues, prompting a heavily critical report on the town's public health by the General Board of Health, which set up a Local Board of Health in 1850 to undertake public works.<ref name="Pawley79-80">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=79–80}}.</ref><ref>The report is: {{Harvnb|Ranger|1850}}.</ref> By the 1880s, Lord Bristol had allowed the Board to pump clean water into the town, though engineering problems and his reluctance to sell land to house a pumping station had delayed the introduction of sewers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=80–81}}.</ref> In the meantime, despite [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]] dominating official institutions, [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] chapels were flourishing in the poorest parts of the town, at Westgate from the early 19th century and at Northgate after 1848, where they sought to provide spiritual care and education. [[Temperance movement|Temperance]] was so prominent in the town that an [[aerated water]] factory, Lee and Green, opened in c. 1883 and became one of Sleaford's most important manufacturers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=71, 88–89, 102–103}}.</ref>

===Twentieth century and beyond===
[[File:Officer Training School - geograph.org.uk - 1554138.jpg|thumb|Officer Training School at [[RAF Cranwell]], near Sleaford.]]
Although hardly damaged in the [[World War I|First]] and [[World War II|Second World Wars]],{{Refn|group="n"|A Zeppelin raid passed overhead in 1916.<ref name="Pawley 1996 119–120">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=119–120}}.</ref>}} Sleaford has close links with the [[Royal Air Force]] due to proximity to several RAF bases, including [[RAF Cranwell]], [[RAF Digby]] and [[RAF Waddington]]. Lincolnshire's topography – flat and open countryside – and its location in the east of the country made it ideal for the airfields being constructed in the First World War. Work began on Cranwell in late 1915; it was designated an RAF base in 1918 and the [[Royal Air Force College Cranwell|RAF College]] opened in 1920 as the world's first air academy.<ref name="History of Royal Air Force Cranwell">{{Cite web |url=http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Cranwellaviationheritagecentre/section.asp?catId=34025 |title=History of Royal Air Force Cranwell |work=Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre |access-date=18 September 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230033558/http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Cranwellaviationheritagecentre/section.asp?catId=34025 |archive-date=30 December 2013 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="raf.mod.uk">{{Cite web |title=Formation of RAFC Cranwell |work=[[Royal Air Force]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113010711/http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcollegecranwell/history/formationrafcc.cfm |archive-date=13 January 2013 |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafcollegecranwell/history/formationrafcc.cfm}}</ref> The [[Cranwell branch]] railway linking Sleaford station with the RAF base opened in 1917 and closed in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Outline History of RAF Cranwell |work=Royal Air Force Cranwell Apprentices' Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819235258/http://www.rafcaa.org.uk/cranwell.html |archive-date=19 August 2013 |url=http://www.rafcaa.org.uk/cranwell.html}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ludlam|1988|p=47}}.</ref> During the Second World War, Lincolnshire was "the most significant location for bomber command" and [[Rauceby Hospital]], south-west of Sleaford, was requisitioned by the RAF as a specialist burns unit which the plastic surgeon [[Archibald McIndoe]] regularly visited.<ref name="History of Royal Air Force Cranwell" />

Sleaford's population remained static between the wars, but the [[Great Depression]] in the 1930s caused unemployment to rise. The Council housing put up along Drove Lane proved insufficient for the low-income families after the Westgate slums were cleared in the 1930s; Jubilee Grove opened in that decade to meet the demand.<ref name="Pawley 1996 119–120">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=119–120}}.</ref> In the post-war period, there were housing developments at St Giles Avenue, the Hoplands, Russell Crescent, Jubilee Grove and Grantham Road.<ref name="n-kesteven.gov.uk">{{Harvnb|North Kesteven District Council|2011c}}, figure 8 (overleaf from page 5).</ref> Parts of the town were redeveloped: in 1958, the Bristol Arms Arcade opened, the Corn Exchange was demolished in the 1960s and the Riverside Shopping Precinct opened in 1973, as did Flaxwell House, designed to house a department store, though later becoming the national headquarters for [[Interflora]].<ref name="Pawley 1996 121, 130">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=121, 130}}.</ref> Old industries departed; Ward and Dale closed down in 1939<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ward and Dale Anniversary 2014 |url=https://steamploughclub.org.uk/ward-and-dale-anniversary-2014/ |access-date=19 June 2024 |website=Steam Plough Club|date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130213631/https://steamploughclub.org.uk/ward-and-dale-anniversary-2014/|archive-date=30 November 2023}}</ref> and Lee and Green around the 1940s;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monument Record MLI90625 – Site of Former Lee and Green Factory and Bottling Plant, Sleaford |url=https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI90625 |access-date=19 June 2024 |website=Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer |publisher=[[Lincolnshire County Council]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619202952/https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI90625|archive-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> Bass shut the maltings in 1959,<ref name=":182">{{NHLE|num=1062154|desc=Former Maltings of Bass Industrial Estate|access-date=6 March 2015|mode=cs1|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and Hubbard and Phillips's pea-sorting factory closed in 1972.<ref name=":48" /> New [[Industrial park|industrial estates]] and business parks were built off East Road in the late 20th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2022|p=24}}.</ref>

By 1979, the major landowner, [[Victor Hervey, 6th Marquess of Bristol]], was heavily in debt and sold most of his estates in Sleaford and Quarrington. The estate office closed in 1989.<ref name="Pawley-122">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=122}}.</ref> Much of the land went to property developers and subsequent decades brought new housing and a considerable rise in population.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/sleafordanddistrictcivictrust/section.asp?catId=21666 |title=About Sleaford |work=Sleaford and District Civic Trust |access-date=17 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917203739/http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/sleafordanddistrictcivictrust/section.asp?catId=21666 |archive-date=17 September 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to a council report, people were attracted to the town by "the quality of life, low crime rates, relatively low house prices and good-quality education".<ref>{{Harvnb|Central Lincolnshire Joint Planning Unit|2010|p=41}}.</ref> From 1981 to 2011, Sleaford's population rose from 8,000 to 18,000; the growth rate in 1991–2001 was the fastest of any town in the county.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-23233893 |title=New Homes in Central Lincolnshire Could Reach 42,800 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=8 July 2013 |access-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310152207/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-23233893|archive-date=10 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|North Kesteven District Council|2011a|p=1}}.</ref> The infrastructure struggled to cope, especially with increased traffic congestion. Two bypasses opened and a one-way system was introduced, a process that Pawley argues accelerated the decline of the High Street.<ref name="Pawley-122" /> Between 1995 and 2001, the [[Single Regeneration Budget]] granted over £10 million to Sleaford to deliver 13 major regeneration programmes collectively known as "Sleaford Pride", including improvements to the town centre, the conversation of the old Navigation stables, and the development of [[The National Centre for Craft & Design|The Hub]] arts centre (opened 2002) on the site of a former Hubbard and Phillips seed warehouse.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":48">{{Cite web |url=https://hub-sleaford.org.uk/history |title=History |work=The Hub |access-date=19 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619101936/https://hub-sleaford.org.uk/history|archive-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 December 1995 |title=New Year Start to Regeneration |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003991/19951220/005/0005 |access-date=7 February 2025 |work=Sleaford Target |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |p=5}}</ref>

==Economy==
The Sleaford built-up area is the urban centre of the North Kesteven district,<ref>{{Harvnb|Ekosgen|Turley Economics|2015|p=5}}.</ref> and one of the district's centres of employment.<ref name=":1122">{{Harvnb|North Kesteven District Council|2024|p=10}}.</ref> According to a local authority report, Sleaford is also "the main retail, service and employment centre for people living in the town and in the surrounding villages".<ref name="CLJSPC">{{Harvnb|Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee|2013|p=104}}.</ref> The town's primary employment zones are Sleaford Enterprise Park, the adjoining business park at Woodbridge Road and along East Road, and the town centre (focused on Southgate, Northgate and the Market Place).<ref name="NKDC2011d-38-39">{{Harvnb|North Kesteven District Council|2011d|pp=38–39}}.</ref> Many of North Kesteven's residents also [[Commuting|commute]] out of the district to work, including to [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], [[Grantham]] and [[Newark-on-Trent]];<ref name=":1122" /> one study found that, in 2011, 70% of workers living in the housing built at Quarrington since the 1980s worked outside of Sleaford: 24% of the total in other parts of North Kesteven, 13% in South Kesteven, 8% in Lincoln, and the remainder mostly in other districts of the East Midlands.<ref>{{Harvnb|Broun|2022|p=48}}.</ref>

=== Retail and services ===
Sleaford is a retail and services hub for its own population and its rural hinterland.<ref name="CLJSPC"/> It has a long history of providing services for the wider district; despite the emergence of industries in the town in the 19th century, employment "revolved around services, trades and commerce" through the 20th century.<ref name="Broun-38-39">{{Harvnb|Broun|2022|pp=38–39}}.</ref> In 2021, retail, accommodation and food services made up 21% of the town's workforce.<ref name=":42"/> The town centre is home to many shops and services focused on Northgate and Southgate and the surrounding area;<ref>{{Harvnb|AR Urbanism|2022|p=17}}.</ref> purpose-built central shopping centres include the covered Bristol Arcade (opened in 1958) and the Riverside Centre (opened in 1973).<ref name="Pawley 1996 121, 130"/> Supermarkets are found in the town centre, Northgate, Lincoln Road and Stump Cross Hill.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/Sleaford+supermarkets/@53.0010036,-0.4245405,13.98z?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D |title=Sleaford Supermarkets |work=[[Google Maps]] |access-date=2 January 2025}}</ref> Other retailers and wholesalers operate on East Road and the business parks.<ref name="SEP"/> Sleaford's cattle and poultry markets closed in the 1980s; although the weekly market (traditionally held in the Market Place) has reduced substantially in size,<ref>{{Harvnb|Broun|2022|p=43}}.</ref> as of 2025 it continues held weekly on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, and a farmers' market is held on the first Saturday of each month.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/visitors-leisure-transport-parking/markets |title=Markets |work=North Kesteven District Council |access-date=2 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907150929/https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/visitors-leisure-transport-parking/markets |archive-date=7 September 2024}}</ref>

In 2011, the district council found that Sleaford's retail and service offer had not kept pace with its growing population, leading many shoppers to travel elsewhere to buy high-value goods, use services or engage in leisure activities: 85p in every pound spent on higher-value [[comparison good]]s were spent outside of the town.<ref>{{Harvnb|North Kesteven District Council|2011d|pp=19, 25}}.</ref> In 2015, another report estimated that 23% of shopping spend in Sleaford's catchment area was spent in the town (accounting for £62m spending);<ref>{{Harvnb|Kerching Retail|2015|p=43}}.</ref> although the town had 210 shops and a higher ratio of shops to residents than many other urban areas in the region, these were dominated by outlets selling [[Comparison goods|convenience goods]] and services.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kerching Retail|2015|p=9}}.</ref> The ratio of "multiple" brand shops compared to independent shops was 20% lower in Sleaford compared with regional benchmarks, which was thought to be a factor driving consumer spending out of the town; Lincoln was believed to be the key beneficiary of this outflow.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kerching Retail|2015|pp=10–11}}.</ref> The district council has developed strategies to reverse this trend,<ref>For a summary, see {{Harvnb|AR Urbanism|2022|pp=7–10}}.</ref> including proposals to create a new "retail anchor" at the disused Bass Maltings,<ref>{{Harvnb|AR Urbanism|2022|p=7}}.</ref> develop more parking around the centre, remove parts of the one-way system, regenerate Southgate and turn Money's Yard into an attraction to link with The Hub.<ref>{{Harvnb|North Kesteven District Council|2011b}}.</ref> The withdrawal of a major investor in 2015 has left the development of the Maltings on hold.<ref name="tesco">{{Cite news |date=9 January 2015 |title=Tesco Drops Plan for Sleaford and Mablethorpe Developments |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-30727609 |access-date=2 January 2025 |work=[[BBC News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231194450/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-30727609 |archive-date=31 December 2024}}</ref> The Riverside Shopping Centre was refurbished in 2017<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burton |first=Melanie |date=September 2017 |title=Initiatives Make a Difference |url=https://www.lincolnshirelife.co.uk/heritage/initiatives-make-difference/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231194451/https://www.lincolnshirelife.co.uk/heritage/initiatives-make-difference/ |archive-date=31 December 2024 |access-date=2 January 2025 |work=Lincolnshire Life}}</ref> and regeneration of parts of the town centre continue as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessnk.co.uk/our-projects/sleaford/ |title=Sleaford |work=BusinessNK |publisher=[[North Kesteven District Council]] |access-date=2 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231194452/https://www.businessnk.co.uk/our-projects/sleaford/ |archive-date=31 December 2024}}</ref>

=== Public administration ===
The expansion of local government and the public sector in the late 19th and 20th centuries coupled with proximity to the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) base at [[RAF Cranwell|Cranwell]] to swell the importance of the public sector in Sleaford's economy; from the early 20th century, the town housed the headquarters of Kesteven County Council, [[East Kesteven Rural District|East Kesteven Rural District Council]] and the town's own Urban District Council, and by 1939 18% of the town's employed population were in public administration and defence.<ref name="Broun-38-39"/> In the 21st century, the public sector is the predominant form of employment in Sleaford civil parish;<ref>{{Harvnb|Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee|2013|pp=104, 106}}.</ref> public administration, education and healthcare collectively accounted for 37% of the workforce in 2021.<ref name=":42"/> As of 2024, Sleaford is home to the headquarters of [[North Kesteven District Council]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contact Us |url=https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/council-democracy/contact-us |access-date=28 May 2024 |website=[[North Kesteven District Council]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231195954/https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/council-democracy/contact-us |archive-date=31 December 2024}}</ref> as well as four [[primary school]]s and three [[secondary school]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search Results |url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/search?q=&location=Sleaford%2C+UK&lat=53.0003079&lon=-0.40965&radius=2&radius=3&level_1_types=1&latest_report_date_start=&latest_report_date_end=&status%5B%5D=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528112931/https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/search?q=&location=Sleaford%2C+UK&lat=53.0003079&lon=-0.40965&radius=2&radius=3&level_1_types=1&latest_report_date_start=&latest_report_date_end=&status%5B%5D=1|archive-date=28 May 2024|access-date=28 May 2024 |website=[[Ofsted]]}}</ref> and is near the [[Royal Air Force]] bases at [[RAF Cranwell|Cranwell]], [[RAF Digby|Digby]] and [[RAF Waddington|Waddington]] which are major employers in the district.<ref name=":1122" />

=== Industry and commerce ===
Sleaford's position as a market town serving a rural district supported some local craft industries before the mid-19th century. The canalisation of the Slea and then the arrival of the railways in the 19th century meant that the town became important in the supply of agricultural produce inland and the import of industrial products into the wider district. Several large scale industries, some closely connected to agriculture, emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including malting, seed sorting and agricultural implement making. Many heavier industries closed between the 1920s and 1960s; the local authority encouraged lighter manufacturing after the 1950s through the provision of land for an industrial east off East Road, which has since expanded.<ref>{{Harvnb|Broun|2022|pp=38–40}}.</ref> By 2021, manufacturing employed 10% of Sleaford's workforce, construction employed 8.4%, and transport and distribution 6%; the professional, administrative, financial and real estate sectors accounted for a combined 10.6% of the workforce.<ref name=":42"/>

In the early 2020s, Sleaford includes one of the district council's three "strategic employment locations", Sleaford Enterprise Park,<ref name=":1122" /> which is adjacent to other business parks at Woodbridge Road and East Road.<ref name="NKDC2011d-38-39"/> In 2023, the district council opened the first units of an extension, Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/council-news/2023/11/first-units-complete-sleaford-moor-enterprise-park |title=First Units Complete at Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park |work=[[North Kesteven District Council]] |date=8 November 2023 |access-date=2 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231194452/https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/council-news/2023/11/first-units-complete-sleaford-moor-enterprise-park|archive-date=31 December 2024}}</ref> Combined, in 2024 these estates housed at least 95 business, according to [[Google Maps]]; these included: 11 wholesalers, builders' merchants or plumbers' merchants; 11 vehicle repair shops or MOT centres; 11 furniture and furnishings shops; 7 manufacturers, including Sleaford Quality Foods (a food producer) and the ingredients' maker, J. L. Priestley and Co; five vehicle dealerships; four plant and equipment suppliers; four tyre shops; two gyms; a dance studio; and a bus company, Sleafordian Coaches.<ref name="SEP">{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/Sleaford+Enterprise+Park/@53.0087145,-0.4056455,16z/data=!3m1!4b1?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D |title=Sleaford Enterprise Park |work=[[Google Maps]] |access-date=2 January 2025}}</ref>

==Demography==
{{Historical populations|1801|1,812|1811|2,189|1821|2,567|1831|3,043|1841|3,963|1851|4,160|1861|4,138|1871|4,472|1881|4,965|1891|4,655|1901|5,468|1911|6,427|1921|6,690|1931|7,025|1939|7,835|1951|7,680|1961|7,844|1971|7,975|1981|8,746|1991|10,216|2001|14,494|2011|17,671|2021|19,815|title=[[Population growth|Population changes]] of Sleaford{{Refn|group="n"|These figures relate to the area of the Sleaford civil parish as defined in 1974. For the years before 1974, they relate to the civil parish's predecessor, the Sleaford Urban District, which existed between 1894 and 1974. For the years before 1894, they are the sum of the resident populations of the ancient/civil parishes of New Sleaford, Old Sleaford, Quarrington and (after it was separated from New Sleaford in 1866) Holdingham.}}|align=right|shading=off|pop_name=Population|percentages=on|cols=2|align-fn=center|source={{Refn|group="n"|Figures for 1801–1901, except 1861 and 1871, are taken from:
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP |title=New Sleaford CP/AP |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128124459/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP |archive-date=28 November 2023}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450937/cube/TOT_POP |title=Old Sleaford CP/AP |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602075349/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450937/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=2 June 2024}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10447963/cube/TOT_POP |title=Quarrington CP/AP |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530211458/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10447963/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=30 May 2024}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10425505/cube/TOT_POP |title=Holdingham CP/Hmt |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530211455/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10425505/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=30 May 2024}}

The following other sources have been used for particular years:
* The figures for 1911 to 1961 are from {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10136751/cube/TOT_POP |title=Sleaford UD |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530211456/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10136751/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=30 May 2024}}
* The figures for 1861 and 1871 are based on combining the populations for Old Sleaford, New Sleaford and Holdingham parishes, as recorded in {{Harvnb|Census Office|1862|pp=517, 850}} and {{Harvnb|Census Office|1873|pp=654, 685, 700, 710, 729}}
* The figures for 1971, 1981 and 1991 are from {{Harvnb|Office of Population Censuses and Surveys|1984|p=16}} and {{Harvnb|Office of Population Censuses and Surveys|1994|p=28}}
* The figure for 2001 is from {{Cite web |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2001_ks/report?compare=32UE057 |title=2001 Census Key Statistics Report: Sleaford |work=Nomis: Official Labour Market Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=2 June 2024 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}
* The figure for 2011 is from {{Cite web |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E04005832 |title=Sleaford Parish: Local Area Report |website=Nomis: Official Labour Market Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=30 May 2024}};<!--It's not possible to archive NOMIS queries-->
* The figure for 2021 has been obtained by querying the [https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021pp002 PP002 Dataset] from the 2021 Census via ''Nomis: Official Labour Market Statistics''. [[Office for National Statistics]]. Retrieved 2 June 2024.}}}}{{Historical populations|1801|1,596|1811|1,904|1821|2,220|1831|2,587|1841|3,382|1851|3,539|1861|3,467|1871|3,592|1881|3,955|1891|3,597|1901|3,839|1911|3,808|1921|3,984|1931|4,116|1951|4,850|title=[[Population growth|Population changes]] of New Sleaford ancient/civil parish{{Refn|group="n"|These figures include Holdingham before 1866. The figures excluding Holdingham hamlet were: 1,483 (1801), 1,781 (1811), 2,094 (1821), 2,450 (1831), 3,184 (1841), 3,372 (1851),<ref>{{Harvnb|Census Office|1852|p=36}}.</ref> and 3,325 (1861).<ref>{{Harvnb|Census Office|1862|p=850}}.</ref>}}|align=right|shading=off|pop_name=Population|percentages=on|cols=2|align-fn=center|source=<ref>For the years 1801 to 1951, except for 1861 and 1871, see: {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP |title=New Sleaford CP/AP |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128124459/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=28 November 2023}} The figures for 1861 and 1871 are based on {{Harvnb|Census Office|1862|p=850}} and {{Harvnb|Census Office|1873|p=695}}.</ref>}}

=== Population change ===
In 1563 there were 145 households in New Sleaford (including 20 in Holdingham), plus 10 in Old Sleaford and 17 in Quarrington.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hodgett|1975|pp=190, 198}}.</ref> In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the diocese recorded that there were "more than 250 families" in the ecclesiastical parish of Sleaford, with a further 35 in the parish of Quarrington.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cole|1913|pp=96, 109}}.</ref> One estimate puts the population of New Sleaford at 800 to 900 at this time.<ref name=":02">{{Harvnb|Ellis|1981b|p=2}}.</ref> The first official [[Census in the United Kingdom|census]] was conducted in 1801 and recorded a population of 1,596 in New Sleaford (including Holdingham); combined with Old Sleaford and Quarrington, this gave a population of 1,812 in the area covered by today's Sleaford civil parish.{{Refn|The figures for the three parishes are from: * {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP |title=New Sleaford CP/AP |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128124459/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450913/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=28 November 2023}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450937/cube/TOT_POP |title=Old Sleaford CP/AP |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602075349/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10450937/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=2 June 2024}}
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10447963/cube/TOT_POP |title=Quarrington CP/AP |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530211458/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10447963/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=30 May 2024}}
The figures for 1861 and 1871 are based on combining the populations for Old Sleaford, New Sleaford and Holdingham parishes, as recorded in {{Harvnb|Census Office|1862|pp=517, 850}} and {{Harvnb|Census Office|1873|pp=654, 685, 700, 710, 729}}. For the period after 1871, see {{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10136751/cube/TOT_POP |title=Sleaford UD |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530211456/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10136751/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=30 May 2024}}|name="popstats"|group="n"}} Following the opening of Sleaford Navigation in 1794 and the flourishing of the town's economy this produced (combined with the effects of inflated agricultural prices during the Napoleonic wars), Sleaford's population rose steadily in the first half of the 19th century.<ref name=":02" /> It totalled 3,539 in New Sleaford and 4,160 across all the three parishes by 1851. The population grew much more slowly between the 1850s and the 1880s, before witnessing further growth that took the urban district's population to 6,427 by 1911 (incorporating New Sleaford, Old Sleaford, Holdingham and Quarrington).{{Refn|name="popstats"|group="n"}}

Slower rates were recorded for the urban district between then and the 1931 census, though the pace picked up again in the 1930s; by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 there were 7,835 residents. Sleaford's population grew very slowly in the post-war years, reaching 7,975 by 1971,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford UD |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10136751/cube/TOT_POP |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530211456/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10136751/cube/TOT_POP|archive-date=30 May 2024|access-date=30 May 2024 |website=[[Vision of Britain]] |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]]}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Office of Population Censuses and Surveys|1984|p=16}}.</ref> largely due to the fact that Lord Bristol remained owner of the vast majority of the undeveloped land around the town. However, as the 6th Marquess sold the land from the 1960s onwards and speculative housing blossomed around Sleaford, the civil parish's population expanded rapidly;<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pages=120, 122}}.</ref> the population growth rate between 1991 and 2001 was the fastest of any town in Lincolnshire.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gillespies|2011|p=38}}.</ref> Between 1981 and 2011, the population more than doubled, reaching 17,671;<ref>For the population in 1981, see {{Harvnb|Office of Population Censuses and Surveys|1984|p=16}}; for the population in 2011, see {{Cite web |title=Sleaford Parish: Local Area Report |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E04005832 |archive-url=|archive-date= |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=Nomis: Official Labour Market Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref> this had risen by a further 12% to 19,815 by the 2021 census.<ref>Query the dataset [https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021pp002 PP002 – Sex] via ''Nomis: Official Labour Market Statistics''. [[Office for National Statistics]]. Retrieved 2 June 2024.</ref> This accounts for 17% of North Kesteven's population, making Sleaford the most populous civil parish in the district.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Information on the District |url=https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/council-democracy/facts-figures-about-council/information-district |archive-url=|archive-date= |access-date=3 June 2024 |website=[[North Kesteven District Council]]}}</ref>

=== Ethnicity, nationality and religion ===
According to the 2021 census, Sleaford's population was 96.3% [[White people|White]]; 1.4% [[Asian people|Asian]] or [[British Asian]]; 0.4% [[Black people|Black]], [[Demographics of Africa|African]], [[Caribbean people|Caribbean]] or [[Black British people|Black British]]; 1.4% [[Mixed ethnicity|mixed]] or multi-ethnic; and 0.5% other ethnicities.<ref name=":16">Query the dataset [https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021pp005 "PP005 – Ethnicity"] via ''Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics''. [[Office for National Statistics]]. Retrieved 4 June 2024.</ref> The population is therefore less ethnically diverse than England as a whole, where 81.0% were White, 9.6% Asian or British Asian, 4.2% Black, African, Caribbean or Black British, 3.0 mixed and 2.2% other.<ref name=":26">{{Cite web |title=England Country: 2021 Census Area Report |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021/report?compare=E92000001 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=4 June 2024 |work=Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref> Parish-level data about country of origin and religion have not yet been published for the 2021 census. The previous census, in 2011, recorded that 92.7% of Sleaford's population were born in the United Kingdom (in England as a whole the figure 86.2%); 4.3% were born in European Union countries other than the UK and Ireland (England: 3.7%). 2.6% of the population was born outside the EU (England: 9.4%).<ref name="nomis-slea">{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Parish: Local Area Report |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E04005832 |archive-url=|archive-date= |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=Nomis: Official Labour Market Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref><ref name="nomis-eng">{{Cite web |title=England: Country Report |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E92000001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622012249/https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E92000001 |archive-date=22 June 2020 |access-date=28 June 2020 |website=Nomis: Official Labour Market Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref>

In 2011, 71.6% of Sleaford's population said they were [[Religion|religious]] and 21.7% said they [[Irreligion|did not follow a religion]] (England: 68.1% and 24.7% respectively). However, compared to England's population, [[Christians]] were a much higher proportion of the Sleaford's population (70.3%), and all other groups were present at a lower proportion than the national rates; [[Muslims]] were the largest religious minority, accounting for 0.4% of the town's residents compared with 5% nationally; all other groups were present in very low numbers.<ref name="nomis-slea" /><ref name="nomis-eng" />
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
! colspan="14" |Ethnicity (2021)<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":26" /> and nationality and religious affiliation (2011)<ref name="nomis-slea" /><ref name="nomis-eng" />
|-
!
!White
!Asian or British Asian
!Black, African, Caribbean or Black British
!Mixed or multi-ethnic
!Other ethnicity
!Born in UK
!Born in EU (except UK and Ireland)
!Born outside EU
!Religious
!Did not follow a religion
!Christian
!Muslim
!Other religions
|-
!Sleaford
|96.3%
|1.4%
|0.4%
|1.4%
|0.5%
|92.7%
|4.3%
|2.6%
|71.6%
|21.7%
|70.3%
|0.4%
|1.0%
|-
!England
|81.0%
|9.6%
|4.2%
|3.0%
|2.2%
|86.2%
|3.7%
|9.4%
|68.1%
|24.7%
|59.4%
|5.0%
|2.5%
|}

=== Household composition, age, health and housing ===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed floatright"
! colspan="3" |Gender, age, health and household characteristics (2011)<ref name="nomis-slea" /><ref name="nomis-eng" />
|-
!Characteristics
!Sleaford
!England
|-
|Male
|48.4%
|49.2%
|-
|Female
|51.6%
|50.8%
|-
|Married{{Refn|Residents aged 16 and over|name=first|group="n"}}
|50.3%
|46.6%
|-
|Single{{Refn|name=first|group="n"}}
|28.9%
|34.6%
|-
|Divorced{{Refn|name=first|group="n"}}
|10.5%
|9.0%
|-
|Widowed{{Refn|name=first|group="n"}}
|7.1%
|6.9%
|-
|One-person households
|29.2%
|30.2%
|-
|One-family households
|65.4%
|61.8%
|-
|Mean age
|40.0
|39.3
|-
|Median age
|41.0
|39.0
|-
|Population under 20
|24.3%
|24.0%
|-
|Population over 60
|23.2%
|22.0%
|-
|Residents in good or very good health
|82.1%
|81.4%
|-
|Owner-occupiers{{Refn|Households|name=first1|group="n"}}
|68.5%
|63.3%
|-
|Private renters{{Refn|name=first1|group="n"}}
|15.8%
|16.8%
|-
|Social renters{{Refn|name=first1|group="n"}}
|13.8%
|17.7%
|-
|Living in a detached house{{Refn|name=first1|group="n"}}
|39.2%
|22.3%
|}
Parish-level data about household composition, age and housing have not yet been published for the 2021 census. In the 2011 census, 48.4% of the population were male and 51.6% female. Of the population over 16, 50.3% were married, compared to 46.6% in England; 28.9% were single (a smaller proportion than in England where it is 34.6%), 10.5% [[divorce]]d (England: 9%), 7.1% widowed (England: 6.9%), 3.1% separated and 0.1% in same-sex [[Civil partnership in the United Kingdom|civil partnerships]] (England: 2.7% and 0.2% respectively). In 2011, there were 7,653 households in Sleaford civil parish. It had a roughly average proportion of one-person households (29.2%; England: 30.2%); most other households consisted of one family (65.4% of the total; England: 61.8%).<ref name="nomis-slea" /><ref name="nomis-eng" />

The 2011 census showed Sleaford's population to be marginally older than the national population; the mean age was 40 and the median 41, compared with 39.3 and 39 for England. 24.3% of the population was under 20 (England: 24%), and 23.2% of Sleaford's population was aged over 60 (England: 22%).<ref name="nomis-slea" /><ref name="nomis-eng" /> 82.1% of the population were in good or very good health (England: 81.4%).<ref name="nomis-slea" /><ref name="nomis-eng" />

As of 2011, Sleaford has a higher proportion of people who own their homes with or without a mortgage (68.5%) than in England (63.3%), a slightly lower proportion of people who [[Private rented sector|privately rent]] (15.8% compared with 16.8%) and a much smaller proportion of [[Council house|social renters]] (13.8% compared with 17.7%). The proportion of household spaces which are [[Single-family detached home|detached]] houses was higher than average (39.2%; England: 22.3%), while the proportion of [[Terraced house|terraced]] household spaces is lower (19.3%; England: 24.5%). The proportion of purpose-built flats is also lower (8.7%; England: 16.7%).<ref name="nomis-slea" /><ref name="nomis-eng" />

=== Workforce and deprivation ===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed floatright"
! colspan="3" |Economic characteristics of residents aged 16 to 74 (2021)
|-
!Characteristic
!Sleaford
!England
|-
! colspan="3" |Economic activity<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":32">Query the dataset [https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021pp004 "PP004 – Economic Activity"] via ''Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics''. [[Office for National Statistics]]. Retrieved 4 June 2024.</ref>
|-
|Economically active
|63.1%
|60.9%
|-
|Employed
|60.6%
|57.4%
|-
|Economically active but unemployed
|2.5%
|3.5%
|-
|Economically inactive
|36.9%
|39.1%
|-
! colspan="3" |Industry<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":42">Query the dataset [https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021pp009 "PP009 – Industry"] via ''Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics''. [[Office for National Statistics]]. Retrieved 4 June 2024.</ref>
|-
|Agriculture, energy and water
|2.9%
|2.3%
|-
|Manufacturing
|10.0%
|7.3%
|-
|Construction
|8.4%
|8.7%
|-
|Retail, hotels and restaurants
|21.0%
|19.9%
|-
|Transport and communication
|6.0%
|9.7%
|-
|Financial, real estate, professional and administration
|10.6%
|17.4%
|-
|Public administration, education and health
|37.2%
|30.3%
|-
|Other
|4.0%
|4.6%
|-
! colspan="3" |Occupation<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":52">Query the dataset [https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021pp011 "PP011 – Occupation"] via ''Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics''. [[Office for National Statistics]]. Retrieved 4 June 2024.</ref>
|-
|Managers and directors
|11.1%
|12.9%
|-
|Professionals; associate professionals
|30.4%
|33.6%
|-
|Administrative and secretarial occupations
|9.8%
|9.3%
|-
|Skilled trades
|10.6%
|10.2%
|-
|Caring, leisure and other service roles
|10.3%
|9.3%
|-
|Sales and customer service roles
|7.6%
|7.5%
|-
|Process, plant and machine operatives
|8.8%
|6.9%
|-
|Elementary occupations
|11.4%
|10.5%
|}
In 2021, 63.1% of Sleaford's residents aged between 16 and 74 were [[Economic activity rate|economically active]] (England: 60.9%) and 60.6% were in [[employment]] (England: 57.4%). The rate of economically inactive people aged 16 to 74 was 36.9% (England: 39.1%).<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":32" /> The 2021 census revealed that the most common industries residents worked in were: public administration, education and health (combined 37.2%; England: 30.3%), retail, hotels and accommodation (combined 21.0%; England: 19.9%), finance, real estate, professional or administrative services (combined 10.6%; England: 17.4%), and manufacturing (10.0%; England: 7.3%). No other sectors accounted for more than 10% of the population.<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":42" /> In terms of occupational composition, in 2021 Sleaford's workforce was broadly similar to the workforce in the whole of England. It has slightly lower proportions of people in professional, associate professional and technical roles (30.4%) and managerial occupations (11.1%). There are slightly higher proportions of people in [[Care work|caring]], leisure and other [[Tertiary sector of the economy|service occupations]] (10.3%), process, plant and machine operatives (8.8%), and elementary occupations (11.4%).<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":52" />

The [[Multiple deprivation index|Indices of Multiple Deprivation]] (2019) show that North Kesteven contained the lowest level of deprivation of any district in Lincolnshire.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire County Council|2019|p=6}}.</ref> The indices divided the Sleaford parish into 10 statistical areas ([[LSOA]]s). Of these 10 areas, five placed in the least-deprived 30% of LSOAs nationally (one in the least-deprived 10% nationally); these were concentrated in Quarrington and the western parts of the Holdingham ward. However, the eastern part of Holdingham ward and the parts of the Westholme and Castle wards clustered around the town centre fall within the most-deprived 40% of areas nationally (some having even higher levels of deprivation).<ref>[http://dclgapps.communities.gov.uk/imd/iod_index.html "Indices of Deprivation: 2019 and 2015"] ([[Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities]], 25 September 2019). Retrieved 4 June 2024.</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Sleaford Navigation and the Hub - geograph.org.uk - 601972.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[River Slea]] in the town was part of the disused [[Sleaford Navigation]] canal]]
The [[A17 road (England)|A17 road]] from [[Newark-on-Trent]] to [[King's Lynn]] bypasses Sleaford from Holdingham Roundabout to [[Kirkby la Thorpe]].<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Sleaford |url=http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/7000000000005680.html |access-date=7 January 2015 |work=Ordnance Survey}}</ref> It ran through the town until the bypass opened in 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 June 1971 |title=18 June 1971 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1971/jun/18/road-schemes-forward-programme |work=Parliamentary Debates ([[Hansard]])}} col. 153W.</ref><ref>[http://www.lincsfilm.co.uk/listings/listing721740.html "Archive Listings 721–740"]. ''Lincolnshire Film Archive'' (ARCHON directory code [http://apps.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/searches/locresult_details.asp?LR=2929 2929]). Retrieved 7 January 2015. [https://web.archive.org/web/20240417062642/http://www.lincsfilm.co.uk/listings/listing721740.html Archived] on 17 April 2024. See no. 732 ("Building the A17 Bypass"), on standard 8&nbsp;mm colour film, a sample of which is available on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoSfyA6nhus YouTube].</ref> The Holdingham roundabout connects the A17 to the [[A15 road (England)|A15 road]] from [[Peterborough]] to [[Scawby]]. It also passed through Sleaford until 1993, when its bypass was completed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 June 1992 |title=Contract – Sleaford, Lincolnshire; Morrison Shand Construction |url=https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/archive/04jun92-uk-contract-sleaford-lincolnshire-morrison-shand-construction-04-06-1992/ |work=Construction News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404151431/https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/archive/04jun92-uk-contract-sleaford-lincolnshire-morrison-shand-construction-04-06-1992/|archive-date=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=137}}.</ref> Three roads meet at Sleaford's market place: Northgate (B1518), Southgate and Eastgate (B1517). A [[one-way system]] set up in 1994 creates a circuit around the town centre.<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=53838 |date=3 November 1994 |page=15413}}</ref> The bus companies [[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach]] and [[Sleafordian Coaches]] operate public buses through and around the town on behalf of the county council, alongside the council's demand-responsive, flexible [[Lincolnshire InterConnect|CallConnect]] service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homepage |url=https://lincsbus.info/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=LincsBus |publisher=[[Lincolnshire County Council]]}}</ref>

The railways arrived in the 19th century. Early proposals to bring a line to Sleaford failed,{{refn|Proposals to link Sleaford to Ancaster for transporting stone in 1827 did not materialise; works by the Ambergate Company in the 1840s should have extended to Sleaford, but stopped at Grantham in 1850, while opposition from the Navigation Company to another proposal further delayed railway links to the town.<ref name="shaw-79-81">{{Harvnb|Shaw|1981|pp=79–81}}.</ref>|group=n}} but in 1852 plans were made to build the Boston, Sleaford and Midland Counties Railway and its [[Act of Parliament]] passed in 1853. The line from [[Grantham]] opened in 1857; [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]] was connected in 1859, [[Bourne, Lincolnshire|Bourne]] in 1871 and [[Ruskington]] on [[Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway]] in 1882.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":21" /> The line to Bourne was closed in 1965.<ref>{{Harvnb|Squires|1988|pp=109–113}}.</ref> As of 2024, [[Sleaford railway station|Sleaford]] is a stop on the [[Peterborough to Lincoln Line]] and the [[Poacher Line]], from Grantham to [[Skegness]]. Grantham, roughly {{convert|14+3/4|mi|km|abbr=off}} by road and two stops on the Poacher Line, is a major stop on the [[East Coast Main Line]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/499/download?inline |title=Route Map |publisher=East Midlands Railway |date=May 2022 |access-date=5 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904233041/https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/media/499/download?inline|archive-date=4 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Route (road): Sleaford, Lincolnshire, UK, to Grantham Station, Station Road, Grantham |url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Sleaford,+Lincolnshire,+UK/Grantham+Station,+Station+Road,+Grantham+NG31+6BT,+United+Kingdom/@52.9245299,-0.6454261,13z/data=!4m14!4m13!1&nbsp;m5!1&nbsp;m1!1s0x487810c1d1cd5d45:0xffe9cf6865af67f5!2&nbsp;m2!1d-0.40965!2d53.0003079!1&nbsp;m5!1&nbsp;m1!1s0x48783053224dc171:0x3c424fa24b805cf4!2&nbsp;m2!1d-0.642998!2d52.906679!3e0 |access-date=17 January 2015 |work=Google Maps}}</ref> Trains from Grantham to London [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross]] take approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.<ref>{{Harvnb|London North Eastern Railway|2024}}.</ref>

Plans to canalise the River Slea were drawn up in 1773,<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=History – The Early Years |url=http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/page32.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129201409/http://www.sleafordnavigation.co.uk/page32.html |archive-date=29 November 2014 |access-date=29 November 2014 |work=Sleaford Navigation Trust |df=dmy-all}} Archived at the [[Internet Archive]] on .</ref> but faced opposition from landowners who feared it might affect the drainage of fens. Plans were approved in 1791 with the support of the [[Brownlow Bertie, 5th Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven|5th Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven]] who owned estates and quarries that he hoped would benefit. An Act of Parliament passed in 1792, establishing the [[Sleaford Navigation]], which opened two years later.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":19" /> After falling revenues due to competition from the railways, the navigation company closed in 1878. The river, although no longer navigable, passes under Carre Street and Southgate.<ref name="Ellis pp. 89" /> The Nine Foot Drain, also unnavigable, meets the Slea just before Southgate.<ref name=":14" />

==Governance==
===Local government===
==== History ====
[[File:Lincolnshire Admin Counties 1890-1965.png|thumb|The parts of Lincolnshire, which have medieval origins. They formed the basis of local government until 1974, including (from 1889) [[Kesteven County Council]] (KCC).<ref>For a history, see {{Harvnb|Varley|1974}}.</ref> Sleaford was in Kesteven and KCC held its meetings alternately in Sleaford and the other major settlement in Kesteven, [[Grantham]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|p=6}}.</ref>]]
From the medieval period, New Sleaford and Old Sleaford were [[ancient parish]]es;<ref name=":8" /> New Sleaford was in the [[Flaxwell]] [[wapentake]] and Old Sleaford in the [[Ashwardhurn]] one, both in the [[Kesteven]] [[Parts of Lincolnshire|parts]] of the [[Lincolnshire]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Youngs|1991|p=699}}.</ref> New Sleaford contained the main built-up area,<ref>{{Harvnb|White|1856|p=430}}.</ref> and its ancient parish boundaries also included the rural [[Hamlet (place)#United Kingdom|hamlet]] of Holdingham to the north-west.<ref name=":8">{{Harvnb|Youngs|1991|p=279}}.</ref><ref name="Holdingham">{{cite web |title=Holdingham Hamlet/Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10425505 |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=[[University of Portsmouth]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504220911/https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10425505 |archive-date=4 May 2024}}</ref>

Sleaford [[Poor Law Union]], overseen by a Board of Guardians, was founded in 1836 covering Old and New Sleaford and surrounding parishes.<ref name=":15" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Youngs|1991|p=703}}.</ref> The Board administered welfare to the poor and were granted powers relating to public health and sanitation. The [[Public Health Act 1848]] allowed for [[Local Board of Health|local boards of health]] (LBH) to be established where local people petitioned for one; covering urban areas, these boards took over powers over public sanitation from the Guardians.<ref>{{Harvnb|Webb|2002|p=181}}.</ref> The parish of New Sleaford, excluding the hamlet of Holdingham, was made a [[Local board of health|local board district]] (LBD) in 1850, governed by an elected LBH.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue = 21155| date = 19 November 1850 | pages = 3039–3041}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=29 October 1851 |title=Folio 613. To: Edmund Clements, Clerk to the Sleaford Local Board of Health |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16499297 |access-date=21 November 2023 |publisher=The National Archives |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250105212800/https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16499297 |archive-date=5 January 2025}}</ref> Holdingham was subsequently made its own civil parish in 1866.<ref name="Holdingham" /> The [[Public Health Act 1872]] established [[Sanitary district|urban sanitary districts]] (USD) to cover the areas in LBDs and made the LBH the urban sanitary authority.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1aVogjklAvMC Public Health Act 1872] (35 & 36 Vict. c. 79), ss. 3–4. Retrieved 9 June 2024.</ref> The New Sleaford USD was enlarged in 1877 to include Holdingham, Old Sleaford and Quarrington.{{Refn|group="n"|The order establishing this arrangement made no mention of Holdingham,<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/40-41/227/contents/enacted Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (Caistor Union, &c.) Act 1877] (40 & 41 Vict. c. 227). p. 22. Retrieved 9 June 2024 – via [[Legislation.gov.uk]].</ref> but contemporary press reports<ref>{{cite news |date=30 November 1877 |title=Sleaford Local Board of Health |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000237/18771130/048/0006 |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Stamford Mercury |page=6 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription |quote=The District comprises the parishes of New Sleaford, Old Sleaford, Quarrington, and Holdingham...}}</ref> and the scholar F. A. Youngs<ref>{{Harvnb|Youngs|1991|p=705}}.</ref> state that Holdingham was included in New Sleaford USD.}}

The [[Local Government Act 1894]] converted the USD into New Sleaford [[Urban District Council|Urban District]], overseen by an urban district council (UDC).<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1894/73/pdfs/ukpga_18940073_en.pdf Local Government Act 1894] (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), s. 21. Retrieved 9 June 2024 – via [[Legislation.gov.uk]].</ref> In 1900, it was renamed Sleaford Urban District.<ref>{{cite news |date=16 November 1900 |title=Kesteven County Council |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000237/19001116/032/0006 |access-date=21 November 2023 |work=Stamford Mercury |page=6 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription |quote=...henceforth the name or style of the Urban District Council of New Sleaford and their district shall be respectively known as the "Sleaford Urban District Council" and the "Sleaford Urban District"...}}</ref>{{Refn|group="n"|The UDC, like its predecessor, met in [[Sessions House, Sleaford|Sessions House]] until 1901, after which it used a purpose-built council chamber at Sleaford's fire station in Watergate. From 1919, the UDC also had a depot and stables at Jermyn Street and created a permanent office there in 1927. In 1955, the UDC brought its offices and council chamber under one roof when it moved into Westgate House, where the authority remained until its abolition.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|pp=8–9}}.</ref>}} During a major [[Local Government Act 1972|reorganisation of local government]], Sleaford Urban District was abolished on 1 April 1974, being absorbed into the new [[Districts of England|district]] of [[North Kesteven]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Youngs|1991|p=708}}.</ref><ref>Urban districts were abolished with effect from 1 April 1974: [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/part/I/crossheading/new-local-government-areas Local Government Act 1972] (1972, c. 70), s. 1(10). Retrieved 9 June 2024 – via [[Legislation.gov.uk]].</ref> A [[successor parish]] called Sleaford was created on 6 July 1973 covering the area of the urban district, which had the effect of abolishing the four parishes of Holdingham, New Sleaford, Old Sleaford and Quarrington.<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/1110/contents/made The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973] (1973, no. 1110). Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via [[Legislation.gov.uk]].</ref> The new [[Parish council (England)|parish council]] declared its parish to be a town at its first meeting on 14 November 1973, allowing it to take the style "town council" and letting the chair of the council take the title of [[Mayors in England|mayor]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 November 1973 |title=Town Gets First Mayor |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005381/19731116/017/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Standard |page=1 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref><ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/section/245 Local Government Act 1972] (1972, c. 70), s. 245. Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via [[Legislation.gov.uk]].</ref>

==== Today ====
[[File:North Kesteven UK locator map.svg|thumb|Sleaford is in the North Kesteven District of Lincolnshire (coloured red on this map).]]There are three tiers of local government covering Sleaford, at parish, district and county level: Sleaford Town Council, [[North Kesteven District Council]] and [[Lincolnshire County Council]], respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Councillors |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/councillors |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Town Council|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610091153/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/councillors |archive-date=10 June 2024}}</ref> County councils have statutory responsibility for some public services, including education, transport, libraries, planning and social care. District councils manage social housing, planning applications, council tax, and waste and recycling.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Understand How Your Council Works |url=https://www.gov.uk/understand-how-your-council-works |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[HM Government]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715122759/https://www.gov.uk/understand-how-your-council-works|archive-date=15 July 2024}}</ref> Town councils have powers to run some local amenities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Is Local Government Organised? |url=https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/councillor-and-officer-development/councillor-hub/introduction-local-government/how |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[Local Government Association]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614183833/https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/councillor-and-officer-development/councillor-hub/introduction-local-government/how|archive-date=14 June 2024}}</ref>{{Refn|group="n"|Sleaford Town Council owns and manages the town cemetery,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Town Cemetery |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/cemetery |work=Sleaford Town Council |access-date=9 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241117013807/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/cemetery|archive-date=17 November 2024}}</ref> as well as the Boston Road Recreation Ground and six other public open spaces;<ref name="STparks">{{Cite web |title=Parks & Open Spaces |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/parks-and-gardens |work=Sleaford Town Council |access-date=9 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610225808/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/parks-and-gardens|archive-date=10 June 2024}}</ref> it also manages the market,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Market |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/markets |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Town Council|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613170136/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/markets|archive-date=13 June 2024}}</ref> Eastgate Car Park,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Car Parks |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/car-parks |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Town Council|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240609171033/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/car-parks|archive-date=9 June 2024}}</ref> the town's allotments on The Drove and Galley Hill,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Allotments |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/allotments |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240609171032/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/allotments|archive-date=9 June 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Town Council}}</ref> and several bus stops,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bus Stops & Shelters |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/bus-stops-and-shelters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614170241/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/bus-stops-and-shelters|archive-date=14 June 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Town Council}}</ref> public toilets,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Building Maintenance |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/building-maintenance |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612190020/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/building-maintenance |archive-date=12 June 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Town Council}}</ref> and street lighting and furniture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Street Furniture |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/street-furniture |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611025817/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/street-furniture|archive-date=11 June 2024|access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Town Council}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Street Lighting |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/street-lighting |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613230154/https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/street-lighting|archive-date=13 June 2024|access-date=9 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Town Council}}</ref>}}

Since the [[2023 United Kingdom local elections|2023 local elections]], the town council has been composed of 18 councillors from five [[Ward (electoral subdivision)|wards]]: Sleaford Castle (3 seats), Sleaford Holdingham (2 seats), Sleaford Navigation (3 seats), Sleaford Quarrington (7 seats) and Sleaford Westholme (3 seats).<ref name=":10">[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/1052/article/1/made The North Kesteven (Electoral Changes) Order 2021]</ref> There are seven representatives from five wards on the district council, as of 2023: Sleaford Castle (1 seat), Sleaford Holdingham (1 seat), Sleaford Navigation (1 seat), Sleaford Quarrington and Mareham (3 seats), and Sleaford Westholme (1 seat).<ref name=":10" /> Under the most recently devised boundaries, Sleaford has one seat on Lincolnshire County Council.<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1226/schedule/1/made The Lincolnshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2016]</ref>[[File:Lafford Terrace (geograph 5574532).jpg|thumb|[[North Kesteven Council Offices]], Kesteven Street]]Since 2015, the town council has had its headquarters at the Town Hall in Quayside House, off Carre Street,<ref>{{cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.sleaford.gov.uk/ |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Town Council |archive-url=|archive-date=}}</ref> part of the modern Navigation Yard development.<ref>{{cite web |title=Navigation Yard |url=https://sleafordheritage.co.uk/about/locations/navigation-yard/ |access-date=21 November 2023 |website=The Sleaford Heritage Trail |publisher=Sleaford and District Civic Trust |archive-url=|archive-date=}}</ref>{{Refn|The town council met in and maintained an office at Westgate House from 1973 until 1981, after which it shared rooms at the new civic centre at [[St George's Academy|St George's School]]; in 2002, the offices moved to 3 Hill House, Carre Street, but the council continued to meet at St George's until 2006, after which it met at [[Carre's Grammar School]] until 2011, after which meetings were held at The Source in Southgate. In 2015, it very briefly met at Mill House, before moving both its offices and council chamber to Quayside House that year; it purchased the property in 2016.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|pp=9–10}}.</ref>|group="n"}} The district council is based at the [[North Kesteven Council Offices|Council Offices]] on Kesteven Street; the oldest part had been built as a row of houses called Lafford Terrace in the 1850s before being mostly being bought by the former Kesteven County Council (KCC) for offices in 1925; a large extension took place in 1960. After KCC's abolition in 1974, the complex was transferred to the newly established North Kesteven District Council, serving as its offices and, after a major extension in 1991, becoming its sole office building and host to its council chamber.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|pp=7, 12–13}}.</ref><ref name=":53">{{NHLE|num=1062147|desc=Lafford Terrace|access-date=15 March 2015|mode=cs1|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

===National politics===
{{See also|Sleaford and North Hykeham (UK Parliament constituency)}}

Before 1832, Sleaford was in the [[Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Lincolnshire parliamentary constituency]], which encompassed all of the county except for four boroughs. In the 1818 election, 49 of the 2,000 people living in New and Old Sleaford and Quarrington qualified to vote. In 1832, the [[Reform Act 1832|Reform Act]] widened the franchise and divided Lincolnshire. Sleaford was in the [[South Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Lincolnshire constituency]] that elected two members to Parliament.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ellis|1981d|pp=171–172}}.</ref> Following the 1867 reforms, the South Lincolnshire constituency's borders were redrawn, but Sleaford remained within it.<ref name=":9">{{Harvnb|Olney|1973|p=251}}.</ref> The franchise was widened by the reforms so that roughly 15% (202) of males in Sleaford and Quarrington could vote in 1868.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ellis|1981d|p=175}}.</ref> The constituency was abolished in 1885 and the [[Sleaford (UK Parliament constituency)|Sleaford constituency]] formed. It merged with the [[Grantham (UK Parliament constituency)|Grantham seat]] in 1918. In 1997, Sleaford was reorganised into [[Sleaford and North Hykeham (UK Parliament constituency)|Sleaford and North Hykeham]].<ref>The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995 (1995, no. 1626), [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/1626/article/2/made article 2] with reference to the [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/1626/schedule/made schedule]. Retrieved 5 January 2025 – via [[Legislation.gov.uk]].</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Youngs|1991|p=244}}.</ref> The current constituency has been held by Conservative members since it was created;{{Refn|group="n"|The previous members were [[Douglas Hogg]] (1997–2010) and [[Stephen Phillips (British politician)|Stephen Phillips]] (2010–16).}} the incumbent is [[Caroline Johnson]], who has held it since the [[2016 Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election|2016 by-election]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4592/career |title=Dr Caroline Johnson |work=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]|access-date=9 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201002412/https://members.parliament.uk/member/4592/career|archive-date=1 December 2022}}</ref> and was re-elected with 36% of the vote in [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001476 |title=Election 2024: Sleaford and North Hykeham |work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=2 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102194854/https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001476|archive-date=2 January 2025}}</ref>

==Public services==

=== Utilities and communications ===
The '''Sleaford Gas Light Company''' was formed in 1838. The following year [[gas lighting]] was provided and a gasworks was constructed in Eastgate. In 1866, the company was incorporated; it lit the town through to the company's nationalisation in 1948.<ref>{{Harvnb|Page|1974|p=12}}.</ref> Gas ceased to be made there in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Gas Works (HER Number 60660) |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60660&resourceID=1006 |access-date=7 January 2015 |work=Heritage Gateway |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924045515/http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60660&resourceID=1006|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

Following [[cholera]] outbreaks in the 1850s and 1870s, the '''Sleaford Water Act 1879''' was passed to set up the '''Sleaford Water Company''' to provide clean water for the town;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monument Record MLI125774 – Clay Hill Reservoir, Sleaford |url=https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI125774 |access-date=5 February 2025 |website=Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer |publisher=[[Lincolnshire County Council]]}}</ref><ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/42-43/33/contents/enacted Sleaford Water Act 1879] (42 & 43 Vict., c. xxxiii). Retrieved 5 February 2025 – via the [[Legislation.gov.uk]].</ref> pumping machinery was installed and waterworks constructed in 1880. In 1948, the council took over the company and in 1962 its operation was handed to the [[Kesteven Water Board]], which was absorbed by the [[Anglian Water Authority]] in 1973.<ref>{{Harvnb|Page|1974|pp=7–11}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/1359/contents/made The Anglian Water Authority Constitution Order 1973] (1973, no. 1359). Retrieved 10 June 2024 – via [[Legislation.gov.uk]]. Retrieved 3 January 2025.</ref> Until the 1880s, Sleaford's raw sewage was conveyed through "an antiquated system of drains, open cesspits and inadequate sewers";<ref name="pawley80">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=80}}.</ref> the town's effluent was discharged into the Slea, which was also the source of drinking water. The local board of health purchased land for a [[sewage farm]] on the eastern fringe of the parish in the early 1880s and converted Cogglesford Mill into a pump to convey wastewater to the farm.<ref name="pawley80" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1992|p=|pages=8–10}}.</ref> This system was in place from 1884. The farm was initially let to four tenants who were responsible for disposal but in 1903 the urban district council took over management. In 1954, a new treatment plant was built on East Road;<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 December 1954 |title=Odd Arrangement |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003356/19541231/044/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Gazette |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |page=4}}</ref> it was expanded in the late 1970s<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 February 1978 |title=Sewage Plan |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005381/19780209/586/0011 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Standard |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 February 1978 |title=Sewage Work to Hit Traffic |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005381/19801225/489/0015 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Standard |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |page=11}}</ref> and upgraded in 1994.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 August 1994 |title=Sewage Boost |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000332/19940803/015/0015 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=[[Lincolnshire Echo]] |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |page=15}}</ref>

Kesteven County Council promoted a parliamentary bill to build an electricity generating station which passed in 1900. It was built in 1901 on Castle Causeway and remained there beyond nationalisation in 1948; by the 1970s it had been extended to include a new [[transformer]] and converted to a [[Electrical substation|substation]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Page|1974|pp=14–18}}.</ref><ref name=":7">The order was the '''Sleaford Electric Lighting Order 1900''' enacted by the Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 4) Act 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. xlviii) – via ''[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Local_and_Personal_Acts/TX01AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Great Britain: Local and Personal Acts: 26th Parliament: Seventh Session]'', vol. 2 (London: [[Her Majesty's Stationery Office]], 1900).</ref> Following nationalisation, the [[East Midlands Electricity Board]] provided electricity until privatisation in 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Records of the East Midlands Electricity Board, 1948–1990 |url=http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb159-bee |access-date=7 January 2015 |work=Archives Hub|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214115359/http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb159-bee|archive-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> A "virtually carbon neutral" straw-burning power-station at Sleaford opened in 2013, powered by bales from farms within a {{convert|50|mi|km|abbr=off|adj=on}} radius. Most electricity generated is fed into the [[National Grid (Great Britain)|National Grid]] and the facility provides free heat to public buildings in the town.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 September 2013 |title=Sleaford Straw-Fired Power Plant Fired for First Time |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-24044629 |access-date=2 February 2015 |publisher=[[BBC News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405131908/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-24044629|archive-date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

Sleaford's [[post office]] was based at Lindum House (23 Northgate) from 1897 to 1933, when it moved to Southgate.<ref name=":11">{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|p=29}}.</ref> As of 2024, Sleaford Post Office still operates in Southgate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Post Office |url=https://www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder/0012106/sleaford |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[Post Office]]}}</ref> There is also Woodside Post Office on Lincoln Road.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodside Post Office |url=https://www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder/2022109/woodside |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=[[Post Office]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240724070345/https://www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder/2022109/woodside|archive-date=24 July 2024}}</ref> The town's telephone exchange was also based at Lindum House from 1897 to 1967, when an automated exchange opened on Westgate.<ref name=":11" />{{Refn|The Westgate exchange replaced a [[primitive methodist]] chapel built in 1907 (superseding an older one on Westgate of 1841, which survives) and closed in 1964 when the society merged with the methodists on Northgate and worshipped at the chapel there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Primitive Methodist Chapel, West Gate (Building Record MLI91735) |work=Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer |publisher=[[Lincolnshire County Council]] |url=https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI91735|access-date=9 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240609212028/https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI91735|archive-date=9 June 2024}}</ref>|group="n"}} Sleaford Library has occupied its present building on the Market Place since 1987, having previously been based in the former fire station at Watergate since 1956.<ref name=":12">{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|p=60}}.</ref> As of 2024, the library includes a local and family history section and microfiche machine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Library |url=https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/directory-record/64002/sleaford-library |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=[[Lincolnshire County Council]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240609212019/https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/directory-record/64002/sleaford-library|archive-date=9 June 2024}}</ref>

=== Emergency services and healthcare ===
Policing is provided by the [[Lincolnshire Police]],<ref name=":30">{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Town |url=https://www.lincs.police.uk/area/your-area/lincolnshire/north-kesteven/sleaford-town/stations-contact-points-and-offices/our-priorities |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[Lincolnshire Police]]}}</ref> firefighting by the [[Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service |url=https://fireengland.uk/your-fire-and-rescue-service/find-your-service/lincolnshire-fire-and-rescue-service |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=Fire England |publisher=[[HM Government]]}}</ref> and ambulance services by the [[East Midlands Ambulance Service]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=999 |url=https://www.emas.nhs.uk/your-service/999 |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[East Midlands Ambulance Service]]}}</ref> The first police station was built at Kesteven Street in 1845 and reconstructed in 1912;<ref>{{Harvnb|Worsencroft|1978|p=24}}.</ref> the police moved into the former Sleaford Rural District Council offices at the Hoplands on Boston Road in 1998,<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|p=13}}.</ref>{{Refn|The site at the Hoplands was acquired by Sleaford Rural District Council (RDC) by 1960 to be used for housing, but in 1962 they opted to build a new office there (replacing smaller premises on Northgate, which they had occupied since 1915); the RDC building was completed in 1964 and included its council chamber and offices. After its abolition in 1974, the RDC's successor, North Kesteven District Council, used the site for offices and full council meetings, but after it extended its other building at Lafford Terrace in 1991, the district council sold the Hoplands site to Lincolnshire County Council,<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|pp=11–13}}.</ref> who spent £2m converting it into the police station between 1996 and 1998 (this included adding a cell block and communications tower).<ref>{{Cite news |title=New 'Nick' Will Cost £2 Million |work=Sleaford Standard |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005385/19961031/106/0011 |date=31 October 1996 |page=11 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 June 2024 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref>|group="n"}} and this remains Sleaford Police Station as of 2024.<ref name=":30" /> The fire and ambulance services share accommodation on Eastgate which opened in 2018.<ref name=":12" /> Sleaford's first fire station was built in 1829 on Watergate and was completely rebuilt by the urban district council in 1900; the fire service moved to premises on Church Lane in 1953, which it occupied till 2018.<ref name=":12" /> The ambulance service had operated from Kesteven Street from 1960 until 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 July 1957 |title=New Ambulance Depot to Be Re-Sited |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003356/19570726/161/0008 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Gazette |page=8 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 February 1960 |title=County Council Briefs |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000332/19600218/007/0007 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=[[Lincolnshire Echo]] |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 2018 |title=Sleaford's New, £6m Shared Fire and Ambulance Station Goes Live |url=https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/news/sleafords-new-aps6m-shared-fire-and-ambulance-station-goes-live-2054777 |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=Lincolnshire World}}</ref>

The [[United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust]] provides services at four hospitals: [[Pilgrim Hospital]] in Boston, [[Grantham and District Hospital]], [[Lincoln County Hospital]] and the [[County Hospital Louth]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.ulh.nhs.uk/ |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust]]}}</ref> As of 2024, Sleaford has two GP surgeries: Sleaford Medical Group and Millview Medical Centre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GP Surgeries Near NG34 4SA |url=https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp/results/NG34%204SA |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[NHS]]}}</ref> The town also has three dental surgeries<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dentists Near NG34 4SA |url=https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist/results/NG34%204SA |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[NHS]]}}</ref> and four pharmacies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pharmacies Near NG34 4SA |url=https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy/results/NG34%204SA |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[NHS]]}}</ref> [[Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust]] runs Ash Villa at Greylees for the [[NHS Mental Health Services Trust|NHS Mental Health Service]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ash Villa |url=https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RP7MA |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[Care Quality Commission]]}}</ref> There are also two care homes: Oakdene and Glenholme Holdingham Grange.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find and Compare Services |url=https://www.cqc.org.uk/search/all?query=&location-query=Sleaford&radius=10&display=list&sort=distance&last-published=&filters[]=archived:active&filters[]=careHomes:nursing-home&filters[]=lastPublished:all&filters[]=more_services:all&filters[]=services:care-home&filters[]=specialisms:all |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=[[Care Quality Commission]]}}. Search for Sleaford and filter by "nursing homes".</ref> Between 1902 and 1997, a mental institute, [[Rauceby Hospital]], operated west of Quarrington, initially run by the county council and then the NHS from 1948; its patient enrolment peaked at 590 in 1958.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rauceby Hospital, Sleaford |url=https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/rauceby-sleaford/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225042845/https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/rauceby-sleaford/ |archive-date=25 December 2024 |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=County Asylums}}</ref> The town had an NHS clinic at Laundon House, which opened as a [[maternity hospital]] in the 1930s, was taken over by the NHS in the 1940s and converted to a clinic in the post-war decades, before closing in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davies |first=Elaine |date=15 September 2017 |title=Farewell to a Chapter of a Town's History – 1930s Maternity Home Where Babies Were Born for a Generation Could Be Turned into Flats |url=https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/farewell-chapter-towns-history-1930s-482472 |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=Lincolnshire Live}}</ref>

=== Justice ===
From the 14th century, justice was administered through the [[assizes]] (periodic courts which heard [[Capital punishment|capital]] cases) or by the [[Justice of the peace|justices of the peace]] (later called magistrates), who tried more serious but non-capital crimes in the [[Court of quarter sessions|quarter sessions]] (with a [[jury]]) and more minor crimes in the [[petty session]]s (without a jury).<ref name=":31">{{Cite web |title=Local Criminal Justice |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/laworder/court/overview/localjustice/ |access-date=12 June 2024 |website=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Assizes |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/laworder/court/overview/assizes/ |access-date=12 June 2024 |website=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]}}</ref> The petty and quarter sessions came to be known as the [[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|magistrates' courts]].<ref name=":31" /> Each of the three [[parts of Lincolnshire]] had its own quarter sessions; in Kesteven, the sessions were split between northern and southern divisions; those for the north met at Sleaford from at least the 17th century and the court was known as the Sleaford Bench.<ref name="peyton">{{Harvnb|Peyton|1931|pp=|p=lxix}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Olney|1979|pp=7–9}}.</ref>{{Refn|Covering the wapentakes of Flaxwell, Langoe, Aswardhurn, Loveden and Boothby Graffoe.<ref name="peyton"/>|group="n"}} The magistrates met at a building on the market place, which was replaced in 1830 by [[Sessions House, Sleaford|Sessions House]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Olney|1979|pp=109–110}}.</ref> The system was overhauled [[Courts Act 1971|in 1971]], with the quarter sessions and assizes replaced with the [[Crown Court]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Ingman|2011|p=25}}.</ref> which has been held in Lincoln ever since;<ref name="castle">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.lincolncastle.com/explore/history |access-date=12 June 2024 |website=[[Lincoln Castle]]}}</ref> Sessions House continued to host the petty sessions until 2008, when cases were transferred to Grantham;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sessions House |url=https://sleafordheritage.co.uk/about/locations/sessions-house/ |access-date=5 February 2025 |website=Sleaford Heritage Trail |publisher=Sleaford and District Civic Trust}}</ref> [[HM Courts Service]] formally closed Sleaford Magistrates' Court in 2010.<ref>{{cite Hansard|title=HM Courts Service Estates|jurisdiction=United Kingdom|house=House of Commons|date=18 March 2010|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm100318/wmstext/100318m0002.htm|column=74WS|speaker=Straw, Jack|speaker-link=Jack Straw}}</ref>

==Education==
{{Main|List of schools in Sleaford}}
Sleaford has four state primary schools.<ref name=":412">{{Cite web |date=January 2018 |title=Search Results |url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/search?q=&location=Sleaford&lat=&lon=&radius=&level_1_types=1&latest_report_date_start=&latest_report_date_end=&status%5B%5D=1 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=[[Ofsted]]}}</ref> William Alvey Church of England School, founded in 1729 following a bequest by William Alvey,<ref>{{Harvnb|Kelly's Directories|1889|p=396}}; {{Harvnb|Thornton|1998|pp=2–5}}.</ref> became an [[Academy (English school)|academy]] in 2012<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 February 2012 |title=Academy Conversion and Predecessor Schools |url=https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/1907969 |access-date=15 June 2024 |publisher=[[Ofsted]]}}</ref> and in 2022 was rated "good" by the [[Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills]] (Ofsted);<ref>{{Harvnb|Ofsted|2022b|pp=1, 5}}.</ref> it caters for 650 pupils aged 4 to 11.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ofsted|2022b|pp=|p=5}}.</ref> Founded in 1867,<ref name=":332">{{Cite web |title=The Former Quarrington Primary School, Grantham Road, Sleaford (ref. name MLI94228) |url=http://www.lincstothepast.com/The-former-Quarrington-Primary-School--Grantham-Road--Sleaford/908419.record?pt=S |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210155629/http://www.lincstothepast.com/The-former-Quarrington-Primary-School--Grantham-Road--Sleaford/908419.record?pt=S |archive-date=10 February 2015 |access-date=10 February 2015 |work=Lincs to the Past |publisher=Lincolnshire Archives}}</ref> St Botolph's Church of England School is [[Voluntary controlled school|voluntary controlled]], has 406 pupils aged 5 to 11 on roll,<ref name=":292">{{Harvnb|Ofsted|2023b|pp=|p=5}}.</ref> and was rated "good" by Ofsted in 2023.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ofsted|2023b|pp=|p=1}}.</ref> Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic School was established in 1882<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://our-lady-of-good-counsel.org.uk/ |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Sleaford}}</ref> and converted to an academy in 2013;<ref name=":352">{{Cite web |date=22 January 2023 |title=Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy |url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/139621 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=[[Ofsted]]}}</ref> in 2023, it had 166 boys and girls aged 4 to 11 on roll and was rated "good" by Ofsted.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ofsted|2023a|p=|pages=1, 5}}.</ref> Church Lane Primary School, formerly Sleaford Infants' School, opened in 1908;<ref name=":2022">{{cite news |date=9 May 1908 |title=Sleaford New Council Schools |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003354/19080509/084/0008 |url-access=subscription |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=18 April 2024 |work=Sleaford Gazette and South Lincolnshire Advertiser |page=8 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref><ref name=":342">{{Cite news |date=22 September 1999 |title=New Names and Faces for New School Year |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003991/19990922/013/0013 |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Target |page=13 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> a community school with a nursery, it caters for 203 boys and girls aged 3 to 11 as of 2023;<ref name=":362">{{Cite web |title=Church Lane Primary School & Nursery |url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/120387 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=[[HM Government]]}}</ref> at its latest Ofsted inspection (in 2014), Church Lane Primary School was rated "outstanding".<ref>{{Harvnb|Ofsted|2014|p=1}}.</ref>

The town has three secondary schools, each with sixth forms:<ref name=":412" /> the two grammar schools ([[Carre's Grammar School]] and [[Kesteven and Sleaford High School]]) are [[Selective school|selective]] and pupils are required to pass the [[eleven plus exam]].<ref name="addpol2">{{Harvnb|Kesteven and Sleaford High School|2023|pp=1–2}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Admissions |url=https://www.carres.uk/admissions |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=[[Carre's Grammar School]]}}</ref> The other school, [[St George's Academy]], is not selective.<ref>{{Harvnb|St George's Academy|2024}}.</ref> Carre's  is a boys' [[Grammar school|selective school]] (with a [[Mixed-sex education|coeducational]] sixth form) founded in 1604 with 806 pupils on roll as of 2024;<ref>{{Harvnb|Ellis|1954|pp=9–10, 12–13}}.</ref><ref name=":432">{{Cite web |title=Carre's Grammar School |url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137213 |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=[[HM Government]]}}</ref> it converted to an academy in 2011 and was judged to be "good" by Ofsted in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 October 2020 |title=Carre' Grammar School |url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/137213 |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=[[Ofsted]]}}</ref> It is run by the Robert Carre Trust.<ref name=":432"/> Kesteven and Sleaford High School is a girls' grammar school (with a coeducation sixth form) founded in 1902.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |title=Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy |url=https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137667 |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=[[HM Government]]}}</ref><ref name="Pawley Book of Sleaford p. 1192">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=119}}.</ref> It became an academy in 2011<ref name=":1732">{{Cite web |title=Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy |url=https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137667 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501215628/https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137667 |archive-date=1 May 2024 |access-date=1 May 2024 |work=[[Department for Education]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kesteven and Sleaford High School |url=https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/120633 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501215630/https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/120633 |archive-date=1 May 2024 |access-date=1 May 2024 |work=[[Department for Education]]}}</ref> and was judged to be "good" by Ofsted in 2017.<ref name=":1732"/> It was taken over by the Robert Carre [[Multi-academy trust|Trust]] in 2015.<ref name=":2102">{{cite news |date=1 September 2015 |title=Headteacher Leaves as Kesteven and Sleaford High School Joins Carre's Multi-Academy Trust |url=http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/education/education-news/headteacher-leaves-as-kesteven-and-sleaford-high-school-joins-carre-s-multi-academy-trust-1-6934607 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912002031/http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/education/education-news/headteacher-leaves-as-kesteven-and-sleaford-high-school-joins-carre-s-multi-academy-trust-1-6934607 |archive-date=12 September 2015 |access-date=1 September 2015 |work=Sleaford Standard}}</ref> As of 2024, it has 763 pupils on roll.<ref name=":03" /> St George's Academy is mixed-sex [[Comprehensive school|comprehensive]] school.<ref name=":402">{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.st-georges-academy.org/aboutus |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=[[St George's Academy]]}}</ref> It traces its origins to 1908 when Sleaford Council School opened; it became a [[secondary modern school]] after the Second World War,<ref name=":2122">{{Cite web |title=Brief History |url=http://www.st-georges.lincs.sch.uk/about/history.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211212227/http://www.st-georges.lincs.sch.uk/about/history.php |archive-date=11 December 2009 |work=St George's College of Technology}}</ref> a comprehensive in 1992,<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 February 1992 |title=New Status for St George's |work=Sleaford Standard |page=}}</ref> a [[Technology College|technology college]] in 1994<ref name=":2122" /> and an academy in 2010.<ref name=":402" /> As of 2024, it operates a satellite school at [[Ruskington]];<ref name=":402" /> and it has 2,319 pupils on roll across both sites.<ref name=":402" /> Ofsted judged it "good" in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 July 2022 |title=St George's Academy |url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/136044 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=[[Ofsted]]}}</ref>  The [[Mixed-sex education|co-educational]] [[Sleaford Joint Sixth Form]] consortium allows pupils from each school to choose subjects taught at all three schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://sleafordjsf.org/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=[[Sleaford Joint Sixth Form]]}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Taylor|2009|page=146}}.</ref>

As of 2024, Sleaford has one [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|independent]] [[special school]]:<ref name=":412" /> Holton Sleaford Independent School, which opened in 2021. It caters for pupils with "[[Special education|social, emotional, and mental health difficulties]]". At its latest Ofsted inspection in 2022 it was rated "good".<ref>{{Harvnb|Ofsted|2022a|pp=1, 5}}.</ref>

== Places of worship and religious organisations ==
[[File:St.Denys'_nave_-_geograph.org.uk_-_960450.jpg|thumb|Constructed in the [[Decorated Gothic]] style, much of the nave of St Denys' Church dates to the 14th century.<ref name=":13">{{NHLE|num=1062157|desc=The Parish Church of St Denys|access-date=4 December 2014}}</ref>]]

=== Anglican ===
The [[Anglican]] [[ecclesiastical parish]] of Sleaford (formerly New Sleaford), encloses the town of Sleaford and hamlet of Holdingham, but does not include Quarrington. It falls within the [[Deanery of Lafford|Lafford Deanery]], the [[Archdeacon of Lincoln|Lincoln Archdeaconry]] and the [[Diocese of Lincoln]].<ref>See {{Cite web |title=Parish Finder |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/search/ |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=A Church Near You |publisher=The Church of England}} Select "Parish of Sleaford, St Denys'" in map.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=St Denys', Sleaford: More Information |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14696/more-information/ |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=A Church Near You |publisher=The Church of England|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613142825/https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14696/more-information/ |archive-date=13 June 2024}}</ref>{{Refn|group="n"|name="parishes"|The parishes of New and Old Sleaford were in the peculiar jurisdiction of the predendary until 1846, when they became part of [[Aswardhurn and Lafford Rural Deanery]]. In 1866 they were placed in [[Aswardhurn and Lafford No. 2 Rural Deanery]], from 1884 in the [[Lafford No. 2 Rural Deanery]], the [[Lafford South Rural Deanery]] from 1910, and since 1968, the [[Deanery of Lafford|Lafford Rural Deanery]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Youngs|1991|pp=245, 279}}.</ref>}} The [[parish church]], [[St Denys' Church, Sleaford|St Denys']], fronts onto the market place;<ref name=":13" /> it might have been in existence by ''c''. 1086.<ref name="Mahany 1979 13–14"/> The [[vicar]]age was founded and endowed in 1274.<ref>{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|pp=140–141, 143–144}}.</ref>  As of 2024, services are held every Sunday and Wednesday.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Worship |url=https://www.sleafordparishchurch.co.uk/worship |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613170452/https://www.sleafordparishchurch.co.uk/worship |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=St Denys' Church, Sleaford}}</ref>{{Refn|group="n"|Holdingham had its own chapel in the medieval period; dedicated to [[Mary, mother of Jesus|St Mary]], it was last in use around the 1550s; it subsequently disappeared and its former location is not known.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Site of St Mary's Chapel, Holdingham (HER Number 60400) |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60400&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613170455/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60400&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=10 December 2020 |work=Heritage Gateway}}</ref>}}

In the Middle Ages, Old Sleaford had [[St Giles's Church, Old Sleaford|its own church]], originally dedicated to [[All Saints' Day|All Saints]] and later to [[Saint Giles|St Giles]]. It disappeared at the end of the medieval period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Site of the Medieval Church of St Giles, Old Sleaford (HER Number MLI60697) |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60697&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613170448/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI60697&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Heritage Gateway}}</ref> It was in the possession of [[Ramsey Abbey]] at the time of Domesday and later [[Haverholme Priory]], and was eventually served by a vicar. At the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] (1536–41), the king took over collection of the [[tithe]]s, later leasing them to Thomas Horseman and then selling them to Robert Carre. In the 17th century, the rectory of Quarrington and the vicarage of Old Sleaford were combined to form the ecclesiastical parish of Quarrington with Old Sleaford.<ref name="Trollope Sleaford pp. 184–185">{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|pp=184–185}}.</ref> As of 2024, the parish is served by [[St Botolph's Church, Quarrington|St Botolph's Church]] in Quarrington village.<ref>{{Harvnb|Quarrington and Old Sleaford Parochial Church Council|2009|pp=5–6}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Noticeboard |url=http://www.quarringtonchurchsleaford.co.uk/whats-on/noticeboard/ |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=St Botolph's Church, Quarrington |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240717090931/http://www.quarringtonchurchsleaford.co.uk/whats-on/noticeboard/ |archive-date=17 July 2024}}</ref> It is in the deanery of Lafford and archdeaconry of Lincoln.<ref name="StBotolphs">{{Cite web |title=St Botolph's |url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14701/more-information/ |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912130703/https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14701/more-information/ |archive-date=12 September 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=A Church Near You |publisher=The Church of England}}</ref>{{Refn|group="n"|name="parishes"}} In 1932 a [[church hall]] was built on Grantham Road and used as a community centre as of 2009.<ref>{{Harvnb|Quarrington and Old Sleaford Parochial Church Council|2009|pp=6–7}}.</ref>

The [[prebendary]] of New Sleaford or Lafford had a seat in the [[Lincoln Cathedral]]; it is not known when it was established, but it was confirmed by the Pope in 1146 and 1163,<ref>{{Harvnb|Greenway|1977|pp=73–74}}.</ref> and was in the patronage of the bishop. The Prebendal Court of Sleaford had jurisdiction over New and Old Sleaford and Holdingham to grant [[Administration (probate law)|administration]] and [[probate]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Trollope|1872|pp=141–142}};{{Harvnb|Foster|1930|p=415}}.</ref>

=== Other Christian denominations ===
[[File:United_Reformed_Church,_Southgate_-_geograph.org.uk_-_512574.jpg|thumb|Riverside Church, Southgate]]
Meetings of [[English Dissenters|Dissenters]] were taking place at Southgate by 1692, but ceased in 1732.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former Dissenters Chapel, Southgate, Sleaford (HER Number MLI97325) |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI97325&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613142826/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI97325&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Heritage Gateway}}</ref> [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Non-conformist]] meetings next took place on Hen Lane (later Jermyn Street) from {{circa|1776}}, with the chapel expanded in 1819 and a school added in 1837.<ref name="Pawley Book of Sleaford p. 88">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=88}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Former Countess of Huntingdon, and Later Independent Congregational, Chapel, 30–32 Jermyn Street, Sleaford (HER Number MLI97244) |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI97244&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613142819/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI97244&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Heritage Gateway}}</ref>{{Refn|In the [[Compton Census]] (1676), New Sleaford had a Conformist (Anglican) population of 576 people, no "[[Papist]]s" and 6 Non-conformists.<ref>{{Harvnb|Whiteman|Clapinson|1986|pp=363}}.</ref> In the 19th century, it had a sizeable Non-conformist population and a large Anglican congregation; at the 1851 Census of Religious Worship, an estimated 2,000 people attended Non-conformist places of worship, while an estimated 600–700 people attended Anglican services in the parish.<ref name="Pawley Book of Sleaford p. 88"/> The [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyans]] met in Westgate in the early 19th century; by 1848, the congregation had set up in Northgate, an area known for its taverns and poor tenements.<ref name="Pawley 1996 103">{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|p=103}}.</ref>|group=n}} The [[Congregationalists]] who met there moved to new a chapel on Southgate in 1867–1868 (extended in 2007); in 1972, it became Sleaford United Reformed Church, which merged with Sleaford Community Church to form Riverside Church in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Southgate Congregational Chapel, Sleaford (HER Number 65326) |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91720&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405130210/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91720&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Heritage Gateway}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.riversidesleaford.org.uk/index.php/test/history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613142832/https://www.riversidesleaford.org.uk/index.php/test/history |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Riverside Church}}</ref> As of 2024, it hosts weekly Sunday worship.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Calendar |url=https://www.riversidesleaford.org.uk/index.php/calendar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240806133258/https://riversidesleaford.org.uk/index.php/calendar|archive-date=6 August 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Riverside Church}}</ref> [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodists]] first met on Westgate in the late 18th century and built a chapel there in 1802.{{Refn|group="n"|The local historian Simon Pawley says that they first in the 1790s at the house of Thomas Fawcett there,<ref name="Pawley Book of Sleaford p. 88" /> while the county council has stated that they first met in 1796 at the Paper Mills on Westgate, and then hired a room in Park's Yard in {{circa|1799}}, before occupying a succession of houses until 1802.<ref name=":28">{{Cite web |title=Former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, 40–42, Westgate, Sleaford (HER Number 65622) |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI97245&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404213750/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI97245&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Heritage Gateway}}</ref>}} They moved to a chapel on North Street in 1848, rebuilt in 1972.<ref name=":28" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Northgate Chapel |url=http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Download/3510 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122552/http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Download/3510|archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=1 December 2014 |publisher=Lincolnshire Archives}}</ref> As of 2024, this houses Sleaford Methodist Church, in the Sleaford [[Methodist Circuit]]; it hosts services every Sunday.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Methodist Church |url=https://www.sleafordmethodistcircuit.uk/Sleaford.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240625171948/https://www.sleafordmethodistcircuit.uk/Sleaford.php |archive-date=25 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Methodist Circuit}}</ref> A [[Wesleyan Reform Union|Wesleyan Reform]] chapel opened in West Banks in 1864, but since 1896 has been occupied by the [[Salvation Army]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wesleyan Reform Methodist chapel, West Banks, Sleaford (HER Number 65339) |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91736&resourceID=1006 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Heritage Gateway |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405070945/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91736&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> who hold a weekly Sunday service there as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford |url=https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/sleaford |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240812041826/https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/sleaford|archive-date=12 August 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=[[Salvation Army]]}}</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, there were also [[Primitive Methodism in the United Kingdom|Primitive Methodist]]{{Refn|group="n"|The [[Primitive Methodist]]s began meeting in the town in 1838 in a house in Long Row, New Quarrington. They then occupied a house on Westgate, before having a purpose-built chapel on that road in 1841; in 1964 the congregation merged with the Methodists based at Northgate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Primitive Methodist Chapel, West Gate (HER Number MLI91735) |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91735&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613142824/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91735&resourceID=1006 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Heritage Gateway}}</ref>}} and [[Baptists|Baptist]] chapels in the town.{{Refn|group="n"|A Baptist chapel was built on Boston Road in 1808. It served the [[Strict Baptists]] until 1881, when most of the congregation moved to a new chapel on Eastgate, though a faction remained until 1915, after which the building was converted to a house.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baptist Chapel at Old Sleaford (HER Number 65337) |url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91734&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404203537/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91734&resourceID=1006|archive-date=4 April 2023 |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Heritage Gateway}}</ref> The chapel on Eastgate was known as the Temple and housed [[Particular Baptist|Particular Calvinist Baptists]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Temple, Eastgate, Sleaford (HER Number MLI91725) |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91725&resourceID=1006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613163919/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLI91725&resourceID=1006|archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Heritage Gateway}}</ref> It closed in the 1980s.<ref>When the building was converted into a shop in 1996, it was reported that it had been derelict for "ten years or more": {{Cite news |title=Breathing New Life into Chapel|work=Sleaford Standard|date=23 May 1996 |page=7|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 June 2024 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005385/19960523/057/0007}} It was still in operation as a church in 1980: {{Cite news |title=The Churches|work=Sleaford Standard|date=6 November 1980 |page=25 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 June 2024 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005381/19801106/330/0025}}</ref>}}

By 1879 a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] missionary was conducting services in the town. A Catholic school and chapel were built in 1882 on Jermyn Street and in 1889, Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church, opened beside it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=89–90}}; {{Harvnb|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=653}}.</ref> As of 2023, the Catholic parish sits in the [[Fenland Deanery]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Nottingham|Diocese of Nottingham]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Diocese of Nottingham|2023|p=60}}.</ref> As of 2024, [[Mass in the Catholic Church|Mass]] is celebrated on Sundays and throughout the week with a [[Vigil (liturgy)|Vigil mass]] on Saturday.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mass Times |url=https://our-lady-of-good-counsel.org.uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121133818/https://our-lady-of-good-counsel.org.uk/|archive-date=21 November 2024 |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=Our Lady of Good Counsel}}</ref>

A congregation of [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] was founded in Sleaford in 1955; they built a [[Kingdom Hall]] on Castle Causeway in 1972, which was rebuilt in 1999.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 November 1999 |title=Building on Their Faith |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005385/19991111/124/0012 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Standard |page=12 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 November 1999 |title=New Hall Is Witness to Team Work |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003991/19991124/003/0003 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Target |page=3 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> As of 2024, the congregation meet on Wednesdays and Sundays.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find a Meeting |url=https://apps.jw.org/ui/E/meeting-search.html#/weekly-meetings/search/E/Sleaford,%20UK/53.000308,-0.40965/@53.00771,-0.42048,12z/detail?id=AC572ABF-15CD-4CF0-8002-40507E98943F |archive-url=|archive-date= |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=JW.org}}</ref> Sleaford New Life Church began meeting in the 1960s;<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 March 1998 |title=Moving Forward into a New Life |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005385/19980305/012/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Standard |page=2 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> in 2002, they purchased a site at Mareham Lane and built a new church there;<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 December 2002 |title=Church Needs Room to Grow |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005385/20021230/035/0005 |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Standard |page=5 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> as of 2024, the congregation meet there for worship on Sundays.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's on |url=https://www.nlcm.org.uk/whats-on |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613165423/https://www.nlcm.org.uk/whats-on |archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=New Life Church}}</ref> The church also runs a [[food bank]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Community Larder |url=https://www.nlcm.org.uk/community-larder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613165421/https://www.nlcm.org.uk/community-larder|archive-date=13 June 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=New Life Church}}</ref> Sleaford Spiritualist Church was founded in 1932 and opened its church building on Westgate in 1956.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 October 1956 |title=Crowning Occasion for Sleaford Spiritualists |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003356/19561012/011/0002 |url-access=subscription |access-date=14 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Gazette |page=2 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> As of 2024, a divine service is held there on Sundays.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 September 2017 |title=Sleaford Spiritualist Church |url=https://www.snu.org.uk/sleaford-spiritualist-church |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718144147/https://www.snu.org.uk/sleaford-spiritualist-church |archive-date=18 July 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Spiritualists' National Union}}</ref>

=== Muslim ===

The Sleaford Muslim Community Association met in St Deny's Church Hall during the early 2000s. A prayer hall, Sleaford Islamic Centre, opened in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 September 2015 |title=Mayor Opens New Muslim Prayer Hall |url=https://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/mayor-opens-new-muslim-prayer-hall-1-6950865 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319151204/https://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/mayor-opens-new-muslim-prayer-hall-1-6950865 |archive-date=19 March 2018 |access-date=18 March 2018 |work=Sleaford Standard}}</ref> A mosque was completed on the Station Road site in 2020.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sleaford and District Civic Trust|2021|pp=6–7}}.</ref> Daily prayers are held there as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://sleafordislamiccentre.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241129040635/https://sleafordislamiccentre.org/|archive-date=29 November 2024 |access-date=13 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Islamic Centre}}</ref>

==Culture==
===Arts, entertainment and heritage===
[[File:The Hub, Sleaford.JPG|thumb|The Hub (formerly the National Centre for Craft & Design)]]
[[The National Centre for Craft & Design|The Hub]], an arts centre, opened in 2002 and houses exhibitions of applied and contemporary art.<ref name=":44">{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://nationalcraftanddesign.org.uk/about#about-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615162702/https://nationalcraftanddesign.org.uk/about#about-us |archive-date=15 June 2024 |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=[[The National Centre for Craft & Design]]}}</ref> Opened in 2010, the Carre Gallery is operated by Sleaford Gallery Arts Trust.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://carregallery.co.uk/ |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=Carre Gallery|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241117214317/https://carregallery.co.uk/|archive-date=17 November 2024}}</ref> The [[Playhouse, Sleaford|Playhouse]] theatre on Westgate was constructed in 1825 for [[Joseph Smedley]] and sold in 1856 to be converted into a school and later a library and offices. Sleaford Little Theatre restored it and in 2000 it reopened as a theatre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Sleaford Playhouse |url=https://sleafordplayhouse.co.uk/about/our-history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514211956/https://sleafordplayhouse.co.uk/about/our-history |archive-date=14 May 2024 |access-date=20 May 2024 |website=Sleaford Playhouse}}</ref> The Sleaford Picturedrome opened in 1920; the cinema closed in 2000 and has since been occupied by nightclubs and bars.{{Refn|group="n"|After closing in 2000, the building became a snooker hall and then a nightclub<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/18430 |title=Sleaford Cinema |work=Cinema Treasures |access-date=13 September 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913145907/http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/18430 |archive-date=13 September 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 May 2014 |title=Iconic Film Posters up for Auction from Cinema Owner |url=http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-leisure/iconic-film-posters-up-for-auction-from-cinema-owner-1-6035275 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913215408/http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-leisure/iconic-film-posters-up-for-auction-from-cinema-owner-1-6035275 |archive-date=13 September 2014 |access-date=2 February 2015 |work=Sleaford Standard}}</ref> that closed in 2008<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 March 2008 |title=Flicks Venue Has Been Boarded up until Night Time Trade Improves |url=http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/local/flicks-venue-has-been-boarded-up-until-night-time-trade-improves-1-394020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913194346/http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/news/local/flicks-venue-has-been-boarded-up-until-night-time-trade-improves-1-394020 |archive-date=13 September 2014 |access-date=2 February 2015 |work=Sleaford Standard}}</ref> before reopening as another nightclub in 2015 which was still operating in 2021,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mann |first=Sebastian |date=15 December 2021 |title=From Picturehouse to Nightclub – The Forgotten History of Sleaford's Former Cinema |url=https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/picturehouse-nightclub-forgotten-history-sleafords-6242125 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419024506/https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/picturehouse-nightclub-forgotten-history-sleafords-6242125 |archive-date=19 April 2022 |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=Lincolnshire Live}}</ref> though as of 2024 the building has been converted into a sports bar.<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rewind+Sports+Bar/@52.9958074,-0.4081148,18.76z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x48783f605641d365:0xda91e01d4b8f1924!8m2!3d52.9959754!4d-0.4082188!16s%2Fg%2F11fk3_q2yq?entry=ttu "Rewind Sports Bar"]. ''[[Google Maps]]''. Retrieved 15 June 2024.</ref>}}

Sleaford hosted an annual carnival in the 20th century; it was last held in 1995<ref>{{Cite news |last=Spence |first=Rachael |date=2 May 1996 |title=Carnival Is Over |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005385/19960502/002/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Standard |page=1|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> before being revived in 2013;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Glynis |date=January 2014 |title=Sleaford Makes a Splash |url=https://www.lincolnshirelife.co.uk/heritage/sleaford-makes-a-splash/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910205614/https://www.lincolnshirelife.co.uk/heritage/sleaford-makes-a-splash/|archive-date=10 September 2024 |access-date=17 June 2024 |work=Lincolnshire Life}}</ref> it ran for three years before the planned 2016 carnival was cancelled.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 May 2016 |title=Sleaford Carnival 2016 Cancelled Due to Pressures of Work and Illness |url=https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/news/sleaford-carnival-2016-cancelled-due-to-pressures-of-work-and-illness-2155460 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617144607/https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/news/sleaford-carnival-2016-cancelled-due-to-pressures-of-work-and-illness-2155460|archive-date=17 June 2024 |access-date=17 June 2024|work=Lincolnshire World}}</ref> The RiverLight Festival, offering activities, open days and exhibitions, has taken place annually since 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mann |first=Sebastian |date=22 September 2023 |title=RiverLight Culture Festival to Return to Sleaford after Successful Debut |url=https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids/riverlight-culture-festival-return-sleaford-8769130 |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=[[Lincolnshire Live]] |quote=The RiverLight culture and heritage festival will be returning to a Lincolnshire town after a successful debut in 2022.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=RiverLight Festival |url=https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/have-your-say/uk-shared-prosperity-fund/events-programme/riverlight-festival |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721202428/https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/have-your-say/uk-shared-prosperity-fund/events-programme/riverlight-festival |archive-date=21 July 2024 |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=[[North Kesteven District Council]]}}</ref> As of 2024, Sleaford Live Week is organised annually to showcase local musicians and artists.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Andy |date=18 March 2024 |title=Tuning up for Sleaford Live Week 2024 |url=https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/tuning-up-for-sleaford-live-festival-2024-4559985 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617144640/https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/tuning-up-for-sleaford-live-festival-2024-4559985|archive-date=17 June 2024 |work=Lincolnshire World}}</ref>

leaford Museum Trust was formed in the 1970s to preserve historical artefacts from the town's history; it opened a museum on Southgate in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 December 2013 |title=Sleaford Museum Wins HLF support |url=http://www.hlf.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/sleaford-museum-wins-hlf-support |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918194529/http://www.hlf.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/sleaford-museum-wins-hlf-support |archive-date=18 September 2015 |access-date=8 January 2015 |work=Heritage Lottery Fund}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 April 2015 |title=Museum Open for Business |url=http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-leisure/museum-open-for-business-1-6681361 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715163437/http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-leisure/museum-open-for-business-1-6681361 |archive-date=15 July 2015 |access-date=21 June 2015 |work=Sleaford Standard}}</ref> Sleaford and District Civic Trust was founded in 1972 to "preserve the best features" of the town.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/sleafordanddistrictcivictrust/section.asp?catId=21674 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918031434/http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/sleafordanddistrictcivictrust/section.asp?catId=21674 |archive-date=18 September 2014 |access-date=8 January 2015 |work=Sleaford and District Civic Trust}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://sleafordcivictrust.co.uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108122037/https://sleafordcivictrust.co.uk/ |archive-date=8 November 2024 |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=Sleaford and District Civic Trust}}</ref> Sleaford [[Rotary International|Rotary Club]] received its charter in 1956;<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 June 1956 |title=Rotary Club to Receive Charter |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003356/19560601/011/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Gazette |page=1 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> it runs charity and community events.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gallery and Latest News |url=https://www.sleafordrotary.co.uk/gallery-and-latest-news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804175420/https://www.sleafordrotary.co.uk/gallery-and-latest-news |archive-date=4 August 2024 |access-date=17 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Rotary Club}}</ref> There is a volunteer [[twinning association]], the Sleaford and District Town Twinning Association, which was founded in 1999. The association has maintained links with [[Marquette-lez-Lille]] since 1999, and [[Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf]] since 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/sleaforddistricttwinningassociation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913200944/http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/sleaforddistricttwinningassociation/ |archive-date=2014-09-13 |access-date=13 September 2014 |website=Sleaford and District Twinning Association}}</ref>
Home of English cultural icon, Lauren Roberts (Lozza) - known for her remarkable research into like psychology stuff I think.

[[Sleaford Mods]], an English [[Punk rap]] music duo, were named for Sleaford. Both Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn were born and raised in villages in Lincolnshire and met in nearby [[Nottingham]]. [[Iggy Pop]] called them "the greatest rock n roll band."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bradley |first=Mike |last2=Verdier |first2=Hannah |last3=Virtue |first3=Graeme |last4=Harrison |first4=Phil |last5=Howlett |first5=Paul |date=2019-03-23 |title=TV tonight: are Sleaford Mods 'the world's greatest rock'n'roll band'? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/23/tv-tonight-sleaford-mods-bunch-of-kunst-the-voice |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Sport and recreation===
[[Sleaford Town F.C.]] played in the [[United Counties League|United Counties League Premier Division North]] for the 2024–25 season.<ref name="ucl">{{Cite web |url=https://theucl.co.uk/clubs/sleaford-town-fc/ |title=Sleaford Town FC |work=United Counties League |access-date=3 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103112811/https://theucl.co.uk/clubs/sleaford-town-fc/|archive-date=3 January 2025}}</ref> Formed as Sleaford Amateurs F.C. in 1920, the club was renamed Sleaford Town in 1968. In 2007 it moved to its present grounds at Eslaforde Park.<ref name="ucl"/><ref name="sleafordfchist">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sleafordtownfc.co.uk/club/History |title=History |work=Sleaford Town FC |access-date=21 August 2015 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920042057/http://www.sleafordtownfc.co.uk/club/History |archive-date=20 September 2013 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Sleaford-Town-Tony-Farrow-new-chairman/story-11214695-detail/story.html |title=Sleaford Town Name Tony Farrow as New chairman |work=[[Lincolnshire Echo]] |date=25 June 2009 |access-date=2 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911204254/http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Sleaford-Town-Tony-Farrow-new-chairman/story-11214695-detail/story.html|archive-date=11 September 2014}}</ref> Sleaford Rugby FC was established in 1978<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://sleafordrfc.rfu.club/about |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=Sleaford RFC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103114421/https://sleafordrfc.rfu.club/about|archive-date=3 January 2025}}</ref> and opened its clubhouse in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facilities – Sleaford RFC |work=Pitch Hero |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718203719/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/sleafordrfc/a/facilities-6684.html |archive-date=18 July 2014 |access-date=18 July 2014 |url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/sleafordrfc/a/facilities-6684.html}}</ref> Sleaford Golf Club was founded in 1905. In 2014, the club had roughly 600 members.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sleafordgolfclub.co.uk/index.php |title=Welcome to Sleaford Golf Club |work=Sleaford Golf Club |access-date=11 September 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818151419/http://sleafordgolfclub.co.uk/index.php |archive-date=18 August 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sleafordgolfclub.co.uk/history.html |title=History |work=Sleaford Golf Club |access-date=11 September 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817214719/http://sleafordgolfclub.co.uk/history.html |archive-date=17 August 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Sleaford Cricket Club has grounds at [[London Road, Sleaford|London Road]]; the earliest record of the club is in 1803 and its pavilion opened in 1967.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://sleafordcc.co.uk/about/ |access-date=17 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Cricket Club|date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241206084420/https://sleafordcc.co.uk/about/|archive-date=6 December 2024}}</ref> The town is also home to lawn bowling clubs, including Bristol Bowls Club (founded in 1934),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Affiliated Clubs |url=https://lincsfedbowls.com/affiliated-clubs/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=Lincolnshire (EBF) Bowling Association|date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616174756/https://lincsfedbowls.com/affiliated-clubs/|archive-date=16 June 2024}}</ref>{{Refn|Sleaford has a lawn bowls club, Bristol Bowls Club, with facilities on Boston Road. Its origins trace back to at least 1904, when croquet matches were being played at Boston Road. Croquet fell out of favour in the 1930s and the croquet club was disbanded and the Boston Road Bowls Club founded in its place in 1934. By the 1960s, it had its own pavilion and lawn at Boston Road. It was renamed Bristol Bowls Club in 1961 to avoid confusion with the Sleaford Road (Boston) Bowls Club.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005380/19610519/432/0024 |title=Change Name and Policy Too!|work=Sleaford Standard|date=19 May 1961|page=24|access-date=16 June 2024 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref>|group="n"}} Eslaforde Park BC,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eslaforde Park |url=https://www.bowlsengland.com/club/eslaforde-park/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=[[Bowls England]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714042518/https://www.bowlsengland.com/club/eslaforde-park/|archive-date=14 July 2024}}</ref> and Sleaford Town BC (at Mareham Lane).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Town |url=https://www.bowlsengland.com/club/sleaford-town/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=[[Bowls England]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912184006/https://www.bowlsengland.com/club/sleaford-town/|archive-date=12 September 2024}}</ref> There is also Sleaford Indoor Bowling Club, established in 1991;{{Refn|Following a fundraising campaign and membership drive beginning in 1985, Sleaford Indoor Bowling Club purchased the lease on land adjacent to the town's leisure centre in 1987, and opened a purpose-built bowling centre in 1991, which was refurbished in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sleafordindoorbowlsclub.co.uk/aboutus.aspx |title=About Us |work=Sleaford Indoor Bowls Club |access-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616174800/https://www.sleafordindoorbowlsclub.co.uk/aboutus.aspx|archive-date=16 June 2024}}</ref>|group="n"}} an all-discipline gymnastics club founded in 1996;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sleaford Gymnastics Club |url=https://www.british-gymnastics.org/discover/club/8844 |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=[[British Gymnastics]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616174757/https://www.british-gymnastics.org/discover/club/8844|archive-date=16 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/OrganisationDetails.aspx?orgcode=5001|title=Sleaford Gymnastics Club (est 1996) |work=Lincolnshire County Council |access-date=11 September 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911162818/http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/OrganisationDetails.aspx?orgcode=5001 |archive-date=11 September 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Sleaford Striders, an athletics club founded in 1984;<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.sleafordstriders.org.uk/about-us/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Striders Athletic Club |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617170804/https://www.sleafordstriders.org.uk/about-us/|archive-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> and Sleaford Town Runners, established in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.sleafordtownrunners.co.uk/ |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=Sleaford Town Runners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241210044840/https://www.sleafordtownrunners.co.uk/|archive-date=10 December 2024}}</ref>

Sleaford Leisure Centre originated in the opening of an outdoor lido in 1886; a children's pool was added in 1960 but closed in 1981, while the older pool was converted into the modern indoor leisure centre in 1984.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|p=49}}.</ref> In 2013 North Kesteven District Council rebuilt the centre and its gym.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-15215427 |title=Sleaford Swimming Pool to Get Multi-Million Pound Revamp |work=[[BBC News]] |date=7 October 2011 |access-date=2 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410003901/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-15215427|archive-date=10 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-leisure/video-water-way-to-open-a-swimming-pool-sleaford-leisure-centre-reopens-after-2-85m-revamp-1-5603168 |title=Water Way to Open a Swimming Pool! Sleaford Leisure Centre Reopens after £2.85m Revamp |work=Sleaford Standard |date=18 October 2013 |access-date=2 February 2015 |archive-date=5 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105222734/http://www.sleafordstandard.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-leisure/video-water-way-to-open-a-swimming-pool-sleaford-leisure-centre-reopens-after-2-85m-revamp-1-5603168 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Owned and managed by Sleaford Town Council, Sleaford Recreation Ground on Boston Road (opened in 1897) spans 13.8 acres.<ref name="STparks" />{{Refn|group="n"|Previously a plant nursery, by the 1890s the land was being let by its tenant Thomas Constable for public events and sports matches. The urban district council acquired his lease in 1897 to use the land as a recreation ground and bought the freehold from Lord Bristol in 1962 (also purchasing another field). In the 1950s and 1970s, the council added tennis courts.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brand|Pawley|2024|p=56}}.</ref>}} There are several other smaller open spaces and playgrounds managed by the town council.{{Refn|The council owns and manages Castlefield (6.2 acres), Woodside Play Area (5.5 acres), George Street Play Area (2.2 acres), Lincoln Road Play Area (1.2 acres), Meadowfield Play Area (0.75 acres) and Eastgate Green (0.75 acres); it manages but does not own the play areas at Peacock Court and Spire View.<ref name="STparks"/>|group="n"}}

===Local media===
Local news and television programmes is provided by [[BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 December 2008 |title=Changing UK: Map of BBC TV Regions |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7747697.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530224638/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7747697.stm |archive-date=30 May 2023 |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> and [[ITV Yorkshire]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ITV Regions |url=https://www.itvmedia.co.uk/itv-regions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204223815/https://www.itvmedia.co.uk/itv-regions |archive-date=4 February 2019 |website=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]}}</ref> [[BBC East Midlands]] and [[ITV Central]] can also be received in the town. Local radio stations include [[BBC Radio Lincolnshire]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio Lincolnshire |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl7y |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229140008/https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl7y |archive-date=29 December 2024 |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=[[BBC]]}}</ref> and [[Hits Radio Lincolnshire]] (formerly Lincs FM).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mann |first=Sebastian |date=11 January 2024 |title=Lincs FM Radio Station to Change Its Name to Hits Radio Lincolnshire |url=https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/lincs-fm-radio-station-change-9025911 |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=[[Lincolnshire Live]]}}</ref> The town's local newspapers are the ''Sleaford Standard'' (founded in 1924),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?pid={A2A4C158-1DBC-4ABC-8E8C-B94883FD9F70}&lid=na |title=Sleaford Standard |work=Newsplan: Libraries and Information, East Midlands |access-date=1 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310082419/http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?lid=na&pid={a2a4c158-1dbc-4abc-8e8c-b94883fd9f70}|archive-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> the ''Sleaford Advertiser'' (founded in 1980)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?pid={A7DB31A4-D301-4391-9AB4-11F71D91C88A}&lid=na |title=Sleaford Advertiser |work=Newsplan: Libraries and Information, East Midlands |access-date=1 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310044056/http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?lid=na&pid={a7db31a4-d301-4391-9ab4-11f71d91c88a}|archive-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> and the ''Sleaford Target'' (founded in 1984).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?pid={C295D606-E791-4AA4-9ADD-3F98D80428E1}&lid=na |title=Sleaford Target |work=Newsplan: Libraries and Information, East Midlands |access-date=1 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309021946/http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?lid=na&pid={c295d606-e791-4aa4-9add-3f98d80428e1}|archive-date=9 March 2016}}</ref> The ''Sleaford Gazette'' operated between 1854 and 1960 (when it was taken over by the ''Standard'').<ref name=":45" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Morton |first=Hugh |date=29 April 1960 |title=A Personal Farewell... |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0003356/19600429/001/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=Sleaford Gazette |page=1 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> The ''Sleaford Journal'' ran from at least 1884 until it was incorporated into the ''Gazette'' in 1929.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?pid=6AFA5A44-8EA1-4ABE-B16B-3D2EC96F36E6 |title=Sleaford Journal |work=Newsplan: Libraries and Information, East Midlands |access-date=1 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105231739/http://newsplan.liem.org.uk/details.asp?pid=6AFA5A44-8EA1-4ABE-B16B-3D2EC96F36E6|archive-date=5 January 2015}}</ref>{{Refn|group="n"|Short-lived newspapers included the ''Sleaford Telegraph'' (1888–1889) and the ''Sleaford Guardian'' (1945–1946).<ref name=":45">{{Harvnb|Lincolnshire Archives|n.d.|p=6}}.</ref>}}

==Historic buildings and landmarks==
{{see also|Listed buildings in Sleaford}}
[[File:Manor House courtyard - geograph.org.uk - 1150761.jpg|thumb|[[Manor House, Sleaford|Manor House]], Northgate]]
A small number of medieval buildings remain in the town. St Denys' Church, noted for its [[tracery]], dates to the 12th century; its stone [[broach spire]] is one of the oldest in England. The half-timbered vicarage is 15th-century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|pp=650, 653, }}.</ref> Quarrington's St Botolph's Church includes 13th-century elements.<ref name="nhle">{{NHLE|num=1360452|desc=Church of St Botolph|access-date=6 March 2015|mode=cs1|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> The Bishops of Lincoln constructed the now-ruined [[Sleaford Castle]]<ref name="Pawley Book of Sleaford p. 24"/> and granted a market to the town.<ref name=":17"/> The town's historic core is the market place and the four roads which meet there: Northgate, Southgate, Eastgate and Westgate; many 18th- and 19th-century buildings are found in this area,<ref name=":27">{{Harvnb|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|pp=653–656}}.</ref> including the "fine" [[baroque]] late-17th-century building now part of 2 Northgate, the [[Manor House, Sleaford|Manor House]] inset with medieval masonry, and [[Sessions House, Sleaford|Sessions House]]. The Carre family founded the grammar school which was rebuilt in 1834, the hospital, rebuilt in 1830, and the almshouses, rebuilt 1857,<ref name=":27" /> while the [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] builders [[Kirk and Parry]] constructed or added to numerous public buildings and private residences, including Lafford Terrace and their own houses [[Kesteven and Sleaford High School#82 Southgate|on Southgate]] and at [[Westholme House|Westholme]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|Peach|1996|pp=3–4}}.</ref>

[[File:Bass Maltings - geograph.org.uk - 200267.jpg|thumb|The derelict [[Bass Maltings, Sleaford|Bass Maltings]]]]

[[Cogglesford Mill|ogglesford Mill]] is a testament to the historic economic importance of the Slea.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=17–18}}.</ref> During the [[Industrial Revolution]], the [[Sleaford Navigation|Sleaford Navigation Company]] constructed offices along Carre Street (their reputed location is now grade-II-[[Listed building|listed]]),<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=64–66}}.</ref><ref name=":22">{{NHLE|num=1061301|desc=Former Office Building in Centre of Yard Formerly Occupied by Hubbard and Phillips Limited|access-date=6 March 2015|mode=cs1|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> while the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic]] gasworks on Eastgate lit the town from 1839.<ref name="Mid-Victorian Sleaford p. 94"/> [[Henry Handley]], a local MP, is commemorated by the Handley Memorial on Southgate, a Gothic monument in the style of an [[Eleanor Cross]].<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1168583 |desc=Handley Memorial |access-date=16 March 2015 |fewer-links=x}}</ref> During the 1850s, the railway station was built in a Gothic style.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1062114|desc= Sleaford Railway Station |access-date=16 March 2015 |fewer-links=x}}</ref> Sleaford's agricultural location and new transport links encouraged seed trading and malting in the late 19th century: the seed merchant Charles Sharpe's listed house, The Pines, is on Boston Road.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1261293 |desc=The Pines and Attached Former Warehouse and Offices |access-date=8 March 2015 |fewer-links=x}}</ref> The Bass and Co. [[maltings]] complex, constructed in brick off Mareham Lane between 1892 and 1905, has a frontage over 1,000 feet long.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pevsner|Harris|Antram|2002|p=657}}.</ref>

==Sleafordians==
The [[Handley family]] were well-connected with business; Benjamin Handley was a lawyer, prominent in the Navigation Company and partner in the local bank Peacock, Handley and Kirton.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pawley|1996|pp=64–65}}.</ref> His son, [[Henry Handley|Henry]], was MP for South Lincolnshire; after his death, the residents erected a monument to him on Southgate.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Stephen |last=Farrell |chapter-url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/handley-henry-1797-1846 |chapter=Handley, Henry (1797–1846), of 7 Charles Street, Mdx. and Culverthorpe Hall, nr. Sleaford, Lincs. |editor-first=D. R. |editor-last=Fisher|title=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820–1832 |publisher=[[History of Parliament Trust]]|year=2009 |access-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619202938/https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/handley-henry-1797-1846 |archive-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> [[Robert Armstrong Yerburgh]] the son of Rev. Richard Yerburgh, vicar of New Sleaford, was twice MP for [[City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester]].<ref>{{Cite ODNB|first=Simon |last=Harrison |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/52367 |title=Yerburgh, Robert Armstrong (1853–1916) |origyear=2004 |year=2006}}</ref> The politicians [[Thomas Meres|Sir Thomas Meres]]<ref>{{Cite ODNB |first=Stuart|last=Handley|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18583|title=Meres, Sir Thomas (bap. 1634, d. 1715) |year=2004}}</ref> and [[Robert Pattinson (politician)|Sir Robert Pattinson]] (MP for Grantham) attended the grammar school.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U241632/ |title=Pattinson, Sir Robert |work=[[Who's Who (UK)|Who Was Who]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2023 |url-access=subscription |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref>

The religious controversialist [[Henry Pickworth]] was born in New Sleaford and challenged the opponent of Quakerism [[Francis Bugg]] to an open debate there.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|first1=Charlotte |last1=Fell-Smith |first2=M. J. |last2=Mercer |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22217 |title=Pickworth, Henry (c. 1673–c. 1738) |year=2004}}</ref> [[John Austin (1613–69)|John Austin]], a religious writer, was educated at the grammar school.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|first1=J. |last1=Blom |first2=F. |last2=Blom |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/908 |title=Austin, John (1613–1669) |origyear=2004 |year=2015}}</ref> [[William Scoffin]] served as the town's Presbyterian minister and preached there for more than forty years,<ref>{{Cite ODNB |first=Caroline L. |last=Leachman |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/24846 |title=Scoffin, William (1654/5–1732)|year=2004}}</ref> while [[Benjamin Fawcett (minister)|Benjamin Fawcett]], Presbyterian minister, was born and educated at Sleaford.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |first=Brian W. |last=Kirk |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-9217 |title=Fawcett, Benjamin (1715–1780) |year=2004}}</ref>

In science, [[Richard Banister]], the [[optician|oculist]], practised for 14 years in Sleaford.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |first=Emilie |last=Savage-Smith |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1283 |title=Banister, Richard (c. 1570–1626) |year=2004}}</ref> [[Henry Andrews (mathematician)|Henry Andrews]], astronomer and astrologer, worked in Sleaford in his youth.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |first=Patrick |last=Curry |url=https://oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-523 |title=Andrews, Henry (1744–1820) |year=2004}}</ref> The botanist [[David H. N. Spence]] was born in Sleaford;<ref>{{Harvnb|Waterston|Macmillan Shearer|2006|p=871}}.</ref> and the sociologist [[Sheila Allen (sociologist)|Sheila Allen]] attended Kesteven and Sleaford High School.<ref name="ind">{{Cite news |first1=Helen|last1=Roberts|first2=Juliet|last2=Webster |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sheila-allen-uncompromising-sociologist-who-pioneered-the-concept-of-institutional-racism-in-britain-1678629.html |title=Sheila Allen: Uncompromising Sociologist Who Pioneered the Concept of Institutional Racism in Britain |work=[[The Independent]]|date=4 May 2009 |access-date=17 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406231916/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sheila-allen-uncompromising-sociologist-who-pioneered-the-concept-of-institutional-racism-in-britain-1678629.html|archive-date=6 April 2023}}</ref>

The royalist poet [[Thomas Shipman]] was educated at Carre's Grammar School, as was novelist [[Henry Jackson (novelist)|Henry Jackson]].<ref name="Ellis p. 42">{{Harvnb|Ellis|1954|p=42}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite ODNB |first1=Gordon |last1=Goodwin |first2=Megan A.|last2=Stephen  |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-14527 |title=Jackson, Henry (1831–1879) |year=2004}}</ref> [[Joseph Smedley]], the actor and comedian, built the theatre in 1824, before settling in the town in 1842.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|first=C. M. P. |last=Taylor |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-38588 |title=Smedley, Joseph (1784–1863) |year=2004}}</ref> The children's author [[Morris Gleitzman]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Morris Gleitzman |url=https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/morris-gleitzman |access-date=15 June 2024 |website=[[British Council]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615181831/https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/morris-gleitzman|archive-date=15 June 2024}}</ref> the actress and comedian [[Jennifer Saunders]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|first=Barbara |last=Whitney |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jennifer-Saunders |title=Jennifer Saunders |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |year=2024 |access-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240810043359/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jennifer-Saunders|archive-date=10 August 2024}}</ref> the singer Lois Wilkinson of [[the Caravelles]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-19-972636-3 |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |edition=4th |chapter=Caravelles |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195313734.001.0001/acref-9780195313734-e-4209 |orig-year=2006 |chapter-url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Bernie Taupin]] ([[Elton John]]'s lyricist),<ref>{{Cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-19-972636-3 |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |edition=4th |chapter=Taupin Bernie |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195313734.001.0001/acref-9780195313734-e-27648 |orig-year=2006 |chapter-url-access=subscription}}</ref> and [[Eric Thompson]], who narrated ''[[The Magic Roundabout]]'' television series, were all born in Sleaford.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|first=Alistair |last=McGown |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/77359 |title=Thompson, Eric Norman (1929–1982) |orig-year=2004 |year=2005}}</ref> The professional footballer [[Mark Wallington (footballer)|Mark Wallington]] grew up in Sleaford and taught at St George's Academy.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Mark-Wallington-born-1952-Professional-Footballer/story-11223292-detail/story.html |title=Mark Wallington (born 1952): Professional Footballer |work=[[Lincolnshire Echo]] |date=6 March 2009 |access-date=2 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106001431/http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Mark-Wallington-born-1952-Professional-Footballer/story-11223292-detail/story.html|archive-date=6 January 2015}}</ref>

==Coat of arms==
{{Emblem table
|image = Sleaford Escutcheon.png
|name=Sleaford Town Council
|escutcheon=Gules on a Chevron Or three Estoiles Sable on a Chief Argent as many Trefoils slipped Vert.
|crest=On a Wreath of the Colours an Eagle wings extended and head downwards and to the sinister proper holding in the beak an Ear of Wheat stalked and leaved Or. (''not shown'')
|symbolism = The shield combines elements from the arms of the Carre family and the Marquesses of Bristol; the eagle in the crest symbolises Sleaford's links with the Royal Air Force and the ear of wheat in its beak represents agriculture.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sleaford |work=Sleaford Town Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115103510/http://www.sleaford.gov.uk/sleaford.html |archive-date=15 November 2010 |url=http://www.sleaford.gov.uk/sleaford.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|notes=Sleaford Urban District Council was granted a coat of arms on 26 October 1950.<ref name="heraldry">{{cite web|url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_midlands.html#sleaford%20tc |title= Sleaford Urban District (Lincolnshire) |work=Civic Heraldry |publisher=Robert Young |access-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207022852/http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_midlands.html|archive-date=7 December 2024}}</ref> Its successor Sleaford Town Council was granted the right to use the arms in 1975.<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1975/621/contents/made The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) Order 1975] (SI 1975/621). ''[[Legislation.gov.uk]]'' ([[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]). Retrieved 3 January 2025.</ref>
}}

==References==

;Notes
{{Reflist|30em|group=n}}

;Citations
{{reflist|30em}}

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==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Citation |author-link=Maurice Beresford|last=Beresford |first=Maurice |year=1967 |title=The New Towns of the Middle Ages |publisher=Lutterworth Press |location=London |oclc=867809813}}
*{{Citation |first=Cornelius |last=Greenwood |title=A Short Account of the Late Mr. Thomas Fawcett, to Which is Added the Rise and Progress of Methodism in Sleaford |location=Sleaford |publisher=Privately Printed |year=1839 |url=https://archive.org/details/28682597.1839.emory.edu/page/n1/mode/2up}}
*{{Citation |last=Fawcett |first=Thomas |year=1902 |title=A History of the Free Churches of Sleaford from 1662 to 1902 |location=Sleaford |publisher=Geo. G. Fawcett |oclc=55110324}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Hosford |first1=W. H. |year=1958 |title=The Enclosure of Sleaford |journal=Lincolnshire Associated Architectural Societies Report and Papers |volume=7 |pages=83–90 |oclc=60701002}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sleaford}}
{{Wikivoyage|Sleaford}}
*[http://www.sleaford.gov.uk/ Sleaford Town Council]
*{{OpenDomesday|TF0646|new-and-old-sleaford}}

{{Lincolnshire|state=collapsed}}
{{Portal bar|England|United Kingdom}}
{{Good article}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Sleaford| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Market towns in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:North Kesteven District]]