The market town of Spilsby lies on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, just where the rolling hills sweep down to the flatter fenlands to the south of the county. It is within striking distance of the beautiful country town of Lincoln, with its much-admired cathedral, and the popular seaside resorts of Skegness, Sutton-on-Sea and Mablethorpe.
The entrance of the town is dominated by a statue of its most famous son, Captain Sir John Franklin, who led expeditions to chart the North West Passage to provide a sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans round the northern coast of Canada. His final expedition forged the last link in the route.
Spilsby was granted a charter in 1255 to hold a market every Monday, a tradition that has continued to this day except on bank holidays. There is also an auction of produce, gardening implements, household goods and anything else that anyone wants to sell held around the 14th century Buttercross at the eastern end of the marketplace.
The town’s oldest building is the parish church of St James, which contains the mediaeval family tombs of local landowners the Willoughby D’Ereby family in Willoughby chapel. The earliest tombs date from the 1300s. There is also a memorial to Sir John Franklin.
The population has been rising since the Millennium and stood at 3,230 in the 2021 census.