Editing Crowland

{{short description|Town in Lincolnshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox UK place 
| country = England
| static_image_name = Crowland Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 2499.jpg
| static_image_caption = [[Crowland Abbey]]
| coordinates = {{coord|52|40|33|N|00|10|06|W|display=inline,title}}
| official_name= Crowland
| population = 4,849
| population_ref = (2011.Parish)<ref>{{cite web | title=Crowland | website=www.citypopulation.de | url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/admin/south_holland/E04005852__crowland/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250402130925/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/admin/south_holland/E04005852__crowland/ | archive-date=2 April 2025 | url-status=live }}</ref>
| civil_parish = Crowland 
| shire_district = [[South Holland, Lincolnshire|South Holland]]
| shire_county = [[Lincolnshire]]
| region= East Midlands
| constituency_westminster = [[South Holland and The Deepings (UK Parliament constituency)|South Holland and The Deepings]]
| post_town= PETERBOROUGH
| postcode_district = PE6
| postcode_area= PE
| dial_code= 01733
| os_grid_reference= TF2410
| map_type= Lincolnshire
| london_distance_mi= 80<!-- straight line per MOS – constant and comparable with other place distances -->
| london_direction= S
}}

'''Crowland''' (modern usage) or '''Croyland''' (medieval era name and the one still in [[Church of England|ecclesiastical]] use; cf. {{langx|la|Croilandia}}) is a town and [[civil parish]] in the [[South Holland, Lincolnshire|South Holland]] [[Non-metropolitan district|district]] of [[Lincolnshire]], England. It is situated between [[Peterborough]] and [[Spalding, Lincolnshire|Spalding]]. Crowland contains two sites of historical interest, [[Crowland Abbey]] and [[Trinity Bridge (Crowland)|Trinity Bridge]].

==History==
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 | caption1 = [[Trinity Bridge, Crowland]] stands on dry land
 | image2 = Great Postland Station - geograph.org.uk - 592546.jpg
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The town's two historical points of interest are the ruined medieval [[Crowland Abbey]] and the 14th-century three-sided bridge, [[Trinity Bridge, Crowland|Trinity Bridge]], which stands at its central point and once spanned the divergence of the [[River Welland]] and a distributary.<ref name="ps">{{PastScape|mnumber=352293|mname=Trinity Bridge|accessdate=17 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Boyes |first1=John |last2=Russell |first2=Ronald |title=The Canals of Eastern England |publisher=David and Charles |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-7153-7415-3 |page=236}}</ref> 

In about 701, a monk named [[Guthlac]] came to what was then an island in the Fens to live the life of a hermit. Following in Guthlac's footsteps, a [[Crowland Abbey|monastic community came into being]] here, which was dedicated to [[Blessed Virgin Mary|Saint Mary the Virgin]], [[Saint Bartholomew]] and Saint Guthlac in the 8th century.<ref name="Chisholm 1911 p. 514">{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Crowland |volume=7|pages=514–515}}</ref>

The place-name 'Crowland' is first attested circa 745 AD in the ''Vita S. Guthlaci auctore Felice'', reprinted in the ''Memorials of Saint Guthlac'' published in [[Wisbech]] in 1881. Here the name appears as ''Cruglond'', ''Crugland'', ''Cruuulond'' and ''Cruwland''. It appears as ''Croiland'' in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086. The word ''"cruw"'' is thought to mean a bend, and to refer to the bend in the [[River Welland]] at Crowland, which was more pronounced before the [[The Fens#Draining the Fens|draining of the fens]].<ref>[[Eilert Ekwall]], ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names'', p.133.</ref>

The town of Crowland grew up round the abbey. By a charter dated 716, [[Æthelbald of Mercia]] granted the isle of Crowland, free from all secular services, to the abbey with a gift of money, and leave to build and enclose the town. The charter's privileges were confirmed by numerous other royal charters extending over a period of nearly 800 years. Under Abbot Ægelric the fens were tilled, the monastery grew rich, and the town increased in size, enormous tracts of land being held by the abbey at the [[Domesday Survey]].<ref name="Chisholm 1911 p. 514"/>

The ''[[Croyland Chronicle]]'' (1144–1486), an important source for medieval historians, is believed to be the work of some of the monastery's inhabitants.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ingulphschronic03petegoog |date=1908 |title=Ingulph's Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland |translator=Henry T. Riley |publisher=George Bell and Sons |location=London}}</ref>

The town was nearly destroyed by fire (1469–1476), but the abbey tenants were given money to rebuild it. By virtue of his office the abbot had a seat in parliament, but the town was never a parliamentary borough. Abbot Ralph Mershe in 1257 obtained a grant of a market every Wednesday, confirmed by [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] in 1421, but it was afterwards moved to [[Thorney, Cambridgeshire|Thorney]]. The annual fair of St Bartholomew, which originally lasted twelve days, was first mentioned in [[Henry III of England|Henry III]]'s confirmatory charter of 1227. The dissolution of the monastery in 1539 was fatal to the progress of the town, and it rapidly sank into the position of an unimportant village. The abbey lands were granted by [[Edward VI]] to [[Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln]], from whose family they passed in 1671 to the Orby family.<ref name="Chisholm 1911 p. 514"/>

{{anchor|siege of Crowland}}In 1642, near the start of the [[English Civil War]], the remains of the abbey were fortified and garrisoned by [[Cavalier|Royalists]] under Governor [[Thomas Stiles]]. After a short siege it was taken by [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] forces under the command of [[Oliver Cromwell]] in May 1643.<ref>{{cite CE1913 |last=Blair |first=David Oswald Hunter |wstitle=Abbey of Croyland |volume=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://boar.org.uk/ariwxo3FNQ761.htm|title=''Fenland Notes and Queries''; April 1899, article on a piece of Parliamentarian propaganda.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831044611/http://boar.org.uk/ariwxo3FNQ761.htm|archive-date=31 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bonhams: Civil War – Belvoir Castle |website=Bonhams |date=13 October 2017 |url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17807/lot/42/ |access-date=13 October 2017}}</ref>

The surrounding agricultural area suffered from extensive flooding in 1947 as the [[River Welland]] and the surrounding drain network was overwhelmed with [[meltwater]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brookes |first=Andrew |date=2022-03-25 |title=75th anniversary of devastating Crowland flood |url=https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/memories-of-flood-75-years-later-9246398/ |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Spalding Today |language=en}}</ref> A flood defence bank, West Bank, still exists, forming the north-west perimeter of the village and eastern flank of the River Welland's flood plain.

The [[Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway]] crossed the north-east part of the parish until the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.railmagazine.com/news/rail-features/a-lost-line-and-a-lost-opportunity|title=A lost line... and a lost opportunity|website=railmagazine.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-20}}</ref> It passed near De Key's Farm to the east and Martin's Farm to the north. [[Postland railway station]] was near Postland House.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

==Governance==
An [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] in the name of Crowland and Deeping St Nicholas exists. This ward has a total population taken at the 2011 census of 6,172.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13693419&c=crowland&d=14&e=62&g=6446945&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1486593924240&enc=1|title=Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics – Area: Crowland and Deeping St Nicholas (Ward)|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=8 February 2017}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:John Sell Cotman - Drainage Mills in the Fens, Croyland, Lincolnshire - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|[[John Sell Cotman]] '' Drainage Mills in the Fens, Croyland, Lincolnshire'' (circa 1835)]]
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Fen Bridge, Crowland, Lincs - geograph.org.uk - 155153.jpg
 | width1 = 240
 | caption1 = Fen Bridge, where the B1166 crosses the [[River Welland]]
 | image2 = Queen's Bank and Great Postland, Crowland, Lincs - geograph.org.uk - 51871.jpg
 | width2 = 240
 | caption2 = Queens Bank and Great Postland
}}
Crowland is nearer to the outskirts of [[Peterborough]] than [[Spalding, Lincolnshire|Spalding]], and (similar to other settlements of the Welland) is less than {{convert|1|mi|km}} north of the boundary with the City of Peterborough. The main road is the [[A16 road (England)|A16]], which provides connections with Spalding to the north and Peterborough to the south (via the [[A47 road|A47]]). The east-west B1166 connects with [[Deeping St. James]], the north side of the Welland to the west and Holbeach Drove to the east, and [[Thorney, Cambridgeshire|Thorney]] is accessed via the B1040 to the south-east.

From 1894 the parish, being the only part of the Peterborough Rural Sanitary District in Lincolnshire, formed its own Crowland [[Rural District]]. This was merged into [[Spalding Rural District]] under a [[Local Government Act 1929|County Review Order]] in the 1930s. It has formed part of the [[South Holland, Lincolnshire|South Holland]] district since April 1974.

Crowland falls within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings [[Internal Drainage Board]].<ref>[http://www.wellandidb.org.uk/ Welland and Deepings IDB]</ref>

===Nature reserve===
The Crowland Ponds Nature Reserve is north of the town, next to the west side of the Welland.

==Education==
The town currently has one school, South View Primary, which has moved from its former home on Reform Street to the much larger former St Guthlac School site on Postland Road in September 2014.<ref>[http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/parents/schools/for-schools/school-organisation-planning-team/current-consultations/consultation-on-the-proposal-to-expand-and-relocate-crowland-south-view-community-primary-school/113694.article Lincolnshire CC consultation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424130302/http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/parents/schools/for-schools/school-organisation-planning-team/current-consultations/consultation-on-the-proposal-to-expand-and-relocate-crowland-south-view-community-primary-school/113694.article |date=24 April 2014 }}</ref>

Crowland's former secondary school was named The St Guthlac School after the abbey's founder. It was situated at the junction of the [[B1166 road|B1166]] and [[B1040 road|B1040]]. Lincolnshire Country Council made the decision at the begin of July 2011 that The St Guthlac School would close as part of the creation of the [[University Academy Holbeach]], to be situated on the site of the former George Farmer Technology and Language College in [[Holbeach]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/education/crowland-pupils-anger-at-being-forced-to-move-school-1-3630725|title=Crowland: Pupils anger at being forced to move school|website=peterboroughtoday.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-09-20}}</ref>

==Media==
Crowland receives its television signals from various transmitters: [[Sandy Heath transmitting station|Sandy Heath]] ([[BBC East]]/[[ITV Anglia]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Sandy_Heath|title=Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=9 December 2023}}</ref> [[Waltham transmitting station|Waltham]] ([[BBC East Midlands]]/[[ITV Central]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Waltham|title= Full Freeview on the Waltham (Leicestershire, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=9 December 2023}}</ref> and [[Belmont transmitting station|Belmont]] ([[BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire]]/[[ITV Yorkshire]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Belmont|title=Belmont (Lincolnshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=9 December 2023}}</ref>

The town is served by both [[BBC Radio Lincolnshire]] and [[BBC Radio Cambridgeshire]]. Other radio stations including [[Smooth East Midlands]] (formerly [[Connect Radio 106.8|Connect FM]]) and [[Kiss 105-108|Kiss]]. The area is also one of the few in Lincolnshire to be covered by a local DAB multiplex, [[NOW Peterborough]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tx.mb21.co.uk/mapsys/map.php?mapid=38 |title=Peterborough Transmitter|accessdate=9 December 2023}}</ref>

Local newspaper is the ''[[Peterborough Telegraph]]'' (formerly ''Peterborough Citizen'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-eang/peterborough-citizen/|title=Peterborough Citizen|date=22 January 2014|website=British Papers|accessdate=9 December 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|England}}
* [[Magdalene College, Cambridge]] – founded in 1428 by John Litlington, [[Abbot of Crowland]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|editor=Samuel Lewis|title=A Topographical Dictionary of England|year=1848|pages=737–742.'Crowfield – Croydon'|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50908#s4}} Detailed History
* {{cite book|series=Victoria County History|editor=William Page|title=A History of the County of Lincoln|volume=2|year=1906|pages=105–118,'Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Crowland'|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=37992}} Abbey History

==External links==
{{commons category|Crowland}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180811163429/http://crowlandparishplan.co.uk/ Crowland Parish Plan Website]}}
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=47123 "Hen Spectacles 1951"], Pathe newsreel

{{Portal bar|England|United Kingdom}}
{{Lincolnshire|state=collapsed}}
{{South Holland (district)}}
{{River Welland}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Crowland| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:South Holland, Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Nature reserves in Lincolnshire]]