is a
Town in
Lincolnshire ,
England . The
West Lindsey Council headquarters are based in Gainsborough.
The town's main attractions are
Gainsborough Old Hall ,
Gainsborough Castle and
West Lindsey Leisure Centre .
One of the best preserved manor houses in Britain, Gainsborough Old Hall is a large 15th century timber-framed medieval strong house. Sir Thomas Burgh built it between 1460 and 1480. It boasts a magnificent Great Hall and strong brick tower.
King Richard III in 1483 and
King Henry VIII in 1541 both stayed at the Old Hall.
Plans to expand Gainsborough as a
New Town , linked with
Sheffield , never came to fruition, so it remains a small
Market Town . The
River Trent runs right alongside Gainsborough, and recently the river banks have been renovated to provide residents and tourist with access to the riverside and a sitting area to enjoy the view. The main church is
All Saints .
Historically, Gainsborough is the 'capital that never was.'
King Cnut allegedly performed his unsuccessful attempt to turn the tide back in the
River Trent at Gainsborough, but nevertheless, the town was a capital city of
Mercia during the
Dark Ages .
Gainsborough has a long-standing history with industry. The town was the manufacturing base of
Marshalls , a major boiler manufacturer. The company occupied Britannia Works, the biggest in Europe when built. The site has now been split among many different companies,
Tesco and
Dransfield . The remainder of the site is occupied by local companies. Tesco, on Beaumont St, demolished a large section of the Works to create its large store around 5 years ago. Dransfield is in the process of remodeling about 9 acres (36,000 m²) of the site to include a shopping area and a new heritage museum. There is a
Morrisons on Heapham Rd South.
Another area of Gainsborough’s industry is Roses. They produced seaside Rock making machines along with packaging machines. These included cigarette making machines and bread-slicing and wrapping machines. The proper name of the firm is
Rose Bros. , after William German and Walter, the co-founders.
Gainsborough is also famed as Britain’s most inland port and so has a long history with river trade — the town’s Trent bridge prevents most barges from go beyond it and so many have to offload their goods at the town. There is currently one wharf in the town — mainly a source of wood.
The town is home to
Gainsborough Trinity F.C. , a semi-professional
Football club playing at the sixth level of English football. During a brief spell at the start of the 20th Century, the club was professional and a member of
The Football League . The town is also the birthplace of the alternative/ska band
St. John's Wood , whose album
It's Monday And I Love You is currently a massive hit on the underground scene.
The town has one of the top state schools in the country —
Queen Elizabeth High School (selective from 11-18) on Morton Terrace, whilst the Castle Hills Community Arts College on The Avenue recently achieved the status of performing arts college for the second time. The
Middlefield School of Technology is on Middlefield Lane. The town has links with the
John Leggott Sixth Form College in
Scunthorpe , which enrolls many international students.
Gainsborough College focuses on vocational education.
Gainsborough is thought by many scholars to be the basis for the fictional St Ogg's in
George Eliot 's ''
The Mill On The Floss ''.
