MARK-IT Trail: Unveiling Our Chair's Speech

Our MARK-IT Trail was unveiled on Saturday 15th March. Our Chair, John Bland, made the following speech.

_{Photographs © Graham Boor, Spalding & District Civic Society}

Today marks a significant moment in the history of Spalding. The return of sheep and cattle to the streets of Spalding, albeit in sculpted form.

Spalding has a long market tradition. It was one of just five Lincolnshire towns recorded to have a market in the Domesday book of 1086, and one of just fifty in England.

In medieval England, the central role of a market town was to facilitate the exchange of agricultural produce for simple goods - such as cloth, cooking pots, pottery, shoes, tools, wooden products--made by the craftsmen and artisans of the town. The award of a market charter by King Henry III on 6 May 1242, long before Stamford and Boston reflects the historical importance of Spalding as a market town.

The area around Spalding was very different from now. Before the introduction of the steam engine enabling the fens of South Holland to be reliably drained, much of the land in summer was used for grazing of cattle and sheep and an array of other livestock.

In 1813, the agriculturist, Arthur Young noted that all around Spalding and Deeping Fen, many good bullocks were grazed. He also remarked that horses were kept remarkably cheaply in Deeping Fen.

In 1830, the anti-corn law campaigner William Cobbett wrote of the fine grass, and the never-ending sheep lying about like fat hogs, stretched in the sun on the road between Holbeach and Boston. He also described land covered with beautiful grass, with sheep lying about upon it around Crowland.

Given these descriptions of the abundance of animals in the district, it should be of little surprise that in 1856, Spalding’s weekly Tuesday market was described as being the largest in this part of the County.

There were also five larger annual fairs and two hiring fairs that enabled the many agricultural labourers to secure work for the months ahead.

Spalding’s markets were held on the streets of the town. Sheep and poultry were sold in Sheep Market, Cattle and Horses on New Road, Pigs on Red Lion Street, Dairy Produce at the Buttermarket.

There was hardly any part of the town centre where goods and produce were not being traded on market day. What makes the story of Spalding’s livestock markets so different to many other towns is the long time it took to decide to build a purpose-built cattle market.

When a purpose-built market was opened on 21 October 1938, the Chairman of Spalding Urban District Council, Councillor C A Banks remarked “Whilst there must be some regret at the breaking of a very ancient custom, all progressively minded people will agree that the new market is long overdue. It has been interesting to remember that it has been under consideration for more than 70 years, so the present council cannot be accused of acting with undue haste!”

The livestock market finally closed its doors in 1992 and the time when animals were brought and sold at auctions in the town is now fading into distant memory.

The written record and photographic legacy of cattle and sheep on Spalding’s streets, in some cases alongside cars and vans, provided the inspiration to tell the story of such a key part of our town’s history in the form of public works of art.

Other towns have sculptures and murals that make them memorable, so why not Spalding? In 2009, Spalding & District Civic Society first floated the idea of public art works marking the sites where the different markets were held. Thus, the Market Art Project was born.

It was the arrival of Transported on the scene that this idea began to become more than just an idea.

 ransported, a not-for-profit organisation funded by Arts Council England agreed to fund the first commission. This was awarded to Joseph Hillier in 2015.

Joseph was inspired by the hiring fairs and the way people were engaged to work. The resulting trail of miniature bronze sculptures now known as Portrait of a Town, depicts local people, many of whom had some connection with food industry.

Then in 2016, we commissioned Laury Dizengremel to produce The Hiring. This depicts a farmer and a shepherd shaking hands. Installed in 2019, it has almost become a symbol of the town in the way that it is portrayed by the media.

Thanks to a grant from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and donations to the Society we gather here today to witness the unveiling of our most ambitious commissions to date.

They will take their rightful place in what we are calling the Spalding MARK-IT Trail. Sculptures positioned close to the sites where the animals were originally sold before 1938.

Sheep situated in Sheep Market, based on the Lincoln Long Wool breed of sheep. And on New Road, a bull and heifer based on the Lincoln Red breed of cattle. Both are now rare breeds, but they were once a common sight in the town.

Many of you may have only seen and heard the sounds of farm animals on TV. Fewer of you will have experienced the smells.

Regardless of where we are from, all our ancestors will have experienced the sights, sounds and smells of farm animals first hand. Whilst we cannot bring the sounds or the smells back into Spalding, the beautiful sculptures that will be unveiled shortly, will, I hope, help you to connect with the past that helped shape the town we live in today.

On behalf of Spalding & District Civic Society, I would like to thank all those who have helped to bring this phase of the MARK-IT Trail into reality.

I specifically thank Nick Jones and his team at Transported for their ongoing support.

I thank South Holland District Council for their support in delivering this phase of the MARK-IT Trail.

I thank all the individual officers from South Holland District Council and Lincolnshire County Council who have contributed to enabling these sculptures to become reality.

I thank South Lincs Consulting Ltd for the technical support in designing the foundations for the New Road site.

I particularly thank Graeme Mitcheson for producing the beautiful sculptures that you are about to see. I also thank Scott Thompson for allowing Graeme to take detailed measurements and photographs of his Lincoln Red Cattle.

I thank Jamie Hawker and his team at JRH Services for working tirelessly over the last two weeks to complete the installation.

 I thank Welland Print for printing, and Calthrops LLP for hosting our window display.

One final thanks must go to Jordan Ravenhill, who provided this microphone at the last minute, without which you would not be able to hear me!

Finally, I thank those who have kindly donated to the Society to add to the grant received from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This has enabled us to deliver what I feel will become significant attractions in the town.

Without further ado I would like to invite our Member of Parliament Sir John Hayes to formally commence the unveiling ceremony. Sir John will be followed by Catherine Bettinson of the Lincoln Red Cattle Society, who in turn will be followed by the Sculptor Graeme Mitcheson.

Sir John.