View source for Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

{{Short description|Town and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
 | country                  = England
 | coordinates              = {{coord|53.4016|-0.7732|display=inline,title}}
| static_image_name = {{multiple images
| image1 = Gainsborough roofscape - geograph.org.uk - 5558019.jpg
<!--please crop me at the top and bottom-->
| image2 = Gainsborough old hall. - geograph.org.uk - 3915583.jpg
| image3 = All Saints Church, Gainsborough - geograph.org.uk - 6264909.jpg
| image4 = Gainsborough Town Hall (geograph 3337143).jpg
| image5 = View north along the River Trent at Gainsborough - geograph.org.uk - 5363786.jpg
|align = center |total_width = 280|perrow=1 2
}}
| static_image_caption = Clockwise from top: Gainsborough Skyline, [[All Saints Church, Gainsborough|All Saints Church]], [[River Trent]] from [[Trent Bridge, Gainsborough|Gainsborough Bridge]], [[Gainsborough Town Hall|Old Town Hall]] and [[Gainsborough Old Hall|Old Hall]]
 | official_name            = Gainsborough
 | population               = 20,537
 | population_ref = (2021 Census)<ref name="bua2011">{{cite web |title=Gainsborough |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/admin/west_lindsey/E04006081__gainsborough/ |website=City population |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>
 | shire_district           = [[West Lindsey]]
 | shire_county             = [[Lincolnshire]]
 | region                   = East Midlands
 | constituency_westminster = [[Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency)|Gainsborough]]
 | post_town                = GAINSBOROUGH
 | postcode_district        = DN21
 | postcode_area            = DN
 | dial_code                = 01427
 | os_grid_reference        = SK815901
 | london_distance_mi       = 135<!-- straight line per MOS – constant and comparable with other place distances -->
 | london_direction         = S
 | type                     = Town and civil parish
 | parts_type               = Areas of the town<br />(2011 census BUASD)
 | p1                       = [[Gainsborough Hill|Hill]]
 | p2                       = [[Gainsborough North East|North East]]
 | p3                       = [[Gainsborough North West|North West]]
 | p4                       = [[Morton, West Lindsey|Morton]]
 | p5                       = [[Trent, Lincolnshire|Trent]]
}}
[[File:All Saints' church, Gainsborough (18193282495).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[All Saints Church, Gainsborough]]]]
[[File:Gainsborough Old Hall - geograph.org.uk - 72817.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Gainsborough Old Hall]]]]
[[File:Gladstone Street, Gainsborough - geograph.org.uk - 1264933.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Gladstone Street, Gainsborough]]
'''Gainsborough''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|eɪ|n|z|b|ər|ə}}) is a market town and [[civil parish]] in the [[West Lindsey]] [[Non-metropolitan district|district]] of [[Lincolnshire]], England. The population was 20,842 at the 2011 census,<ref>{{NOMIS2011 |id=E34004397 |title=Gainsborough Built-up area |access-date=25 April 2019}}</ref> and estimated at 23,243 in 2019.<ref>[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmidlands/lincolnshire/E34004397__gainsborough/ City Population. Retrieved 12 January 2021.]</ref> It lies on the east bank of the [[River Trent]], {{convert|18|mi|km|0}} north-west of [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]], {{convert|16|mi|km|0}} south-west of [[Scunthorpe]], 20 miles south-east of [[Doncaster]] and {{convert|39|mi|km|0}} east of [[Sheffield]]. It is sometimes claimed to be England's furthest-inland port.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ports.org.uk/ Gainsborough |url=http://ports.org.uk/port.asp?id=38|access-date=8 January 2022 |website=ports.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=24 April 2020 |title=Gainsborough's Port and River Memories |url=https://www.gainsboroughheritage.co.uk/heritage-articles/gainsboroughs-port-and-river-memories/ |access-date=8 January 2022 |website=G & D H A}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Trent at Gainsborough |url=http://graville.com/trent_at_gainsborough.htm |access-date=8 January 2022 |website=graville.com}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Gainsborough Old Hall tower.jpg|left|thumb|Gainsborough Old Hall]]
[[File:The Trent Aegir, Gainsborough - geograph.org.uk - 255311.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Trent Aegir|Aegir]] ([[tidal bore]]) on the Trent]]
[[File:Gainsborough Marketplace.jpg|left|thumb|The Market Place, with [[Gainsborough Town Hall]] in the background]]

===King Alfred, Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut the Great===
The place-name Gainsborough first appears in the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] of 1013 as ''Gegnesburh'' and ''Gæignesburh''. In the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, it appears as ''Gainesburg'': Gegn's fortified place.<ref>[[Eilert Ekwall]],''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names'', p.&nbsp;191.</ref> It was one of the capital cities of [[Mercia]] in the [[Anglo-Saxon]] period that preceded [[Kingdom of Denmark#History|Danish]] rule. Its choice by the [[Viking]]s as an administrative centre was influenced by its proximity to the Danish stronghold at [[Torksey]].<ref name=ISB/>

In 868 [[King Alfred]] married [[Ealhswith]] (Ealswitha), daughter of [[Æthelred Mucel]], chief of the [[Gaini]], who lived upon the banks of the River Trent, whence the town gets its name.<ref name="IW">Ian W. Walker (2000), ''Mercia and the Making of England'' Sutton {{ISBN|0-7509-2131-5}}</ref><ref name=Cox>J. Charles Cox (1916), ''Lincolnshire'' p.&nbsp;133; Methuen & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 23 April 2011.</ref>

Historically, Gainsborough is the "capital that never was". Towards the end of July 1013, the Dane [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] and his son and heir [[Cnut the Great|Cnut]] (Canute) arrived in Gainsborough with an army of conquest. Sweyn defeated the English opposition, and [[Æthelred the Unready|King Ethelred]] fled the country. Sweyn was declared King of England and returned to Gainsborough. Sweyn and Cnut took up high office at the Gainsborough Castle on the site of the present-day Old Hall, while his army occupied the camp at Thonock (now known as Castle Hills).<ref name=Cox/> However, Sweyn died, or perhaps was killed five weeks later in Gainsborough. His son Cnut established a base elsewhere. So Gainsborough was named as capital of England and of Denmark for five weeks in the year 1013.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-21386473 BBC article. Retrieved 16 August 2020.]</ref>

Cnut may have performed his [[King Canute and the tide|unsuccessful attempt to turn the tide back]] in the [[River Trent]] at Gainsborough.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-30275468 |title=Viking Gainsborough: Former capital promotes Sweyn Forkbeard links |date=25 December 2014 |publisher=BBC |access-date=23 May 2021}}</ref> Historians{{who|date=November 2023}} believe he may have been demonstrating on the [[Trent Aegir]], a [[tidal bore]]. He and his supporters may have known Gainsborough was the furthest reach of the aegir, and ideal for his demonstration. However, the story was only written down a century later by [[Henry of Huntingdon]], who gives no location, and it may have been a myth or a fable.

===Medieval Gainsborough===
The Domesday Book (1086) records that Gainsborough was a community of [[farmer]]s, [[villein (feudal)|villeins]] and [[soke (legal)|sokemen]], tenants of Geoffrey de Guerche.

The Lindsey Survey of 1115–1118 records that Gainsborough was held by [[Nigel d'Aubigny]], the forebear of the [[House of Mowbray|Mowbray family]], whose interest in Gainsborough continued until at least the end of the 14th century.

A weekly market was granted by [[John of England|King John]] in 1204.

===Gainsborough Old Hall===
[[Thomas Burgh of Gainsborough|Thomas Burgh]] acquired the manor of Gainsborough in 1455. He built [[Gainsborough Old Hall]] between 1460 and 1480, a large, 15th-century, timber-framed medieval strong house, and one of the best-preserved manor houses in Britain. It boasts a magnificent Great Hall and strong brick tower. [[Richard III of England|King Richard III]] in 1483 and [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]] in 1541 both stayed at the Old Hall. The manor was sold to the Hickman family in 1596.

===English Civil War===
The town was garrisoned for the [[Charles I of England|King]] in January 1643 and began cooperating with the garrison at [[Newark, Nottinghamshire|Newark]] in raiding the surrounding countryside and harassing [[Roundheads|Parliamentarians]] there. With the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|Great North Road]] blocked to Parliamentarian traffic, Gainsborough became significant as part of a route around Newark by way of [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]] and the line of the modern [[A15 road (England)|A15 road]]. It was in Royalist interests to obstruct this, which gave rise to battles at [[Battle of Gainsborough|Gainsborough]] and [[Battle of Winceby|Winceby]]. Parliament captured Gainsborough in the battle on 20 July, but it was immediately besieged by a large Royalist army and forced to surrender after three days.

Parliament captured Gainsborough again on 18 December 1643, but had to withdraw in March 1644, razing the town's defences to prevent their use by the enemy. The [[Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester|Earl of Manchester's]] army passed through Gainsborough in May 1644 on its way to York and the [[Battle of Marston Moor]].

After the Civil War ended in 1645, several people in Gainsborough were fined for Royalist sympathies, including [[Sir Willoughby Hickman, 1st Baronet]] at the Old Hall, who had been created the first [[Hickman baronets|Baronet of Gainsborough]] by Charles I in 1643.<ref>John West, ''Oliver Cromwell and the Battle of Gainsborough'' (1992) {{ISBN|0-902662-43-0}}</ref>

===Churches===
[[File:All Saints' church, Gainsborough, Lincs. - geograph.org.uk - 47454.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|[[All Saints Church, Gainsborough]]]]
The first record of a church at Gainsborough is in 1180, when the rectory there was granted by Roger de Talebu to the great Preceptory of the [[Knights Templar]] in Lindsey, at [[Willoughton Preceptory|Willoughton]]. In 1547, following the [[English Reformation]], the parish of Gainsborough came under the jurisdiction of the [[Bishop of Lincoln]] for the first time.

The medieval Church of All Saints fell into disrepair after the Civil War. In 1736 it was demolished to make way for a new parish church completed in 1748 in a mix of perpendicular [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic]] and [[Classical Revival]] styles. All that remains of the medieval church is the west tower, 90 feet high with a ring of eight bells. A monument to Richard Rollett, master [[sailmaker]] on Captain [[James Cook]]'s second voyage, is located in the porch.<ref>Monument to Richard Rollett at All Saints' Church, Gainsborough.</ref> All Saints remains the main parish church of the town.

The town's rising 19th-century population called for a second church in the south of the town; Holy Trinity Church opened in 1843. This was followed by St John the Divine Church in Ashcroft Road in 1882, and St George's Church in Heapham Road in the 1950s. Holy Trinity closed in 1971 and is now the Trinity Arts Centre. St John the Divine church was closed in 2002 and it is now used for a cafe and community centre.

[[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Non-conformism]] flourished in Gainsborough. It has often been claimed that some of the [[Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)|Mayflower Pilgrims]] worshipped in secret at the Old Hall before sailing for Holland to find religious freedom in 1609; no historical evidence for this has been found, whereas the congregation of [[John Smyth (Baptist minister)|John Smyth]] that met in the town developed into the [[Baptists]] and some returned to England. The John Robinson Memorial Church in Church Street was dedicated in 1897; the cornerstone was laid by [[Thomas F. Bayard]], [[United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom|US Ambassador]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/05/30/101105919.pdf |title=''New York Times'' 30 May 1897}}</ref> Now the [[United Reformed Church]], it was named in honour of [[John Robinson (pastor)|John Robinson]] (1576–1625), [[pastor]] of the "[[Pilgrim Fathers]]" before they left on the ''[[Mayflower]]''.

[[John Wesley]], the founder of [[Methodism]], preached in Gainsborough several times between 1759 and 1790. The town's first Methodist chapel opened in Church Lane in 1788, moving to a new site in North Street in 1804, and rebuilt there as St Stephen's in 1966. The [[Primitive Methodism in the United Kingdom|Primitive Methodists]] set up in the town in 1819, with chapels in Spring Gardens (1838), Trinity Street (1877) and Ropery Road (1910). [[St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Gainsborough|St Thomas's Church]] in Cross Street caters for the town's Roman Catholics.<ref name=ISB/>

===Second World War===
Gainsborough suffered its only large-scale air raid of the war on the night of 10 May 1941. High-explosive bombs and [[Incendiary ammunition|incendiaries]] were dropped, but many fell harmlessly on the surrounding countryside. There was only minor damage in the town and no casualties.

On the night of 28–29 April 1942 a single [[Dornier Do 217|Dornier 217]] dropped a stick of bombs on the town centre, causing extensive damage and the loss of seven lives. On 31 December 1942, a [[Royal Canadian Air Force|RCAF]] [[Bristol Beaufighter]] aircraft on a training exercise crashed on Noel Street, killing both airmen and a three-year-old girl. On 22 May 1944 a RAF [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] fighter, in a training exercise, collided with a [[Vickers Wellington|Wellington]] bomber and crashed into a Sheffield-bound [[freight rail transport|goods train]] as it was passing over the railway bridge on Lea Road. The pilot was the only casualty.

In the early hours of 5 March 1945 a single [[Junkers Ju 88]] fighter/bomber made a low-level attack over the town, dropping anti-personnel bombs on Church Street and the surrounding residential area. Three people died and 50 houses were damaged.<ref>Gainsborough Heritage Society ''Gainsborough at War 1939–1945''.</ref>

===New town===
There was a proposal to develop Gainsborough as a [[new town]] linked to [[Sheffield]], but the plan was not pursued. New housing was instead built to the south-east of Sheffield.<ref>Clyde Binfield, ''The History of the City of Sheffield, 1843–1993'' p.&nbsp;27 (1993).</ref>

===Governance===
[[File:Gainsborough Guildhall.jpg|thumb|The Guildhall, former offices of the West Lindsey District Council]]
The town was before 1974 in the [[Gainsborough Urban District]] in the county of [[Lindsey (government district)|Lindsey]]. West Lindsey District Council was formed from five former councils. Gainsborough Town Council was established in 1992, and in the same year Gainsborough's first [[mayor]] was appointed. The council consists of four [[Electoral ward|wards]], Gainsborough Hill, Gainsborough North-East, Gainsborough North-West, and Gainsborough Trent, which elect a total of 18 councillors. The next municipal  elections are scheduled for May 2027.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gainsborough-tc.gov.uk/your-council/town-council-wards/|title=Town Council Wards|publisher=Gainsborough Town Council|access-date=20 February 2025}}</ref>

Sir [[Edward Leigh]] has been Gainsborough's [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) since 1983.

===Oil===
In late May 1958, [[BP]] discovered oil at [[Corringham, Lincolnshire|Corringham]], causing a blow-out, then at Gainsborough in January 1959.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trentvale.co.uk/landscape/view/oil-fields/ |title=Oli Fields |publisher=Trent Vale |access-date=23 May 2021 |archive-date=23 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523150951/http://www.trentvale.co.uk/landscape/view/oil-fields/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There were 17 drilling sites in the Gainsborough area, producing 400 barrels per day, in 1962.<ref>''Times'' Tuesday January 1 1963, page 15</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Gainsborough Bridge (Geograph 484925).jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|A631 bridge over the Trent]]
The town is at the meeting point of the east–west [[A631 road|A631]], which crosses the Trent on [[Trent Bridge, Gainsborough|Trent Bridge]] at the only point between the [[M180 motorway|M180]] and the [[A57 road|A57]]), the [[A156 road|A156]] from the south to [[Torksey]] and [[A159 road|A159]] from [[Scunthorpe]]).

The dual-carriageway ''Thorndike Way'' was intended to link with the [[A15 road (Great Britain)|A15]] at [[Caenby Corner]]; it only reaches [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/214633 eastward] to the town boundary. It is named after the locally born actress Dame [[Sybil Thorndike]]. The former A631 through the town is now the B1433. Work on the 4km bypass was started by Tarmac in late 1972, and opened on Friday 10 May 1974.<ref>''Nottingham Evening Post'' Saturday 11 May 1974, page 11</ref>

The civil parish extends south across rural land to [[Lea, Lincolnshire|Lea]]. The boundary passes to the south of Warren Wood, north of Lea Wood Farm, and along the northern edge of Lea Wood northwards through Bass Wood, where it meets [[Corringham, Lincolnshire|Corringham]], the main settlement to the east of Gainsborough. The boundary crosses ''Thorndike Way'' (A631) and briefly follows the B1433. At Belt Farm it meets ''Thonock'', then follows ''The Belt Road'', to the south of Gainsborough Golf Club, then down ''Thonock Hill'' to the edge of the Trent Valley.

==George Eliot and ''The Mill on the Floss''==
{{Quote box
 |quote =In order to see Mr and Mrs Glegg at home, we must enter the town of St Ogg's, — that venerable town with the red [[Fluting (architecture)|fluted]] roofs and the broad warehouse [[gable]]s, where the black ships unlade themselves of their burthens from the far north, and carry away, in exchange, the precious inland products, the well-crushed cheese and the soft fleeces which my refined readers have doubtless become acquainted with through the medium of the best classic [[pastoral]]s. It is one of those old, old towns which impress one as a continuation and outgrowth of nature, as much as the nests of the [[bower-birds]] or the winding galleries of the [[termite|white ants]]; a town which carries the traces of its long growth and history like a millennial tree, and has sprung up and developed in the same spot between the river and the low hill from the time when the [[Roman legions]] turned their backs on it from the camp on the hillside, and the long-haired sea-kings came up the river and looked with fierce, eager eyes at the fatness of the land. It is a town "[[The Excursion|familiar with forgotten years]]". The shadow of the [[Saxons|Saxon]] hero-king still walks there fitfully, reviewing the scenes of his youth and love-time, and is met by the gloomier shadow of the dreadful heathen Dane, who was stabbed in the midst of his warriors by the sword of an invisible avenger, and who rises on autumn evenings like a white mist from his [[tumulus]] on the hill, and hovers in the court of the [[Gainsborough Old Hall|old hall]] by the river-side, the spot where he was thus miraculously slain in the days before the old hall was built. It was the [[Normans]] who began to build that fine old hall, which is, like the town, telling of the thoughts and hands of widely sundered generations; but it is all so old that we look with loving pardon at its inconsistencies, and are well content that they who built the stone [[oriel window|oriel]], and they who built the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] [[façade]] and towers of finest small brickwork with the [[trefoil]] ornament, and the windows and [[battlement]]s defined with stone, did not [[sacrilege|sacriligiously]] pull down the ancient [[half-timbered]] body with its oak-roofed banqueting-hall. |author=[[George Eliot]] |width=800px |source=''[[The Mill on the Floss]]'', Book Sixth, Chapter XII. |quoted=1}}

Many scholars believe Gainsborough to be the basis for the fictional town of St Ogg's in [[George Eliot]]'s ''[[The Mill on the Floss]]'' (1860). The novelist visited Gainsborough in 1859, staying in the house of a shipbuilder in Bridge Street, which survives today as the United Services Club. The stone bridge and the nearby willow tree are mentioned and the Old Hall is described in detail. [[Thomas Miller (poet)|Thomas Miller]]'s ''Our Old Town'' published two years before, included the true story of a miller who loses a lawsuit after assaulting his adversary, and George Eliot used a similar story plot in ''The Mill on the Floss'' as the basis of the Tulliver/Wakem feud. It is also possible that she witnessed the [[Trent Aegir]], which inspired the flood in her story's climax.<ref name=ISB />{{page needed|date=August 2011}}

==Economy==
===Boiler-maker and ironworks===
Gainsborough has a long history of industry. It was the manufacturing base of [[Marshall, Sons & Co.]], a boiler-maker founded by William Marshall in 1848, who died in 1861 and was buried in the cemetery in Ropery Road. His business became one of the joint-stock companies run by his sons James and Henry. It occupied the 16-acre Britannia Ironworks, the biggest in Europe when built. Marshall's Works' [[steam engines]] were sold worldwide until it closed in the 1980s.<ref name=ISB/> The site is now split among various companies. [[Tesco]] in Beaumont Street and Dransfield's occupy about nine acres; the remainder is held by local companies.

===Packaging===
Another area of Gainsborough industry is Rose Brothers,<ref>[http://www.gainsboroughlincs.co.uk/rose1.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205154450/http://www.gainsboroughlincs.co.uk/rose1.htm|date=5 February 2007}}</ref> named after William German Rose and Walter Rose, the co-founders. In 1893 William Rose invented the world's first packaging machine. Two years later it bought the Trentside Works site and started to expand into many other areas, producing items such as starch, razor blades and sweets such as Cadbury's chocolates, its name appearing on the Roses selection. The firm produced [[Rock (confectionery)|seaside rock]]-making machines, cigarette-making machines and bread-slicing and wrapping machines. When it closed, A. M. P. Rose bought the confectionery packaging side.<ref name=ISB/> The [[Rose Brothers Ground]] hosted cricket matches.

By the east bank of the Trent near the railway bridge is a large mill owned by [[Kerry Group|Kerry Ingredients]] (headquartered in [[Tralee]]).

===Wigs, jokes and exhausts===
Gainsborough is the home of two of the largest importers of [[Practical joke|jokes]] and [[novelties]] into the UK: Smiffy's (formerly known as RH Smith & Sons, founded in 1894),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smiffys.com/Info/t-aboutus |title=About Us |publisher=Smiffys.com |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref> and Pam's of Gainsborough, a smaller firm founded in 1986. Smiffy's were the only [[Wig (hair)|wigmaker]] left in the UK until December 2008, when bulk production moved to the Far East and over 35 jobs were lost. The firm has set its future goals on a more mature [[fancy dress]] and party market.

Another local business is [[Eminox]], founded in 1978. It started by building replacement [[exhaust system|exhausts]] for the local bus company, then expanded into manufacturing large [[stainless steel]] exhaust systems for buses and commercial vehicles. It also builds low-emission catalytic systems for the London [[low emission zone]].

==Landmarks==
Beside Riverside Walk are Whitton's Mill flats, which won a [[Royal Town Planning Institute]] award for the [[East Midlands]]. Marshall's Yard also received an award, for regeneration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_east_midlands/ |title=East Midlands |publisher=Royal Town Planning Institute |access-date=8 April 2008 |archive-date=3 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403151939/http://www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_east_midlands/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

West Lindsey District Council had its offices at the Guildhall, Lord Street, but moved in January 2008 to a £4.3 million new-build in Marshall's Yard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tenbees.co.uk/1/ecobuildings/news/2007/09/eb20070907163842.php |title=West Lindsey Marks Green Building Completion |publisher=Tenbees.co.uk |access-date=29 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121235758/http://www.tenbees.co.uk/1/ecobuildings/news/2007/09/eb20070907163842.php |archive-date=21 November 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Water Tower, Gainsborough.jpg|thumb|View of the Water Tower on Heapham Road]]
[[File:Lonely Biker - geograph.org.uk - 214633.jpg|thumb|A631 bypass – ''Thorndike Way'' looking west]]
Silver Street is home to many Gainsborough shops. Elswitha Hall is the birthplace of [[Halford John Mackinder]], founder of the [[Geographical Association]].

A water tower in Heapham Road was built in 1897 to mark the [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria]].<ref>Commemoration plaque beside the water tower</ref>

==Transport==
===Railway===
{{See|Gainsborough Lea Road railway station|Gainsborough Central railway station}}
The town has two railway stations on different routes. The main station is [[Gainsborough Lea Road railway station|Gainsborough Lea Road]] in Lea Road (A156) in the south of the town, serving the [[Sheffield–Lincoln line|Sheffield-Lincoln]] and [[Doncaster–Lincoln line|Doncaster-Lincoln]] lines with mainly hourly services to {{rws|Lincoln}}, {{rws|Sheffield}} and {{rws|Doncaster}}. Sheffield services generally call at {{rws|Retford}}, {{rws|Worksop}} and Sheffield only, then continue towards {{rws|Leeds}}. The other station is [[Gainsborough Central railway station|Gainsborough Central]] near the town centre. It serves the [[Sheffield–Lincoln line#Brigg branch line route|Brigg branch line]] and is the terminus of an hourly service to and from Sheffield on Mondays to Saturdays, calling at all stations. On Saturdays there are three services to {{rws|Cleethorpes}} via {{rws|Brigg}} and {{rws|Grimsby Town}}.

Where the railway crosses the Trent, the four lines come together at two junctions on either side of the river. The lines from Lincoln and Cleethorpes meet at East Trent Junction, east of the river.<ref>{{cite magazine |last =Whyles |first=Dafydd |date=Summer 2022 |title=LIFE INSIDE A BRITISH SIGNAL BOX |url=https://railphoto-art.org/railroad-heritage-69/ |magazine=[[Railroad Heritage]] |pages=24–35  |publisher=[[Center for Railroad Photography & Art]] |access-date=31 January 2024}}</ref> Those from Sheffield and Doncaster meet at West Trent Junction on the opposite side in [[Nottinghamshire]].

[[West Burton Power Station]] is {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} to the south-west of the town, next to the Sheffield-Lincoln Line.

===Buses===
The town bus station in Hickmen Street has frequent services on Monday to Saturday, but no Sunday services. Most town routes are served by [[Stagecoach in Lincolnshire|Stagecoach]]. Two local services connect the uphill area of the town and [[Morton by Gainsborough|Morton]] to the town centre, one running clockwise, the other anti-clockwise. The town has a connection hub with hourly services to Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Retford and a service to Doncaster every two hours. These serve several villages along the route. Other bus services run during school terms.

===Rivers===
[[File:River Trent, Gainsborough - geograph.org.uk - 1316171.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[River Trent]] in Gainsborough, 2009]]
Gainsborough is sometimes claimed as the British port furthest inland, at over {{convert|55|mi|km}} from the [[North Sea]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thomson |first1=William |title=The Book of Tides |date=2016 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=978-1786480804 |page=146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecegCwAAQBAJ&q=gainsborough+Britain%27s+most+inland+port&pg=PT71}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gainsborough |url=https://lido.hull.ac.uk/Ports/Sea/Gainsborough |website=The Logistics Institute Data Observatory |publisher=University of Hull |access-date=20 May 2020 |quote=Labelled as Britain's most inland port...Nowadays, very few vessels sails as far up the River Trent as Gainsborough...}}</ref> It has had a long history of river shipping trade.

There is still one wharf, but ships no longer navigate this far up river. Commercial shipping remains further down the river at [[Gunness]] Wharf, Grove Wharf and [[Flixborough]] Wharf, which has direct rail links. This leads to some to argue that [[Goole]], {{convert|23.7|miles|km}} to the north of the town, is now the most [[inland port]] in the UK.<ref>{{cite news|title=Goole, East Yorkshire – Britain's most inland port |url=https://www.yorkshirelife.co.uk/out-about/places/goole-east-yorkshire-britain-s-most-inland-port-1-1634723 |access-date=20 May 2020 |work=Yorkshire Life |publisher=Archant Community Media Ltd |date=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Port of Goole |url=https://investhumber.com/growth-sectors/ports-logistics-1/port-of-goole |website=Invest Humber |publisher=Marketing Humber and Humber Local Enterprise Partnership |access-date=20 May 2020 |quote=As the UK's most inland port, Goole is ideally situated for access to the country's transport infrastructure.}}</ref>

At the A631 [[Trent Bridge, Gainsborough|Trent Bridge]], there was a ferry before 1787, a distance of 235 feet. The bridge was completed for £12,000 in the spring of 1791, but it meant that taller river traffic of the day could no longer go further upstream. Originally a toll bridge, it was bought by the Ministry of Transport, Lindsey County Council, Gainsborough Urban District and Nottinghamshire County Council for £130,000 in 1927 and declared toll-free on 31 March 1932.<ref name=ISB>Ian S. Beckwith, ''The Book of Gainsborough'' (1988){{ISBN|0860232697}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2011}}

In the 1970s, the town council planned to build another bridge adjacent to the existing one on the North side and extend the Thorndike Way dual-carriageway across the river and join The Flood Road dual-carriageway. However, all of the funding for the project was given for the completion of the [[Humber Bridge]], which opened in 1981.

==Sport==
The town is home to the semi-professional [[Football (soccer)|football]] club [[Gainsborough Trinity F.C.]], which plays in the [[Northern Premier League]], the seventh level of English football. For a brief spell in the early 20th century, the club was professional and a member of the [[English Football League|Football League]]. The [[Gainsborough United F.C.]] was active in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fchd.info/GAINSBOU.HTM|title = Football Club History Database – Gainsborough United}}</ref>

Gainsborough Rugby Club (the All Blacks) has played Rugby Union in the town since 1924.

The town is home to the Gainsborough & Morton Striders Athletic Club, who in 2013 were awarded [[England Athletics| England Athletics']] ''Run England'' National Group of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Run England volunteers recognised at England Athletics Awards |url=https://runtogether.co.uk/newsplus/archive-news/2013/10/21/run-england-volunteers-recognised-at-england-athletics-awards/ |website=Run Together |publisher=England Athletics |access-date=8 January 2022 |date=21 October 2013 |quote=Gainsborough & Morton Striders won Group of the Year.}}</ref> The club was founded in July 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=About The Club |url=https://www.gainsboroughandmortonstriders.co.uk/about-us |website=Gainsborough & Morton Striders |access-date=8 January 2022}}</ref>

There are several cycling clubs, including Trent Valley Road Club, Viking Velo and Gainsborough Aegir Cycling Club.

==Media==
Television signals are received from either the [[Belmont transmitting station|Belmont]] or [[Emley Moor transmitting station|Emley Moor]] TV transmitters.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Belmont | title=Belmont (Lincolnshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter | date=May 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Emley_Moor | title=Emley Moor (Kirklees, England) Full Freeview transmitter | date=May 2004 }}</ref>
Local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Lincolnshire]], [[Greatest Hits Radio]] Lincolnshire, [[Hits Radio Lincolnshire]] and Trentside Radio, a [[Community radio in the United Kingdom|community based radio station]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Trentside Radio Community Radio Supporting Gainsborough and surrounding communities |url=https://www.trentsideradio.co.uk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111185604/https://www.trentsideradio.co.uk/ |archive-date=11 November 2023 |access-date=25 April 2024}}</ref> 
The town's local newspapers are the ''[[Gainsborough Standard]]'' and ''[[Lincolnshire Echo]]''.

==Attractions==
The house and grounds of Richmond Park, in the north of the town, opened as a public park in 1947; attractions include greenhouses, an [[aviary]] and a 600-year-old oak tree. Whitton Gardens on the Riverside opened in 1973.

Gainsborough Model Railway Society features one of the largest model railways in ‘O’ gauge, depicting '''[[The East Coast Main Line]] from [[London King's Cross railway station|Kings Cross]] to [[Leeds Central railway station|Leeds Central]]'''. The model railway build commenced in 1953, covers 2500 square feet, has over 1200 feet of main line track and needs ten operators.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gainsborough Model Railway Society |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=325075&resourceID=19191 |access-date=2 January 2025 }}</ref>

[[Gainsborough Old Hall]] is over five hundred years old and one of the best preserved [[medieval]] [[Manor house|manor houses]] in England.<ref>{{cite web |title=Heritage Gateway |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=325075&resourceID=19191 |access-date=2 January 2025 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}</ref>

[[Gainsborough Town Hall]], which was built in 1892, is now an entertainment venue with seating for up to 150 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.townhallgainsborough.co.uk/ROOM-HIRE-GAINSBOROUGH-function-rooms-town-hall-free-party-christening-babyshower-wedding |title=Room Hire |publisher=Th-exchange |access-date=23 May 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814021303/http://www.townhallgainsborough.co.uk/ROOM-HIRE-GAINSBOROUGH-function-rooms-town-hall-free-party-christening-babyshower-wedding |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Renovation of the town's river banks was completed in 2002, providing riverside access. On the second weekend in June in that year, the town hosted the [[Gainsborough Riverside Festival]], an annual arts/heritage event that ran until 2015.

Trinity Art Centre hosts live music, plays, comedy, and also screens films. 

There is a volunteer-run charity called Gainsborough Heritage Centre, with displays of a range of object from the town's past.

==Education==
Unlike most of the UK, Lincolnshire retains a [[Tripartite System|tripartite system]], with secondary education for many pupils decided by voluntary examination at [[Eleven-plus exam|eleven]]. Within the town, there is the selective [[Queen Elizabeth's High School]], and the non-selective state school, [[The Gainsborough Academy]].

The town has several primary schools.

There are links beyond the town to the [[John Leggott College|John Leggott Sixth Form College]] in [[Scunthorpe]], [[North Lindsey College]], and Lincoln College. 
[[File:Sweyn.jpg|thumb|[[Sweyn Forkbeard]], king of Denmark and England, who died in Gainsborough in 1014]]

==Notable people==
In birth order:
*[[Sweyn Forkbeard]] (died 1014), King of Denmark and England, died in Gainsborough.
*[[Simon Patrick]] (1626–1707), theologian and [[Bishop of Chichester]]<ref name="ReferenceA">*{{1911 |wstitle=Gainsborough |volume=11 |pages=389–390}}</ref>
*[[Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon]] (1740–1799), peer and music patron<ref>Derek McCulloch, "The Musical Œuvre of Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon (1740–99)", ''Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle'' #33 (2000) [https://www.jstor.org/pss/25099474].</ref>
*[[Thomas Mozley]] (1806–1893), clergyman and writer<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
*[[Thomas Miller (poet)|Thomas Miller]] (1807–1874), author and poet<ref name=ISB/><ref>Plaque near birthplace</ref><ref name=fame/>
*[[James Bowling Mozley]] (1813–1878), theologian<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
*[[John Collingham Moore]] (1829–1880), portrait painter<ref name=ISB/>
*Sir [[Halford Mackinder]] (1861–1947), geographer and explorer<ref name=ISB/><ref>plaque at birthplace</ref>
*[[George Cuckson]] (1878–1915), footballer<ref>{{ENFA |name=GH Cookson}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=CUCKSON, George Herbert |url=https://www.lincstothepast.com/CUCKSON--George-Herbert/1544901.record?pt=S |access-date=21 July 2020 |website=Lincs to the Past }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*Dame [[Sybil Thorndike]] (1882–1976), actress<ref name=ISB/><ref name="fame">{{cite web |title=Famous People from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire |url=http://www.visitoruk.com/Gainsborough/famous-people.html |access-date=20 October 2020 |website=www.visitoruk.com}}</ref><ref>"Who's Who in the Cinema", ''The Movie'' volume 13 p.&nbsp;431. Orbis Publishing (1981)</ref>
*[[Frank Airey]] (born 1887), footballer with [[Gainsborough Trinity F.C.|Gainsborough Trinity]]<ref>{{cite book |author=Michael Joyce |title=The Football League player's records 1888 to 1939 |date=October 2004 |publisher=Tony Brown |isbn=1899468676}}</ref>
*[[Kathleen E. Carpenter]] (1891–1970), freshwater ecologist
*[[Rex Woods (artist)|Rex Woods]] (1903–1987), artist and illustrator<ref name=ISB/>
*[[Bill Podmore]] (1931–1994), TV producer, ''Coronation Street''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-bill-podmore-1409259.html |title=Obituary: Bill Podmore |date=25 January 1994 |website=The Independent}}</ref>
*[[Mervyn Winfield]] (1933–2014), Nottinghamshire cricketer<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/23102.html |title=Mervyn Winfield |website=Cricinfo}}</ref>
*[[John Alderton]] (born 1940), actor, ''Upstairs Downstairs'', ''Please Sir!'', the original series of ''Fireman Sam''<ref name=fame/>
*[[Susan Wakefield]] (1942–2022), New Zealand Tax expert, philanthropist<ref>[https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/susan-wakefield-obituary?pid=203265842 Susan Mary Wakefield, Death Notice, ''New Zealand Herald'', 23 November 2022] (Retrieved 30 December 2022)</ref>
*[[John Hargreaves (cricketer)|John Hargreaves]] (born 1944), England cricketer<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/15116.html |title=John Hargreaves |website=Cricinfo}}</ref>
*[[Andy Dalby]] (born 1948), guitarist with Kingdom Come and Camel<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2036638-Galactic-Zoo-Dossier/images |title=Images for Kingdom Come Arthur Brown* – Galactic Zoo Dossier |website=www.discogs.com}}</ref>
*[[Chris Mosdell]] (born 1949), lyricist with [[Yellow Magic Orchestra]], [[Eric Clapton]] and [[Michael Jackson]]<ref>P. Buckley (2003), ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, London, pp.&nbsp;1200–1201.</ref>
*[[Julia Deakin]] (born 1952), actress<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gainsboroughstandard.co.uk/news/gainsborough-born-actress-who-starred-hot-fuzz-and-shaun-dead-open-heritage-centre-810733 |title=Gainsborough born actress who starred in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead to open Heritage Centre |website=www.gainsboroughstandard.co.uk|date=30 August 2016 }}</ref>
*[[Steve Housham]] (born 1976), footballer and manager<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=3642 |title=Steven Housham &#124; Football Stats |website=www.soccerbase.com}}</ref>

==International relations==
Gainsborough is [[sister city|twinned]] with [[Cham, Germany]].<ref>{{cite news |author1=The Newsroom |title=Gainsborough students show off town's potential to German visitors |url=https://www.gainsboroughstandard.co.uk/news/gainsborough-students-show-towns-potential-german-visitors-275736 |work=Gainsborough Standard |publisher=JPIMedia Publishing Ltd. |date=19 July 2018 }}</ref>

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|title = Gainsborough Town Council
|escutcheon = Vert on a fesse wavy Argent in chief a cog-wheel between two garbs and in base an ancient crown Or a fesse wavy Azure.
|crest = On a wreath of the colours out of a mural coronet two anchors in saltire Or.
|motto = Strive For The Gain Of All
|notes = Originally granted to Gainsborough Urban District Council on 15 March 1950.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_midlands.html |title=East Midlands Region |access-date=8 March 2021 |publisher=Civic Heraldry of England}}</ref>}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gainsborough, Lincolnshire}}
{{Wikivoyage|Gainsborough}}
*[http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/gainsborough/ Town Council]
*[http://www.gainsborougholdhall.com Official Gainsborough Old Hall Website] Information on the hall, events and history
*[http://www.gainsboroughlincs.co.uk Town history]
*[http://gainsboroughchurches.org/wordpress/ The churches]
*[http://www.gainsboroughlive.co.uk ''Gainsborough Live'' Local News]
*[http://www.gainsboroughtoday.co.uk ''Gainsborough Standard'' newspaper] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205054656/http://www.gainsboroughtoday.co.uk/ |date=5 December 2008 }}
*[http://Www.lincsfm.co.uk Lincs FM – Local Commercial Radio Station]

{{West Lindsey}}
{{Lincolnshire|state=collapsed}}
{{Portal bar|England|United Kingdom}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Gainsborough, Lincolnshire| ]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Oil fields of England]]
[[Category:Towns in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:West Lindsey District]]