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Living up to its name

This small Lincolnshire town has moved with the times to remain economically buoyant yet still retains its traditions

Words: Judy Theobald Pictures: John Smith

The very name of Market Rasen gives a clear picture of this town's history. In its very early days it was known as East Rasen, or Little Rasen and developed around the crossroads of the modern Jameson Bridge Street and Linwood Road with Queen Street. It takes its name from the River Rase which rises at Bully Hill just outside the village of Tealby situated about two miles to the north-east.

The market charter was granted in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century with the market place positioned adjacent to the church and vicarage - a very early example of town planning. Market day was on a Sunday until 1219 when it was changed to a Tuesday. The markets flourished, possibly because of the town's position between the wolds and the clay vale and by 1358 it appeared on a coroner's roll as Marketraysn. However, it was still known by both names right into the twentieth century with East Rasen being used for more formal occasions.

By 1422 shops were already appearing in the market place - a very unusual development for those times. These shops would have been built in the traditional Lincolnshire 'mud-and-stud' style and brick was not used in significant quantities until the middle of the nineteenth century. At this time more shops were built along the east side of the market place, significantly reducing its size.

Market Rasen is completely surrounded by rich farmland and it is this which dictated its fortunes right up to the middle of the twentieth century.

For hundreds of years, cattle were brought to market, slaughtered and butchered in the town. As a direct result of this, in Tudor times Market Rasen was the centre of a thriving leather tanning industry. It was also a buying and selling point for many of the county's arable crops and by Victorian times, farmers coming to the Tuesday market were able to sell their corn, flour, bran and rape and buy in such items as coal, fertiliser and salt.

And it wasn't just livestock and produce which changed hands in Market Rasen. On 1st May every year farm workers, both male and female, came to the statute fair hoping to be hired for work for the coming year. As these fairs were a rare break from the gruelling efforts of farm labour, they were also a time for drinking and socialising. Booths and stalls were set up at which travelling showmen put on exhibitions and displays. And just as is experienced with large gatherings of young people nowadays, drunkenness and fighting were problems.

But Market Rasen citizens also looked after their souls. The nineteenth century saw a huge expansion in church building with the construction of the Roman Catholic Holy Rood church in 1824, and three Methodist chapels including Centenary Wesleyan Chapel in 1863, the only one still in regular use. At the height of this religious fervour, Market Rasen's churches and chapels had twice as many seats as there were people living in the town although it is quite possible that some members of the congregations came in from nearby villages.

With Market Rasen's position, sixteen miles from Grimsby, Louth and Lincoln, transport was always an issue. In the eighteenth century the majority of goods were transported to and from town on the canal network. The Ancholme Navigation, a system of rivers and canals from the Humber ports to Bishopbridge were the main artery for the delivery of heavy goods to Market Rasen. This even continued for some time after the coming of the Market Rasen and Brigg Branch of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. The Barnetby to Market Rasen section opened on 1st November, 1848 with the Lincoln connection opening less than three weeks later. Luckily for Market Rasen, its station was saved from the swingeing cuts of the 1960s and it still has a rail link to Grimsby and Lincoln making it an attractive town for commuters.

Market Rasen continued as a thriving and busy market town right into the middle of the twentieth century. However, changes in agricultural practices began to erode its function. Farming became mechanised so there were fewer people working on the land and therefore fewer customers for the shops and markets. Car ownership meant people could travel further afield for their shopping so in some ways, Market Rasen has had to redefine itself.

A town, with a mayor and council, it is nevertheless smaller than many Lincolnshire villages. However, it has a police station, court, fire and ambulance stations, railway station, doctor's surgery, library, race course and shopping centre.

Great strides have been made in recent years to improve the appearance of the shopping centre and to make the town attractive for shoppers and visitors alike.

One of the most recent developments in Market Rasen was the opening of the new Tesco store. It was built on land occupied by the fire station and as part of the redevelopment scheme, a new fire station was constructed along with a new police headquarters, replacing the former police station in Dear Street, built in 1849.

This Georgian-style police station, complete with its own courtroom has now been bought by the town council and Derek Donner, the town's former mayor, said there were some interesting plans for this listed building.

"We are hoping to turn the court room into a council chamber and the judges' room at the back is going to be the mayor's parlour," he said. Other plans include a heritage centre and office space. They already have a £160,000 grant to buy the building but still need more money to convert it.

Until its recent closure, the police station was the third oldest in the country still to be in use and the town council is keen to preserve this historic building for the benefit of local residents and visitors alike.

Visitors also enjoy Market Rasen's many individual shops one of which, Rasen Hardware, has been owned and run by Roger Thwaites for thirty-three years, making him one of the longest serving shop-keepers in the town.

He originally took over the Queen Street premises from a painter and decorator and in those early days mostly sold paint. However, the business has now expanded into a traditional do-it-yourself and hardware store selling everything from basins to blinds. But running a shop such as this in a small town like Market Rasen is far more than simply operating a business.

"I can honestly say I've enjoyed every minute of my thirty-three years here," said Mr Thwaites. "I should think I know seventy-per cent of the customers who come through my door and in many cases know several generations of the same family."

Mr Thwaites thinks the new Tesco has been of considerable benefit to Market Rasen as people are drawn in from the outlying villages to do their weekly shop and then come into the town centre to look round the smaller shops.

But even though Market Rasen has this state-of-the-art supermarket, shoppers can still call in at the Tuesday market where an auction of produce is also held with customers bidding for everything from pheasants to vegetables.

Times have changed but it still remains a close-knit town with many clubs and societies and organisations including a choral society and a brass band. As with many Lincolnshire towns and villages, Market Rasen has experienced a building boom with new housing estates on the outskirts attracting people from other parts of the country, particularly the south. As well as patronising the shops in the town, many of these people join the local societies and help to ensure that Market Rasen continues to thrive in the future.