The twentieth century gave Louth its best-loved park and its museum, took away its canal and its railway, and brought two world wars and a deadly flood. This page follows the town from 1900 to today.
A New Century
A grammar school for girls opened on Westgate in 1903. In 1910, the Louth Naturalists', Antiquarian and Literary Society opened Louth Museum on Broadbank, in a building designed by John James Cresswell. In 1919, electric lighting began to replace gas.
Hubbard's Hills, 1907
In 1907, the steep wooded valley of the Lud west of the town opened as a public park. Auguste Alphonse Pahud, a Swiss teacher of French and German at the grammar school, had wanted a memorial to his wife, Annie, who died in 1889. After his own death in 1902, his trustees bought the valley and gave it to the town, which opened it to the public on 1 August 1907. More than a century on, it's still Louth's favourite place for a walk. See Hubbard's Hills on Louth Town Council's website.
The First World War
Men from Louth served and died across the world between 1914 and 1918. The town's war memorial was unveiled in 1921, and Louth Museum has looked at what life was like for those who came home.
Between the Wars
Within two years of the war ending, Louth suffered its worst disaster: on 29 May 1920, a flash flood killed 23 people. It has its own page, The Louth Flood, 1920.
Its trade long lost to the railway, the Louth Navigation was abandoned in 1924. The town's first council houses were built in the 1920s and 1930s, Monks' Dyke School opened in 1929, and the boys' grammar school moved into new buildings on Edward Street in 1932. In 1938, the old workhouse became the town's hospital.
The Second World War
At the start of September 1939, 773 evacuees arrived in Louth from the Leeds area. It wasn't always a happy match, and many mothers soon took their children home. The countryside around the town filled with airfields: RAF Manby, home to an air armament school, opened shortly before the war, and the Wolds and coast were dotted with bomber and training bases. Louth itself was bombed during the war. The town council records 286 servicemen and women and 15 civilians from Louth among the war dead.
Losing the Railway
A large malt kiln was built beside the station around 1950 and became a landmark of the town's skyline. The railways began to shrink in 1951, when passenger trains to Bardney ended. On 5 October 1970, regular passenger services through Louth stopped altogether. Goods trains kept running to the maltings until December 1980. The station building was later converted into homes, and malting ended in 1998.
Cordeaux School opened in 1956. The Lincolnshire Wolds were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1973, now known as the Lincolnshire Wolds National Landscape. RAF Manby, which received the freedom of the town in 1965, closed in the 1970s. In 1974, the borough of Louth became part of the new East Lindsey District.
Recent Times
The A16 bypass opened in 1991, taking heavy traffic away from the town's narrow streets. The Meridian Leisure Centre opened in 2010.
After the floods of summer 2007, the Environment Agency built a £6.5 million flood alleviation scheme, with storage areas upstream on the Lud and Hallington Beck, formally opened on 28 July 2017. That same year, after a strong public campaign, East Lindsey District Council voted on 11 October 2017 to keep and refurbish Louth's cattle market rather than sell the site, keeping alive a trade with centuries of history in the town.
In 2015, Louth celebrated 500 years of its spire. Today it's a busy market town of around 17,000 people, known for its independent shops, its markets and its history. Back to the start: A History of Louth.
Sources and Further Reading
- Louth Town Council, Saxon times to the 20th century
- Louth Museum, World War II evacuees in Louth
- East Lincolnshire Railway on Wikipedia
- Environment Agency, Louth and Horncastle flood schemes formally opened
- Farmers Weekly, Louth Cattle Market saved from closure