Market Rasen

Coordinates: 53°23′14″N 0°20′08″W / 53.38713°N 0.33550°W / 53.38713; -0.33550

Market Rasen
View of Queen Street
Market Rasen  Market Rasen shown within Lincolnshire
Population	3,230
OS grid reference	TF108891
- London	130 mi (209 km) S
District	West Lindsey
Shire county	Lincolnshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MARKET RASEN
Postcode district	LN8
Police	Lincolnshire
Fire	Lincolnshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Gainsborough
List of places: UK • England • Lincolnshire

Market Rasen is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the River Rase 13.8 miles (22 km) northeast of Lincoln, 18 miles (29 km) east of Gainsborough and 16.3 miles (26 km) southwest of Grimsby. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 3,200.^[1]

Description

Market Rasen is a small market town on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The town lies on the main road between Lincoln and Grimsby, the A46, and is also on National Cycle Route 1 (part of EuroVelo 12) of the National Cycle Network.^[2]

St.Thomas' church

The town centre has a homogeneous 19th century red brick appearance of mainly Georgian and Victorian architecture, centred around an active market place dominated by a medieval church albeit much "restored" in the 19th century.

The town is known for its racecourse, as well as its rugby and golf clubs.

The River Rase flows through the town and can be crossed via Jameson Bridge, Caistor Road Bridge and Crane Bridge. The town apparently takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon version of this name, meaning "plank".

Market days are Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Additionally, on each Tuesday there is an auction of goods and produce, and on the first Tuesday of every month there is a farmers' market. Also every Friday, the WI holds a "country market".

Market Rasen is twinned with the town of Mamers, in the Sarthe region of Pays de la Loire, France.^{[citation needed]}

Market Rasen's community fire and police station (opened December, 2005) is one of the first purpose built combined fire and police stations in the UK. The former police station was built in 1849 and was the third oldest police station still in operational use in the country.^{[citation needed]}

The town has its own newspaper, the weekly Market Rasen Mail, which was founded in 1856. It is published by Johnston Press.

History

Originally, "Rasen", as it is known locally, was called "East Rasen" and also "Rasen Parva" or "Little Rasen". With the coming of the railway in 1848 Little Rasen quickly outgrew its neighbours West and Middle Rasen, and is now by far the largest of the three.^{[citation needed]}

Education

The only secondary school is De Aston School, a rural co-educational 11-18 comprehensive with approximately 1,300 pupils, both day pupils and boarders. It was founded in 1863 as a small grammar school as part of a legal settlement following a court case involving funds from the medieval charity of Thomas de Aston, a 13th century monk. Until recently, the school's foundation governors also owned the chapel at the site of the charity's almshouses at Spital-on-the-Street, a few miles away to the west.^{[citation needed]}

Located within the Market Rasen area are several primary schools: Market Rasen Church of England, Middle Rasen School and Pre-school, and others at Osgodby, Faldingworth and Legsby. Market Rasen Church of England Primary School is near to the centre of the town. It was built in the 1930s and was a secondary school until 1974, when the primary school moved to the site. The school logo is the Wagtail. Each of the classes are named after British birds such as the Wren, Robin and Kestrel. The school currently has 266 pupils ranging from 4–11 years old.^{[citation needed]}

Middle Rasen school is within 1 mile (1.6 km) of Market Rasen town centre. It is a village school with four classes and around 90 pupils, and provides for out of school film and drama clubs, and traditional sports activities.^{[citation needed]} Middle Rasen Nursery, although independent, is situated on the site of the school to provide progression to full time education. The nursery site also provides out of school hours care for children attending Middle Rasen School.^{[citation needed]}

February 2008 earthquake

Main article: 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake

On 27 February 2008, a significant earthquake occurred, centred on the neighbouring parish of Middle Rasen, approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Market Rasen. The earthquake, which according to the British Geological Survey measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale, struck at 00:56 47.8s at a depth of 18.6 kilometres (11.6 mi)^[3] and was felt across much of the UK from Edinburgh to Plymouth and as far away as Bangor in Northern Ireland and Haarlem in the Netherlands.^[4] The 10-second quake was the biggest recorded example in the United Kingdom since the 1984 Lleyn Peninsula earthquake struck North Wales, measuring 5.4M.^[5][6]

Notable people

• Bernie Taupin, Elton John's lyricist, married in the town in 1971.^{[citation needed]} It is reported^{[by whom?]} that Elton Johns song 'Saturday Nights Alright (for Fighting)' was written by Bernie following his experiences and knowledge of local public house The Aston Arms.^{[citation needed]}
• Rod Temperton, a De Aston pupil, wrote the title track on the second biggest selling album.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Market Rasen railway station
• Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway
• Market Rasen Racecourse

References

1. ^ "Market Rasen Civil Parish". Office for National Statistics. 2001 census. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=796544&c=market+rasen&d=16&e=15&g=469091&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
2. ^ "Map of the National Cycle Network route through Market Rasen". Sustrans. http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?postcode=postcode&town=market+rasen. Retrieved 2008-06-16. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Seismic Alert: Market Rasen, British Geological Survey, 27 February 2008
4. ^ "Earthquake felt across much of UK". London: BBC. 2008-02-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7266136.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 
5. ^ "Market town at epicentre of quake". London: BBC. 2008-02-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7266668.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
6. ^ "Earthquake felt across much of UK". London: BBC. 2008-02-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7266136.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-27.