Top Things to do in Spilsby
Top Hotels in Spilsby
What to do and see in Spilsby, England: The Best Sights & Landmarks
Discover the best top things to do in Spilsby, United Kingdom including St Andrews Church, St. Margaret's Church, Gunby Hall and Gardens, Monksthorpe Chapel, Market Cross, Sir John Franklin Statue, St Peter's.
Restaurants in Spilsby
1. St Andrews Church
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
2. St. Margaret's Church
3. Gunby Hall and Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 488 reviews
Gunby Hall is a country house in Gunby, near Spilsby, in Lincolnshire. Otherwise known as Tennyson’s ‘Haunt of Ancient Peace’, Gunby Hall is a fine ‘William and Mary’ red brick house, dating from 1700 and extended in the 1870s, located in a quiet corner of Lincolnshire. Many of the rooms are paneled and there is a beautiful oak staircase. The house contains collections of grand family portraits, elegant furniture and exquisite china. The Massingberd family had connections with many influential people of their day; from the Wedgewood family, Tennyson and the composer Ralph Vaughn Williams to Rudyard Kipling and Charles Darwin. Bennett Langton, James Boswell and Dr Johnson were also regular visitors to the house and there is a famous signed copy of Boswell’s ‘The Life of Dr Johnson’ kept in the Library. Joshua Reynolds’ paintings of Bennett Langton and his wife are part of the collection as well a beautiful grand piano that Ralph Vaughn Williams played when visiting the Massingberds. The exquisite garden is planted with traditional English plants, fruit and flowers. It has a dovecot that pre dates the house and a charming loveseat hidden away behind fragrant roses
Reviewed By Redcot - Lincoln, United Kingdom
Gunby Hall lawns and gardens are a tranquil haven.You walk up a magnificent avenue of trees and through an arch into a beautiful courtyard.There is a cafe here serving delicious cakes, ice creams etc. There is a walled garden,Dovecote , Orchard and many specimen trees on the lawns.Best of all is a huge Cedar tree. In normal times there are numerous places to sit and just relax for the afternoon and soak in the tranquility. The house itself is currently closed but is not too large and has the feel of a family home. Gunby is one of our places to visit and I thoroughly recommend it.
4. Monksthorpe Chapel
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By christopherd550 - Nottingham, United Kingdom
One of my pet hates on TripAdvisor (apart from the pathetic ‘new’ layout and its seemingly unflinching belief that all people want to use it for is to book flights) is when people refer to something as a “hidden gem.” It seems as though it is entirely academic whether the place/restaurant/café/attraction has a 60ft neon sign guiding you to its doors, someone somewhere will still refer to it as a hidden gem. Monksthorpe Chapel however is one of those rare occurrences where something can legitimately be referred to as a hidden gem, for without an up to date sat-nav or very good local geographical knowledge, you’re not going to stumble across this place. Tucked away in the tiny hamlet of Monksthorpe (basically just a small road/dirt track in the middle of some fields) is this small, unassuming little chapel that, were you to pay it no heed, you would take to be a large barn. This is deliberate, for the building – a Baptist Chapel – was designed to look like a barn to avoid any unwanted attention at a time when the Church of England was all powerful and any schism in religious worship led to direct persecution. That time was the early 18th Century and it was in 1701 that this chapel (or “meeting house”) was built on land given to the worshippers by Hugh Ayscoghe of nearby Halton Holegate. The building is a simple brick construction and, at the time of construction, had a thatched roof. Sadly this thatched roof is now gone as it was replaced by a tiled roof during a renovation in 1847. The inside is very sparse and again, this is deliberate. The Baptist worshippers were keen to ensure it was a very simple house of worship with no risk of idol worship. Therefore you will not see any stained glass windows, merely plain clear glass. The chapel is very small and yet manages to house to the main two rows of seating, a pulpit, two vestries (ridiculously small simple rooms) and an upper gallery with additional seating that can be accessed by a narrow little staircase immediately on your right as you enter the chapel. It is staggeringly simple and yet immensely lovely. One nice touch is that Hugh Ayscoghe (who gave the land to the Baptists) is buried underneath where the pulpit now sits and his gravestone can still be seen. There is also a full immersion Baptism font built out the front of the Chapel and this dates approximately to 1701 also. It is believed this is only one of about two examples in this country. In 2001 The National Trust took ownership of Monksthorpe Chapel and therefore in order to gain access to the chapel you have to acquire the large key for it from the tea rooms at nearby NT property Gunby Hall. It is a short drive (or a moderate walk from the hall) and you will require a £20 refundable deposit in order to acquire the key. Gunby Hall gets many visitors and I would urge all of them to add Monksthorpe Chapel into their visit as well. Whilst the work of The National Trust is undoubtedly amazing, a huge amount of credit must also go to The Friends of Monsthorpe – a group of volunteers who formed in 1991 upon the rediscovering of the chapel by the Baptist community. It was under their stewardship that the Chapel was rededicated and services began there once again. I have been in many great churches and cathedrals in my time, but there is something so fundamentally different and wonderful about Monksthorpe Chapel that it really does have to be seen. It really is a hidden gem…
5. Market Cross
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 3 reviews
6. Sir John Franklin Statue
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 13 reviews
Reviewed By lone-opine - Bristol, United Kingdom
There is plenty of space around to admire this interesting statue which was lovingly restored and cleaned by local people many years ago. There are two other statues of Sir John Franklin, one is in Tasmania and the other in Waterloo Place in central London. Spilsby's statue is slightly less grand than the London one but it is good to think of Franklin being permanently here in his own town. He is most famous for leading the ill fated arctic expedition to find the North West passage but had an interesting and quite noble life before then. A frieze in the market place gives more details and there is a plaque on the the house where he was born.( both a little shabby now). The statue is in fine condition.
