Old Images of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

Glimpse history through old images of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England.

Toll Bridge (1927)

Despite the rainy weather, a big crowd turned out one day in 1927 to watch Sir Henry Maybury deliver a speech before a procession marched across the town’s tollbridge, which would now be free to cross.

Gainsborough’s Great Day (1927) – British Pathé on YouTube

Wartime Women (1942)

In 1942, during the second world war, men of working age were expected to be away serving or toiling in their reserved occupation. The wartime government encouraged women to consider doing work society wouldn’t normally allow them to do in that era.

A newsreel shows a group of women preparing to repaint Gainsborough’s Bridge over the River Trent.

Women Bridge Painters (1942) – British Pathé on YouTube

Flood Workers (1947)

Silent, black and white footage from 1947 shows the efforts to recover the area around Spalding and Gainsborough after flooding submerged much of the local farmland.

It’s a shame we don’t see many buildings, but there are some nice shots of the men working to pump the flood waters away.

Floods At Spalding Aka Floods At Gainsborough (1947) – British Pathé on YouTube