Mid 1980s, plans were made, buildings were demolished, the path was paved for a new indoor shopping mall in Skegness.
On September 17th 1988, the Hildreds Shopping Centre was officially opened. But why was it named ‘Hildreds’?
Well, let’s look at one of the buildings that was demolished.
One of the first hotels in Skegness was called New Hotel, and later Hildred’s Hotel and it was situated on High Street.

Below: a present day photograph of the site from the same perspective as the old photo of the hotel.

Why was it called Hildred’s?
Who were the Hildreds?

Let’s do a quantum leap back in time to the year 1791 to find out….

….We’re in a tiny Lincolnshire village called Strubby, twenty or so miles north west of Skegness. It’s June and a young man named Edward Hildred and his new wife, Sarah had just had their first son born to them. They baptized him Abraham.
The following year, in September, a second son was baptized by the name of Joseph.
By 1798, Edward and Sarah were blessed with at least three more children, Mary, Stafford and Benjamin.
Time passed, and the second son, Joseph Hildred found himself a young lady called Sarah Johnson, a Wainfleet girl, They wed in Ingoldmells Church in May 1823.
Settling in Ingoldmells, about four miles up coast of Skegness, the couple had their first child, John Stafford, in 1824.
It was very common in Georgian or Victorian times to name one’s children after family members, and most probably John Stafford was named after his uncle, Stafford Hildred. (This forename was maintained through the generations for at least a century). Joseph and Sarah stayed in Ingoldmells for about eleven years, They had more children, Charles b1825 and Ann b1828. Between 1829 and 1833, the couple moved to Skegness. Three more children were born to them, Jane b1829, Matthew b1833 and Henry also b1833.

Censuses reports in England commenced in 1841 and were taken every ten years thereafter. Joseph and Sarah Hildred are to be found on the 1841 census living in ‘New Hotel’ High Street Skegness.
Evidence that the ‘New Hotel’ and the subsequent ‘Hildreds Hotel’ are one of the same, comes from following the enumerator’s walk on the 1841 census; the walk is along Lumley Terrace ( the stretch between the present Beresford Ave and the Clock Tower) and into High Street, Joseph and Sarah Hildred were in the first ‘abode’ on High Street, the site of the hotel.

We can now conject that the Hildred’s Hotel was built before 1841.

On the 1841 census, Joseph’s occupation was ‘Innkeeper’.Joseph Hildred, the owner of one of the first hotels in Skegness died in 1848.Wife Sarah Hildred maintained ownership of the hotel.

The 1851 census shows the abode was still named ‘New Hotel’. Sarah was head and ‘Innkeeper’.

The 1861 census merely named the premises as High Street, Sarah Hildred still as head and ‘Innkeeper.

Joseph and Sarah’s son Charles left the county of Lincolnshire to live in Hastings Sussex, where he married Eliza Fisher in 1852.
The family can be seen on the 1861 census living in Hastings, Charles is an Ironmonger. ( I particularly mention Charles here, as he is to be a key figure as we shall soon see).

1871 - still the ‘New Hotel’, still Sarah as head and ‘Innkeeper’.Charles, now Ironmonger Commercial Traveler, is still in Hastings with his family.

1880 - Sarah Hildred dies. She has been the hotel proprietor for at least forty years.

1881 census - Charles and his family move from Hastings and they are found on the census in High Street Skegness, Charles’ occupation is ‘Hotel Keeper’. The premises are not named, merely listed as High Street. Again we can assume that the premises were the hotel by following the enumerator’s walk as before.

1891 census - The hotel is finally referred to as ‘Hildred’s Hotel’. But who is Hotel Manager? It’s a Mr Robert R Taylor from Sutton le Marsh, and his wife, Eliza.
Then where is Charles? Charles is 66 years old now and he’s living across the way from the hotel in Rutland Road, with his wife and family. He’s a ‘Commission Agent’ now!

It seems as though when the Hildred Family actually moved out of the Hotel premises and employed a manager, they maintained presence by finally giving the hotel the family name.

1901 census - Hildred’s Hotel is inhabited by a Mr Frances Naylor, now a ‘Licensed Victualer’ from Nuneaton, Warwick, and his wife Mary.
Charles, now 77 years old is sadly widowed. He’s living as a boarder in Lumley Avenue, occupation - ‘Retired Pier Master’.
Charles Hildred died not long after the census was taken in 1901.

Joseph Hildred died, Sarah Hildred died, Charles died, the hotel died!

But their name lives on in Skegness!

Edward and Sarah from Strubby must be very proud - wherever they are!

Hildred Name Index
(leads to source documents, census reports etc.)

Hildreds Family Tree

Hildred Register Report

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