Spilsby is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16, east of the county town of Lincoln, north-east of Boston and north-west of Skegness. It lies at the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds and north of the Fenlands, and is surrounded by scenic walking, nature reserves and other places to visit. The town has been a rural market town for more than 700 years. It has changed little in size since the beginning of the 19th century. The town centre includes a range of small supermarkets, banks, traditional newsagents, baker, butchers, jewellers and clothing stores, together with public houses, cafes and fast-food takeaways. At the centre of town is an open square or traditional market place, from which the four main town streets radiate. Markets take place on a Monday. As Spilsby is located within a predominantly agricultural area, much of the market produce consists of locally grown vegetables and meat. The population of the town was 2,336 in the 2001 census, increasing to 3,045 at the 2011 Census. History Early history and a medieval market town The area has been occupied by humans since prehistoric times. Evidence for this can be found at nearby West Keal, where an Iron Age hill fort and defensive terraced earthworks were built at the tip of the Wolds promontory, overlooking the present village. The Spilsby area was visited and occupied by the Romans during the 1st century and held by them until the 4th century AD. During the 1960s, an archaeological dig and field walk at nearby Keal Cotes, in a large field south of the village (where the A16 meets Hagnaby Lane), discovered tessellated mosaic floor tiles and roof tiles. These indicated that a substantial Roman villa or high-status Romano-British farmhouse once stood on the site. The recorded finds from the site are stored at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. In 1849 six Roman funeral urns were dug up in nearby Fulletby. Spilsby was probably named before or no later than the 9th-century period of Danish rule, which had extended for centuries. It derives from the term Spila's-by, where by is old Old Norse for "place of dwelling". Hence, it meant "Spila's village", Spila (pronounced "Spiller") having been the local Viking warlord or chieftain, who acted as head of the immediate area.