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Carre's Grammar School was established in 1604 by Robert Carre of Aswarby (later Sir Robert Carr of Old Sleaford), who went on to found Carre's Hospital in 1636 (Sleaford Hospital survives as a charitable trust, owning and operating the almshouses at the junction of Carre Street and Eastgate immediately to the south of St. Denys Church and a later set of almshouses in Northgate). The school eventually fell into decay and students were taught in the parish church until 1816 (this part of St. Denys Church is now known as the Lady Chapel), when the school was discontinued. It was rebuilt in 1834 in an Elizabethan style and classes continued. Although the school was free for classical learning, a fee of about two guineas was charged each year for any other branches of education.

In 1726, William Alvey left an endowment for 20 poor boys and 20 poor girls to attend schooling. Alvey's Charity School was held in rented rooms until 1841. In 1785, James Harryman left the interest off of £100 to provide shoes and stockings for the children of this school.

The common lands were enclosed in 1777 (some sources say 1794). The Sleaford Navigation was opened in 1794. From 1829 to 1831 the street pattern of the entire town was reworked, a new Town Hall built, and better drainage laid.

After the voting reforms of 1832, Sleaford became a polling place for the members of parliament for the Southern Division of Lincolnshire. The railways arrived from 1857. Sleaford was eventually the junction of six major roads and five railway branch-lines, making it a regional centre. The railways caused the decline of the Sleaford Navigation, which closed in 1878. It had much to be proud of when this description was penned in 1870.

The Hubbard seed firm began in Sleaford in 1882 and then grew to become a major national business. With the establishment of the Kesteven County Council under the Act of Parliament of 1888, Sleaford became its county town.

The Bass Maltings complex opened fully in 1905, replacing all the small malthouses in the area. The complex struggled to remain open during World War II, but survived until 1960 when it closed.

During World War I, from 1916 naval airships operated from nearby Cranwell, then known as RNAS Daedalus, and a now defunct field, RFC Leadenham provided England's main defence against Zeppelin raids. RAF College Cranwell became the world's first military air academy in 1920.

During World War II the many RAF airfields north of Sleaford played a role in the Battle of Britain, in the debilitating of the Axis war machine and RAF and USAAF airfields all around took part in the Allied invasion of Europe. (For example, see RAF Folkingham). Although the area's wartime aviation history is more associated with bombing, hence the name "Bomber County" being synonymous with Lincolnshire.

In the 1940s plastic surgery was pioneered at No.4 RAF Hospital, Rauceby, on the western outskirts of Sleaford. The Burns Unit was situated in Orchard House - one of the last remaining parts of Rauceby Mental Hospital (formerly the Kesteven Lunatic Asylum) to remain in NHS use as offices for Lincolnshire South West PCT following the Mental Health Hospital's closure in 1998. The whole site (which is now being redeveloped principally by David Wilson Homes for private housing) and its immediate environs including Rauceby railway station, has recently been renamed as Greylees, a suburb of the Market Town of Sleaford.

The most prominent church in Sleaford is the parish church of St. Denys, which forms the eastern side of Market Place. The church has one of the oldest stone broach spires in England, and mostly dates from 1180, but parts of the church were rebuilt after an electrical storm in 1884. The altar rail (originally from Lincoln Cathedral) is by Sir Christopher Wren. The church is also known for its stained glass, elegant traceried windows, and carved heads, which are noted in its Grade I listing.