Everything about Stamford Lincolnshire totally explained
Stamford is a town within the
South Kesteven district of
Lincolnshire,
England. It is situated on the
River Welland, in a southwesterly protrusion of Lincolnshire, between
Rutland to the north and west, and
Cambridgeshire to the south. It borders
Northamptonshire to the south-west at the only point in England where four counties meet.
History
Danelaw
The town originally grew as a
Danish settlement at the lowest point that the Welland could be crossed by ford or bridge. Stamford was the only one of the five
Danelaw boroughs not to become a
county town. Initially a pottery centre, producing
Stamford Ware, by the
Middle Ages it had become famous for its production of
wool and woollen
cloth (known as
Stamford cloth). Stamford was a walled town but only a very small portion of the walls now remain. Stamford became an inland
port on the
Great North Road (also part of the
Roman road Ermine Street - it passes through the town - where it forded the River Welland). Notable buildings in the town include the
mediaeval Browne's Hospital, churches and the buildings of
Stamford School, a
public school founded in 1532.
Education
During 1333-4, a group of students and tutors from
Merton and
Brasenose Colleges, dissatisfied with conditions at their university, left Oxford to establish a
rival college
at Stamford. Oxford and Cambridge universities petitioned the King, and
Edward III ordered their return to Oxford. Oxford
MA students were obliged to swear the following:
You shall also swear that you won't read lectures, or hear them read, at Stamford, as in a University study, or college general. Students in Stamford can now study at
New College Stamford on
Drift Road for
BA degrees in Art and Design, awarded by the
University of Lincoln.
Historic houses
Also lying near Stamford (actually in the
Soke of Peterborough) is
Burghley House, an
Elizabethan mansion, vast and ornate, built by the First Minister of
Elizabeth I, Sir William Cecil, later
Lord Burghley. Also inside the district of Peterborough is the village of
Wothorpe.
Another historic country house near Stamford is
Tolethorpe Hall, now host to theatre productions by the Stamford Shakespeare Company.
Archaeology
In June 1968, a specimen of the
Cetiosaurus oxoniensis sauropod dinosaur was found by Bill Boddington in the Williamson Cliffe quarry, close to
Great Casterton. It was calculated to be around 170 million years old, from the
Aalenian or
Bajocian part of the
Jurassic era. It is one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons found in the UK, being fifteen metres long, and is now in the
New Walk Museum in
Leicester, being on display since 1975. It is known as the
Rutland Dinosaur. The
Jurassic Way runs from
Banbury to Stamford. The
Hereward Way runs through the town from Rutland to the
Peddars Way in
Norfolk. The
Macmillan Way heads through the town, finishing at
Boston and there's also the
Torpel Way from the town to Peterborough, which follows much of the Hereward Way.
Churches
Stamford is known for its many churches.
All Saint's in
39 Red Lion Square, St Mary's on
St Mary's Street, St John the Baptist, in
St George's Square, and St Martin's on the
High Street St Martins. St Michael's, at the bottom of
Ironmonger Street, is now a parade of shops.
Architectural style
The industrial revolution largely passed Stamford by. Much of town centre was built centuries ago, and the older streets have been a set for television
period dramas. Stamford is a quaint town, with street after street of timber-framed and stone buildings (using the local
limestone that
Lincoln Cathedral is built from), little shops tucked down back alleys such as Olde Barn Passage and Bath Row, and without the traffic and street furniture it would be difficult to tell what century you were in. The
Meadows, next to the Welland is a popular place to relax in the summer for daytrippers. The main shopping area was
pedestrianized in the 1980s.
Transport
Lying as it does on the main north-south route (
Ermine Street and the
A1) from
London, several
Parliaments were held in Stamford in the Middle Ages. The
George, the
Bull and Swan, the
Crown and the
London Inn were well-known
coaching inns. The town had to manage with Britain's north-south traffic through its narrow roads until 1960, when the bypass was built, only a few months after the
M1 opened. The old route is now the B1081. There is only one bridge over the Welland (excluding the A1): a local transport anxiety. Until 1996, there were firm plans for the bypass to be upgraded to
motorway standard; though these have been shelved. The
Carpenter's Lodge roundabout south of the town is being upgraded to a grade-separated junction. The
A16 (
Uffington Road), which heads to
Market Deeping, meets the north end of the
A43 (
Wothorpe Road) in the south of the town and threads its way through narrow streets. The
railway station, hidden away between
Wothorpe Road and the Welland, has direct services to
Leicester,
Birmingham and
Stansted Airport (via
Cambridge) on the
Birmingham to Peterborough Line. It passes next to the Girls' School.
Local economy
The
Stamford Mercury claims to have been published since 1695 and to be "Britain's oldest newspaper". The
Newcastle Journal and
London Gazette also claim this honour.
Walkers is a well-known bookshop.
Local radio choice is shared between Peterborough's
Hereward FM (102.7) and the smaller
Rutland Radio (the 97.4 transmitter is on
Little Casterton Road) from
Oakham. Then there are the BBC's
Radio Cambridgeshire (95.7 from
Peterborough),
Radio Northampton (103.6 from
Corby) and
Radio Lincolnshire (94.9). NOW Digital broadcasts from the East Casterton transmitter covering the town and
Spalding, which provides the
Peterborough 12D multiplex (BBC Radio Cambridgeshire & Hereward FM).
South of the town is
RAF Wittering, a main employer, and the
Home of the Harrier. It originally opened in 1916 as
RFC Stamford, which closed then re-opened in 1924 under its present title. The engineering company
Cummins Generator Technologies (formerly Newage International), a maker of
electrical generators, is based on
Barnack Road. National jeweller
F. Hinds can trace their history back to the clockmaker Joseph Hinds, who worked in Stamford in the first half of the nineteenth Century and they also have a branch in the town. Nearby to the west, along the
A6121, is
Castle Cement at
Ketton which has one of it's main production sites for [Cement] which is quarried locally.
Filming location
Television shows
Films
Pride and Prejudice (2004) - used as the village of Meryton.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
The Golden Bowl (2000)
Famous Stamfordians
Torben Betts, playwright
David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, as Lord Burghley, gold medal-winning Olympic Hurdler
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
Malcolm Christie, professional footballer
Rae Earl Johnson, Author and broadcaster
Colin Dexter
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
General Sir Mike Jackson
Francis Peck
Robert of Ketton, Medieval theologian, first translator of the Qu'ran
Sir Malcolm Sargent
Nigel Sixsmith, Founder member of The Art Of Sound, well known Keytar player
Sir Michael Tippett
Arthur Troop - founder of the International Police Association (1950)
Tom Ford Presenter 5th Gear (Broadcaster)
James Mayhew, writer and illustrator of children's booksFurther Information
Get more info on 'Stamford Lincolnshire'.
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