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Long considered to be one of the most beautiful of England’s smaller towns, Stamford, with well over a thousand years of history behind it, occupies a hilly site astride the River Welland. It is in the extreme south west corner of Lincolnshire immediately adjacent to Northamptonshire and Rutland.

Always a place of importance in the country’s history, Stamford grew up as a main road town where the Great North Road crosses the Welland. That famous thoroughfare brought trade and prosperity for centuries and gave it quick and easy communications with the rest of the country, communications that were only ever dented by the coming of the railways. Today some of the rail routes remain and give Stamford good links on a through line from the Midlands to East Anglia. The town remains, however, a road centre although a by-pass in the form of the A1 and a lorry ban now takes the heavy traffic away from the centre and has brought a degree of peace to the many historic and beautiful buildings that are such a feature of the town. These buildings, mostly built of the warm tinted Jurassic limestone that is so characteristic of this corner of the country, give Stamford a distinguished Georgian appearance that has few if any equals.

The town’s growth started with the Saxons and by the 10th century Stamford was a borough whose rights were later confirmed by Royal charters of 1462, 1481 and 1663. Indeed, Stamford has very much the feeling of a county town but without a county - it has, indeed, more in common with Rutland to the west than with Lincolnshire whose county headquarters are away to the north.

Stamford’s easy communications made it a stopover point for kings and queens. King Edward I was a frequent visitor, Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots were entertained here and Charles I was said to have spent his last night of freedom here at the end of the Civil War. It is this long and interesting history that is reflected in Stamford’s range of beautiful churches and schools (it was once on the verge of becoming a rival to Oxford University) that draw modern day tourists from all over the world. Local industries give added prosperity and the town’s shops and markets serve a wide area. The town, too, has a theatre, museum, good sports facilities that include a leisure centre, several excellent hotels and as many good pubs as one could wish for. Stamford, in short, is an ideal place to visit and, with its excellent modern housing estates, an ideal place in which to live.

Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication and the statements contained herein are believed to be correct, the publishers and promoters cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies. Reproduction of any part of this publication in any format, without permission, is strictly forbidden. Editorial courtesy of Mr P.J. Norris. Photographs supplied by Don Lambert Photography, Stamford 01780 757673.