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This site was produced by: LOCAL
AUTHORITY PUBLISHING
Publishers for local authorities throughout Great Britain. View
more Official Guides at www.officialguides.co.uk |
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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.
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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.
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