< Back Location – Stamford bus park viewing platform, overlooking the modern Eleanor Cross in the Sheepmarket Transcription One of the great love stories of the medieval age, the love of Edward I for his wife Eleanor of Castile is commemorated in the sculpture in front of you. They were married for 36 years and were inseparable; the Queen even went with her husband on the Crusades. When Eleanor died in 1290 of a slow fever, at Harby near Lincoln, Edward resolved to honour her memory. He built a monument at the cross roads in each of the towns where the Queen’s body rested overnight on the way to burial in Westminster Abbey, in the hope that pilgrims and those passing by would pray for her soul. There were originally twelve monuments at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Hardingstone, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Alban’s, Waltham, Cheapside and Charing Cross, but only three at Northampton, Geddington and Waltham have survived. All that remains of our Eleanor Cross is a small fragment of a rose carved in stone which is now displayed in Stamford Museum. The symbol of a remarkable love has inspired the sculpture by Wolfgang Buttress which celebrates Stamford’s place in Eleanor’s story. Pupils of Queen Eleanor Technical College have written short haiku poems, elegant 17 syllable phrases, which have been carved into the bronze studs surrounding the sculpture. On the right-hand side of the plaque – Night and once again Eleanor I wait in vain for you, cold wind Turns to rain Viewing platform at the bus station facing the Sheepmarket Comment This bronze plaque is unreadable to passing tourists and access to the viewing platform is often difficult because of a parked vehicle and stored material. You can squeeze past vehicles but would need to spend some time attempting to read the words and the view of the Cross is now obscured by a tree. The plaque would have been installed some years ago when the view of the Cross was unobstructed, Stamford Museum existed and of course, Queen Eleanor Technical College is now Stamford Welland Academy so is now partially misleading by default. The original idea must have been to attract people getting off the buses and onto this viewing platform and before walking down the bank into town. The fragment of Eleanor Cross is on display in Stamford Library. A similar plaque with revised text has been installed on the right as you walk down Castle Dyke towards the Meadows. The comments and opinions in this document are attributed to Ronnie Teasdale and are not associated with any organisation. A print copy can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

Stamford Local History Society's depository for small articles, notes, titbits and other miscellanea of local interest. SNIPPETS Browse our library of published historical snippets linked with Stamford and the surrounding area. Survey of Stamford Plaques - No.1 Number 10 St. Mary’s Hill, St Paul’s Passage Ronnie Teasdale 19 October 2026 Read Snippet Survey of Stamford Plaques - No.2 Viewing platform at the bus station facing the Sheepmarket Ronnie Teasdale 19 October 2026 Read Snippet Melancholy Walk What's in a name? Eugene Perrett 26 September 2026 Read Snippet The Home Guard Stamford in the Second World War Stamford Local History Society 26 September 2026 Read Snippet The End of Bull Running in Stamford Chronology of Stamford by George Burton 1846 Transcribed by Ronnie Teasdale 7 August 2026 Read Snippet Weather in Stamford Weather conditions in times past Submitted by Ronnie Teasdale 24 July 2026 Read Snippet RAF Sites Around Stamford - Part 2 Stamford in the Second World War Stamford Local History Society 25 June 2026 Read Snippet Stamford Primitive Methodist Chapel Another religious location in the town Stamford Mercury 7th November 1862 25 June 2026 Read Snippet RAF Sites Around Stamford - Part 1 Stamford in the Second World War Stamford Local History Society 27 May 2026 Read Snippet Silk Mills, Stamford - Advert to Parish Officers Drakard's Stamford News 29th Nov 1822 Submitted by Chris Hunt 30 April 2026 Read Snippet Adam Horsley - Rector of St John the Baptist. A 14th Century Cleric. Adam Horsley was a King’s Clerk, an exchequer clerk, and a controller of the great pipe roll from 1375 to 1382. Chris Hunt 24 April 2026 Read Snippet A novel match - World War One munition girls play football 1917 A novel match - World War One munition girls play football 1917 Submitted by Chris Hunt 27 February 2026 Read Snippet Obituary and Records - November 15 1801 Stamford Bull Running Submitted by Ronnie Teasdale 31 January 2026 Read Snippet Obituary and Records - July 1810 Eccentric people Submitted by Ronnie Teasdale 31 January 2026 Read Snippet Andy Capp Born Near Stamford in 1956 Daily Mirror Cartoon Character Chris Hunt 9 January 2026 Read Snippet Boat Commercial Inn, Stamford - A Poem from 1865 The Boat & Railway Public House Submitted by Chris Hunt 9 January 2026 Read Snippet Public Air Raid Shelters Stamford in the Second World War Stamford Local History Society 30 November 2025 Read Snippet The 1942 Drift Estate Blitz Stamford in the Second World War Stamford Local History Society 29 November 2025 Read Snippet Licence to Construct Buildings in the Churchyard for the use of the Rector of St George's Church, Stamford in 1295 St George's Church, Stamford in 1295 Submitted by Chris Hunt 31 October 2025 Read Snippet Polish Troops in the Stamford Area Stamford in the Second World War Stamford Local History Society 31 October 2025 Read Snippet Lulu and the Luvvers play the Lansbury Club in Stamford in 1964 Lansbury Club, later called the Newage Club Chris Hunt 30 September 2025 Read Snippet W H Smith & Sons opens Book & Newspaper stall at Stamford Midland Railway Station Stamford Railway Stations Stamford Mercury (Friday) August 28th 1885 14 September 2025 Read Snippet Fire at the Star Tea Company Shop on the High Street in 1904 Stamford Mercury 18th November 1904 21 August 2025 Read Snippet The Luftwaffe comes to Stamford Stamford in the Second World War Unknown 27 July 2025 Read Snippet Black Sabbath Plays Baston 1970 Marquee Barbecue and Dance Sleaford Standard 10th July 1970 24 July 2025 Read Snippet The Night of the Coventry Blitz - 1940 Memories of the Blitz Eric Hunt 28 June 2025 Read Snippet Roasted Grain Advert – Better Than Coffee - Sold in Stamford 1822 John Drakard is best known as the editor of Drakard’s Stamford News Drakard's Stamford News 20th September 1822 28 June 2025 Read Snippet Silk Mills, Stamford - Advert to Parish Officers Mr Gouger was advertising for young female staff in both Drakard’s Stamford News Drakard's Stamford News - 29th November 1822 28 June 2025 Read Snippet Fear of invasion at Stamford Grammar School after Dunkirk Evacuation after Dunkirk The Stamfordian Vol 11. No 3. 31 May 2025 Read Snippet The day World War Two was declared - September 3rd 1939 Recollections Recollection from 1939 31 May 2025 Read Snippet Stamford in the Second World War - 1940: Pillboxes Defenses against the threat of German invasion Mike Sockett 31 May 2025 Read Snippet Barton Transport Limited Concrete Bus Stop Post Survivor Concrete bus stops Chris Hunt 28 April 2025 Read Snippet Anti-Printing Poem by an Unknown Hand, Published in 1820 The Banished Printer to His Trade – A Parody Submitted by Chris Hunt 28 April 2025 Read Snippet Stamford Improvement Commission Meeting. Foul Smells in Stamford 1854 Stamford Mercury 1854 Submitted by Chris Hunt 29 March 2025 Read Snippet Stamford Mid-lent Fair in the past. Stamford Mercury Early Reports Submitted by Keith Hansell 29 March 2025 Read Snippet Royal Writs Addressed to John Buckingham Bishop of Lincoln 1373 Mandate to attend parliament Submitted by Chris Hunt 3 March 2025 Read Snippet Move of Police Station from Stamford Town Hall to the Portico Stamford Mercury 1890 Submitted by Chris Hunt 3 March 2025 Read Snippet Stamford Races 1849 - Admission Ticket to the Red Stand on Thursday July 19th 1849 Stamford Racecourse on Wittering Heath Submitted by Chris Hunt 3 March 2025 Read Snippet Poem 1806 An Amusing Apology from a Lincolnshire Newspaper 1806 Submitted By Chris Hunt 3 March 2025 Read Snippet New Landlord and Refurbishment at the George Inn 1725 Stamford Mercury 1725 Submitted by Chris Hunt 3 March 2025 Read Snippet New Footbridge over the River Welland 1863 Stamford Mercury 1863 Submitted by Chris Hunt 3 March 2025 Read Snippet The Vestry Books and Registers of St.John's Parish, Stamford Source - The Rutland Magazine Submitted By Chris Hunt 4 February 2025 Read Snippet Peterborough GNR Loco v Stamford Rutland Ironworks November 9th 1895 Football Match Commentary Chris Hunt 3 February 2025 Read Snippet A Christmas Card from the 46th North Midland Division Christmas Card Submitted By Chris Hunt 3 February 2025 Read Snippet Essendine to Ryhall Single Railway Ticket L.N.E.R Ticket Submitted by Chris Hunt 3 February 2025 Read Snippet Carmen Nuptiale On the Marriage of Lord and Lady Burghley, September 7th 1875 Undated Newspaper Cutting Submitted By Chris Hunt 3 February 2025 Read Snippet Early History of a Mormon Community in Stamford Mormons in Stamford Submitted by Chris Hunt 6 January 2025 Read Snippet Water Supply Issues in Stamford (Washing Clothes and Making Beer) 1550. Stamford Mercury 1873 Submitted by Chris Hunt 6 January 2025 Read Snippet Regulations For Brewers in Fetching Water in 1666 Stamford Mercury 1873 By Chris Hunt 6 January 2025 Read Snippet Royal Air Force Wittering Christmas Menu 1942 RAF Submitted by Chris Hunt 6 January 2025 Read Snippet Saracen’s Head in Stamford Another Lost Inn in Stamford Alan Rogers 6 January 2025 Read Snippet Catholic Chapel in Stamford 1851 - Parish of All Saints. Published by the Lincoln Record Society Submitted by Chris Hunt 6 January 2025 Read Snippet St John's Parish Stamford Owning Land in Ufford 1860 Stamford Mercury 1860 Chris Hunt 16 December 2024 Read Snippet The Incumbents of the Stamford Churches c.1886 The Incumbents of the Stamford Churches c.1886 Chris Hunt 16 December 2024 Read Snippet Anonymous Abuse – 1830s style: or Little Changes in Politics. Anonymous Abuse – 1830s style: or Little Changes in Politics. John S Hartley 9 December 2024 Read Snippet Smallpox in Stamford in 1822 Source - Town Talk (a London paper). Chris Hunt 9 December 2024 Read Snippet Harriet Swanson and William Blades. Stamford Mercury 1845 Keth Hansell 7 November 2024 Read Snippet October 31st 1940 - The Luftwaffe Comes to Stamford. An eyewitness account Geoff Jones and N.J. Sheehan 25 September 2024 Read Snippet My School-Days in Stamford by Edith Nesbit My School-Days which was serialised between October 1896 and September 1897 in The Girl’s Own Paper. Chris Hunt 26 July 2024 Read Snippet Stamford Town Bridge 1792 Hall Book 1792 Chris Hunt 27 June 2024 Read Snippet The Archive of St Michael's Church Honorary Life member of the society provides a glimpse of the numerous documents often collected by local churches. John S Hartley 14 November 2023 Read Snippet A List of Stamford Aldermen from 1398 to 1457 Despite many early records from this period having been destroyed or lost a Steward of Stamford Town preserved a list of sixty aldermen. Chris Hunt 1 January 2022 Read Snippet Radcliffe and Browne's School, Stamford-Prize Volume A school prize binding Chris Hunt 1 January 2021 Read Snippet Blackstone & Co Works Rules 1916 An interesting insight into industrial work rules during WWI Chris Hunt 1 January 2018 Read Snippet Religious Foundations of Medieval Stamford There have been many requests for this book which is now out of print and not easily re-printable John S Hartley and Alan Rogers 1 February 2017 Read Snippet Drowning on Broad Street Landlady found face down in cistern Chris Hunt 1 January 2017 Read Snippet Rate Book 1836 In 2017 Alan Rogers published his transcript of the 1836 rate assessment of Stamford. This important document lists all of the property in the town and names the owners and the tenants. Professor Alan Rogers 1 January 2017 Read Snippet Stamford and Magna Carta Text of talk given to Stamford Local History Society Dr Henry Summerson 1 April 2015 Read Snippet Browne's Hospital Property A transcription of a survey of all of the properties owned by Browne's Hospital in 1845. Contains descriptions, site plans and names of tenants. Professor Alan Rogers 1 January 2014 Read Snippet Stamford and the Gough Map The earliest known image of the town Chris Hunt 1 January 2014 Read Snippet Transcript of Bert Bailey's WWI Diary The WWI diary of a Stamford man P Massey & K Hansell 1 January 2014 Read Snippet Hearth Tax Returns for St Martin's, Stamford - 31st July 1663 The earliest surviving hearth tax return for any part of Northamptonshire. Professor Alan Rogers 1 January 2014 Read Snippet

< Back Licence to Construct Buildings in the Churchyard for the use of the Rector of St George's Church, Stamford in 1295 O. etc. in Christo filio Magistro Johanni de Ferybi rectori ecclesie sancti Georgii Staunford nostre diocesis salute etc. Cum domos seu aream ecclesie tue non habeas assignatis, ejusdemque ecclesiecimiterium tantum in se spatium continere noscatur quod domus tibi et successoribus tuis necessarie in eo edificari non possunt absque prejudicio seu gravamina alieno, prout per inquisitionem auctoritate nostra super his factam accepimus evidenter, tuis supplicationibus favorabiliter inclinati ut in eodem cimiterio pro te et successoribus tuis domos necessaries construere et inhabitare valeas tibique hoc facere possint similiter succedentes, concurrente ad hoc consunsu procuratoris sancti Fromundi patronum dicte ecclesie et parocianorum, liberam faculttatemquantum in nobis est tibi concedimus per presents, ita tamen quod in eodem cimiterio locus sepulture nequaquam artetur, quodque per inhabitationem per hujusmodi edificial aut futuris temporibus locus ipse humationi relictus minime conculcetur, et ecclesie ambitus non claudatur, nec aliud dedecus pretext edificationis seu habitationis hujusmodi sequitur vel attempetur ibidem. Datum apud Theyden IX kalendas Augusti anno domini nonagesimo quinto. SOURCE Lincoln Record Society Volume 60. The Rolls and Registers of Bishop Oliver Sutton 1280-1299 Edited by Rosalind M. T. Hill Volume V Memoranda, May 1294 – MAY 18TH 1296 p100-101. TRANSLATION by Google O. etc. in Christ, to his son Master John de Ferybus, rector of the church of St. George, Stamford, in our diocese, health etc. Since you do not have houses or the area of your church assigned to you, and the cemetery of the same church is known to contain only such a space that houses cannot be built for you and your successors in it without prejudice or encumbrance to another, as we have clearly received through an inquiry made by our authority on these matters, favourably inclined by your supplications that you may be able to construct and inhabit necessary houses for you and your successors in the same cemetery and that your successors may do this in the same cemetery, with the consent of the procurator of Saint Fromund, patron of the said church and parishioners, we grant you free authority as far as is in our power by means of presents, so that in the same cemetery no burial place is ever encroached upon, and that by inhabitation by such a building or in future times the place itself left for burial is in no way trampled upon, and the church grounds are not closed, nor is any other disgraceful pretext for such a building or habitation followed or attempted there. Given at Theydon on the 9th of the Kalends of August in the year of our Lord 1295. NOTES. Clearly from the requested Licence, St George’s Parish did not have what we would now call a Rectory otherwise there would have been no need for Bishop Sutton’s permission for its construction. In 1295, St Fromond Priory in Normandy held the advowson of St George’s, and which they held until the French wars during the reign of Edward 3rd. The Licence was endorsed at Theydon Mount in Essex. Bishop Sutton stayed at the Old Temple in London during July and August 1295, there are however a few documents which were issued at Theydon Mount in Essex during this period. Bishop Sutton presence would have been required in London at this time for a Parliament, which sat on August 16th 1295 and the subsequent ‘Model Parliament’ from November 27th to December 4th 1295. Chris Hunt September 2025 A Print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

< Back Location – Number 10 St. Mary’s Hill, St Paul’s Passage, Stamford Transcription THIS NORMAN ARCH IS BELIEVED TO BE ONE OF THE POSTERN GATES IN THE TOWN WALLS. History House, No. 10, two storeys, stone and timber-framed, comprises the N. half of a 12 th century house of stone which was partially rebuilt in the late Middle Ages and again altered in the 19 th century. The building incorporates at one side of the street front a 12 th century doorway of two orders, the inner roll-moulded, the outer zig-zag, with rebated inner jamb. The 12 th century house measured at least 36ft from front to rear, and about 40ft wide, this being the combined widths of 9A and 10; the ground stage was clearly an unvaulted undercroft, domestic accommodation being on the first floor. Ref: A Survey by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, p128, Plate 65. Comment This bronze plaque was probably installed around the 1930s when rigorous checking of historical detail was in its infancy by the local authority, at least in Stamford. The opening cannot have been a Postern gate in the medieval town wall. The South boundary of the old town came down Wharf Road and what would have been Bridge Gate with the River Welland and the Castle forming the rest of the Southern boundary. I often see visitors looking at the plaque as it is in a prominent location. This is one of many locations around Stamford where misleading and incorrect signs have been installed and where inhabitants and visitors alike come to believe the history. Many of the townspeople, I am pleased to say, know the correct history. The plaque is in good condition and is protected to some degree from direct exposure. The comments and opinions in this document are attributed to Ronnie Teasdale and are not associated with any organisation. A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

The Stamford Local History Society is a group deicated to the history of Stamford in Lincolnshire, England. We enjoy talks from a variety of speakers, visits to places of interest and researching the history of our town and local area. TALKS MUSEUM ARTICLES BECOME A MEMBER WELCOME to Stamford Local History Society where members attend talks, visit local places of interest and research topics about the town and surrounding districts. OUR TALKS From September to June members or guest speakers give a range of talks, usually on the first Thursday of each month. Most of the subject matter is of local interest, but is diverse from archaeology to family history. Our meeting location Barn Hill Church, Barn Hill, Stamford, PE9 2AE. Access is via the covered walkway from Barn Hill or from North Street, which is also a wheelchair-friendly entrance. Talks start at 7.30pm with complimentary refreshments served from 7pm. Entry is £2 for members and £5 for non-members payable at the door. For a map and directions go to CONTACT Be the first to know Sign up to receive details of our future activities and latest articles. First name Last name Enter your email here Sign Up Thanks for submitting!

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Blackstone Warehouse BACK CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IN FULL John Wooltor’s Showroom and warehouse for Blackstones, 44 Broad Street, built 1913 The building at 44 Broad Street in Stamford, Lincolnshire, originally constructed in 1913, was built as the highly innovative showroom and warehouse for Blackstone & Co., which grew to become Stamford's largest employer. In later years the building was converted into a cinema. Following a destructive fire in 1932, it was rebuilt in a striking Art Deco style. In 1994 the building was used as a popular nightclub. DOWLOAD PDF Previous Next

Explore Museum — a digital archive preserving Stamford’s history through artefacts, articles, and records. Discover the town’s heritage across centuries, from industry and trade to wartime stories and everyday life. WELCOME TO THE MUSEUM Welcome to the Museum — a growing digital archive celebrating Stamford’s remarkable past. Here you’ll find stories, artefacts, and records spanning centuries of local life. From industry and wartime resilience to everyday shops and trades, the database brings together history, heritage, and human experience that shaped the town we know today. 19th Century Shops & Shopping 20th Century Breweries & Merchants Industry & Engineering WW1 & WW2

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