< Back Don’t Meddle with my Business! A sixteenth century warning Professor Alan Rogers 2012 The following letter, a transcript of an original in private hands and unpublished until now, throws light on both the workings of Stamford Town Council and its relationship with central government. It is also particularly interesting in showing how a key supporter of the Tudor monarchs protected his interests vigorously. Context: On 15 January 1553/4 it was announced that Mary Tudor, the new queen of England, was to marry Phillip II of Spain. Almost exactly six months earlier, on the death of her half-brother Edward VI, there had been a failed attempt to overturn Henry VIII’s Act of Settlement of 1543 and place Lady Jane Grey on the throne. Any suspicions and reservations which may have remained from Mary’s delayed accession were exacerbated by this marriage announcement. Inadvisably, Sir Thomas Wyatt, apparently outraged that an English monarch should consider such a marriage, tried to raise enough support to prevent the union of the two sovereign states. Initially, it appeared he had succeeded, and he moved with a small army from the west towards London reaching Ludgate and Temple Bar on 8th February, 1554. However, the many promises of troops, made by erstwhile supporters, did not materialise. The forces he had brought with him from his native Kent melted away and, crucially, royal resistance was active, determined and effective. So Wyatt had no alternative but to surrender at the gates of the City of London and trust to the mercy of the monarch and her advisers. Tried for treason on 15 March at Westminster, he was executed on 11 April. John Russell, first earl of Bedford, our letter writer, lord privy seal and at the heart of the government, was more than aware of all that was going on. Though now well advanced in years, born about 1485 and nearing seventy, he had profited substantially in every sense from a close friendship with Henry VIII. Russell had been created earl of Bedford in January 1550, just three months after he refused to move troops to Windsor to help the then protector the duke of Somerset. Russell had been using them to suppress rebels in the south-west where he had very substantial land-holdings. This proved the critical decision in the power struggle between Somerset and Northumberland; Somerset’s protectorate fell apart less than a week later. Not only did Russell reap a title from Northumberland as a result, he acquired yet more property, notably Somerset’s Long Acre estate to west of the City of London, formerly the kitchen garden of the abbey of Westminster and including Covent Garden which lay just to the north of Cecil property on the Strand. A convinced supporter of state over church, he then found himself called upon to support Northumberland’s advocacy of Lady Jane Grey as queen of England which he did most reluctantly. But Bedford moved quickly away from that faction backing Lady Jane Grey in the summer of 1553, and joined Sir William Cecil and others uneasy with what was being forced on the country. He preferred to continue his long-established relationship with the Tudor dynasty. Thus he was one of those who proclaimed Mary queen on July 19, 1553. Given that he had known her since the 1530s when his wife was one of Mary’s ladies and that he had been her supporter when such a course was dangerous, he had excellent credentials and was quickly pardoned for that reluctant support of Lady Jane Grey. Perhaps anxious to prove his loyalty beyond doubt, and to all, he insisted six months later on commanding loyal forces at the key river crossing of London Bridge during Wyatt’s rebellion. So by February 1554, when this letter was written, Bedford was back in favour, a significant figure at court, a great landowner and, ultimately the founder of a great dynasty. He writes a letter both of reassurance and warning to the town of Stamford with which he has the closest of links. Just a couple of weeks or so earlier Sir Thomas Wyatt had been arrested and was now safely lodged in the Tower of London, awaiting trial. Hence Bedford writes, “But thankes be given, unto god, all things arre nowe in good quyetnes here.” From his privileged position, at the heart of government, he knows all is well under control and secure, and that troops from Stamford will not be needed. No doubt the news of Wyatt’s surrender had already reached the town, but this letter came from the highest echelons of government – Stamford should have been well aware that the steward of their town knew exactly what was happening where it mattered. But clearly Bedford’s letter had another purpose: no one should consider usurping Bedford’s role in Stamford. In his letter he makes it clear he is in charge in Stamford also. The heading of the first meeting of the town council after Mary’s accession and after their equivalent of an annual general meeting, reads: Staunford Monday namely the vjth day of the month of November in the first year of the reign of the foresaid queen [1553] before Henry Lacy gentleman deputy of John Russell knight Lord Russell Lord Privy Seal, Earl of Bedford and one of the Council of the lady queen, head steward there ..... There can be no doubt of John Russell’s standing in the town; he had been head steward of the town since 1543 and his letter witnesses he did not regard his stewardship as a sinecure. The Alderman or Mayor, William Campenet a draper, and (Russell assumes) his fellows, have together made him aware what has been going on within the town, and he is grateful to them. But also one can almost hear the earl rumbling, “What does Lord Willoughby think he is up to? He’s trying to exercise my responsibilities. We’ll have nothing of this.” Above all else, he writes, “the Manridden is under my leading.” This unfamiliar, and interesting word, essentially archaic though resurrected by a few historians recently, is defined most usefully by the Oxford English Dictionary as meaning “the men whom a lord could call upon in time of war” and thus “a supply of men for military purposes”. So it is absolutely clear that Bedford would himself have expected to call out the Stamford muster (and possibly other local forces) as steward of the town of Stamford. It presents us with a rare example in Stamford of the steward taking action and actual responsibility. Normally he, and others, had presided in absentia, using the services of a local deputy, over the swearing in of the town’s chief officer and magistrate, the alderman. While he had been steward of the town for just ten years Russell’s links with the area were far closer. As the third husband of Ann Sapcote, and thus related by marriage to the Semark family of Thornhaugh his links to David and Richard Cecil, William’s grandfather and father were close. When Bedford died a year after this letter was written, in early 1555, Sir William Cecil in his mid-thirties was already well-established in the royal secretariat. Knighted by Edward VI in 1551, Cecil was poised to become Elizabeth’s secretary just three years later. It would be interesting to uncover the links between the rising courtier, the young William Cecil, and the experienced royal servant, Russell, during the key period from 1535 to 1550. The Letter Note: a single oblique stroke shows where the text reaches the end of a line; the double oblique indicates an oblique stroke used by the writer as a form of punctuation. Capital letters and spellings are as in the original. After my veary hartie commendations // I have receaved /your letter understandinge by the same that youe / thinke my Lord Willoughbye will muster men shortly / in Stampforde to serve the quenes ma[jes]tie // wherefore / I gyve youe harty thankes that you wold gyve / me advertisement therof // But thankes be given / unto god, all things arre nowe in good quyetnes / here so that his lordship shall not neede to / muster Anye men // Nevertheles when so / ever his lordship or any other shall muster men / there // I will that none within that my Office / do stirre or go with them, what so ever they be // / for the Manredden [1] is under my leading / to do the quenes ma[jes]ti service when oratyor/ shall serve [2] and no man shall have to / do therewith but I // and so I byd you all harty / fare well from the Court at West mynster / the xjth of February 1553 Your loving frend J Bedford [Signature in another hand, presumably Bedford’s] The Address and endorsement [on reverse] Handwriting as main letter: To my veary loving frendes Mr Alderman and his Bretherne of the Towne of A new hand: Febr 1553 John Bedfords letter of thankes o Stamford for letting himto understand of my L[ord] Willoughbys musteringe & that they shold refuse to go with him or any one but with him self [1] See Introduction above for this archaic term. [2] Obscure phrase in this context, but possibly meaning “when the summons occurs”. A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

< Back Fire at the Star Tea Company Shop on the High Street in 1904 On Monday afternoon as an assistant at the Star Tea Company shop in High Street, was clearing the window, preparatory to re-dressing it, when he noticed an escape of gas. Another assistant brought a light to ascertain where the leakage was, and immediately there was an outburst of flame which set fire to the ceiling. Fortunately, this was quickly subdued by means of wet sack, prior to the arrival of the hose cart from the fire station, but damage was done to the extent of about £5. Source Stamford Mercury (Friday) November 18th 1904 p4/c2 Note: - In 1904 The Star Tea Company shop was at No. 12 High Street. Originally a 16 th or early 17 th century building with 18 th century bay windows, the building was split into two shops (No. 11 and No. 12 High Street). The building (No 11 and No. 12) was completely re-built in 1982 for the Halifax Building Society and the presently (June 2025) empty premise would not be included in the RCHM volume. A Print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

< Back W H Smith & Sons opens Book & Newspaper stall at Stamford Midland Railway Station and a Stand at the Great Northern Station in 1885 A book and newspaper stall has been opened at the Midland Railway station, Stamford, by Messrs W.H.Smith and Son, and a stand for the sale of newspapers and periodicals only is to be set up by the same firm at the Great Northern station. Source Stamford Mercury (Friday) August 28 th 1885 p4, c2 Note: - W.H.Smith’s didn’t have a shop on the High Street until the 1930’s when they took over premises of C. Haynes, Stationer and Fancy Repository. A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

World War Two Casket BACK CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE IN FULL Stamford World War Two Casket At the end of World War Two, those from Stamford who had served in the military were presented with an Illuminated Address of Thanks by the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses on behalf of the inhabitants of Stamford. It was decided in 1945 to honour returning troops with a small oak casket, ‘A Token of Stamford’s Gratitude’, and was designed for untipped cigarettes. The recipient could take a small payment in lieu of the casket. DOWLOAD PDF Previous Next

< Back A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

Find out about future talks at The Stamford Local History Society. Details for forthcoming talks are shown here as well as details of previous events. Become a member today. TALKS During our season, which runs from September to June, we arrange talks on a variety of topics usually related to Stamford and its surrounding districts. Current Programme of Talks 2025/26 5 November 2026 Stamford and the Great Cecil Mike Burton 3 December 2026 Members Evening and Mini Talks My career with Mirlees Blackstone by Michael Brown; Pork Pies & Butcher's shops by Chris Hunt Mince pies and Mini Talks 4 February 2027 Stamford Alms Houses Penny Rowley 4 March 2027 A History of Crime and Punishment Stuart Orme 1 April 2027 A History of the Perkins Engine Company To be announced Perkins Engines Heritage Group 6 May 2027 The Evolution of the Roman Villa Paddy Lambert Roman History brought to life 3 June 2027 AGM and mini-talks Trish - Outdoor Swimming Pool; Richard - Cattle Market; Chris - Grain Store Fire 2 September 2027 Stamford Low Life Philippa Massey 7 October 2027 Time on Their Hands Jonathan Smith A Stamford Clock Making Family 4 November 2027 Stamford Fairs and Markets Keith Hansell Origins of the Mid-Lent Pleasure Fair 2 December 2027 Members Evening Mince Pies & Mini-talks Past Seasons' Talks 1 October 2026 Missing Buildings of Stamford Part 2 Chris Hunt 3 September 2026 Stamford Photographers Philippa Massey 2 July 2026 Closed Stations and Steam: The Stamford Area & The Beeching Cuts. Chris Hunt An Illustrated Talk 4 June 2026 AGM including three mini talks Chris Hunt, Trish Auciello, Chris Hunt Fish & Chips, Twelve Boxes - Six Monarchs, Stamford's Lost Font. 7 May 2026 The Luttrell Psalter, The Lord of Irnham's view of 14th Century England. Professor Michelle Brown 2 April 2026 Excavations at Prior's Hall, Corby, Northants Paddy Lambert To be held in the Church Hall 5 March 2026 John Clare - The Helpston Poet Rev Garry Alderson 5 February 2026 Celtic Paganism in the Stamford Area Professor Andrew Breeze 4 December 2025 Members Evening Trish Auciello, Richard Asher Mince Pies & Mini talks - The Life & Loves of my Gt/Gt Grandfather and The Battle for 51 High Street - 1960's Stamford 27 November 2025 The Story of a Rutland Mosaic Jim Irvine A Roman Mystery in the Heart of England 6 November 2025 Polish Servicemen in Stamford in 1944 Suzanne Sawyer Through Dad's Eyes 2 October 2025 Stamford East (Station) to Stamford Midland (Station) via Peterborough North Chris Hunt 4 September 2025 Fair Maid - Joan Holland, a romantic story Philippa Massey 5 June 2025 AGM Free Evening Chris Hunt Mini-talk - Shopping on Stamford's High Street before World War One 1 May 2025 Stamford Bradcroft and the Ancient Meeting Place of Rutland Dr Keith Roffe 3 April 2025 The Blackfriars Estate (Stamford) Growth, Dissolution and Development Keith Hansell 6 March 2025 Portable Antiquities Scheme Dr Lisa Brundle 6 February 2025 Stamford JUSTHEAT Project Dr Kathy Davies An Update 5 December 2024 Mince Pies and Mini Talks Free Evening 7 November 2024 The 1737 Stamford Parliamentary Elections John Smith 3 October 2024 The Road to Losecoat Field Dr Nicholas Bennett 5 September 2024 Mahomet Thomas Phillips Prof Heather Hughes 6 June 2024 AGM and Free Talk The Bacon Family Murders 2 May 2024 In Search of Two Brothers Jonathan Smith (Lincolnshire Regiment WWI) 4 April 2024 Must Farm Archaeology Christopher Wakefield 7 March 2024 Mrs Cromwell's Cookbook Stuart Orme 1 February 2024 Stamford Castle Prof David Stocker 7 December 2023 Members and Guests Evening 2 November 2023 Castle Cement Sinan Urhan 5 October 2023 Robert 'Troublesome' Brown Rev Peter Stevenson Father of Congregationalism 7 September 2023 The History of Horse Racing Penny Rowley and Stamford Racecourse 4 May 2023 The Villages of Kesteven Rev David Bond 6 April 2023 Southorpe Peter Jackson Two Thousand Years of History 2 March 2023 Grey Friars or White Friars? Linda Ball In Search of Stamford's Friaries 2 February 2023 Collyweston Palace Update Chris Close 3 November 2022 Law & Order in Stamford Philippa Massey Crime Punishment and Policing 6 October 2022 Private Life of Oliver Cromwell Stuart Orme 15 September 2022 The Hommet Family Prof. Daniel Power Norman 12th Century Lords of Stamford 7 April 2022 Genealogy on the Internet John Daffurn using a real heir-hunter case study 3 March 2022 Broad Street Stamford Chris Hunt 3 February 2022 More of Stamford's Victorian Underbelly Claire Richardson Henry Corby and the Murder of Miss Pulley 6 January 2022 Update on the Collyweston Palace Project Chris Close (Postponed COVID-19) 4 November 2021 Barnack Stone- Brian Palmer Rags to Riches 7 October 2021 Strumpets, Harlots & Prostitutes Claire Richardson Stamford's Victorian Underbelly 8 April 2021 Strumpets, Harlots and Prostitutes Claire Richardson (Postponed COVID-19) 3 February 2021 Prehistoric Settlement in the Welland Valley Andrew Hatton (Postponed COVID-19) 5 November 2020 A Tank from 'D-Day' to Bergen-Belsen Gerry Wells (Cancelled COVID-19) 1 October 2020 The Private Life of Oliver Cromwell Stuart Orme (Postponed COVID-19) 3 September 2020 The Courtier and the Queen Malcolm Deacon (Cancelled COVID-19) 9 April 2020 The Road to Losecoat Field Dr Nicholas Bennett (Cancelled COVID-19) 2 April 2020 The Village of Barnack Brian Palmer (Postponed COVID-19) 5 March 2020 Wothorpe Towers Paul Griffin 6 February 2020 Local Archaeological Sites Mike Clatworthy Torpel & Downhall Manors 7 November 2019 The Eleanor Crosses Keith Busfield 3 October 2019 Stamford's Courts and Yards Philippa Massey 5 September 2019 Castle Construction, Conquest and Compensation Dr David Roffe Christine Mahany Memorial Lecture 4 April 2019 Beginners guide to investigating house histories D Frearson & C Bancroft-Turner 7 March 2019 Where Old Stamfordians go Dan Stamp and what they get up to 7 February 2019 The Urban Churchyard Rev David Bond 1 November 2018 Mercury Memories Jonathon Smith 4 October 2018 Margaret Beaufort Stuart Orme Henry VIII's Grandmother 6 September 2018 Rev Arthur Galton Dr Maggie Mckay One time Vicar of Edenham 5 April 2018 Boudicca Chris Carr The Creation of Two Empires 15 February 2018 Stamford in Domesday Book Dr David Roffe 16 November 2017 The Civil War in Peterboro Don Chiswell and latest archaeological discoveries 19 October 2017 Colleges & Collegiate Churches Rev David Bond (Lincs, Leics, Northants) 7 September 2017 Dr John Willis and his family Chris Adams 13 April 2017 The Political John Clare Roger Rowe 9 March 2017 The Roman Archaeology of the Nene Valley Prof. Stephen Upex 9 February 2017 Sir Malcolm Sargent Penny Rowley 24 November 2016 Thomas Hotchkin of Tixover (1774 - 1843) Brian Palmer 20 October 2016 The Deepings Canal Project Maggie Ashcroft 14 April 2016 Life at Norman Cross: Stuart Orme the World's First POW camp 11 February 2016 British Racing Motors Jonathan Smith 22 October 2015 Stamford Fairs and Markets Keith Hansell 17 September 2015 Flag Fen Sarah Wilson 9 April 2015 Magna Carta Dr Henry Summerson 5 March 2015 Landlords & Neighbours John Hartley Pubs posh and pokey in St Mary's 27 November 2014 WW1 Jeremy Banning 6 November 2014 Victorian Church Restoration in Stamford John Smith 9 October 2014 Stamford Standoff Matthew McCormack Army versus Militia in Georgian England 11 September 2014 The Daughters of Durham David Marcombe St Leonard's Priory, Stamford, in context 13 March 2014 Researching Urban History Alan Rogers 20 February 2014 Longthorpe Tower Stuart Orme 14 January 2014 Stamford in 1913 Chris Hunt an Illustrated History 20 November 2013 Recent Discoveries and Challenges Jenny Young in Stamford's Archaeology 17 October 2013 Stamford's Role in the Cold War Richard Barry 26 June 2013 Contesting Stamford's Past John Beckett Local Historians in Conflict (17th to 19th centuries)

< Back The Archaeological Excavation of Exeter Down, Stamford West, Lincolnshire By Kate McLauchlan Introduction Wessex Archaeology conducted an archaeological excavation in 2017, on the land at Exeter Down, Stamford, Lincolnshire. The excavation was undertaken before a mixed-use development was constructed. Prior to the excavation an archaeological desk-based assessment, fieldwalking, geophysical survey and trial trenching was undertaken. This report implied the presence of Iron Age archaeological remains and the site was dated to the Early to Middle Iron Age (c5th to 2 nd Century BCE). There were two excavation areas: Area 1 and 2 (see Figure 1). Area 1 contained the remains of a sequence of three roundhouses, the latest of which was set within an enclosure defined by a ditch and probable internal bank. Area 2 contained industrialised features: two furnaces used for iron smelting and a group of pits. The ceramic and technological finds date this area also to the Early to Middle Iron Age. Figure 1. OS Map of Exeter Down area displaying the location of the two excavation areas before development of the area. The Archaeological Findings 1. Features Overall, three roundhouses (ring gullies) were found at Stamford West, in Area 1, along with associated features; and Area 2 contained the industrial activity with a series of ore smelting features. An Iron Age roundhouse is a circular structure that uses, in Stamford’s case, timber posts to form the structure and the roof. Four phases (1, 2, 3 and 4) have been assigned to this site. The dating of the ranges was provided by radiocarbon dating and pottery sherds. Where some of the features are ambiguous to date to a phase they were assigned to two phases, i.e. Phase 1 / 2. Most of the phases were found in Area 1, in particular the settlement and Area 2 for the iron ore smelting. Phase 4 is post-occupation and seems to be an agricultural setting. Listed below are the phases and the sub-phase and what features were found. There are two plans below: Phase 1 and 2 (figure 2), and a Phase 3 and 4 in Figure 3. Phase 1 (Early Iron Age; 5 th Century BCE): A roundhouse (ring gully 1), which was not enclosed, was identified in Area 1, along with a possible post-hole and pit outside of the roundhouse. Between roundhouse 1 and 2, three postholes were found and not able to associate them to either ring gully, however it is possible that they were like roundhouse 2 and were enclosing the ring gully. Phase 1 / 2: Between ring gullies 1 and 2, a series of features were found with little dating material so assigned to phase 1 and 2. One pit, part of a gully and eighteen postholes were excavated. The postholes were found to be in two groups: part of an external ring and a cluster. Phase 2 (Early Iron Age; 6 th to 4 th Century BCE): The building of a second roundhouse (ring gully 2), was found in Area 1, encircled by at least 19 postholes. Four postholes were found at the entrance and two others within the proximity of the structure. Figure 2. Phase 1 and 2 in Area 1 (Copyright Wessex Archaeology, 2017, p162). Phase 3 (Early to Middle Iron Age; 4 th to 3 rd Century BCE): A third roundhouse (ring gully 3) and its associated postholes, enclosure ditch and recut ditch were excavated in Area 1. Whilst in Area 2, there were 41 pit features, two postholes, two gullies, a ditch and two metalworking furnaces. Thereby suggesting industrial activity began in this phase. Phase 4 (Middle to Late Iron Age; 2 nd Century BCE): Two ditches and four pits were found in Area 1. These features were indicative of agriculture now happening here. Figure 3. Phase 3 and 4 in Area 1 (Copyright Wessex Archaeology, 2017, p162). Unphased Features: Ten pits were found and excavated in Area 1 and were not able to be assigned to a phase or if they were Iron Age due to the lack of dating material. Post-medieval Features: Natural water courses were found with clay tobacco pipe and pottery that dates to the Post-Medieval period. 2. Archaeological Artefacts Ceramic: Early to Middle Iron Age pottery, typical to this region, was found. Unfortunately, the report had no photographs of the pot sherds, but there was a selection of drawings of the profile and markings (see figure 4). Some Scored Ware was also found; an East Midland pottery produced during the Middle Iron Age, possibly later. Figure 4. Illustrations of some the pottery found (Copywright Wessex Archaeology, 2017, p178). With regards to the iron smelting, the ceramic remains were in relation to the furnaces, dating to the Early to Middle Iron Age. The technological evidence infers that iron smelting was the main activity and this technology was at its early stages. The furnaces were not well preserved and were possibly the bowl type (figure 5). Figure 5. Furnace 2074; Area 2 (Copyright Wessex Archaeology, logy, 2017, p182) Animal Bone: A large assemblage of remains were discovered in Phases 1 to 4. These consisted of domesticated cattle, sheep/goat, pig, horse and dog. In Phase 1 there were small amount found of cattle, sheep/goat and pig. Then in Phase 3, there was a large increase in domesticated animals (when the site was at its most prolific) and included the horse and the dog. A small number of other animals remains were also found, again in Phase 3: the woodpigeon, fox, red and roe deer. Other Finds: Some metalworking debris (mostly slag, some fired clay, stone and flint), a fragment of human skull (in a ditch in Area 2), a part of a clay pipe and a piece of ceramic building material. Environmental: Charred plant matter consisted of barley, emmer and spelt wheat and some weed species indicative of the surrounding area (hedgerows, meadows and woodland). Conclusion This site was an Early to Middle Iron Age settlement that undertook iron smelting in Phase 3. Figure 6 gives an example of what a roundhouse may have looked like. Phase 3 was when the site peaked; evidenced by the features, and the greater amount of animal remains, agriculture, and ceramic finds. The small-scale iron production (smelting) was used for local usage, based on the type of furnace they used; a bowl type furnace. Radiocarbon dates indicates the occupation of the site had started by the 5th century BCE and lasted for about two centuries, ending by the early 2nd century BCE; the Early to Middle Iron Age. By 2 nd Century BCE the site seemed to stop being used as a settlement and iron production, and focused on agriculture. As to why, this is unknown. Site preservation was satisfactory and yielded some informative. Unfortunately, there was extensive plough damage and poor soil conditions at this site. Despite this, the preservation was satisfactory and enlightened us as to what happened here, in a local, and to some degree regional, context of Iron Age settlements and their farming practices, and iron technology. Figure 6. Copyright Chiltern Open Air Museum 2017. An example of what an Iron Age roundhouse may look like ( https://www.coam.org.uk/buildings/iron-age-roundhouse ). For further information about this site, and the Wessex Archaeology paper, please go to: https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/our-work/exeter-down-stamford . The link to the paper is at the bottom of the page under Downloads. Glossary Bowl-type furnace – one of the earliest types of furnace used for smelting. A basic round external wall and a deep crucible chamber inside. Radiocarbon dating – a scientific method used to date the carbon component of organic matter (e.g. bone, charcoal and wood) found by measuring the rate of decay of the radioactive carbon-14 isotope. Ring Gully - a ring ditch that is a trench of circular or penannular plan, cut into bedrock that encloses the roundhouse. Roundhouse – the main type of domestic housing used in Britain. Dating from 800BCE (Iron Age) to the Roman Conquest. It was a circular house that had post-holes or stone for the walls, wattle and daub insulation and a thatched roof. Scored Ware – pottery that was used between c300BCE and the Roman Conquest. They have deep cut marks on the exterior wall of the pottery. Primarily used as functional ware. Slag – waste material from iron smelting. Wattle and Daub – wattle is woven strips of wood, and the daub would be a mud-type paste to seal the wall. Figures 2 to 5 – are reproduced by kind permission of Wessex Archaeology. Figure 6 is reproduced by kind permission of Chiltern Open Air Museum. Copyright applies to these images. A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

< Back Boat Commercial Inn, Stamford A Poem From 1865 Submitted by Chris Hunt On the Sea of Adventure Again I’m afloat! Once more have embarked, In my favourite Boat! My Spirits and Wines Are the best of their kind; My Home-brew’d is such None better you’ll find. The best accommodation That can be had in the town, Must give great satisfaction, And not cause a frown. Kind friends and the public I ask for your trade, None will treat you much better Than your Servant, JOHN WADE Source Stamford Mercury (Friday) December 22 nd 1865 p1/c4 Notes The Boat and Railway public house at the bottom of St Mary’s Hill on the corner with Wharf Road was formerly the Boat Commercial Inn, a name board closely linked to the adjacent river trade. In December 1865, it re-opened under the stewardship of John Wade a former proprietor. And to mark and publicise the event John Wade inserted the above doggerel poem in the Stamford Mercury. In 1865 its address was commonly described as Bridge-foot on St Mary’s Hill. The pub was acquired by local brewery, Melbourn Brothers, in 1911 by which time the & Railway had been added. It finally closed in 1962. Chris Hunt December 2025 A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

< Back My School-Days in Stamford by EDITH NESBIT [The article below was written by Edith Nesbit and is part of her memoirs entitled My School-Days which was serialised between October 1896 and September 1897 in The Girl’s Own Paper . It has been suggested that the period in question was between the autumn of 1866 and the spring/summer of 1867. Nesbit was most famous for her children’s novel, The Railway Children (1906), and the subsequent award-winning film of the same name. This memoir gives us a picture of a dame school in Stamford from the viewpoint of an eight-year-old schoolgirl, albeit written in her late thirties. And, of course, her opinion that she never ‘wished to see Stamford again’. (Chris Hunt).] I spent a year in the select boarding establishment for young ladies and gentlemen at Stamford, and I venture to think that I should have preferred a penal settlement. Miss Fairfield, whose school it was, was tall and pale and dark, and I thought her as good and beautiful as an angel. I don't know now whether she was really beautiful, but I know she was good. And her mother, dear soul, had a sympathy with small folly in disgrace, which has written her name in gold letters on my heart. But there was another person in the house, whose name I will not put down. She came continually between me and my adored Miss Fairfield. She had a sort of influence over me which made it impossible for me ever to do anything well while she was near me. Miss Fairfield's health compelled her to leave much to Miss ----, and I was, in consequence, as gloomy a cynic as any child of my age in Lincolnshire. My chief troubles were three, my hair, my bands, and my arithmetic. My hair was never tidy, I don't know why. Perhaps it runs in the family for my little daughter's head is just as rough as mine used to be. This got me into continual disgrace. I am sure I tried hard enough to keep it tidy. I brushed it for fruitless hours till my little head was so sore that it hurt me to put my hat on. But it never would look smooth and shiny, like Katie Martin's, nor would it curl prettily like the red locks of Cissy Thomas. It was always a rough, impossible brown mop. I got into a terrible scrape for trying to soften it by an invention of my own. As we all know, Burghley House is by Stamford Town, and in Burghley Park we children took our daily constitutional. We played under the big oaks there, and were bored to extinction, not because we disliked the park, but because we went there every day at the same hour. Now Harry Martin, he wore striped stockings and was always losing his handkerchief and suffered from his hair almost as much as I did. So when I unfolded my plan to him one day in the park, he joyfully agreed to help me. We each gathered a pocketful of acorns, and when we went to wash our hands before dinner, we cut up some of the acorns into little bits, and put them into the doll's bath with some cold water and a little scent that Cissy Thomas gave us, out of a bottle she had bought for twopence at the fair at home. "This," I said, "will be acorn oil, scented acorn oil." "Will it?" said Harry doubtfully. "Yes," I replied, adding confidently, "and there is nothing better for the hair." But we never had a chance of even seeing whether acorns and water would turn to oil, a miracle which I entirely believed in. The dinner-bell rang, and I only had time hastily to conceal the doll's bath at the back of the cupboard where Miss ----- kept her dresses. That was Saturday. Next day we found that Miss ----'s best dress (the blue silk with the Bismarck brown gimp) had slipped from its peg and fallen on to the doll's bath. The dress was ruined, and when Harry Martin and I owned up, as in honour bound. Miss Fairfield was away in London and so we were deprived of dinner, and had a long Psalm to learn. I don't know whether punishment affects the hair, but I thought, next morning at prayers, that Harry's tow-crop looked more like hay than ever. My hands were more compromising to me than anyone would have believed who had ever seen their size, for, in the winter especially, they were never clean. I can see now the little willow-patterned basin of hard cold water, and smell the unpleasant little square of mottled soap with which I was expected to wash them. I don't know how the others managed, but for me the result was always the same. Failure; and when I presented myself at breakfast, trying to hide my red and grubby little paws in my pinafore, Miss ---- used to say: "Show your hands, Daisy, yes, as I thought. Not fit to sit down with young ladies and gentlemen. Breakfast in the schoolroom for Miss Daisy." Then little Miss Daisy would shiveringly betake herself to the cold bare schoolroom, where the fire had but just been kindled. I used to sit cowering over the damp sticks with my white mug, mauve spotted it was I remember, and had a brown crack near the handle. Sometimes I used to pull a twig from the fire, harpoon my bread-and-butter with it, and hold it to the fire: the warm, pale, greasy result I called toast. All this happened when Miss Fairfield was laid up with bronchitis. It was at that time, too, that my battle with compound long division began. Now I was not, I think, a very dull child, and always had an indignant sense that I could do sums well enough if any one would tell me what they meant. But no one did, and day after day the long division sums, hopelessly wrong, disfigured my slate, and were washed off with my tears. Day after day I was sent to bed, my dinner was knocked off, or my breakfast, or my tea. I should literally have starved, I do believe, but for dear Mrs. Fairfield. She kept my little Body going with illicit cakes and plums and the like, and fed my starving little heart with surreptitious kisses and kind words. She would lie in wait for me as I passed down the hall, and in a whisper call me into the store closet. It had a mingled and delicious smell of pickles and tea and oranges and jam, and the one taper Mrs. Fairfield carried only lighted dimly the delightful mystery of its well-filled shelves. Mrs. Fairfield used to give me a great lump of cake or a broad slice of bread and jam, and lock me into the dark cupboard till it was eaten. I never taste black-currant jam now without a strong memory of the dark hole of happiness, where I used to wait, my sticky fingers held well away from my pinafore till Mrs. Fairfield's heavy step and jingling keys came to release me. Then she would sponge my hands and face and send me away clean, replete, and with a better heart for the eternal conflict with long division. I fancy that when Miss Fairfield came downstairs again she changed the field of my arithmetical studies; for during the spring I seem to remember a blessed respite from my troubles. It is true that Miss ---- was away, staying with friends. I was very popular at school that term I remember, for I had learned to make dolls bedsteads out of match-boxes during the holidays, and my eldest sister's Christmas present provided me with magnificent hangings for the same. Imagine a vivid green silk sash, with brilliant butterflies embroidered all over it in coloured silk and gold thread. A long sash, too, from which one could well spare a few inches at a time for upholstery. I acquired many marbles, and much gingerbread, and totally eclipsed Cissy Thomas who had enjoyed the fleeting sunshine of popular favour on the insecure basis of paper dolls. Over my memory of this term no long division cast its hateful shade, and the scolding my dear mother gave me when she saw my sashes' fair proportions docked to a waistband and a hard knot, with two brief and irregular ends, was so gentle that I endured it with fortitude, and considered my ten weeks of popularity cheaply bought. I went back to school in high spirits with a new set of sashes and some magnificent pieces of silk and lace from my mother's lavendered wardrobe. But no one wanted dolls' beds any more; and Cissy Thomas had brought back a herbarium: the others all became botanists, and I, after a faint effort to emulate their successes, fell back on my garden. The seeds I had set in the spring had had a rest during the Easter holidays, and were already sprouting greenly, but alas, I never saw them flower. Long division set in again. Again, day after day, I sat lonely in the schoolroom, now like a furnace and ate my dry bread and milk and water in the depths of disgrace, with the faux commencements and those revolting sums staring at me from my tear-blotted slate. Night after night I cried myself to sleep in my bed, whose coarse home-spun sheets were hotter than blankets. All because I could not get the answers right. Even Miss Fairfield, I fancied, began to look coldly on me, and the other children naturally did not care to associate with one so deficient in arithmetic. One evening as I was sitting as usual sucking the smooth, dark slate pencil, and grieving over my troubles with the heart-broken misery of a child, to whom the present grief looks eternal, I heard a carriage drive up to the door. Our schoolroom was at the back, and I was too much interested in a visitor, especially one who came at that hour and in a carriage, to be able to bear the suspense of that silent schoolroom, so I cautiously opened its door and crept on hands and knees across the passage and looked down through the bannisters. They were opening the door. It was a lady, and Mrs. Fairfield came out of the dining-room to meet her. It was a lady in a black moiré (type of textile) antique dress and Paisley shawl of the then mode. It was a lady whose face I could not see, because her back was to the red sunset light; but at that moment she spoke, and the next I was clinging round the moue skirts with my head buried in the Paisley shawl. The world, all upside down, had suddenly righted itself. I, who had faced it alone, now looked out at it from the secure shelter of this screen. For my mother had come to see me. I did not cry myself to sleep that night, because my head lay on her arm. But even then I could not express how wretched I had been. Only when I heard that my mother was going to the South of France with my sisters, I clung about her neck, and with such insistence implored her not to leave me and not to go without me. I think I must have expressed my trouble without uttering it, for when, after three delicious days of drives and walks, in which I had always a loving hand to hold, my mother left Stamford, and she took me, trembling with joy like a prisoner reprieved. And I have never seen, or wished to see Stamford again. EDITH NESBIT A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

< Back Stamford Town Bridge 1792 Chris Hunt 2024 It is ordered that the Bridge in the Borough of Stamford called Stamford Bridge shall immediately be repaired and kept on good and sufficient Repairs at the Expenses of this Corporation hereafter during the time that Lord Exeter the Owner of the said Bridge shall continue to suspend the Receipt of the Tolls and profits thereof. Source Hall Book 4 November 5th 1792 (2A/1/4 folio 240/241) Previous Next

< Back Fear of invasion at Stamford Grammar School after Dunkirk After Dunkirk (May/June 1940), when the threat of invasion was very real, a decision was made by Canon Day, Headmaster of Stamford Grammar School, to evacuate School House (the Boarders), together with any day boys who had parental permission, to a remote Elizabethan manor house in North Wales, close to Dyffryn-on-Sea in Merionethshire. So for seven or eight weeks, the Head, his wife, three teachers and some of the boys had a ‘summer idyll’ away from Stamford. Sources. The Stamfordian Vol 11. No 3. (Summer Term 1940) and various. A Printed copy can be downloaded HERE Previous Next

< Back Move of Police Station from Stamford Town Hall to the Portico Submitted by Chris Hunt MOVE OF POLICE STATION FROM STAMFORD TOWN HALL TO THE PORTICO The police offices at Stamford are this week being transferred from the Town-hall to the Portico. SOURCE STAMFORD MERCURY FRIDAY APRIL 4TH 1890 p4/c2 Note. The Portico on High Street is now part of Stamford Library. The police station was sited in an adjoining building to the left of the Portico, between the Portico and Goldsmiths Lane, and is now part of the library. The clock above the entrance is there to this day (January 2025). A print version can be downloaded HERE Previous Next