UK Genealogy Archives logo
DISCLOSURE: This page may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we may receive a commission.

Stamford, Lincolnshire

Historical Description

Stamford, an ancient market-town, municipal borough, and head of a union and county court district in Lincolnshire. The town stands on the river Welland and on Ermine Street at an intersection of railways, 10 miles SW from Bourn, 12¼ NW by W from Peterborough, and 89 from London. The L. & N.W.R. and M.R. have a joint station here, and the G.N.R. has also a station on its Stamford and Essendine branch. It was anciently called Steanforde and Stanford, took its name from the intersection of the river Welland by " the stone way" or Ermine Street, was the place where Hengist on behalf of Vortigera in 449 routed the Picts and Scots, suffered devastation by the Danes in 870, and was one of five " burgas " or cities assigned to the Danes for residence after their defeat It acquired a castle in the early part of the 10th century for keeping the Danes in check, had 141 " mansiones" at Domesday, and got a Benedictine priory at the hands of Bishop Carileph in 1082. In 1110 it was visited by Henry I., was fortified perhaps with walls, and with re-construction of its castle by Stephen, and was taken from Stephen by Henry of Anjou. Stamford was one of the places where the barons in the time of King John concocted the measures which procured Magna Charta, and it was the headquarters in 1227 of the Earl of Poictou against Henry III. In 1264 it was visited by Henry, and acquired in his time a university with four colleges. It was the meeting-place of parliaments or councils in 1309, 1337, 1377, and 1392, was visited by Edward III. in 1332, suffered demolition of its castle by Richard II., and a general ravaging in 1461 by the Lancastrians, was visited bv Edward IV. in 1462 and 1471, by Henry VIII. in 1532 and 1539, by Elizabeth in 1565 and 1566, by James I. in 1603, by Charles I. in 1632, 1634, 1642, and 1646, by William III. in 1696, and by the Prince Regent in 1813. A charter was granted to Stamford by Edgar in 972. This date is inscribed on the borough flag, which was sent to the Chicago Exhibition in 1893. In addition to the names of the sovereigns who have visited Stamford, it should be stated that the Queen and Prince Consort were here in 1845, and the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1881, also the late Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, in 1886. Stamford is the only borough in England entitled to quarter the royal arms with the borough arms. It numbers among its natives the great Lord Treasurer Burghley, the scholar Archdeacon Johnson, the antiquary Peck, Archbishop Laud, William Jackson, Bishop of Oxford, Sir Hudson Lowe, the custodian of Napoleon I., and Robert Dale Owen. It gives the title of Earl to the Greys of Groby. Its castle was given by Henry II. to R. Humetz, passed to The Warrens, and eventually to the Cecils of Burleigh House, and has left no vestiges.

The town has fine approaches on all sides, and is both picturesque and interesting. It contains very many excellent houses both old and new, and is for the most part built of stone from the neighbouring quarries of Barnack, Clipsham, and Ketton. It is well paved, and has an excellent supply of water derived from springs on the property of the Marquis of Exeter. A handsome bridge of Bramley Fall stone, erected in 1849 by the late Marquis of Exeter at a cost of £8500, crosses the Welland by three segmental arches supported by massive octagonal piers. The Town Hall, which stands on St Mary's Hill, was rebuilt in 1821, and is used for the meetings of the town council and the quarter and petty sessions. The Sessions Hall is a fine apartment, 52 feet long, 25 wide, and 19 high. The Corn Exchange is in Broad Street, was erected in 1859 at a cost of £3600, is fitted with stalls for salesmen, and is used also for concerts and public meetings. When used for the latter purpose it will seat about 700 persons. The Stamford Literary and Scientific Institution, on St Peter's Hill, was built in 1842 at a cost of about £1200, contains a reading-room and a library of 8000 volumes, a museum, and on the roof a camera obscura. There was formerly a commodious theatre, but in 1871 it was converted into a chess, billiard, and news club. The Oddfellows' Hall in All Saints Street, erected in 1876 at a cost of £2500, contains a large hall, 60 feet by 30, capable of seating between 400 and 500 persons. There are also assembly rooms, public baths,and a county police station. The workhouse, in the parish of St Martin, was erected in 1836-37, and is a large building of stone having accommodation for 256 inmates. The cemetery is on the Casterton Parva Road, has an area of 9 acres, and a mortuary chapel erected in 1855. In the days of its importance Stamford is said to have included within its limits no less than fourteen churches besides priories, but there are now only six. Of these the mother church, dedicated to St Mary, and standing on an eminence called St Mary's Hill, dates from the latter end of the 13th century, and is a spacious edifice of stone in the Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular styles. It consists of a chancel with chapels, nave, aisles, S porch, and a noble western tower, surmounted by a broach spire of great beauty rising to a height of 163 feet. It was restored at a cost of over £3000 in 1890, Within the church are some very ancient and interesting tombs and monuments, and there is an old octagonal font dating from the Perpendicular period. The living of St Mary is a rectory; gross value, £65 with residence, in the gift of the Marquis of Exeter. The church of All Saints stands also on rising-ground, in an open square surrounded by picturesque houses, and is an ancient building of stone in the Early English and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, chapel of St Mary, nave, aisles, S porch, and a Late Perpendicular tower and spire. It is rich in ancient brasses, chiefly memorials of the, great merchant family of Browne, and has a stately and lofty interior. Cumberland, the learned Bishop of Peterborough (1691), and Stateley the antiquary were vicars of this church. The living of All Saints is a vicarage with St Peter's; net value, £391 with residence. Patrons, the Marquis of Exeter and the Lord Chancellor. The church of St John the Baptist, between St Mary's and All Saints', in St John Street, is a small building of stone in the Perpendicular style, erected about 1450, and consisting of chancel, N and S chantries, nave, aisles, S porch, and an embattled and pinnacled tower. It has some good 15th century glass, a rich rood screen, and a brass of 1489. The living is a rectory united with that of St Clement; net value, £200, in the gift of the Marquis of Exeter and the Newcombe family. St George's Church, in a quiet square east of St Mary's, is a building of stone in the Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular styles. It is an ancient building, some portions dating from a period earlier than the 13th century, but it was altered to some extent in 1862, and restored in 1888. The tower is of a very peculiar oblong shape, resembling that of Bath Abbey. The living of St George is a rectory with that of St Paul annexed; net value, £146 with residence, in the gift of the Marquis of Exeter. St Michael's Church, in the High Street, is a modern building in the Early English style, which was erected in 1836 in the place of an older building which fell owing to injudicious alterations. The church is a large building having 1000 sittings, and it has a good stained window in the chancel. The living is a rectory with the vicarage of St Andrew and the rectory of St Stephen annexed; joint net value, £98 with residence, in the gift of the Marquis of Exeter. St Martin's Church is in the county of Northampton, but within the borough of Stamford, and is a good specimen of the Late Perpendicular style. It was erected about 1482, chiefly through The munificence of John Russel, Bishop of Lincoln, and consists of chancel,. nave, aisles, S porch, and a handsome western embattled tower. It has a very good interior, and contains some beautiful ancient stained glass, a splendid mausoleum of the Burghley family, and the grave of William Wissing, a celebrated Dutch painter. The living is a vicarage with Wothorpe annexed, in the gift of the Marquis of Exeter. There is a Roman Catholic church in Broad Street erected in 1864, which is a spacious edifice of stone in the Romanesque and Early English styles. There are also Baptist, Congregational, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels. There are some good schools at Stamford, the chief being Radcliffe and Browne's in St Paul Street, a first grade school occupying buildings erected at a cost of £7000, and well endowed, the High School for girls (on Browne's foundation) in St Martin's, and Browne's Elementary Endowed School on St Peter's. Hill. The town is unusually rich in charities, having ten groups of almshouses, and some valuable educational endowments. The most important of the almshouses is Browne's Hospital in Broad Street, a very interesting building in the Late Perpendicular style, consisting of hall, chapel, cloister, porch, audit room, and dwellings for ten men and two women. The Burghley Hospital was founded in 1597 by William, first Lord Burghley, then Lord Treasurer, and provides for the maintenance of twelve poor men. The infirmary, erected in 1828, is a large building of stone in a Modern Gothic style, affording accommodation to about sixty in-patients.

The town was chartered by Edward IV. (1461-62), and a new charter was granted by Charles II. in 1663, and confirmed by James II. in 1685. The corporation now consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 common councilmen, the town council acting as the urban district council. The borough has a commission of the peace and a separate court of quarter sessions. It sent two members to Parliament occasionally from the time of Edward I., and always from the time of Henry VIII. till 1867, when the number was reduced to one. In 1885, by the Redistribution of Seats Act, the representation was merged in that of the county. The town carries on a good trade in corn, malt, coal, timber, stone, and slates, and there are breweries, agricultural implement and machine factories, and cart and waggon works. The market is held on Friday for corn, meat, poultry, and provisions. The fairs are Candlemas for horses about 8 Feb., for beasts and sheep about 19 Feb., Mid-Lent for horses about 21 March, Town fair about 28 March, Spring fair about 11 April, May fair about 9 May, Corpus Christi fair about 20 June, St James fair about 25 July, St Simon and St Jude fair for horses and sheep about 8 Nov., and for beasts, cheese, and onions the day following. There are also markets for cattle in the early part of January, September, October, and December. The town has a head post office, two banks, two chief hotels, and it publishes three weekly newspapers. One of the latter, the Stamford Mercury, is the oldest provincial newspaper in England, having been first published on 3 Jan., 1712. The area of the borough is 1918 acres, and it has a population of 8358. The manor, with most of the land belongs to the Marquis of Exeter. The population of the ecclesiastical parish of All Saints, with St Peter, is 2615; of St George, with St Paul, 2067; of St John the Baptist, with St Clement, 1010; of St Mary, 306; of St Michael, with St Andrew and St Stephen, 1355; of St Martin, Stamford Baron, 1260. All the ecclesiastical parishes in the Lincolnshire portion of the borough are in the diocese of Lincoln. The ecclesiastical parish of St Martin, Stamford Baron, is in the diocese of Peterborough.

Stamford or South Kesteven Parliamentary Division, of Lincolnshire was formed under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, and returns one member to the House of Commons. Population, 47,682. The division includes the following:-Bourn-Aslackby, Barholm, Baston, Billingborough, Birthorpe, Bourn, Braceborough, Bulby and Hawthorpe, Rurton Coggles, Bytham Castle, Bytham (Little), Careby, Carlby, Corby, Counthorpe, Creeton, Deeping (Market), Deeping (St James), Deeping (St Nicholas, part), Deeping (West), Dowsby, Dunsby, Edenham, Falkingham, Greatford, Hacconby, Holywell, Horbling, Irnham, Keisby, Kirkby Underwood, Langtoft, Laughton, Lenton, Manthorpe, Morton, Osgodby, Pickworth, Pointon, Rippingale-with-Ringston, Sempringham, Stow, Swayfield, Swinstead,Tallington,Thurlby,Toftand Lound, Uffington, Walcott, Wilsthorpe, Witham-on-the Hill, Witham (South); Spittlegate-Allington, Barkston, Barrowby, Bassingthorpe, Beckingham, Belton, Bennington Grange, Bennington (Long), Bitchfield, Boothby Pagnell, Braceby, Brant Broughton, Carlton Scroope, Claypole, Colsterworth, Denton, Doddington, Easton, Fenton, Foston, Grantham Grange, Great Gonerby, Gunby, Harlaxton, Harrowby, Honington, Hougham, Hough-on-the Hill, Humby (Little), Hungerton-with-Wyvil, Ingoldsby, Londonthorpe, Manthorpe-with-Little Gonerby, Marston, Normanton, Ponton (Great), Ponton (Little), Ropsley, Sapperton, Sedgebrook, Skillington, Somerby, South Stoke or Stoke Rochford, Spittlegate, Stainby, Stoke (North), Stragglethorpe, Stroxton, Stubton, Syston, Welby, Westborough, Witham (North), Woolsthorpe (near Belvoir); Elloe (part of)-Crowland; Grantham, municipal borough; Stamford, municipal borough (the part in Lincolnshire).

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyLincolnshire 
Poor Law unionStamford 
WapentakeNess 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Church Records

Findmypast, in conjunction with the Lincolnshire Archives, have the following parish records online for Stamford:

ParishBaptismsBannsMarriagesBurials
All Saints1560-1911 1560-19111560-1877
St George1560-19111754-18231561-19111560-1903
St John1561-19111788-18041561-19111561-1874
St Mary1573-17541796-17991573-18371569-1754
St Michael1560-19111769-17821560-19111560-1911

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Stamford from the following:


Maps

Online maps of Stamford are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Lincolnshire papers online:

DistrictSouth Kesteven
CountyLincolnshire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Postal districtPE9
Post TownStamford

Advertisement

Advertisement