Stamford

Stamford, one of England’s most attractive and historic towns, is only just in Lincolnshire. The River Welland is the boundary between it and Northamptonshire. This view from the water meadows is a very well known one, and relatively little changed today, although it would look very different to a late medieval traveller – he or she would be able to see fourteen parish church towers from here.
An extract from from"Canals and Waterways".

By the mid 1950s much had changed, and the front of the Angel and Royal Hotel indicates the reason (see G43032 and G43099). Motor transport had been invented, and was becoming very popular indeed. The Second World War had been over for about ten years, and better times were on the way - and so there were traffic direction signs and advertisements for travellers. Lamp-posts that had lost their lamps now became supports for road directions, and streets were lit by electric lamps on long concrete posts; these were not in the least attractive, but were functional. Boots the Chemists were still next door to the hotel, but not for long: they were soon to move further along the High Street as Grantham’s shopping centre gravitated towards St Peter’s Hill, following the move of the F W Woolworth store from the Market Place. Eventually the redundant lamp-posts were removed and replaced by traffic lights, which seemed to spring up like mushrooms. They still are doing so elsewhere in town. The space left by the Cross Swords pub was still vacant at the time the photograph was taken (to the left in G43099), but would soon be filled in by another most unattractive but functional building.
An extract from from"Grantham Town and City Memories".

During the First World War, two enormous army camps were situated within two miles of the town, and in 1915 the Machine Gun Corps was founded in Harrowby Camp. There are plaques recalling this, and the Corps standard is laid up in the church. (The Corps was nicknamed ‘the suicide club’ as they suffered over 62,000 casualties). The church also boasts a superb ring of 10 bells; the Society of Change Ringers of St Wulfram’s was founded in 1781, and is the town’s oldest club. Across narrow Church Street, formerly Alms Lane, is the nearby King’s School; it was re-founded by Bishop Foxe in 1528, although there is an earlier reference to it in 1329. The Old School, now used as the school library, dates back to the very early 16th century, and among its pupils were Sir Isaac Newton and William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, the great advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. He later built Burghley House just south of Stamford. Isaac Newton was fond of carving his initials, sun dials or even his name on walls, and his name can be seen on one of the window sills in the Old School. This boys’ school is still a grammar school as it was in the early 1500s, but Latin grammar is not now one of its subjects. The school was one of several endowed by Bishop Foxe, a local man - he was born in the nearby village of Ropsley. Bishop Foxe was appointed Bishop of Winchester in 1501; he died in 1528, and is buried in Winchester Cathedral.
An extract from from"Grantham Town and City Memories".

W G Harrison, who would now have two shops on the High Street. This corner shop has had a long history of printing and publishing, and local names such as Ridge, Clarke and Marshall Ltd and Leayton & Eden, plus the two already mentioned, were at times situated there. In G43024, left, we see that the gentlemen’s outfitter Colin Tipler had arrived (right of photograph); the Olde Café of Catlin Bros (near left) was still a place to go for coffee and delicious cream teas. John Pacey, who during the Second World War was an officer in the Lincolnshire Regiment and won the Military Cross in Italy, was busy in his flower shop (near right) and with rugby and cricket whenever he got the chance. He was presented with his award by General Montgomery in Italy after he had recovered from his unpleasant wounds. Whysall’s, the opticians and chemists, were next door.
An extract from from"Grantham Town and City Memories".

The village lost its medieval church to bombs in World War II and has expanded much since the War, partly due to Lincoln’s proximity and partly to the RAF. In this view we look past the Horse and Jockey pub towards the south of the village; the church is beyond the high tree on the left.
An extract from from"Lincoln Pocket Album".