Stamford is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

South Kesteven South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. Its council is based in Grantham. The district also includes the towns of Bourne, ...

district of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber-framed buildings and five medieval parish churches. Stamford is a frequent film location. In 2013 it was rated a top place to live in a survey by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. Its name has been passed on to

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, founded in 1641.

Etymology

The place-name Stamford is first attested in the

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

, where it appears as ''Steanford'' in 922 and ''Stanford'' in 942. It appears as ''Stanford'' in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. The name means "stony ford".

History

Roman and Medieval Stamford

250px, Stamford The Romans built

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earninga ...

across what is now Burghley Park and forded the River Welland to the west of Stamford, eventually reaching

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

. They also built a town to the north at

Great Casterton Great Casterton is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in England. It is located at the crossing of the Roman Ermine Street and the River Gwash. Geography The village is approximately three miles to the north-west of Stamford ...

on the

River Gwash The River Gwash, occasionally Guash, a tributary of the River Welland, flows through the Historic counties of England, English counties of Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire. It rises just outside the village of Knossington in Leicestersh ...

. In 61 CE

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brittonic languages, Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh language, Welsh as , ) was a queen of the Iceni, ancient ...

followed the Roman legion

Legio IX Hispana Legio IX Hispana ("9th Hispanian Legion"), also written as Legio VIIII Hispana, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that existed from the 1st century BC until at least AD 120. The legion fought in various provinces of the late ...

across the river. The

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

later chose Stamford as the main town, being on a larger river than the Gwash. In 972 King Edgar made Stamford a borough. The Anglo-Saxons and Danes faced each other across the river. The town had grown as a Danish settlement at the lowest point that the Welland could be crossed by ford or bridge. Stamford was the only one of the

Five Boroughs of the Danelaw The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia (what is now the East Midlands) under the Danelaw. These were Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford. The first four later became coun ...

not to become a

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

. Initially a pottery centre making

Stamford Ware Stamford ware is a type of lead-glazed earthenware, one of the earliest forms of glazed ceramics manufactured in England. It was produced in Stamford, Lincolnshire between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. It was widely traded across Britain a ...

, it had gained fame by the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

for its production of the woollen cloth known as Stamford cloth or haberget, which "In Henry III's reign... was well known in Venice." Stamford was a walled town, but only a small portion of the wall remains. Stamford became an inland port on the Great North Road, the latter superseding Ermine Street in importance. Notable buildings in the town include the medieval Browne's Hospital, several churches and the buildings of

Stamford School Stamford School is a co-educational independent school (UK), independent school in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition. Founded in 1532, it has been a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

, a public school founded in 1532. Stamford-Castle-by-Richard-Croft

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

castle was built about 1075 and apparently demolished in 1484. The site stood derelict until the late 20th century, when it was built over and now includes a bus station and a modern housing development. A small part of the curtain wall survives at the junction of Castle Dyke and Bath Row. In 1333, a group of students and tutors from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, including some from

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

and Brasenose Hall, dissatisfied with conditions at the university, left

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

to found a rival institution at Stamford. Oxford had seen violence between students and masters hailing from Northern and Southern England, and those who left for Stamford were Northerners. Oxford and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

universities petitioned

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, and the King ordered the closure of the college and the return of the students to Oxford; this took several attempts, but seems to have finally been achieved in 1335. MA students at Oxford until 1827 were obliged to take an oath: "You shall also swear that you will not read lectures, or hear them read, at Stamford, as in a University study, or college general." The site and limited remains of the former Brazenose College, Stamford, where Oxford secessionists lived and studied, now form part of Stamford School. Stamford has been hosting an annual fair since the

. It is mentioned in Shakespeare's

Henry IV, Part 2 ''Henry IV, Part 2'' is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by '' Richard II'' and ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and succeeded by '' Henry V''. The p ...

(Act 3, Scene 2). Held in mid-Lent, it is now the largest street fair in Lincolnshire and among the largest in the country. On 7 March 1190, men at the fair who were preparing to go on the crusade led a

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

, in which several of the Stamford Jews were killed, and the rest, who escaped with difficulty, were given refuge in the castle. Their houses, however, were plundered, and a great quantity of money was seized.

Religious houses and hospitals

Stamford's importance and wealth in the Middle Ages meant that a number of religious houses and hospitals were established in or near the town. The monasteries and friaries were all closed at the Dissolution by 1539. Street names are indicative of their presence: Priory Road, Austin Street, Blackfriars Street etc. Monasteries *Benedictine Priory of St Leonard – certainly established by 1082 with the possibility of it having been founded originally in the 7th century. Part of the church still stands on Priory Road. *Priory of Austin Canons at Newstead, just east of Stamford. Originally founded as a hospital at the end of the 12th century it became a priory of Austin Canons in the 1240s.Victoria County History Lincolnshire Vol. 2 1906 https://www.british-history.ac.uk/ *Priory of St Michael – this was a nunnery established by an

abbot of Peterborough A list of the abbots of the abbey of Peterborough, known until the late 10th century as " Medeshamstede". Abbots Sources *'Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Peterborough', ''A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 2'' (1906), pp. ...

in or before 1155 in Stamford Baron. It was a large establishment for about 40 nuns. In 1354 it was amalgamated with the Augustinian nunnery of Wothorpe which had been depopulated by plague. The

reredorter The reredorter or necessarium (the latter being the original term) was a communal latrine found in mediaeval monasteries in Western Europe and later also in some New World monasteries. Etymology The word is composed from dorter and the Middle E ...

is a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. Friaries At least five orders of Friars were established within the town of Stamford from the 13th century onwards. *The Austin Friars established in the 1340s in a house near St Peter's Gate on land formerly occupied by the Friars of the Sack. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 the land was eventually bought by the Cecil family of Burghley. *The Dominican Friars probably arrived in the 1230s and were regularly supported with donations by the monarchy. The house was dissolved by 1539. *The Franciscan Friars had a house -

Greyfriars, Stamford Greyfriars, Stamford was a Franciscan friary in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. It was one of many religious houses suppressed and closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. The site is now part of the NHS Stamford and ...

- in the east suburb near St Paul's gate. *The Carmelite Friars founded about 1268 in the east part of the town. The friary is said to have been a magnificent structure, famous for its beautiful church. *The Friars of the Sack or Brothers of Penitence – the sack referred to their clothes, made of sackcloth. Hospitals *Hospital of St John Baptist and St Thomas the Martyr on Stamford Bridge. This hospital was certainly in existence from 1323 until the eve of the Reformation. *Hospital of St Giles This hospital, which was built just outside Stamford as it was intended for lepers and was certainly operating in the 14th century. *Hospital of All Saints was founded in 1485 by William Browne, a wool merchant, for the support of two chaplains, and for the distribution of alms to twelve poor persons, who should pray for the soul of the founder. Browne's Hospital is still used for this purpose.

Tudor and Stuart Stamford

By the early 1500s the wool and broadcloth industry in England, on which Stamford depended, had declined significantly. Stamford was sufficiently poor, financially and demographically, that in 1548 it had to amalgamate its eleven parishes into six and its population had reduced to 800. However, by the second half of the 17th century, after almost 150 years of stagnation, the population started to increase. As Stamford emerged into the 17th century, leather and fibre working (in the widest sense; weavers, ropers and tailors) were the main activities along with wood and stone working. In the 1660s the various efforts to make the

River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river Source (river), rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally nort ...

navigable again were finally successful. Stamford then became a centre for the malting trade as the barley from nearby fenlands to the east and heathlands to the north and west could make its way more easily and cheaper to the town. The Great North Road passed through Stamford. It had always been a halting town for travellers; Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, James I and Charles I all passed through and it had been a post station for the postal service journey in Elizabeth's reign. By the later 17th century roads start to be used more for longer distance travelling. In 1663 an Act of Parliament was passed to set up turnpikes on the Great North Road, and this was to make a notable difference to Stamford's fortunes in the following century. Stamford_map

During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

local loyalties were split. Thomas Hatcher MP was a Parliamentarian. Royalists used Wothorpe and Burghley as defensive positions. In the summer of 1643 the Royalists were besieged at Burghley on 24 July after a defeat at Peterborough on 19 July. The army of Viscount Campden was heavily outnumbered and surrendered the following day.

Bull Run

For over 600 years Stamford was the site of the

Stamford bull run The Stamford bull run was a bull-running and bull-baiting event in the English town of Stamford, Lincolnshire. It was held on St Brice's Day (13 November), for perhaps more than 600 years, until 1839. A 1996 ''Journal of Popular Culture'' pap ...

, held annually on 13 November,

St Brice Brice of Tours (; 370 444 AD) was a 5th-century Frankish bishop, the fourth Bishop of Tours, succeeding Martin of Tours in 397. Background Brice was a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo and lived in the time of the Council of Ephesus. Gaul was ...

's day, until 1839. Local tradition says it began after

William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey (born 1160s–1170s, died 27 May 1240) was the son of Isabel de Warenne, Countess of Surrey, Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey (suo jure) and Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, Hamelin de Waren ...

had seen two bulls fighting in the meadow beneath his castle. Some butchers came to part the combatants and one bull ran into the town. The earl mounted his horse and rode after the animal; he enjoyed the sport so much that he gave the meadow where the fight began to the butchers of Stamford, on condition that they continue to provide a bull to be run in the town every 13 November.

Victorian period to 21st century

The

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

would have gone through Stamford, as an important postal town at the time, but resistance led to routing it instead through

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, whose importance and size increased at Stamford's expense. During the Second World War, the area round Stamford contained several military sites, including RAF station, airborne encampments and a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

. Within the town, Rock House held the headquarters of

Stanisław Sosabowski Stanisław Franciszek Sosabowski (; 8 May 1892 – 25 September 1967) was a Polish general in World War II. He fought in the Polish Campaign of 1939 and at the Battle of Arnhem (Netherlands), as a part of Operation Market Garden, in 1944 as c ...

and the staff of the

Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade The 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute infantry brigade of the Polish Armed Forces in the West under the command of Major General Stanisław Sosabowski, created in September 1941 during the Second World War and based in ...

. A memorial plaque was unveiled there in 2004. A 2,000lb bomb was dropped on St Leonard St on 31 October 1940, which never exploded. 1,000 people were evacuated, until 3 November 1940. Stamford Museum occupied a Victorian building in Broad Street from 1980 until June 2011, when it succumbed to Lincolnshire County Council budget cuts. Some exhibits have been moved to a "Discover Stamford" space at the town library and to Stamford Town Hall.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Stamford, at parish (town), district and county level: Stamford Town Council,

South Kesteven District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

, and

Lincolnshire County Council Lincolnshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes North Lincolnshire and No ...

. The town council is based at Stamford Town Hall on St Mary's Hill, which was built in 1779.

Administrative history

Stamford was an

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

. The original borough was entirely on the north bank of the River Welland, which was historically the boundary between Lincolnshire and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. South of the river was Stamford Baron in Northamptonshire. The Stamford constituency was enlarged in 1832 to also include the built-up part of Stamford Baron. In 1836 Stamford was reformed to become a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

, at which point the municipal boundaries were adjusted to match the recently enlarged constituency. After 1836 the borough therefore straddled Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. When elected county councils were established in 1889 boroughs were no longer allowed to straddle county boundaries, and so the parts of the borough south of the river were transferred to Lincolnshire, with

Kesteven County Council Kesteven County Council was the county council of Kesteven, one of the three Parts of Lincolnshire in eastern England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 31 March 1974. The county council was based at the County Offices ...

serving as the upper tier authority. Local government was reformed again in 1974, when Kesteven County Council was replaced by Lincolnshire County Council, and the borough of Stamford was abolished, with district-level functions passing to the new South Kesteven District Council. Stamford Town Council was established as a

successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...

council in 1974, covering the area of the former borough. Stamford's

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

has arms: ''Per pale dexter side Gules three Lions passant guardant in pale Or and the sinister side chequy Or and Azure''. The three lions are the English royal arms, granted to the town by Edward IV for its part in the "Lincolnshire Uprising". The blue and gold chequers are the arms of the

De Warenne family The Warenne family is an English noble family founded by William de Warenne, who was created Earl of Surrey by William II Rufus in 1088. The family originated in Normandy and, as Earls, held land there and throughout England. William de Warenne ...

, which held the manor here in the 13th century.

Parliamentary representation

Stamford belongs to the parliamentary constituency of

Rutland and Stamford Rutland and Stamford is a county constituency comprising the area of Lincolnshire centred on the town of Stamford; the county of Rutland; and also parts of rural Leicestershire, making it a very unusual parliamentary constituency in that it spa ...

. The current MP is

Alicia Kearns Alicia Alexandra Martha Kearns (born 11 November 1987) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutland and Stamford, previously Rutland and Melton, since 2019 and Shadow Minister for Home Affa ...

(

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

). Prior to the 2024 election, Stamford formed part of the

Grantham and Stamford Grantham and Stamford was a constituency in Lincolnshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1997 to 2024. Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was abolished for the 2024 genera ...

constituency. Previous MPs include Gareth Davies, who won the seat at the 2019 General Election and

Nick Boles Nicholas Edward Coleridge Boles (born 2 November 1965) is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Grantham and Stamford from 2010 to 2019. He was a member of the Conservative Party until 2019. Before entering parliament ...

Geography

Stamford, on the bank of the

, forms a south-westerly protrusion of Lincolnshire between

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

to the north and west,

to the south, and

to the south-west. There have been mistaken claims of a

quadripoint A quadripoint is a point on Earth where four distinct political territories meet. The territories can be of different types, such as national and provincial. In North America, several such places are commonly known as Four Corners (disambiguatio ...

where four

ceremonial counties Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the monarch's representative in an area. Shrieval counties have th ...

– Rutland, Lincolnshire,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

and Northamptonshire – would meet at a point but the location actually has two

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

s some apart. The

forms the border between two historic counties: Lincolnshire to the north and

Soke of Peterborough The Soke of Peterborough is a historic area of England associated with the City and Anglican Diocese of Peterborough, Diocese of Peterborough. It was part of Northamptonshire, but was administered by Soke of Peterborough County Council, its own ...

in Northamptonshire to the south. In 1991, the boundary between Lincolnshire and Rutland (then part of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

) in the Stamford area was redrawn. It now mostly follows the A1 to the railway line. The conjoined parish of Wothorpe is in the city of Peterborough. Barnack Road is the Lincolnshire/Peterborough boundary where it borders St Martin's Without. The river downstream of the town bridge and some of the meadows fall within the drainage area of the Welland and Deepings

Internal Drainage Board An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management wit ...

Geology

Much of Stamford is built on Middle Jurassic

Lincolnshire limestone The Lincolnshire Limestone Formation is a geological formation in England, part of the Inferior Oolite Group of the ( Bajocian) Middle Jurassic strata of eastern England. It was formed around 170 million years ago, in a shallow, warm sea on the ...

, with mudstones and sandstones. The area is known for limestone and slate quarries. Cream-coloured

Collyweston stone slate The Collyweston Slater pub in Collyweston with a Collyweston slate roof Collyweston stone slate is a traditional roofing material found in east-central England, primarily in Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Rutland. It is n ...

is found on the roofs of many Stamford stone buildings. Stamford Stone in

Barnack Barnack is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough unitary authority of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England and the historic county of Northamptonshire. Barnack is in the north-west of the unitary authority, south-east of ...

has quarries at

Marholm Marholm is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. West of Peterborough and 1 mile from the seat of the Fitzwilliam family at Milton Hall. The parish covers some 1,400 ac ...

and

Holywell Holywell may refer to: England * Holywell, Bedfordshire * Holywell, Cambridgeshire * Holywell, Cornwall * Holywell, Dorset * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Sussex * Holywell, Gloucestershire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Ho-Hoo#Hol, location in ...

. Clipsham Stone has two quarries in

Clipsham Clipsham is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is in the northeast of Rutland, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 120 at the 2001 census increasing to ...

Palaeontology

In 1968, a specimen of the

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...

dinosaur ''

Cetiosaurus ''Cetiosaurus'' ( meaning 'whale lizard', from the Greek '/ meaning 'sea monster' (later, 'whale') and '/ meaning 'lizard'), is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period, living about 171 to 165 million years ago ...

oxoniensis'' was found in the Williamson Cliffe Quarry, close to

in adjacent

. Some long, it is about 170 million years old, from the

Aalenian The Aalenian () is a subdivision of the Middle Jurassic Epoch/Series of the geologic timescale that extends from about 174.7 ±0.8 Ma to about 170.9 ±0.8 Ma (million years ago). It was preceded by the Toarcian and succeeded by the Bajocian. St ...

Bajocian In the geologic timescale, the Bajocian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 170.9 ±0.8 Ma to around 168.2 ±1.2 Ma (million years ago). The Bajocian Age succeeds the Aalenian Age and precedes the Bathonia ...

era of the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

period. It is one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons found in the UK and was installed in 1975 in the

Leicester Museum & Art Gallery The Leicester Museum & Art Gallery (until 2020, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery) is a museum on New Walk in Leicester, England, not far from the city centre. It opened in 1849 as one of the first public museums in the United Kingdom. Leicest ...

Economy

Tourism is important to Stamford's economy, as are professional law and accountancy firms. Health, education and other public-service employers also feature, notably a hospital ( Stamford and Rutland Hospital), a large medical general practice, schools (some independent) and a further education college. Hospitality is provided by several hotels, licensed premises, restaurants, tea rooms and cafés. The licensed premises reflect the history of the town. The '' George Hotel'', ''Lord Burghley'', ''William Cecil'', ''Danish Invader'' and ''Jolly Brewer'' are among nearly 30 premises serving

real ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for ale that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous ca ...

. Surrounding villages and

Rutland Water Rutland Water is a reservoir in Rutland, England, east of Rutland's county town, Oakham. It is filled by pumping from the River Nene and River Welland, and provides water to the East Midlands. By surface area it is the largest reservoir in E ...

provide other venues and employment opportunities, as do several annual events at Burghley House.

Retail

The town centre's major retail and service sector has many independent boutique stores and draws shoppers from a wide area. Several streets are traffic-free. Outlets include gift shops, eateries, men's and women's outfitters, shoe shops, florists, hairdressers, beauty therapists and acupuncture and health-care services. Harrison & Dunn, Dawson of Stamford, the ''George Hotel'' and The Crown Arts Centre are other popular places. Stamford has several hotels, coffee shops and restaurants. Its branch of the national jeweller F. Hinds can trace its history back to the clockmaker Joseph Hinds, who worked in Stamford in the first half of the 19th century. In the summer months, Stamford Meadows attract visitors. The town has stores, supermarkets, three builders' merchants and several other specialist trade outlets and skilled trades such as roofers, builders, tilers etc. There are two car showrooms and a number of car-related businesses. Local services include convenience stores, post offices, newsagents and take-aways. Harrier GR3 at RAF Wittering 2007

Engineering

South of the town is

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

, a main employer which was until 2011 the home of the Harrier. The base opened in 1916 as RFC Stamford. It closed in 1919, but reopened in 1924 under its present name. The engineering company, largely closed since June 2018, is Cummins Generator Technologies (formerly Newage Lyon, then Newage International), a maker of

electrical generator In electricity generation, a generator, also called an ''electric generator'', ''electrical generator'', and ''electromagnetic generator'' is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy for use in an extern ...

s in

Road. C & G Concrete (now part of Breedon Aggregates) is in Uffington Road. The Pick Motor Company was founded in Stamford in about 1898. A number of smaller firms — welders, printers and so forth — feature in collections of industrial units or more traditional premises in older, mixed-use parts of the town.

Blackstone & Co Blackstone & Co. was a Agricultural machinery, farm implement maker at Stamford, Lincolnshire, Stamford, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. History Company History This business was established in 1837 as Smith & Ashby later known as Rutland Iron W ...

was a

farm implement Agricultural equipment is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor. Tractor and power *Tractor / Two-wheel tractor * Tracked tractor / Caterpillar tractor Soil cultiv ...

and

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

manufacturing company. Stamford lies amidst some of England's richest farmland and close to the famous "double-cropping" land of parts of the fens. Agriculture still provides a small, but steady number of jobs in farming, agricultural machinery, distribution and ancillary services.

Media and publishing

The ''

Stamford Mercury The ''Stamford Mercury'' (also the ''Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford Mercury'', the ''Rutland and Stamford Mercury'', and the ''Rutland Mercury'') based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, claims to be "Britain's oldest cont ...

'' claims to be "Britain's oldest continuously published newspaper title". The ''Mercury'' has been published since 1712 but its masthead formerly claimed it was established in 1695 and still has "Britain's Oldest Newspaper". Local radio provision was shared between Peterborough's

Heart East Heart East was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart station ...

(102.7 – Heart Peterborough closed in July 2010) and Greatest Hits Radio Midlands (formerly Rutland Radio) (a 97.4 transmitter on

Little Casterton Little Casterton is a small village and civil parish in Rutland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 148, increasing to 218 at the 2011 census. It is about two miles (3 km) north of Stamford on a minor road t ...

Road) from

Oakham Oakham is a market town and civil parish in Rutland (of which it is the county town) in the East Midlands of England. The town is located east of Leicester, southeast of Nottingham and northwest of Peterborough. It had a population of 12,14 ...

. Since March 2021, Rutland and Stamford Sound has been providing a locally based service via the internet. Other stations include

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cambridgeshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at the Cambridge Business Park on Cowley Road in Cambridge. The station al ...

(95.7 from

), and

BBC Radio Lincolnshire BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios near Newport Ar ...

(94.9). NOW Digital broadcasts from an East Casterton transmitter covering the town and Spalding, which provides the

NOW Peterborough Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquarters ...

12D multiplex (BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and Heart East). Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire (except High Peak, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and the northern areas of the Derbyshire Dales), Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw), Rutland, South Kest ...

and

ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...

. Stamford has a lower-power television relay transmitter, due to it being in a valley, which takes its transmission from Waltham, not Belmont.

BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, sometimes abbreviated to BBC Yorks & Lincs, is the name for the BBC's twelfth English Region, based in Kingston upon Hull and created from the division of the former BBC North region, based in Leeds (now known ...

and

ITV Yorkshire ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

can be received from the Belmont transmitting station. Local publishers include

Key Publishing Key Publishing is a magazine publishing company specialising in aviation titles, based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. History ''Airliner World'' was launched in 1999. In 2005 it launched ''Airports of the World'', and in the same year it ...

(aviation) and the Bourne Publishing Group (pets). ''Old Glory'', a specialist magazine for steam power and

traction engines A traction engine is a steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engi ...

, was published in Stamford.

Landmarks

Stamford was the first

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

designated in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, under the Civic Amenities Act 1967. There are over 600

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in and around the town. St Leonard’s Priory is the oldest building in the town, legendarily founded by

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

, tutor to the son of the Anglo-Saxon King Oswiu. The site retains Norman architectural features, including pillars and arches dating to around 1090, with a west front constructed circa 1150. Significant unlisted properties include the

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

in Broad Street which was completed in 1859. The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

left Stamford largely untouched. Much of the centre was built in the 17th and 18th centuries in Jacobean or Georgian style. It is marked by streets of timber-framed and stone buildings using local

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and by little shops tucked down back alleys. Several former

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

s survive, their large doorways being a feature. The main shopping area was pedestrianised in the 1970s. Near Stamford (but in the historical

) is

Burghley House Burghley House () is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, built and still lived in by the senior (Exeter) branch of the Cecil family and is Grade ...

, an

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

mansion, built by the First Minister of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, Sir William Cecil, later

Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from ...

. It is the ancestral seat of the

Marquess of Exeter Marquess of Exeter is a title that has been created twice, once in the peerage of England and once in the peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the peerage of England in 1525 for Henry Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. For mor ...

. The tomb of William Cecil is in St Martin's Church, Stamford. The parkland of the Burghley Estate adjoins the town on two sides. It includes ancient trees, a population of fallow deer, and vistas designed by landscape architect ''Capability'' Brown. Another country house near Stamford, Tolethorpe Hall, hosts outdoor theatre productions by the Stamford Shakespeare Company. Tobie Norris had a

bell foundry Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by casting ...

in the town in the 17th century. His name is borne by a pub in St Paul's Street.

Transport

Railway

The town is served by

Stamford railway station Stamford railway station serves the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire, England, and is located in St Martin's. The station is west of Peterborough. It was opened by the Syston and Peterborough Railway, part of the present day Birmingham to ...

, previously known as ''Stamford Town'' to distinguish it from the now closed Stamford East station in Water Street. The station building is a stone structure in

Mock Tudor Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

style, influenced by nearby

and designed by

Sancton Wood Sancton Wood (27 April 1814 – 18 April 1886) was an English architect and surveyor, known for his work on railway buildings. Life and family Sancton Wood was born on 27 April 1814 in Nursery Place, Hackney Terrace, Hackney, London. He was ...

. Services are provided by two

train operating companies In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...

: *

CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...

provides regular direct services to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, and

Stansted Airport Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

, via and , on the

Birmingham to Peterborough Line Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands region, in England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest cit ...

. *

East Midlands Railway East Midlands Railway (EMR; legally Transport UK East Midlands Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. Originally owned by Abellio (transport compan ...

operates a small number of services between , Peterborough and in the mornings and evenings, except on Sundays. Trains to and from Peterborough pass through a short tunnel beneath St Martin's High Street.

Road

Lying on the main north–south

(now the Great North Road and the A1) from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Stamford hosted several

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

s in the Middle Ages. The ''George Hotel'', ''Bull and Swan'', ''Crown'' and ''London Inn'' were well-known

s. The town coped with heavy north–south traffic through its narrow streets until 1960, when a bypass was built to the west of the town. The old route is now the B1081, which has the only other road bridge over the Welland; this is a local bottleneck. Until 1996, there were plans to upgrade the bypass to

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

standard, but these have been shelved. The Carpenter's Lodge roundabout south of the town has been replaced by a grade-separated junction. The old A16, now the A1175 (Uffington Road) to

Market Deeping Market Deeping is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, on the north bank of the River Welland and the A15 road. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 6,008. History The town's ma ...

, meets the northern end of the A43 (Kettering Road) in the south of the town.

On foot

Footbridges cross the Welland at the Meadows, some 200 metres upstream of the Town Bridge, and at the Albert Bridge 250 metres downstream. The

Jurassic Way The Jurassic Way is a designated and signed long-distance footpath that connects the Oxfordshire town of Banbury with the Lincolnshire town of Stamford in England. It largely follows an ancient ridgeway traversing Britain; most of its route i ...

runs from

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

to Stamford. The

Hereward Way The Hereward Way is a long-distance footpath in England that links the Viking Way at Oakham with the Peddars Way at Knettishall Heath, near Thetford. The path takes its name from Hereward the Wake, the 11th-century rebel leader who fought ...

runs through the town from Rutland to the

Peddars Way The Peddars Way is a long distance footpath that passes through Suffolk and Norfolk, England. Route The Peddars Way is 46 miles (74 km) long and follows the route of a Roman road. It has been suggested by more than one writer that it was ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, along the Roman

and then the

River Nene The River Nene ( or ) flows through the counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk in Eastern England from its sources in Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire. Flowing Northeast through East England to its mouth at Lutt ...

. The Macmillan Way heads through the town, finishing at

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Torpel Way follows the railway line, entering Peterborough at Bretton.

Buses

The town bus station occupies part of the old castle site in St Peter's Hill. Local bus services are operated by

Delaine Buses Delaine BusesCompanies House extract company no 367317
Delain ...

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

CentreBus Centrebus Limited, trading as Centrebus, is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Centrebus hold a 51% shareholding in High Peak Buses a ...

, Blands and

Peterborough City Council Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Peterborough has had a council since 1874, which has been reformed several time ...

. The main routes run to

, via

Helpston Helpston (also, formerly, "Helpstone") is an English village in Cambridgeshire. Historically; it was formerly in the Soke of Peterborough in Northamptonshire, subsequently (1965–1974) in Huntingdon and Peterborough, then in Cambridgeshire. ...

, Wansford, Wittering, Ailsworth, and to

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

Uppingham Uppingham is a market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. ...

and Bourne. On Sundays and Bank Holidays, Peterborough City Council operates a route via Wittering/ Wansford, Duddington/Wansford,

and Uffington/Barnack/Helpston. There is a

National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...

coach service between

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

each day, including Sundays.

Waterways

Commercial shipping was carried along a canal from Market Deeping to warehouses in Wharf Road until the 1850s. This is no longer possible, due to abandonment of the canal and the shallowness of the river above

Crowland Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. ) is a town and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland ...

. There is a lock at the sluice in

Deeping St James Deeping St James is a large village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Frognall) was reported as 7,051 at the 2011 census. History Based around a now lost 12th-century Bened ...

, but it is not in use. The river was not conventionally navigable upstream of the Town Bridge.

Education

Stamford has five state primary schools: Bluecoat, St Augustine's (RC), St George's, St Gilbert's and Malcolm Sargent, and the independent Stamford Junior School, a co-educational school for children aged two to eleven. The one state secondary school is Stamford Welland Academy (formerly Stamford Queen Eleanor School), formed in the late 1980s from the town's two comprehensive schools: Fane and Exeter. It became an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 2011. In April 2013, a group of parents announced an intention to establish a Free School in the town, but failed to receive government backing. Instead, the multi-academy trust that submitted the bid was invited to take over the running of the existing school.

is a long-established public school with about 1,200 pupils. Stamford School, originally for boys but converted into a co-educational school, was founded in 1532. The girls' school was established in 1877 and originally known as Browne's Middle School for Girls. The two school formally merged in 2023. Together with Stamford Junior School, they form the Stamford Endowed Schools. Most of Lincolnshire still has grammar schools. In Stamford, their place was long filled by a form of the

Assisted Places Scheme The Assisted Places Scheme was established in the UK by the Conservative government in 1980. Children who were eligible were provided with free or subsidised places to fee-charging independent schools - based on the child's results in the schoo ...

, providing state funding to send children to one of two independent schools in the town that were formerly direct-grant grammars. The national scheme was abolished by the 1997 Labour government. The Stamford arrangements remained in place as a protracted transitional arrangement. In 2008, the council decided no new places could be funded and the arrangement ended in 2012. The rest of South Kesteven, apart from Market Deeping, has the selective system. Other secondary pupils travel to

Casterton College Casterton College, Rutland (previously Casterton Business and Enterprise College (CBEC) and Casterton Community College) is one of three secondary schools in the county of Rutland, England. Located in the village of Great Casterton, the school p ...

or further afield to

The Deepings School The Deepings School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located on Park Road in Deeping St James (near Peterborough) in Lincolnshire, England. , the school is attended by almost 1,500 pupils aged 11 to 18 ...

or Bourne Grammar School.

New College Stamford Stamford College is a further education college on Drift Road in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. It opened as Stamford Technical College in 1967 and was later called New College Stamford, becoming Stamford College in 2020. It is now a general ...

offers post-16 further education: work-based, vocational and academic; and higher education courses including BA degrees in art and design awarded by the

University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the hea ...

and teaching-related courses awarded by

Bishop Grosseteste University Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is a public university in the city of Lincoln, England. BGU was established as a teacher training college for the Diocese of Lincoln in 1862. It gained taught degree awarding powers in 2012, applied for ful ...

. The college also offers a range of informal adult learning.

Churches

In the 2011 Census, less than 67 per cent of the population of Stamford identified themselves as Christian, over 25 per cent as of "no religion". Stamford has many current or former churches: *

All Saints' Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania * All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane, Queensland *All ...

on Red Lion Square *Christ Church, Green Lane *Stamford and District Community Church (ceased to meet) *Stamford Free Church (Baptist), Kesteven Road * St George's Church in St George's Square *

St John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

* St Leonard's Priory * St Mary's Church on St Mary's Street * St Mary and St Augustine (Roman Catholic), on Broad Street * St Martin's Church on High Street, St Martin's * St Michael the Greater, High Street (now converted as shops) * St Paul's Church (now the chapel of Stamford School) *Strict Baptist Chapel, North Street *Salvation Army, East Street (now demolished; the congregation worships elsewhere) *The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hillside House, Tinwell Road *Stamford Methodist Church, Barn Hill (also known as Trinity Methodist Church) *

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

, on Star Lane

Filming location

Filming Pride and Prejudice in Stamford Lincolnshire - geograph

Television shows

*''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

'' (1994) *''The Buccaneers'' (1995) *''

The Golden Bowl ''The Golden Bowl'' is a 1904 novel by Henry James. Set in England, this complex, intense study of marriage and adultery completes what some critics have called the "major phase" of James's career. ''The Golden Bowl'' explores the tangle of in ...

'' (2000) *''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'' (2005) *''

My Mad Fat Diary ''My Mad Fat Diary'' is a British Historical drama, period teen drama, teen comedy-drama television series that debuted on E4 (TV channel), E4 on 14 January 2013. It is based on the novel ''My Fat, Mad Teenage Diary'' by Rae Earl. The second se ...

'' (2013–2015)

Films

*'' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005) – used as the village of Meryton *''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...

'' (2006) *''

'' (2000)

Notable residents

In alphabetical order by section. References appear on each person's page.

Arts and broadcasting

* Michael Asher (born 1953), author and explorer *

Torben Betts Torben Betts (born 10 February 1968, in Stamford, Lincolnshire) is an English playwright, screenwriter and actor. Biography Betts attended the University of Liverpool, where he read English Literature and English Language, and originally train ...

(born 1968), playwright *

Nelson Dawson Nelson Ethelred Dawson (5 May 1859 – 28 October 1941) was an English artist and member of the Arts and Crafts movement. Dawson was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, Stamford, Lincolnshire and educated at Stamford School. He moved to London, w ...

(1859–1941), artist *

Colin Dexter Norman Colin Dexter (29 September 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English crime writer known for his ''Inspector Morse'' series of novels, which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as an ITV (TV network), ITV television series, ''Inspec ...

(1930–2017), author, creator of Inspector Morse * Rae Earl (born 1971), author and broadcaster *

Lady Angela Forbes Lady Angela Selina Bianca Forbes (née St Clair-Erskine; 11 June 1876 – 22 October 1950) was a British socialite and novelist who was known as a forces sweetheart for organising soldiers' canteens in France during the First World War. She rev ...

(1876–1950), novelist and First World War forces sweetheart *

Andrew Lycett Andrew Michael Duncan Lycett (born 1948) FRSL is an English biographer and journalist. Early life Born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, to Peter Norman Lycett Lycett and Joan Mary Duncan (née Day), Lycett spent some of his childhood in Tanganyika, wh ...

(born 1948), biographer *

James Mayhew James John Mayhew (born 1964 in Stamford, Lincolnshire) is an English illustrator and author of children's books, storyteller, artist and concert presenter/live art performer. Early life and education The son of RAF pilot John Byrne Mayhew and ...

(born 1964), writer and illustrator of children's books *

Mahomet Thomas Phillips Mahomet Thomas Phillips (1 June 1876 – 7 June 1943) was an English-Congolese sculptor and stone carver. His work features in cathedrals and churches in England and beyond, including in a memorial to Edith Cavell in Peterborough Cathedral, and a ...

(1876-1943), Anglo/Congolese sculptor and carver *

Wilfrid Wood Wilfrid René Wood (1 December 1888 – 18 February 1976) was a British engraver and watercolourist. He painted urban landscapes of British towns such as Stamford, Lincolnshire. Wilfrid Wood was born in Cheadle Hulme, south of Manchester. Hi ...

(1888–1976), artist

Business

John Drakard John Drakard (1775?–1854) was an English newspaper proprietor, publisher, and political radical, imprisoned for his journalism. Life He went into business at Stamford, Lincolnshire as a printer and book-seller at the beginning of the 19th centu ...

(c. 1775–1854), newspaper proprietor * Arthur Kitson (1859–1937), managing director of Kitson Empire Lighting Company and monetary theorist

Crime

John George Haigh John George Haigh ( ; 24 July 1909 – 10 August 1949), commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer, was an English serial killer convicted for the murder of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine. Haigh battered to death or shot his ...

(1909–1949), "The Acid Bath Murderer", was born in Stamford.

Government and armed forces

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State (1550–1553 and ...

(1520–1598), Elizabethan statesman * Sir Mike Jackson (1944-2024), British Army general

Medicine

* William Newman (surgeon), (1833–1903), doctor and surgeon at the Stamford and Rutland Infirmary

Performance

Sarah Cawood Sarah Louise Cawood (born 7 August 1972 in St Pancras, London) is an English television presenter, voice over artist and narrator. She is best known for presenting the BBC children's Saturday morning show '' Live & Kicking''. Career Cawood g ...

(born 1972), television presenter * James Bradshaw (born 1976) stage and television actor * Tom Davis, actor and comedian *

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

, broadcaster and presenter of ''5th Gear'' *

Colin Furze Colin Furze (born ) is a British YouTuber, engineer, and inventor from Stamford, Lincolnshire. Furze left school to become a plumber until he performed on the Sky1 programme '' Gadget Geeks.'' Furze has since used his plumbing and engineering e ...

(born 1979), YouTube personality, twice a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

holder *

David Jackson David Jackson or Dave Jackson may refer to: Academics *David Jackson (art historian) (born 1958), British professor of Russian and Scandinavian art histories * David J. Jackson, American political scientist * David M. Jackson, Canadian mathematics ...

(born 1947), progressive rock saxophonist, flautist and composer *

Nicola Roberts Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2002, Roberts was selected as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: Th ...

(born 1985), singer, best known as a member of

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...

* George Robinson (born 1997), actor *

Sir Malcolm Sargent Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...

(1895–1967), conductor *

Sir Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as o ...

(1905–1998), composer

Scholarship

* Harry Burton (1879–1940), Egyptologist and archaeological photographer *

Robert of Ketton Robert of Ketton, known in Latin as Rodbertus Ketenensis ( 1141–1157), was an English astronomer, translator, priest and diplomat active in Spain. He translated several works of Arabic into Latin, including the first translation of the Quran int ...

(с. 1110 – с. 1160), medieval theologian, the first European translator of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. * Ian Roberts (born 1957), Professor of Linguistics at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Sports

David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter David George Brownlow Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, KCMG, KStJ (9 February 1905 – 21 October 1981), styled Lord Burghley from birth until 1956 and also known as David Burghley, was an English athlete, sports official, peer, and Conservativ ...

(Lord Burghley till 1956; 1905–1981), politician,

Governor of Bermuda The governor of Bermuda (officially Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)) is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. For the purposes of this arti ...

, and

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

-winning

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

Malcolm Christie Malcolm Neil Christie (born 11 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Initially playing at non-league level for Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough, he went on to play in the Premier League for bo ...

(born 1979), former professional footballer *

Darren Ferguson Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of League One club Peterborough United, in his fourth stint as manager of the club. In between his stints with Peterborou ...

(born 1972), manager of

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

, son of

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

Thomas Goodrich Sir Thomas Goodrich (also spelled Goodricke; died 10 May 1554) was an English ecclesiastic and statesman who was Bishop of Ely from 1534 until his death. Life He was a son of Edward Goodrich of East Kirkby, Lincolnshire and brother of He ...

(1823–1885), cricketer * David Norris (born 1981), former professional footballer * Paul Rawden (born 1973), former cricketer *

M. J. K. Smith Michael John Knight Smith , better known as M. J. K. Smith or Mike Smith, (born 30 June 1933) is an English double international, in cricket and in rugby union. He was captain of Oxford University Cricket Club (1956), Warwickshir ...

(born 1933), captain of

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

and last English double international (cricket and rugby), attended Stamford School.

Sport

Football teams

Blackstones F.C. Blackstones Football Club is a football club based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Lincoln Road. Their kit consists of Lincoln green ( Lister Blackstone had Brunswick Green engines) and white s ...

Stamford A.F.C. Stamford Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Stamford, Lincolnshire. They currently compete in the Southern League Premier Division Central. History The club was established in 1896 and spent a single sea ...

*Stamford Belvedere F.C. There are a number of junior teams in each age group and also school teams.

Rugby teams

*Stamford College Old Boys R.F.C. *Stamford College Rugby Team *Stamford Rugby Club Tolethorpe Hall near Stamford - geograph

Cricket teams

* Burghley Park Cricket Club *Stamford Town Cricket Club

Festivals and events

Burghley Horse Trials The Defender Burghley Horse Trials is an annual three-day event held at Burghley House near Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, currently in early September. Defender Burghley Horse Trials is classified by the FEI as one of the seven leading t ...

, held annually in early September * Stamford Blues Festival * Stamford International Music Festival held in the spring * Stamford Riverside Festival, last held in 2010 * Stamford Mid Lent Fair * Stamford Georgian Festival, held in September *Stamford Diversity Festival, held in 2021 *Lazy Crow Music Festival, held June 2024

References

External links

*
Stamford – finest stone town in EnglandStamford Town Council
{{Authority control Towns in Lincolnshire Market towns in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Castles in Lincolnshire South Kesteven District

Etymology

History

Roman and Medieval Stamford

Religious houses and hospitals

Tudor and Stuart Stamford

Bull Run

Victorian period to 21st century

Governance

Administrative history

Parliamentary representation

Geography

Geology

Palaeontology

Economy

Retail

Engineering

Media and publishing

Landmarks

Transport

Railway

Road

On foot

Buses

Waterways

Education

Churches

Filming location

Television shows

Films

Notable residents

Arts and broadcasting

Business

Crime

Government and armed forces

Medicine

Performance

Scholarship

Sports

Sport

Football teams

Rugby teams

Cricket teams

Festivals and events

See also

Community Groups

References

Further reading

External links