Stamford
Stone and Spires
The picturesque town of Stamford has been compared to oxford due to the forest like abundance of the many church spires that grace the skyline.
This grey hued stone town is a picture postcard place and has been used as the location for countless films and TV series. Pride and prejudice was filmed here the town has been called one of the prettiest stone towns in England, with beautiful buildings set alongside the gently flowing river.
The ancient Britons used Stamford as a ford across the river Welland as it was the only place to easily cross for miles, the name Stamford means stone ford.
After the Britons came the Roman’s, the Danes and then the Norman’s who built a castle here and it was here in 1215 that an assembled army of 2000 with knights’ and barons gathered to march to Runnymede to confront King john.
Stamford owes its prominence to the Cecil family, Elizabeth I chief minister William Cecil who on inheriting the estate built nearby Burghley House now famed for its horse trials.
The position of the town on the great north road also helped to make it an important crossroads.
Stamford became prosperous as a wool town and was one of the richest towns in England it was also a religious center and home to four monasteries 4 priory’s 6 religious hospitals and 14 parish churches.
Today five of these early churches remain the town has many 17th and 18th century buildings it is one of the most elegant towns in the Midlands. The Browne hospital alms-house is one of the most outstanding in the country. Burghley house is one of the largest and grandest surviving Elizabethan houses in England the gardens were laid out by capability brown.
The town was major producer of cloth and this was used by Henry VIII when in 1520, he had tents and pavilions made for the field of the Cloth of gold that was a major diplomatic meeting of the day between Henry and Francis I of France.
The power and influence of the Cecil family ensured that with the advent of rail the railway went to Peterborough leaving Stamford isolated this can now be seen as something of a blessing as the town has preserved its undoubted charm. Stamford’s ancient streets and alleyways are home to independent shops, boutiques, Inns, and good restaurants.
Activities in Stamford
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