Grantham
Encyclopedia
Grantham is a market town
within the South Kesteven
district of Lincolnshire
, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line
railway (London-Edinburgh), the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham
. Grantham is located approximately 26 miles (41.8 km) south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately 24 miles (38.6 km) east of Nottingham
. The resident population at the 2001 census was 34,592 in around 18,000 households, excluding the adjacent village of Great Gonerby
. With the housing estates in Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without
(around a population of 4,500), this figure would be around 42,000.
The town is best known as the birthplace of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher
, and the place where Isaac Newton
went to school. It is close to an ancient Roman road
, and was the scene of Oliver Cromwell
's first advantage over Royalist
s during the English Civil War
at Gonerby Moor. Grantham is also notable for having the first female police officers in the United Kingdom, in 1914, and producing the first running diesel engine
in 1892, and the UK's first tractor in 1896.
. The boundary then follows Green Lane, bordering the parish of Harrowby. It passes to the west of Harrowby Hall and over Hall's Hill. It then crosses the A52 at the start of Somerby Hill, borders Little Ponton
and crosses the B1174 at the southern end of the Spittlegate Level Industrial Estate.
"Granta+ham", meaning "Granta
's village", and appeared as early as 1086 in the Domesday Book
in its present form of Grantham. The Roman name for the river Witham was "Granta".
, and fifth son of Edward III of England
, It was north-east of St Wulframs, and has its legacy in the naming of Castlegate.
Grantham received its Charter of Incorporation in 1463.
Until the 1970s the housing estates west of the town centre were green fields. Green Hill, on the A52, was literally a green hill.
Royal Air Force
(RAF) mission in May 1943, the RAF Bomber Command
's No. 5 Group
and the operation HQ was in St Vincents
, a building which later housed a district council planning department. It was built by Richard Hornsby in 1865, lived in by Richard Hornsby
's son, and is now a private house. In 1944 (including D-Day
), this was the headquarters for the USAAF
's Ninth Air Force
's IX Troop Carrier Command
, being known as Grantham Lodge. During the early part of the war Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet
lived in the town.
trained pilots during both world wars, initially as a Royal Flying Corps
establishment, but has never been an operational fighter or bomber base; although it did see operational service during the 1943 invasion of Europe as a base for American and Polish gliders and parachutists. It officially closed in 1974. The WRAF
had been there since 1960, and moved to RAF Hereford
(now the home of the SAS).
RAF Spitalgate is now a Territorial Army (RLC
) barracks called Prince William of Gloucester Barracks. Grantham College use the site for football development. The large mast on the base was part of the BT microwave network
.
was formed just north east of the town in parts of Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without during December 1941 with its headquarters at RAF Alma Park
which is recognised as the birthplace of the Corps. The Alma Park and Belton Park estates had jointly also been the training centre for the Machine Gun Corps
from November 1915. In total Harrowby Camp as it was known housed 18,000 men during World War I.
The RAF Regiment quickly grew to in excess of 66,000 personnel and during training they were housed at RAF Belton Park
which was the Regiment's first depot, RAF Folkingham
and RAF North Witham
. The RAF Regiment stayed until August 1946, when they left for RAF Catterick
.
of Grantham (founded 1815) invented the revolutionary caterpillar track, for use with Hornsby's oil engines; these engines were developed by Yorkshireman Herbert Akroyd Stuart
, from which compression-ignition
principle the diesel engine
evolved, being manufactured in Grantham from 8 July 1892. Although these engines were not wholly compression-ignition derived, later in 1892 a prototype high-pressure version was built at Hornsby's, developed by Thomas Henry Barton OBE
- later to be the founder of Nottingham's Barton Transport
, whereby ignition was achieved solely (100%) through compression; it ran continuously for six hours, being the first known diesel engine. In the town, Hornsby's built Elsham House (the grounds became Grantham College
) and the Shirley Croft. Their site on Houghton Road was bought from Lord Dysart.
In 1909, Hornsby's showed the British Army their invention, who were bemused, but took the idea no further than that, although they subsequently bought four caterpillar tractors in 1910 to tow artillery. A short time later, Hornsbys sold the patent for the caterpillar track in 1914 to The Holt Manufacturing Company of California, USA for $8,000, having only sold one caterpillar tractor commercially. Hornsby's design was far ahead of anything else around at the time. Thanks to the ownership of the patent, this company would become the world-dominating Caterpillar Inc.
Tractor Company. Benjamin Holt
even claimed to be the real inventor. In December 1914 the British Army
's Colonel Ernest Swinton
saw one of Holt's caterpillar tractors towing a piece of artillery, and realised its ground-breaking potential as an attack vehicle. One year later the tank
was born (using Hornsby's initial designs), being made in nearby Lincoln by William Foster. It first saw action at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette
on 15 September 1916.
In 1918 Hornsby's amalgamated with Rustons and the company became Ruston and Hornsby. In the 1920s the company had their own orchestra in the town; the site was a diesel engine plant. Later during World War II, the company would make tanks such as the Matilda
at the Grantham factory. R & H left in 1963 and most of the factory was taken over by a subsidiary, Alfred Wiseman Gears, who left in 1968.
]
to become Aveling-Barford
Ltd in 1934, largely due to financial help from Ruston & Hornsby, when both companies had entered administration. The new company took a former site of Hornsbys, naming it the 'Invicta
' works, from the motto on the coat of arms of Kent
, and translates as 'unconquered'; all of Aveling & Porter's machinery was brought from Kent via the train.
During the 1970s it was the town's largest employer with around 2,000 employees. It initially prospered but with the sinking market for large dumper truck
s and road roller
s declined. Their agricultural division was based at Belton
, which in 1947 developed the world's smallest tractor, the Barford Atom, weighing 177 lbs.
Now as Barford Construction Equipment, it makes dumper
s for construction sites, being owned by Wordsworth Holdings PLC
, owned in turn by the entrepreneur Duncan Wordsworth until it went into administration. In March 2010, Wordsworth Holdings went into administration. A restructuring package resulted in ownership transferring to Bowdon Investment Group in May 2010, and is known as Invictas Engineering.
A trailer company, Crane-Fruehauf, moved into part of the factory, from its former home of Dereham
, when it went into receivership in early 2005.
), on Springfield Road, made munitions notably the Hispano cannon
for the Spitfire
and Hurricane
from 1937 onwards. It was owned by the Swiss company Oerlikon
from 1971 until 1988, becoming part of Astra Holdings plc then being bought by British Aerospace
in 1992, who then closed the site. It has now been developed as a housing estate. The site's former offices are now business units for the Springfield Business Centre. Grantham's register office
was moved there in 2007, due to the catering service being up to wedding reception
standard, and Berketex Bride (a national company) is based there.
s from the area used to move pigs to greener pastures.
The annual Kesteven Schools Speech and Drama Festival was held in the town.
) on the Earlesfield Industrial Estate, which was mothballed in September 2008 following the loss of business with Marks and Spencer, their sole customer; and Moypark (formerly Padleys) in Gonerby Hill Foot.
Seven miles from Grantham at Easton
there are two large facilities. The first is Norbert Dentressangle who bought Christian Salvesen Plc in November 2007 and have maintained the frozen storage and distribution operation which has been at the site since the late sixties. The second is McCain Foods who purchased Potato Allied Services (PAS) in 1991 who had run a potato processing factory on site since the early seventies. This has since been extended to include a dedicated Fries-To-Go factory. There was a third large frozen vegetable
processing factory owned and operated by Christian Salvesen. However this was sold to Pinguin Foods in August 2007 who closed the facility in December 2008. Brake Bros Ltd
have a depot near the Gonerby Moor service station, off the B1174.
Bell & Webster are a nationally-known company, part of Eleco plc based in Ware, that makes precast concrete
. Escritt Barrell Golding a local Chartered Surveyors and Estate Agents still operate within the town, having been founded in 1860. Jourdan plc is based in the town which since 1973 has owned John Corby ltd., the maker of the Corby Trouser Press
. There is also Litcomp plc. The Woodland Trust
is based on Dysart Road. Natural England
had one of their two Lincolnshire offices on Wharf Road until early 2009. There is a small FM radio transmitter near the town's bypass on Gorse Lane from which BBC Lincolnshire is broadcast on 104.7 and Lincs FM
on 96.7, and national radio. The transmitter has five staff permanently on site. Most television comes from Waltham
, between the town and Melton, due to the line of sight to Belmont
being blocked by hills to the east of the town. Grantham now has a full time community radio station Gravity FM which broadcasts on 97.2 and online at Gravityfm.net
Amberjac Projects is the only European company that provides plug-in conversion for conventional hybrid vehicles. Rapstrap
has recently been sued for patent infringement
. Grantham Engineering is on Harlaxton Road. The town has one of the only three branches of the Melton Mowbray Building Society
.
, the De Vere Belton Woods Hotel, the Ramada
Grantham and various golf clubs. Stoke Rochford Hall staged a Lib Dem
education conference in 2001.
Business meetings are often held at the Ramada on Swingbridge Road (near the A1/A607 junction), the Olde Barn at Marston, and also at the EM Learning Centre on Londonthorpe Road.
and Scunthorpe
, due to low sales. The closure had been met with protests from the local community. Part of the reason for low footfall in shops is the time taken to get in and out of Grantham by car. Haldanes
, a chain of around 20 supermarkets, based as far north as Scotland and based on Ruston Road, went into administration
.
Politically the town is part of the Grantham and Stamford constituency and is represented in Parliament by Conservative Party
Member of Parliament (MP) Nicholas Boles
who was elected in May 2010 after the resignation of Quentin Davies
. Davies had been elected to the seat as a Conservative before crossing the floor
to join the Labour Party
; the constituency has a long history of electing Conservative members of Parliament, and Davies holding the seat for Labour was the subject of much local resentment.
The local authority - South Kesteven
District Council - is currently Conservative-led, with the current political makeup being 35 Conservative, 15 Independent, 2 Labour and 6 Liberal Democrat councillors. Before SKDC in 1974, the local area was represented by Grantham Borough Council, based on St Peters Hill, and West Kesteven Rural District
, based on Sandon Close; this became the planning department of SKDC. In November 1973 it was decided to make Grantham to headquarters of SKDC, first based in the former offices of Grantham Corporation.
, a further education
college for the district which opened in 1948, for those not attending school sixth forms. It has a satellite site at Sleaford, called Sleaford College. Since September 2008 the Walton Girls High School
on Kitty Briggs Lane near Harlaxton Road has offered post-16 courses as Grantham's only sixth form college
.
Two notable schools in the district are Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School
and The King's Grammar School
. Both have large sixth forms and eminent past students. Britain's first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher
, attended Kesteven and Grantham, and Isaac Newton
famously attended The King's. Both schools achieve high examination results and hold high places in the county's league tables. Both have remained single-sex up to the age of 16.
In 1970, Kesteven County Council
(based in Sleaford) announced plans to turn the grammar schools into co-educational comprehensives for ages of 11–16 and leave Grantham College the only sixth form for the town. Later it was proposed to create two sixth-form colleges from one of the grammar schools. Other parts of Kesteven became comprehensive, but the fact that responsibility for education passed to Lincolnshire under the local government reorganization of 1974 meant that both schools staying as grammar school
s. Furthermore, ex-pupil Margaret Thatcher was education secretary
at the time. The governors of the King's School delayed the process in July 1973, and later a plan to make Grantham comprehensive was voted against by the county council in January 1975, having been approved by the council's own education committee.
All four secondary modern schools are on the outskirts of the town, with the other notable school of this type was the Central Technology & Sports College
, a co-educational school near Manthorpe
. Central Technology and Sports College became the Priory Ruskin Academy in September 2010. Only three of the six secondary schools are co-educational. For the Grantham area of South Kesteven, around 60% of those at 16 achieve five GCSEs at grades A*-C. This compares to 45% for those in Melton
and under 30% for those in Newark
in recent years.
Tucked away on Gorse Lane is Grantham Preparatory School
, an independent school preparing entrants for the 11-plus examination. There is another private primary school called Dudley House. Next to St Wulfram's is the National Church of England Junior School, built in 1859 and a highly regarded primary school, and proven feeder school
for the grammar schools.
The Blessed Hugh More School, a Catholic secondary school, closed in 1989.
The main local landmark is the parish church of St Wulfram's
, which has the sixth highest spire (282 ft) among English churches. It is the second tallest church in Lincolnshire after St James Church
in Louth
, and is also home to the country's first public library. In 1598, Francis Trigge
, rector of Welbourn
, gave £100 for a small library of books for the clergy and literate laity of Grantham. Two hundred and fifty of the original volumes remain and are kept in the parish church. From October 1974, the church was permanently floodlit at night. The Bishop of Grantham
is currently Tim Ellis
and has his official residence in Long Bennington
.
Grantham House
is to the east of the church, and a National Trust
property.
Grantham is home to the country's only 'living' pub sign: a beehive of South African bees
located outside since 1830. Grantham was the site of an Eleanor Cross
, erected by Edward I at each of the resting places of the body of his queen, following her death at Harby, as it was carried to London for burial in 1290. No trace of the cross remains, but is thought to be near St Peters Hill.
Edith Smith Way is the name of the road beside the Guildhall Arts Centre, on 'St Peter's Hill'; it is named after England's first policewoman. Miss Mary Allen and Miss Ellen F. Harburn reported for duty on the 'beat' on 27 November 1914, during the First World War. Mary Allen was a former suffragette and had been previously arrested outside the House of Commons
and later went on to be the commandant of the UK's women's police force from the 1920s up to 1940. She helped to set up women's police forces in other countries, including Germany. Edith Smith became the first female with powers of arrest in August 1915.
The Angel & Royal Hotel is one of Britain's oldest inns, dating from about 1200. King John
held court there in 1213, when the site was a hostel run by the Knights Templar
. Richard III
signed and sealed the death warrant of the Duke of Buckingham
at the inn. It is one of only three Knights Templar hostels in England - another was at Glastonbury
.
Sandon Road is named after Viscount Sandon, who is also the Earl of Harrowby
. The first person with this title was Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby
, and a road is also named after him. He purchased Harrowby Hall
in 1754. The current incumbent is Dudley Ryder, 8th Earl of Harrowby
.
The George Hotel nearby (known as St Peter's Place, now the George Shopping Centre) was mentioned in Charles Dickens
's novel Nicholas Nickleby. Also in the town is the Blue Pig, one of many Blue pubs. Much of the town's property and industrial estates have been owned by Buckminster
Trust Estates since the time of the Earl of Dysart
.
To the west of the town near the A607 is the building of Baird's malt
ings (formerly owned by Moray Firth until 1999, and R & W Paul before them). Other maltings in the town have been converted for residential use such as Riverview Maltings near the river and formerly owned by Lee & Grinling’s.
The JobCentre, when it opened in 1975, was the first of its kind.
Grantham and District Hospital
can be seen from the train, and is situated next to the Central School on the A607 north of the town. The maternity unit, which opened in August 1972, is now a midwife-staffed unit.
Nearby are many historic houses including 17th-century Belton House
, early 19th-century Harlaxton Manor
, Stoke Rochford Hall
(the training centre of the NUT
), and the 11th-century Belvoir Castle
(in Leicestershire
). Much of the property and land to the south-west of the area, that which is in line of sight of the Waltham transmitter, is owned by the two estates of Belvoir and Buckminster.
is served by the London-Edinburgh East Coast Main Line
(between the stops for Peterborough
and Newark Northgate), and the Nottingham to Skegness Line (Poacher Line). Liverpool-Norwich trains also call at Grantham. The electric trains arrived in October 1988. The good transport links to Nottingham and Peterborough attract people to live in Grantham yet work in a larger city. The town's grammar school
s also attract pupils from Radcliffe on Trent
, Bingham
, Newark
and even Retford
via the train. Grantham is the best-served station in Lincolnshire, although after October 1970, Lincolnshire's railways
were mostly closed. Prior to October 1970, the connection from King's Cross to Lincoln St. Marks
was through Grantham and followed the A607 via Leadenham
.
In 1906, a rail accident
killed 14 people.
running past it (the town was bypassed in 1962). The main shopping High Street, until recently, was part of the busy A52
(which runs to nearby Nottingham
), and Wharf Road and London Road (next to Sainsbury's
) still are, meeting the A607 (for Lincoln) at a busy junction. There is a motorway-style Grantham North Services
at the north end of the bypass, on the new junction which has recently replaced a roundabout in May 2008. It is east-west traffic on the A52 that causes Grantham the most problems, not least to two of its frequently-hit railway bridges. The east-west bypass will cross Spittlegate Level and join the A52 next to the former RAF Spitalgate.
Grantham, with Stamford
, had been earmarked for a bypass before the war in 1939. There were 60 serious accidents a year, with 3 to 4 deaths. After the war, on 21 November 1945, there was a meeting at the Guildhall about the proposed bypass of the London-Edinburgh-Thurso trunk road for Grantham and Great Gonerby. This was the first enquiry into a trunk road scheme in the country after the war. The proposed route followed the current line, from Little Ponton
to College Farm, except it was to be a single carriageway road.
Some years later, on 8 February 1960, it was announced that bypass would be built, including the route south to Colsterworth
. Robert McGregor and Sons Ltd of Manchester would build the road for £1,856,009 (who then built the Newark Bypass in 1964). The bridges were built by Simon Carves of Cheadle Hulme
. It was formally opened on 10 October 1962 by James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster, then the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire
(from 1950–75). He was married to the (only) daughter of Nancy Astor
.
). Currently the canal is in a state of disrepair, but some sections are undergoing restoration. It is possible to walk along the canal at Harlaxton village.
The River Witham
runs through Grantham. It has a pleasant and popular riverside walk linking Dysart Park and Wyndham Park. Along this walk it is possible to see an old Mill House. The walk passes an allotment and the rear of Sainsbury's car park (where there is an access point). It is necessary to cross the river at the end of College Street using a pedestrian bridge. The walk can be continued throughout Wyndham Park. There are a number of foot bridges providing a pleasant view of the river and its numerous weirs. Swans, ducks and trout are among the wildlife that can be seen along the river.
is the local football team, currently playing in the Evo-Stik League Division One South
. The club was founded in 1874 and currently plays in the 7,500-capacity (covered 1,950, seats 750) South Kesteven Sports Stadium (although average attendances are well below capacity). The ground also doubles as the town's athletics stadium (one of only three in Lincolnshire), next to the Grantham Meres Leisure Centre on Trent Road.
The major claim to fame of Grantham Town (nicknamed 'The Gingerbreads') is that Martin O'Neill
started his management path from there.
in Little Ponton
.
of St Wulframs Church, and the Grantham Gobbler, a Heron
. Unfortunately both of these birds are voracious predators, which has upset pigeon fanciers and fish lovers.
Grantham is surrounded by rolling countryside and woodland, for example the nearby Ponton Park Wood, suitable for country walks with views of the Lincolnshire farmland and woodland. To the south of the town the River Witham
flows through a number of marshes and water meadows between Little Ponton and Saltersford. This area is rich in wildlife including herons, ducks, geese, water vole (Arvicola amphibius) and the now critically endangered white clawed crayfish. There are notable populations of dragonflies, especially Aeshna grandis, Anax imperator, Libellula quadrimaculata and Calopteryx splendens in this area and also on the Grantham Canal
which winds through The Vale of Belvoir
to the west of the town. The countryside around Grantham is also rich in plant life. The water meadows to the south of the town support a rich variety of species including vetches, Cowslip, Primula veris
, Lady's bedstraw Galium verum
, Southern Marsh Orchid, and several other species of orchid.
Please also see Waterways for further details of the River Witham in Grantham.
Visits to Wyndham Park and Dysart Park offer opportunities to spot local wildlife.
Indoor attractions for young children include the swimming pool at the Meres Leisure Centre, the library located in the Sir Isaac Newton Centre, the Grantham Museum
; the Guildhall Theatre, activity centres at the Muddle-Go-Nowhere pub off Barrowby Road, and Fun Farm off Dysart Road.
Organisations which encourage the participation of young people include Brownies, Guides
and Air Cadets
. Theatrical experience is available via the Guildhall Theatre.
Belton House
is one of the most popular National Trust
sites in the country regular events for children held at Belton House. Its outdoor play area with train rides is popular during high season. In addition to the main house and grounds, there is a picnic area in the children's play zone, and a woodland walk.
The Grantham Journal is owned by Johnston Press
and has a sister newspaper in Melton Mowbray
, called the Melton Times. In the 1960s, and earlier, it had operated the Melton Journal and Rutland Journal, both versions of the main paper, still produces a separate Bingham
edition.
, North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany (near Bonn
, 57,000 population), twinned since 1980. The A52 relief road is named Sankt Augustin Way. Sankt Augustin has its Grantham-Allee and "Grantham-Bridge".
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
within the South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...
district of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
railway (London-Edinburgh), the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham
River Witham
The River Witham is a river, almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham, at SK8818, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh...
. Grantham is located approximately 26 miles (41.8 km) south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately 24 miles (38.6 km) east of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. The resident population at the 2001 census was 34,592 in around 18,000 households, excluding the adjacent village of Great Gonerby
Great Gonerby
Great Gonerby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies less than north from Grantham. To its north is the A1 and Gonerby Moor...
. With the housing estates in Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without
Londonthorpe
Londonthorpe is a satellite village of Grantham, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is in the civil parish of Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without...
(around a population of 4,500), this figure would be around 42,000.
The town is best known as the birthplace of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, and the place where Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
went to school. It is close to an ancient Roman road
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire and Royston,...
, and was the scene of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's first advantage over Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
s during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
at Gonerby Moor. Grantham is also notable for having the first female police officers in the United Kingdom, in 1914, and producing the first running diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
in 1892, and the UK's first tractor in 1896.
Geography
The town boundary crosses the A1 to the west at the Dysart Road bridge. North of there it lies to the east of the A1. It crosses the B1174 at Gonerby Hill. All of the Manthorpe estate is a part of the town, but the (smaller) Manthorpe village and the church are part of Belton and ManthorpeBelton and Manthorpe
Belton and Manthorpe is a civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, consisting of Belton and Manthorpe, just north of Grantham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 517....
. The boundary then follows Green Lane, bordering the parish of Harrowby. It passes to the west of Harrowby Hall and over Hall's Hill. It then crosses the A52 at the start of Somerby Hill, borders Little Ponton
Little Ponton
Little Ponton is a small village just south of Grantham in South Kesteven. Lincolnshire.-Geography:It is part of the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton. It is situated just off the B1174 ....
and crosses the B1174 at the southern end of the Spittlegate Level Industrial Estate.
Toponymy
The origin of the name "Grantham" is uncertain, though is said to probably be Old English languageOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
"Granta+ham", meaning "Granta
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
's village", and appeared as early as 1086 in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in its present form of Grantham. The Roman name for the river Witham was "Granta".
Prehistory
Late neolithic vessels from a burial were found at Little Gonerby, in the north of the town, in 1875.Domesday
- In Grantham Queen Edith had 12 carucates to the geld. There is no arable land outside the vill. Queen Edith had a hall, and 2 carucates and land for 3 ploughs without geld. 111 burgesses. Ivo has one church and four mills rendering 12s and eight acres of meadow without geld. The land of Bishop Osmond. In Londonthorpe ... is land for two ploughs. this land belongs to the church of Grantham. In Spittlegate St. Wulfram of Grantham has half a carucate of land to the geld. In Great Gonerby, St. Wulfram of Grantham has 1 carucate of land. there is land for twelve oxen.
Middle ages
In 1363 Grantham Castle was granted to Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of YorkEdmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, KG was a younger son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, the fourth of the five sons who lived to adulthood, of this Royal couple. Like so many medieval princes, Edmund gained his identifying nickname from his...
, and fifth son of Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
, It was north-east of St Wulframs, and has its legacy in the naming of Castlegate.
Grantham received its Charter of Incorporation in 1463.
Development
The town developed when the railway came to the town. The Nottingham line (LNER) arrived first in 1850, then the London line (GNR) - the Towns Line from Peterborough to Retford - arrived in 1852. The Boston, Sleaford & Midland Counties Railway arrived in 1857.Until the 1970s the housing estates west of the town centre were green fields. Green Hill, on the A52, was literally a green hill.
Military history
Dambusters
During the famous Dams RaidsOperation Chastise
Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) mission in May 1943, the RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
's No. 5 Group
No. 5 Group RAF
No. 5 Group was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part by AVM Sir Ralph Cochrane.-History:The Group was formed on 1 September 1937 with headquarters at RAF Mildenhall....
and the operation HQ was in St Vincents
St Vincents Hall
St Vincents Hall is one of the UK's finest Gothic Revival Mansions built in 1868 for the Grantham industrialist Richard Hornsby.-Ownership:...
, a building which later housed a district council planning department. It was built by Richard Hornsby in 1865, lived in by Richard Hornsby
Richard Hornsby
Richard Hornsby was born in Elsham in Lincolnshire on June 4, 1790. He lived with a farming family, the son of William Hornsby and his wife Sarah.-The formation of his company:...
's son, and is now a private house. In 1944 (including D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
), this was the headquarters for the USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
's Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
's IX Troop Carrier Command
IX Troop Carrier Command
The IX Troop Carrier Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946...
, being known as Grantham Lodge. During the early part of the war Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet
Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC , commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press, and often within the RAF as "Butcher" Harris, was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command during the latter half of World War...
lived in the town.
RAF Spitalgate
RAF SpitalgateRAF Spitalgate
RAF Spitalgate formerly known as RFCS Grantham and RAF Grantham was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station, located south east of the centre of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England fronting onto the main A52 road.-History:...
trained pilots during both world wars, initially as a Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
establishment, but has never been an operational fighter or bomber base; although it did see operational service during the 1943 invasion of Europe as a base for American and Polish gliders and parachutists. It officially closed in 1974. The WRAF
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men...
had been there since 1960, and moved to RAF Hereford
RAF Hereford
RAF Hereford was a non-flying station of the Royal Air Force. It was the home of a wide variety of training schools from 1940 until it closed for RAF training in 1999. It was also known as RAF Credenhill, as it is situated in Credenhill, north-west of Hereford...
(now the home of the SAS).
RAF Spitalgate is now a Territorial Army (RLC
Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
) barracks called Prince William of Gloucester Barracks. Grantham College use the site for football development. The large mast on the base was part of the BT microwave network
British Telecom microwave network
The British Telecom microwave network was a network of point-to-point microwave radio links in the United Kingdom, operated at first by the General Post Office, and subsequently by its successor BT plc...
.
RAF Regiment
The RAF RegimentRAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...
was formed just north east of the town in parts of Londonthorpe and Harrowby Without during December 1941 with its headquarters at RAF Alma Park
RAF Alma Park
RAF Alma Park was a Royal Air Force corps headquarters and training facility during World War II and is notable as the birthplace of the Royal Air Force Regiment...
which is recognised as the birthplace of the Corps. The Alma Park and Belton Park estates had jointly also been the training centre for the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
from November 1915. In total Harrowby Camp as it was known housed 18,000 men during World War I.
The RAF Regiment quickly grew to in excess of 66,000 personnel and during training they were housed at RAF Belton Park
RAF Belton Park
RAF Belton Park was a Royal Air Force corps accommodation depot during World War II and is notable as the first depot of the Royal Air Force Regiment...
which was the Regiment's first depot, RAF Folkingham
RAF Folkingham
RAF Folkingham is a former World War II Royal Air Force flying station in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located south west of Folkingham and due east of Lenton village, approximately due south of county town Lincoln and north of London...
and RAF North Witham
RAF North Witham
RAF Station North Witham is a former World War II airfield in Lincolnshire, England. The airfield is located in Twyford Wood, approximately east-southeast of Cotgrave; about north-northwest of London...
. The RAF Regiment stayed until August 1946, when they left for RAF Catterick
RAF Catterick
RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force airfield located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England.-History:Catterick airfield first opened in 1914 as a Royal Flying Corps aerodrome with the role of training pilots and to assist in the defence of the North East of England...
.
Women's police force
Grantham is notable as being the first place in the world to recruit and train women police officers. Grantham was the first provincial force to ask the newly formed Women’s Police Service to supply them with occasional policewomen, recognising them as particularly useful for dealing with women and juveniles. In 1915, Grantham magistrates swore in Mrs Edith Smith, making her the first proper policewoman in Britain with full powers of arrest.Hornsby's and their inventions
In 1905 Richard Hornsby (1790-1864) & SonsRichard Hornsby & Sons
Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918. The company was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil engine developed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart and marketed under the Hornsby-Akroyd name. The company developed an early track system...
of Grantham (founded 1815) invented the revolutionary caterpillar track, for use with Hornsby's oil engines; these engines were developed by Yorkshireman Herbert Akroyd Stuart
Herbert Akroyd Stuart
Herbert Akroyd-Stuart was an English inventor who is noted for his invention of the hot bulb engine, or heavy oil engine.-Life:...
, from which compression-ignition
Hot bulb engine
The hot bulb engine, or hotbulb or heavy oil engine is a type of internal combustion engine. It is an engine in which fuel is ignited by being brought into contact with a red-hot metal surface inside a bulb....
principle the diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
evolved, being manufactured in Grantham from 8 July 1892. Although these engines were not wholly compression-ignition derived, later in 1892 a prototype high-pressure version was built at Hornsby's, developed by Thomas Henry Barton OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- later to be the founder of Nottingham's Barton Transport
Barton Transport
Barton Transport plc was a British bus and coach operator based in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire. It commenced its first service in 1908. Its fleet and operations were sold to Wellglade in 1989, and the combined operations later became Trent Barton...
, whereby ignition was achieved solely (100%) through compression; it ran continuously for six hours, being the first known diesel engine. In the town, Hornsby's built Elsham House (the grounds became Grantham College
Grantham College
Grantham College is a British further education and Sixth Form college located in Grantham, Lincolnshire.-History:It was known as the Grantham College for Further Education....
) and the Shirley Croft. Their site on Houghton Road was bought from Lord Dysart.
In 1909, Hornsby's showed the British Army their invention, who were bemused, but took the idea no further than that, although they subsequently bought four caterpillar tractors in 1910 to tow artillery. A short time later, Hornsbys sold the patent for the caterpillar track in 1914 to The Holt Manufacturing Company of California, USA for $8,000, having only sold one caterpillar tractor commercially. Hornsby's design was far ahead of anything else around at the time. Thanks to the ownership of the patent, this company would become the world-dominating Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
Tractor Company. Benjamin Holt
Benjamin Holt
Benjamin Leroy Holt was an American inventor who was the first to patent and manufacture a first practical crawler-type tread tractor. The continuous-type track is used for heavy agricultural and engineering vehicles to spread the weight over a large area to prevent the vehicle from sinking into...
even claimed to be the real inventor. In December 1914 the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's Colonel Ernest Swinton
Ernest Dunlop Swinton
Major General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton, KBE, CB, DSO, RE was a military writer and British Army officer. Swinton is credited with influencing the development and adoption of the tank by the British during the First World War. He is also known for popularising the term "no-mans land".-Early life...
saw one of Holt's caterpillar tractors towing a piece of artillery, and realised its ground-breaking potential as an attack vehicle. One year later the tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
was born (using Hornsby's initial designs), being made in nearby Lincoln by William Foster. It first saw action at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette
Battle of Flers-Courcelette
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was a battle within the Franco-British Somme Offensive which took place in the summer and autumn of 1916. Launched on the 15th of September 1916 the battle went on for one week. Flers-Courcelette began with the overall objective of cutting a hole in the German...
on 15 September 1916.
In 1918 Hornsby's amalgamated with Rustons and the company became Ruston and Hornsby. In the 1920s the company had their own orchestra in the town; the site was a diesel engine plant. Later during World War II, the company would make tanks such as the Matilda
Matilda tank
The Infantry Tank Mark II known as the Matilda II was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. It was also identified from its General Staff Specification A12....
at the Grantham factory. R & H left in 1963 and most of the factory was taken over by a subsidiary, Alfred Wiseman Gears, who left in 1968.
Barford's
Aveling & Porter of Rochester, Kent, would join with Barford & Perkins of PeterboroughPeterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
to become Aveling-Barford
Aveling-Barford
Aveling-Barford was a large engineering company making road rollers and dumper trucks in Grantham, Lincolnshire. In its time, it was an internationally known company.-Ruston and Hornsby:...
Ltd in 1934, largely due to financial help from Ruston & Hornsby, when both companies had entered administration. The new company took a former site of Hornsbys, naming it the 'Invicta
Invicta (motto)
Invicta was used in Roma invicta meaning "Unconquered Rome" and is the motto of the county of Kent, England.-Theories of origin:...
' works, from the motto on the coat of arms of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and translates as 'unconquered'; all of Aveling & Porter's machinery was brought from Kent via the train.
During the 1970s it was the town's largest employer with around 2,000 employees. It initially prospered but with the sinking market for large dumper truck
Dump truck
A dump truck is a truck used for transporting loose material for construction. A typical dump truck is equipped with a hydraulically operated open-box bed hinged at the rear, the front of which can be lifted up to allow the contents to be deposited on the ground behind the truck at the site of...
s and road roller
Road roller
A road roller is a compactor type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations, similar rollers are used also at landfills or in agriculture.In some parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam...
s declined. Their agricultural division was based at Belton
Belton, Lincolnshire
Belton is a village in the civil parish of Belton and Manthorpe, in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north of Grantham, on the A607 road.The Saxon meaning of Belton is a bell-shaped hollow.-The Village:...
, which in 1947 developed the world's smallest tractor, the Barford Atom, weighing 177 lbs.
Now as Barford Construction Equipment, it makes dumper
Dumper
A dumper is a vehicle designed for carrying bulk material, often on building sites. Dumpers are distinguished from dump trucks by configuration: a dumper is usually an open 4-wheeled vehicle with the load skip in front of the driver, while a dump truck has its cab in front of the load. The skip can...
s for construction sites, being owned by Wordsworth Holdings PLC
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
, owned in turn by the entrepreneur Duncan Wordsworth until it went into administration. In March 2010, Wordsworth Holdings went into administration. A restructuring package resulted in ownership transferring to Bowdon Investment Group in May 2010, and is known as Invictas Engineering.
A trailer company, Crane-Fruehauf, moved into part of the factory, from its former home of Dereham
Dereham
Dereham, also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, some 15 miles west of the city of Norwich and 25 miles east of King's Lynn. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of...
, when it went into receivership in early 2005.
BMARC
British Manufacture and Research Company (British Marc Ltd or BMARCBMARC
BMARC was a UK-based firm designing and producing defence products, particularly aircraft cannon and naval anti-aircraft cannon...
), on Springfield Road, made munitions notably the Hispano cannon
Hispano-Suiza HS.404
The Hispano-Suiza HS.404 was an autocannon widely used as both an aircraft and land weapon in the 20th century by British, American, French, and numerous other military services. The cannon is also referred to as Birkigt type 404, after its designer. Firing a 20 mm caliber projectile, it delivered...
for the Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
from 1937 onwards. It was owned by the Swiss company Oerlikon
Oerlikon Contraves
Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products...
from 1971 until 1988, becoming part of Astra Holdings plc then being bought by British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
in 1992, who then closed the site. It has now been developed as a housing estate. The site's former offices are now business units for the Springfield Business Centre. Grantham's register office
Register office
A register office is a British term for a civil registry, a government office and depository where births, deaths and marriages are officially recorded and where you can get officially married, without a religious ceremony...
was moved there in 2007, due to the catering service being up to wedding reception
Wedding reception
A wedding reception is a party held after the completion of a marriage ceremony. It is held usually as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple receives society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. Hosts...
standard, and Berketex Bride (a national company) is based there.
Traditions
Many traditions have taken place over the years, many of which have been forgotten. There is the Grantham Parade and the Grantham Festival both of which take place every year. There used to be an annual pig drive through the centre of the town until 1962, when it was deemed too dangerous; this tradition dated back to 1755, when pig farmerSwineherd
A swineherd is a person who looks after pigs. The term has fallen out of popular use in favour of pig farmer.-Swineherds in literature:* Hans Christian Andersen wrote a Fairy tale called, "The Swineherd"....
s from the area used to move pigs to greener pastures.
The annual Kesteven Schools Speech and Drama Festival was held in the town.
Gingerbread
The town is known for its Gingerbread biscuits. During the old coaching days Grantham was one of the stopping places of the Royal Mail Coach and while the horses were being changed at the George Hotel, passengers would stroll down the street and invariably purchase a supply of Grantham Whetstones, which were the first form of biscuits ever offered for sale. Then in 1740, a local tradesman, named William Egglestone, made an accidental discovery. In bygone days business premises were always closely shuttered and as part of Egglestone's business was that of a baker, he went into his shop one Sunday morning to procure the ingredients for making some cakes for his family's consumption but in the semi darkness of the shop, he mistook one ingredient for another and it was not until the cakes were baking that he discovered his mistake. The little cakes before being placed in the oven, were cut out with a wine glass and should have remained that size when baked, but instead of which they rose up and became nearly twice the size. Anyway he ventured to taste them, as also did members of his family and they were pronounced most excellent and of a very delicate flavourn afterwards offering them for sale in his shop under the name of Grantham Gingerbreads. Their fame spread north and south of the Great North Road which soon spelt prosperity for Mr. Egglestone whose recipe was passed to his successors, the present day Catlins whose premises still occupy the original shop erected on High Street in 1560.Local economy and retail
The food-processing industry, with Grantham Hospital, is currently the largest employer of Grantham's population; in town this included Fenland Foods (part of Northern FoodsNorthern Foods
Northern Foods Ltd is a British food manufacturer headquartered in Leeds, England. It was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. The company was scheduled to merge with Greencore Group in 2011 to form Essenta Foods, the group being...
) on the Earlesfield Industrial Estate, which was mothballed in September 2008 following the loss of business with Marks and Spencer, their sole customer; and Moypark (formerly Padleys) in Gonerby Hill Foot.
Seven miles from Grantham at Easton
Easton, Lincolnshire
Easton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies just off the A1, north of Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth and Colsterworth.-Geography:...
there are two large facilities. The first is Norbert Dentressangle who bought Christian Salvesen Plc in November 2007 and have maintained the frozen storage and distribution operation which has been at the site since the late sixties. The second is McCain Foods who purchased Potato Allied Services (PAS) in 1991 who had run a potato processing factory on site since the early seventies. This has since been extended to include a dedicated Fries-To-Go factory. There was a third large frozen vegetable
Frozen food
Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved their game and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning water to ice, making it...
processing factory owned and operated by Christian Salvesen. However this was sold to Pinguin Foods in August 2007 who closed the facility in December 2008. Brake Bros Ltd
Brake Bros Ltd
Brake Bros Limited is a distribution company supplying food, drink and other products mainly to the catering industry in many countries, including the UK and France...
have a depot near the Gonerby Moor service station, off the B1174.
Bell & Webster are a nationally-known company, part of Eleco plc based in Ware, that makes precast concrete
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
. Escritt Barrell Golding a local Chartered Surveyors and Estate Agents still operate within the town, having been founded in 1860. Jourdan plc is based in the town which since 1973 has owned John Corby ltd., the maker of the Corby Trouser Press
Trouser press
A trouser press, sometimes referred to as a Corby Trouser Press, is an electrical appliance used to smooth the wrinkles from a pair of trousers...
. There is also Litcomp plc. The Woodland Trust
Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland heritage.-History:...
is based on Dysart Road. Natural England
Natural England
Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...
had one of their two Lincolnshire offices on Wharf Road until early 2009. There is a small FM radio transmitter near the town's bypass on Gorse Lane from which BBC Lincolnshire is broadcast on 104.7 and Lincs FM
Lincs FM
Lincs FM is an Independent Local Radio station serving Lincolnshire and Newark, from the Humber to The Wash. It is the current holder of the licence which was advertised by the Radio Authority on 4 March 1991.-Background:...
on 96.7, and national radio. The transmitter has five staff permanently on site. Most television comes from Waltham
Waltham transmitting station
The Waltham transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facilityat Waltham-on-the-Wolds, 5 miles north-east of Melton Mowbray. It sits inside the Waltham civil parish near Stonesby, in the district of Melton, Leicestershire, UK. It has a guyed steel tubular mast...
, between the town and Melton, due to the line of sight to Belmont
Belmont transmitting station
The Belmont transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated next to the B1225, one mile west of the village of Donington on Bain in the civil parish of South Willingham, near Market Rasen and Louth in Lincolnshire, England . It is owned and operated by Arqiva.It has...
being blocked by hills to the east of the town. Grantham now has a full time community radio station Gravity FM which broadcasts on 97.2 and online at Gravityfm.net
Amberjac Projects is the only European company that provides plug-in conversion for conventional hybrid vehicles. Rapstrap
Rapstrap
Rapstrap is a system of securing and bundling together cables, ropes, plants, etc. It is a reusable plastic strap that is wrapped around the cables, plants, or supports and then cut to size, similarly to cable ties...
has recently been sued for patent infringement
Patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
. Grantham Engineering is on Harlaxton Road. The town has one of the only three branches of the Melton Mowbray Building Society
Melton Mowbray Building Society
The Melton Mowbray Building Society is a UK building society based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. The Melton Mowbray Building Society also bought out Praxis, a mortgage packager based in Birmingham in 2007-External links:***...
.
Hotels
The conference and hospitality industry are well represented in the Grantham area, with the Olde Barn Hotel in MarstonMarston, Lincolnshire
Marston is a village in Lincolnshire, England, just north of the A1 near Long Bennington.There is a church dedicated to St Mary, a Hall , a Fishery Marston is a village in Lincolnshire, England, just north of the A1 near Long Bennington.There is a church dedicated to St Mary, a Hall (Marston Hall),...
, the De Vere Belton Woods Hotel, the Ramada
Ramada
Ramada is a hotel chain owned and operated by Wyndham Worldwide.- History :The lodging chain was founded in 1953 by longtime Chicago restaurateur Marion W...
Grantham and various golf clubs. Stoke Rochford Hall staged a Lib Dem
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
education conference in 2001.
Business meetings are often held at the Ramada on Swingbridge Road (near the A1/A607 junction), the Olde Barn at Marston, and also at the EM Learning Centre on Londonthorpe Road.
Closures
Brook Street and Hill Avenue sub post offices were closed in Grantham in 2008 as part of the Post Office Network Change programme. In August 2010, it was confirmed that the Grantham branch of Marks and Spencer would close, along with two other Lincolnshire branches in SkegnessSkegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
and Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, due to low sales. The closure had been met with protests from the local community. Part of the reason for low footfall in shops is the time taken to get in and out of Grantham by car. Haldanes
Haldanes
Haldanes was a chain of mid-sized supermarkets that operated in the United Kingdom. Established in 2009, the company was the first mid-sized supermarket chain to start business in the UK in 27 years, having been buying stores from the Co-operative group, which was forced to sell some shops...
, a chain of around 20 supermarkets, based as far north as Scotland and based on Ruston Road, went into administration
Governance
Grantham once lay within the ancient Winnibriggs and Threo wapentake in the Soke of Grantham in the Parts of KestevenKesteven
The Parts of Kesteven are a traditional subdivision of Lincolnshire, England. This subdivision had long had a separate county administration , along with the other two parts, Lindsey and Holland.-Etymology:...
.
Politically the town is part of the Grantham and Stamford constituency and is represented in Parliament by Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament (MP) Nicholas Boles
Nicholas Boles
Nicholas Edward Coleridge "Nick" Boles is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the Grantham and Stamford constituency in Lincolnshire...
who was elected in May 2010 after the resignation of Quentin Davies
Quentin Davies
John Quentin Davies, Baron Davies of Stamford is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Grantham and Stamford from 1987 to 2010. Originally elected as a Conservative, he defected to Labour on 26 June 2007. Davies announced in 2010 that he would not stand for...
. Davies had been elected to the seat as a Conservative before crossing the floor
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
to join the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
; the constituency has a long history of electing Conservative members of Parliament, and Davies holding the seat for Labour was the subject of much local resentment.
The local authority - South Kesteven
South Kesteven
South Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. It covers Grantham, Stamford, Bourne and Market Deeping.-History:...
District Council - is currently Conservative-led, with the current political makeup being 35 Conservative, 15 Independent, 2 Labour and 6 Liberal Democrat councillors. Before SKDC in 1974, the local area was represented by Grantham Borough Council, based on St Peters Hill, and West Kesteven Rural District
West Kesteven Rural District
West Kesteven was a rural district in Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven, England from 1931 to 1974.It was formed under a County Review Order, by the merger of most of the Grantham Rural District, part of the Sleaford Rural District and much of the Claypole Rural District.It was abolished in 1974...
, based on Sandon Close; this became the planning department of SKDC. In November 1973 it was decided to make Grantham to headquarters of SKDC, first based in the former offices of Grantham Corporation.
Education
The town is home to Grantham CollegeGrantham College
Grantham College is a British further education and Sixth Form college located in Grantham, Lincolnshire.-History:It was known as the Grantham College for Further Education....
, a further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
college for the district which opened in 1948, for those not attending school sixth forms. It has a satellite site at Sleaford, called Sleaford College. Since September 2008 the Walton Girls High School
Walton Girls High School
Walton Girls' High School and Sixth Form is a secondary school for girls aged 11 to 16 with a mixed Sixth Form located in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. Deemed to be a high performing specialist school in the Performing Arts, the school was awarded a second specialism, Applied Learning, in...
on Kitty Briggs Lane near Harlaxton Road has offered post-16 courses as Grantham's only sixth form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
.
Two notable schools in the district are Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School
Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School
Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School is a grammar school for girls in Grantham, Lincolnshire, established in 1910.-Admissions:It has over 1000 pupils ranging from ages 11–18, with its own sixth form based on site in the Harrowby House building...
and The King's Grammar School
The King's School, Grantham
The King's School is a British grammar school located in the market town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England, and one of the oldest schools in the UK.-History:...
. Both have large sixth forms and eminent past students. Britain's first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, attended Kesteven and Grantham, and Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
famously attended The King's. Both schools achieve high examination results and hold high places in the county's league tables. Both have remained single-sex up to the age of 16.
In 1970, Kesteven County Council
Kesteven
The Parts of Kesteven are a traditional subdivision of Lincolnshire, England. This subdivision had long had a separate county administration , along with the other two parts, Lindsey and Holland.-Etymology:...
(based in Sleaford) announced plans to turn the grammar schools into co-educational comprehensives for ages of 11–16 and leave Grantham College the only sixth form for the town. Later it was proposed to create two sixth-form colleges from one of the grammar schools. Other parts of Kesteven became comprehensive, but the fact that responsibility for education passed to Lincolnshire under the local government reorganization of 1974 meant that both schools staying as grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s. Furthermore, ex-pupil Margaret Thatcher was education secretary
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
at the time. The governors of the King's School delayed the process in July 1973, and later a plan to make Grantham comprehensive was voted against by the county council in January 1975, having been approved by the council's own education committee.
All four secondary modern schools are on the outskirts of the town, with the other notable school of this type was the Central Technology & Sports College
Central Technology & Sports College
Central Technology & Sports College was a secondary school located in the north of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England.-Admissions:It is a co-educational school for ages 11-16. It is situated directly north of the Grantham and District Hospital off Sandcliffe Road, between the A607 and the East Coast...
, a co-educational school near Manthorpe
Manthorpe, Grantham
Manthorpe is a suburb in the north part of the town of Grantham in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England.-Location:Manthorpe is located east of the East Coast Main Line running from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh, and west of the A607 road running from Grantham to Lincoln and also...
. Central Technology and Sports College became the Priory Ruskin Academy in September 2010. Only three of the six secondary schools are co-educational. For the Grantham area of South Kesteven, around 60% of those at 16 achieve five GCSEs at grades A*-C. This compares to 45% for those in Melton
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
and under 30% for those in Newark
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
in recent years.
Tucked away on Gorse Lane is Grantham Preparatory School
Grantham Preparatory School
Grantham Preparatory School is an Independent day school situated in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.-Admissions:The School provides education for boys and girls aged between 4 and 11, culminating in the 11plus examination.-References:...
, an independent school preparing entrants for the 11-plus examination. There is another private primary school called Dudley House. Next to St Wulfram's is the National Church of England Junior School, built in 1859 and a highly regarded primary school, and proven feeder school
Feeder school
Feeder school is a name applied to schools, colleges, universities, or other educational institutions that provide a significant number of graduates who intend to continue their studies at specific schools, or even in specific fields....
for the grammar schools.
The Blessed Hugh More School, a Catholic secondary school, closed in 1989.
Landmarks
Wulfram of Sens
Saint Wulfram of Fontenelle or Saint Wulfram of Sens was the Archbishop of Sens. His life was recorded eleven years after he died by the monk Jonas of Fontenelle...
, which has the sixth highest spire (282 ft) among English churches. It is the second tallest church in Lincolnshire after St James Church
St. James Church, Louth
St. James' Church, Louth is a parish church in the Church of England in Louth, Lincolnshire, England. It is notable for its tall spire.-History:...
in Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
, and is also home to the country's first public library. In 1598, Francis Trigge
Francis Trigge Chained Library
Francis Trigge Chained Library is a library in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England which was founded in 1598.In 1598 Francis Trigge, Rector of Welbourne in Lincolnshire, arranged for a library to be set up in the room over the South Porch of St. Wulfram's Church, Grantham for the use of the clergy and...
, rector of Welbourn
Welbourn
Welbourn is a village in North Kesteven, central Lincolnshire on the A607 between Leadenham and Wellingore.-Village:The village church is St Chad's, part of the Loveden Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln: the incumbent is the Revd Dr Alan Megahey....
, gave £100 for a small library of books for the clergy and literate laity of Grantham. Two hundred and fifty of the original volumes remain and are kept in the parish church. From October 1974, the church was permanently floodlit at night. The Bishop of Grantham
Bishop of Grantham
The Bishop of Grantham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the market town of Grantham in Lincolnshire. The bishop has episcopal oversight as the area bishop for the...
is currently Tim Ellis
Timothy William Ellis
Timothy William Ellis is the current suffragan Bishop of Grantham. He was educated at City Grammar School, Sheffield; King's College London; St Augustine's College, Canterbury and York University...
and has his official residence in Long Bennington
Long Bennington
Long Bennington is a village in South Kesteven, south Lincolnshire, England. It is equidistant from Newark-on-Trent and Grantham, and from the villages of Stubton and Orston. It has a population of 1,847.-Geography:...
.
Grantham House
Grantham House
Grantham House is a town house, built in 1380, which is owned by the National Trust. It is located in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.-External links:*...
is to the east of the church, and a National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property.
Grantham is home to the country's only 'living' pub sign: a beehive of South African bees
African bee
The African honey bee is a subspecies of the Western honey bee. It is native to central and southern Africa, though at the southern extreme it is replaced by the Cape honey bee, Apis mellifera capensis....
located outside since 1830. Grantham was the site of an Eleanor Cross
Eleanor cross
The Eleanor crosses were twelve originally wooden, but later lavishly decorated stone, monuments of which three survive intact in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had the crosses erected between 1291 and 1294 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, marking the nightly...
, erected by Edward I at each of the resting places of the body of his queen, following her death at Harby, as it was carried to London for burial in 1290. No trace of the cross remains, but is thought to be near St Peters Hill.
Edith Smith Way is the name of the road beside the Guildhall Arts Centre, on 'St Peter's Hill'; it is named after England's first policewoman. Miss Mary Allen and Miss Ellen F. Harburn reported for duty on the 'beat' on 27 November 1914, during the First World War. Mary Allen was a former suffragette and had been previously arrested outside the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and later went on to be the commandant of the UK's women's police force from the 1920s up to 1940. She helped to set up women's police forces in other countries, including Germany. Edith Smith became the first female with powers of arrest in August 1915.
The Angel & Royal Hotel is one of Britain's oldest inns, dating from about 1200. King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
held court there in 1213, when the site was a hostel run by the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
signed and sealed the death warrant of the Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
at the inn. It is one of only three Knights Templar hostels in England - another was at Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
.
Sandon Road is named after Viscount Sandon, who is also the Earl of Harrowby
Earl of Harrowby
Earl of Harrowby, in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1809 for the prominent politician and former Foreign Secretary, Dudley Ryder, 2nd Baron Harrowby. He was made Viscount Sandon, of Sandon in the County of Stafford, at the same time, which...
. The first person with this title was Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby
Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby
Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, PC, FSA was a prominent British politician of the Pittite faction and the Tory party.-Background and education:...
, and a road is also named after him. He purchased Harrowby Hall
Harrowby Hall
Harrowby Hall in Harrowby, Lincolnshire, England, was the family home of the Ryder family and is the former home of Nathaniel Ryder, Earl of Harrowby...
in 1754. The current incumbent is Dudley Ryder, 8th Earl of Harrowby
Dudley Ryder, 8th Earl of Harrowby
Dudley Adrian Conroy Ryder, 8th Earl of Harrowby is a British aristocrat. He was known as Viscount Sandon from 1987 until 2007....
.
The George Hotel nearby (known as St Peter's Place, now the George Shopping Centre) was mentioned in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's novel Nicholas Nickleby. Also in the town is the Blue Pig, one of many Blue pubs. Much of the town's property and industrial estates have been owned by Buckminster
Buckminster
Buckminster is a village and civil parish within the Melton district of Leicestershire, England. It is on the B676 road, between Melton Mowbray and the A1....
Trust Estates since the time of the Earl of Dysart
Earl of Dysart
Earl of Dysart is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 for William Murray, who had earlier represented Fowey and East Looe in the English House of Commons. He was made Lord Huntingtower at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. He was succeeded by his daughter, the...
.
To the west of the town near the A607 is the building of Baird's malt
Malt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
ings (formerly owned by Moray Firth until 1999, and R & W Paul before them). Other maltings in the town have been converted for residential use such as Riverview Maltings near the river and formerly owned by Lee & Grinling’s.
The JobCentre, when it opened in 1975, was the first of its kind.
Grantham and District Hospital
Grantham and Kesteven Hospital
Grantham and District Hospital, is an NHS hospital located in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.-History:It opened in 1874 as Grantham and Kesteven Hospital. It is one of four main hospitals in Lincolnshire, being the third largest, and covers the Kesteven area of the county, as well as east...
can be seen from the train, and is situated next to the Central School on the A607 north of the town. The maternity unit, which opened in August 1972, is now a midwife-staffed unit.
Nearby are many historic houses including 17th-century Belton House
Belton House
Belton House is a Grade I listed country house in Belton near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The mansion is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies within a larger wooded park...
, early 19th-century Harlaxton Manor
Harlaxton Manor
Harlaxton Manor, built in 1837, is a manor house in Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, England. Its architecture, which combines elements of Jacobean and Elizabethan styles with symmetrical Baroque massing, renders the mansion unique among surviving Jacobethan manors....
, Stoke Rochford Hall
Stoke Rochford Hall
Stoke Rochford Hall is a large house built in scenic grounds, with a nearby golf course, next to the A1 in south Lincolnshire, England.-History:...
(the training centre of the NUT
National Union of Teachers
The National Union of Teachers is a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is a member of the Trades Union Congress...
), and the 11th-century Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....
(in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
). Much of the property and land to the south-west of the area, that which is in line of sight of the Waltham transmitter, is owned by the two estates of Belvoir and Buckminster.
Rail
Grantham railway stationGrantham railway station
Grantham railway station serves the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England and lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross.-Description:Junctions near the town also connect to branches to Nottingham, and to Sleaford and Skegness...
is served by the London-Edinburgh East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
(between the stops for Peterborough
Peterborough railway station
Peterborough railway station serves the city of Peterborough, England. It is located approximately north of London Kings Cross on the East Coast Main Line...
and Newark Northgate), and the Nottingham to Skegness Line (Poacher Line). Liverpool-Norwich trains also call at Grantham. The electric trains arrived in October 1988. The good transport links to Nottingham and Peterborough attract people to live in Grantham yet work in a larger city. The town's grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s also attract pupils from Radcliffe on Trent
Radcliffe on Trent
Radcliffe-on-Trent is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire-Location:Radcliffe has a population of around 8,000. It is to the east of Nottingham, and is close to but not quite part of the Greater Nottingham built-up area...
, Bingham
Bingham, Nottinghamshire
Bingham is a market town in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England.-Geography:With a population of around 9,000 people it lies about nine miles east of Nottingham, a similar distance south-west of Newark-on-Trent and west of Grantham. It is situated where the A46 intersects the A52...
, Newark
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
and even Retford
Retford
Retford is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, located 31 miles from the city of Nottingham, and 23 miles west of Lincoln, in the district of Bassetlaw. The town is situated in a valley with the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal running through the centre of the...
via the train. Grantham is the best-served station in Lincolnshire, although after October 1970, Lincolnshire's railways
East Lincolnshire Railway
The East Lincolnshire Railway was a main line railway linking the towns of Boston, Louth and Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England. It opened in 1848 and was closed to passengers in 1970.-History:...
were mostly closed. Prior to October 1970, the connection from King's Cross to Lincoln St. Marks
Lincoln St. Marks railway station
Lincoln St. Marks is a closed railway station on the Nottingham to Lincoln Line.-History:St. Mark's railway station, the first in Lincoln, was opened by the Midland Railway in 1846. Originally a terminus the line was extended through the station only a few years after opening to connect with the...
was through Grantham and followed the A607 via Leadenham
Leadenham railway station
Leadenham railway station was a railway station in Leadenham, Lincolnshire.Former Services-References:...
.
In 1906, a rail accident
Grantham rail accident
The Grantham rail accident occurred on 19 September 1906. An evening sleeping-car and mail train from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley hauled by Ivatt 'Atlantic' No 276 derailed, killing 14...
killed 14 people.
Road
The town has the A1 main road from London to EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
running past it (the town was bypassed in 1962). The main shopping High Street, until recently, was part of the busy A52
A52 road
The A52 is a major road in the East Midlands, England. It runs east from the junction with the A53 at Newcastle-under-Lyme near Stoke-on-Trent via Ashbourne, Derby, Stapleford, Nottingham, West Bridgford, Bingham, Grantham, Boston and Skegness before terminating on the east Lincolnshire coast at...
(which runs to nearby Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
), and Wharf Road and London Road (next to Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury
J. Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury's, the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%....
) still are, meeting the A607 (for Lincoln) at a busy junction. There is a motorway-style Grantham North Services
Grantham North Services
Grantham North Services is a service area operated by Moto located on the A1 at Gonerby Moor Roundabout, four miles north of Grantham in Lincolnshire, England. The service station has a main car park and coach/lorry park, off of which is a BP petrol station....
at the north end of the bypass, on the new junction which has recently replaced a roundabout in May 2008. It is east-west traffic on the A52 that causes Grantham the most problems, not least to two of its frequently-hit railway bridges. The east-west bypass will cross Spittlegate Level and join the A52 next to the former RAF Spitalgate.
Grantham, with Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
, had been earmarked for a bypass before the war in 1939. There were 60 serious accidents a year, with 3 to 4 deaths. After the war, on 21 November 1945, there was a meeting at the Guildhall about the proposed bypass of the London-Edinburgh-Thurso trunk road for Grantham and Great Gonerby. This was the first enquiry into a trunk road scheme in the country after the war. The proposed route followed the current line, from Little Ponton
Little Ponton
Little Ponton is a small village just south of Grantham in South Kesteven. Lincolnshire.-Geography:It is part of the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton. It is situated just off the B1174 ....
to College Farm, except it was to be a single carriageway road.
Some years later, on 8 February 1960, it was announced that bypass would be built, including the route south to Colsterworth
Colsterworth
Colsterworth is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village, together with the hamlet of Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, had a population of 1,508 according to the 2001 census. It lies half a mile to the west of the A1, seven miles south of Grantham...
. Robert McGregor and Sons Ltd of Manchester would build the road for £1,856,009 (who then built the Newark Bypass in 1964). The bridges were built by Simon Carves of Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle Hulme is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southwest of Stockport and southeast of the city of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley on the Cheshire Plain, and the drift consists mostly of boulder clay, sands and gravels...
. It was formally opened on 10 October 1962 by James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster, then the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire
Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire. Since 1660, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Lincolnshire.*Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln 1550/1552–?*Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland 1551–1563?...
(from 1950–75). He was married to the (only) daughter of Nancy Astor
Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor
Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH, was the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons.Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the House of Commons in December 1918 after running for the Sinn Féin party in 1918 General Election, but in line...
.
Waterways
Grantham was once linked to Nottingham by the Grantham-Nottingham canal (the Grantham CanalGrantham Canal
The Grantham Canal is a canal that runs for 33 miles from Grantham, falling through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. It was built primarily to allow for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797, and its profitability steadily increased until 1841...
). Currently the canal is in a state of disrepair, but some sections are undergoing restoration. It is possible to walk along the canal at Harlaxton village.
The River Witham
River Witham
The River Witham is a river, almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham, at SK8818, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh...
runs through Grantham. It has a pleasant and popular riverside walk linking Dysart Park and Wyndham Park. Along this walk it is possible to see an old Mill House. The walk passes an allotment and the rear of Sainsbury's car park (where there is an access point). It is necessary to cross the river at the end of College Street using a pedestrian bridge. The walk can be continued throughout Wyndham Park. There are a number of foot bridges providing a pleasant view of the river and its numerous weirs. Swans, ducks and trout are among the wildlife that can be seen along the river.
Football
Grantham Town Football ClubGrantham Town F.C.
Grantham Town F.C. is a football club, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire, currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South. They are nicknamed The Gingerbreads and they play their home matches at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium . They were established in August 1874...
is the local football team, currently playing in the Evo-Stik League Division One South
Northern Premier League Division One South
Division One South is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 4 of the National League System, placing it seven divisions below the Premier League...
. The club was founded in 1874 and currently plays in the 7,500-capacity (covered 1,950, seats 750) South Kesteven Sports Stadium (although average attendances are well below capacity). The ground also doubles as the town's athletics stadium (one of only three in Lincolnshire), next to the Grantham Meres Leisure Centre on Trent Road.
The major claim to fame of Grantham Town (nicknamed 'The Gingerbreads') is that Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
started his management path from there.
Rugby
Kesteven Rugby Club plays at Woodnook, off the B6403High Dyke, Lincolnshire
High Dyke is a minor road following a length of Roman Road in the English county of Lincolnshire, between Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth and Ancaster. It is also the name of a small settlement on that road, near to Great Ponton, near to the mouth of Stoke Tunnel on the Great Northern main line...
in Little Ponton
Little Ponton
Little Ponton is a small village just south of Grantham in South Kesteven. Lincolnshire.-Geography:It is part of the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxton. It is situated just off the B1174 ....
.
Hockey
Grantham Hockey Club, which fields two men's teams and one women's team in league hockey, play at the Meres Leisure Centre, the astro-turf pitch situated directly behind the football stadium.Bowls
Grantham bowls players have represented the indoor and outdoor clubs within county and national competitions. Indoor club players Martin Pulling, Dion Auckland, Ian Johnson, and current England U25 player Mathew Orrey, have played for the England squad.Nature
Grantham and the surrounding area is home to the Peregrine Falcons which roost in the bell towerBell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
of St Wulframs Church, and the Grantham Gobbler, a Heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
. Unfortunately both of these birds are voracious predators, which has upset pigeon fanciers and fish lovers.
Grantham is surrounded by rolling countryside and woodland, for example the nearby Ponton Park Wood, suitable for country walks with views of the Lincolnshire farmland and woodland. To the south of the town the River Witham
River Witham
The River Witham is a river, almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham, at SK8818, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh...
flows through a number of marshes and water meadows between Little Ponton and Saltersford. This area is rich in wildlife including herons, ducks, geese, water vole (Arvicola amphibius) and the now critically endangered white clawed crayfish. There are notable populations of dragonflies, especially Aeshna grandis, Anax imperator, Libellula quadrimaculata and Calopteryx splendens in this area and also on the Grantham Canal
Grantham Canal
The Grantham Canal is a canal that runs for 33 miles from Grantham, falling through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. It was built primarily to allow for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797, and its profitability steadily increased until 1841...
which winds through The Vale of Belvoir
Vale of Belvoir
The Vale of Belvoir is an area of natural beauty on the borders of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire in England. Indeed, the name itself derives from the Norman-French for beautiful view.-Extent and geology:...
to the west of the town. The countryside around Grantham is also rich in plant life. The water meadows to the south of the town support a rich variety of species including vetches, Cowslip, Primula veris
Primula veris
Primula veris is a flowering plant in the genus Primula. The species is found throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney.-Names:The common name cowslip derives...
, Lady's bedstraw Galium verum
Galium verum
Galium verum is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae, native to Europe and Asia. It is a low scrambling plant, with the stems growing to long, frequently rooting where they touch the ground. The leaves are long and broad, shiny dark green, hairy underneath, borne in whorls of 8–12...
, Southern Marsh Orchid, and several other species of orchid.
Please also see Waterways for further details of the River Witham in Grantham.
Visits to Wyndham Park and Dysart Park offer opportunities to spot local wildlife.
Places for children
Wyndham Park has two children's play areas. One area, adjacent to the cafe and bowling green offers new equipment for children under six years old. There is an open air paddling pool. There is a marked football pitch at Wyndham Park and skateboard park. There is a public toilet available when the cafe is open at the back of the cafe. Dysart Park also has a paddling pool and safe play area for children under six. There is a public toilet close to the paddling pool. The green at Dysart Park is used for football, and a bandstand. It is possible to walk from Dysart Park to Wyndham Park along the River Witham. See Waterways.Indoor attractions for young children include the swimming pool at the Meres Leisure Centre, the library located in the Sir Isaac Newton Centre, the Grantham Museum
Grantham Museum
Grantham Museum is located at St Peter's Hill, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. It is run by Lincolnshire County Council in the building provided for it in 1926, although the idea of a museum can be traced back to meetings of the Grantham Scientific society in the 1890s...
; the Guildhall Theatre, activity centres at the Muddle-Go-Nowhere pub off Barrowby Road, and Fun Farm off Dysart Road.
Organisations which encourage the participation of young people include Brownies, Guides
Girlguiding UK
Girlguiding UK is the national Guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. Guiding began in the UK in 1910 after Robert Baden-Powell asked his sister Agnes to start a group especially for girls that would be run along similar lines to Scouting for Boys. The Guide Association was a founder member of...
and Air Cadets
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
. Theatrical experience is available via the Guildhall Theatre.
Belton House
Belton House
Belton House is a Grade I listed country house in Belton near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The mansion is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies within a larger wooded park...
is one of the most popular National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
sites in the country regular events for children held at Belton House. Its outdoor play area with train rides is popular during high season. In addition to the main house and grounds, there is a picnic area in the children's play zone, and a woodland walk.
The Grantham Journal
Grantham has a newspaper, The Grantham Journal, which first went on sale in 1854 under the name The Grantham Journal of Useful, Instructive and Entertaining Knowledge and Monthly Advertiser, which was shortened to its current name a few years later.The Grantham Journal is owned by Johnston Press
Johnston Press
Johnston Press plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its flagship titles are The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post; it also operates many other newspapers around the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the second-largest publisher...
and has a sister newspaper in Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
, called the Melton Times. In the 1960s, and earlier, it had operated the Melton Journal and Rutland Journal, both versions of the main paper, still produces a separate Bingham
Bingham, Nottinghamshire
Bingham is a market town in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England.-Geography:With a population of around 9,000 people it lies about nine miles east of Nottingham, a similar distance south-west of Newark-on-Trent and west of Grantham. It is situated where the A46 intersects the A52...
edition.
Twin town
- Sankt AugustinSankt Augustin
Sankt Augustin is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is named after the patron saint of the Divine Word Missionaries, Saint Augustine of Hippo . The Missionaries established a monastery near the current city centre in 1913...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany (near Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, 57,000 population), twinned since 1980. The A52 relief road is named Sankt Augustin Way. Sankt Augustin has its Grantham-Allee and "Grantham-Bridge".
Notable people
- Three world-famous people associated with the town are:
- Isaac NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
, physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change.... - Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, author and revolutionaryRevolutionaryA revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
; - Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, politician, daughter of Alderman Alfred RobertsAlfred RobertsAlfred Roberts was an English grocer, lay preacher, alderman and Mayor of Grantham. He was the father of Margaret Thatcher, the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom....
- Isaac Newton
- Beverley Allitt, serial killerSerial killerA serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
; - Antonio BerardiAntonio BerardiAntonio Berardi , is a British fashion designer of Sicilian descent, known especially for his dresses. He currently shows his collection at London fashion week, but has shown at Milan in the past....
, fashion designer; - Roderick BradleyRoderick BradleyRoderick "Rod" Bradley is an English American footballer from Grantham, England.- Education :Roderick “Rod” Bradley is from Grantham, England and was born on the 29th of March 1983. Rod attended Oakham School for seven years between 1994 and 2001 before going to Loughborough to study art...
, American footballer; - Judy CampbellJudy CampbellJudy Campbell was an English light comedy actress and occasional playwright, Noël Coward's muse. Her daughter is the actor and singer Jane Birkin, her son the screenwriter and director Andrew Birkin, and among her grandchildren are the actresses Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, the poet Anno...
, actor and playwright; - Geoff CapesGeoff CapesGeoffrey Lewis Capes is a former athlete, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor...
, athlete; - Eric ChappellEric ChappellEric Chappell is an English comedy writer who wrote and co-wrote a number of the UK's biggest sitcom hits during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s...
, comedy writer - Johnny Haddon DownesJohnny Haddon DownesJohnny Downes DFC was an English Royal Air Force flyer and television producer.Born in Great Easton, Leicestershire, Downes attended The King's School, Grantham...
, television producer - Vince EagerVince EagerVince Eager is a British pop singer.As a teenager, he formed the Harmonica Vagabonds, later the Vagabonds Skiffle Group, with Roy Clark, Mick Fretwell, and bassist Brian Locking. The group reached the final round of a televised "World Skiffle Championship", and were offered a residency at the 2...
, singer; - Graham FellowsGraham FellowsGraham David Fellows is an English comedy actor and musician, best known for creating the characters of John Shuttleworth and Jilted John.-Early life:...
, actor and musician; - Michael GarnerMichael GarnerMichael Garner is an English theatre and television actor.-Education:Galliard Road Primary School, Edmonton. The Kings School, Grantham...
, actor; - Maxwell HutchinsonMaxwell HutchinsonJohn Maxwell Hutchinson is an English architect and broadcaster.-Early life:He was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire to Frank Maxwell Hutchinson and his wife Elizabeth Ross and went to school in Northamptonshire at Wellingborough Prep School and the independent Oundle School...
, architect; - Philip Knights, Baron KnightsPhilip Knights, Baron KnightsPhilip Douglas Knights, Baron Knights CBE QPM is a retired British police officer.Knights was educated in Grantham. He joined Lincolnshire Police as a police cadet in 1938, becoming a constable in 1940. In the war, he served in the RAF from 1943-5. He returned to Lincolnshire, reaching the rank of...
, police officer; - Graham LewisGraham LewisGraham Lewis is an English musician.Lewis is the bassist with punk rock/post-punk band Wire, a band formed in 1976...
, musician; - Jessie LipscombJessie Lipscomb-Early life:Jessie was born in Grantham in 1861, the daughter of a colliery agent and a barmaid. In 1875 the family moved to Peterborough. She attended the Royal College of Art which was at that time called the National Art Training School in South Kensington...
, sculptor; - Nicholas MawNicholas MawJohn Nicholas Maw was a British composer.-Biography:Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14...
, composer; - Henry MoreHenry MoreHenry More FRS was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonist school.-Biography:Henry was born at Grantham and was schooled at The King's School, Grantham and at Eton College...
, 17th century philosopher; - Richard Nauyokas, soldier and actor;
- Mark A. O'NeillMark A. O'NeillMark A. O'Neill is an English biologist and computer scientist with interests in artificial intelligence, systems biology, complex systems and image analysis...
, biologistBiologistA biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and computer scientistComputer scientistA computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
; - Nicholas ParsonsNicholas ParsonsNicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
, television and radio presenter; - Norman ShrapnelNorman ShrapnelNorman Shrapnel , was an English journalist, author, and parliamentary correspondent.Shrapnel was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and was educated at The King's School, Grantham. In 1947, after war service in the RAF, he joined the Manchester Guardian as reporter, book reviewer, and theatre critic...
, political correspondentCorrespondentA correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
and author; - John StillJohn StillJohn Still , bishop of Bath and Wells enjoyed considerable fame as a preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of the early English comedy drama Gammer Gurton's Needle .-Career:...
, bishop of Bath and WellsBishop of Bath and WellsThe Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.The present diocese covers the vast majority of the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in...
(1593–1608) - Doris StokesDoris StokesDoris May Fisher Stokes , born Doris Sutton, was a British spiritualist and psychic medium.She was a controversial figure, with some believing her to possess psychic abilities, while sceptics stated that her performances amounted to nothing more than cold reading, a technique used to create the...
, spiritualist and psychic mediumMediumshipMediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
; - William StukeleyWilliam StukeleyWilliam Stukeley FRS, FRCP, FSA was an English antiquarian who pioneered the archaeological investigation of the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury, work for which he has been remembered as "probably... the most important of the early forerunners of the discipline of archaeology"...
, antiquarianAntiquarianAn antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
; - Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
, actor; - Clare TomlinsonClare TomlinsonClare Louise Tomlinson is an anchorwoman for the British satellite broadcast sports network Sky Sports.-Public relations career:In the early 1990s, Tomlinson worked at the Football Association as a media officer...
, news presenterNews presenterA news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
; - Ashley WrightAshley Wright (cricketer)Ashley Spencer Wright is a former English cricketer. Wright played as a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium-pace.Wright made his List-A debut for the Leicestershire Cricket Board in the 1999 NatWest Trophy...
, cricketerCricketerA cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
; - Luke WrightLuke Wright (cricketer)Luke James Wright is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium bowler. Born in Grantham, Wright joined Sussex in 2004, having started his career at Leicestershire. He was named in England's squad for the Under-19 World Cup in 2004, and joined the International...
, cricketer;
External links
- Grantham tourist information, business services, community information, youth zone, news. - published by Kesteven District Council
- Grantham Journal Newspaper
- Information on Grantham's history
- Description of the town, street photographs and business directory.
- History of Ruston & Hornsby.
- Grantham Future
- Kesteven RFC
- Gingerbread recipe
- Lincolnshire Life article (PDF)
- The town that made Margaret April 2009
- Let's move to Grantham May 2010
Video clips
- Pathe Newreel, 1927, of flying display at RAF Spitalgate
- Newsreel, 1935. Inaugural run of "Silver Jubilee" Kings Cross-Grantham.
- Proposal for new bypass
- Kelvin MacKenzie tours Grantham Museum
- Mrs Thatcher and Grantham in July 1970, retrieved 18 Dec 2010, retrieved 18 Dec 2010, retrieved 18 Dec 2010, retrieved 18 Dec 2010